Maserati Quattroporte for less than he price of Fiesta
Discussion
Thought i was seeing things when i noticed a 2004 Quattroporte sold on Car & Classic for £4,500 ,with 90,000 miles on the clock.
Looks a good car in a lovely shade of metallic dark blue, All books including service book stamped up to 84,000 miles and no advisories on mot.
What a lot of car for no money providing there's no hidden gremlins,
La Dolce Vita life style for less than Fiesta money
Sorry haven't a clue how to link.
Looks a good car in a lovely shade of metallic dark blue, All books including service book stamped up to 84,000 miles and no advisories on mot.
What a lot of car for no money providing there's no hidden gremlins,
La Dolce Vita life style for less than Fiesta money
Sorry haven't a clue how to link.
Edited by ratrod 2 on Friday 16th February 22:16
I've run one of these for 9 years. Reliability has been in line with other cars that I've owned, and certainly much better than modern Porsches and Landrover products that we've had alongside the Quattroporte 2007 auto with 98,000 miles.
The only irritation has been with suspension knocks a couple of years until I bought a second-hand hydraulic press for £80. I was then able to press out and replace the worn bushings myself. The bushings are cheap and easy to swap over.
My own experience has been that I've reliably covered 50,000 miles in great comfort and style, with a lovely engine and exhaust sound for not a lot of money. I paid £16,000 9 years ago at 40,000 miles, and I reckon that this has been one of the best buys and experiences of the cars that I have owned.
Buy an auto though.
The only irritation has been with suspension knocks a couple of years until I bought a second-hand hydraulic press for £80. I was then able to press out and replace the worn bushings myself. The bushings are cheap and easy to swap over.
My own experience has been that I've reliably covered 50,000 miles in great comfort and style, with a lovely engine and exhaust sound for not a lot of money. I paid £16,000 9 years ago at 40,000 miles, and I reckon that this has been one of the best buys and experiences of the cars that I have owned.
Buy an auto though.
Hi rr, nice to see you here as well!
Had a 2005 GranSport about 5 years ago, these cars are cheap for a reason.
Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
Had a 2005 GranSport about 5 years ago, these cars are cheap for a reason.
Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
We have had our ZF auto QP for 12 years, bought when four years old and now it has 138k miles.
One failed alternator, one PAS pump, one hose, and some variator work last year. A couple of window regulators and I think that is all apart from a lot of tyres and consumables. A wonderful car for long journeys and sounds magnificent, and struggling to find a better replacement. Ours uses no discernible amount of oil.
I agree better check the subframe.
One failed alternator, one PAS pump, one hose, and some variator work last year. A couple of window regulators and I think that is all apart from a lot of tyres and consumables. A wonderful car for long journeys and sounds magnificent, and struggling to find a better replacement. Ours uses no discernible amount of oil.
I agree better check the subframe.
sidewinder500 said:
Hi rr, nice to see you here as well!
Had a 2005 GranSport about 5 years ago, these cars are cheap for a reason.
Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
Hi Sidewinder ,Yes been on here for quite a while, bit of a cross dresser driving Italian stuff long before yanks now in both camps ,Had a 2005 GranSport about 5 years ago, these cars are cheap for a reason.
Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
Had five Italian cars up to around 18 months ago but was getting silly what with the room needed for four yanks as well so down to two now ,
Only ever owned one Maserati which was a 2001 Quattroporte 1V Evoluzione manual, quick car but a little scary , never felt like it was
on your side trying to throw you in the hedge on the limit a bit like a Corvette really.
Believe the later Quattroporte is a lot more sure footed being larger and probably heavier.
Fessia fancier said:
We have had our ZF auto QP for 12 years, bought when four years old and now it has 138k miles.
One failed alternator, one PAS pump, one hose, and some variator work last year. A couple of window regulators and I think that is all apart from a lot of tyres and consumables. A wonderful car for long journeys and sounds magnificent, and struggling to find a better replacement. Ours uses no discernible amount of oil.
I agree better check the subframe.
Hi Fessia fancier,don't see you much on here lately,also haven't heard from TVR Jonny for a while,One failed alternator, one PAS pump, one hose, and some variator work last year. A couple of window regulators and I think that is all apart from a lot of tyres and consumables. A wonderful car for long journeys and sounds magnificent, and struggling to find a better replacement. Ours uses no discernible amount of oil.
I agree better check the subframe.
Not much of interest for me lately,Seems mostly modern stuff on here these days which is no interest to me.
Hows your fleet of exotics , probably like most of us waiting for some decent weather.
Collected the GTB from the body shop for the second time ,noticed one or two bits that i wasn't happy with on close inspection,
Kind of regret getting it painted in way especially after watching your race GTB driven on Jayeem on cars ,
After 28 years of collecting a few battle scares it seemed to have lost it's character looking almost naked
without it's ageing decals, also means my ocd has kicked in and i will have to keep it clean.
Don't know if i mentioned that i replaced the F430 with one of the last of last carburetor 308 GTS 's
small world it turned out to be the same car that a distant neighbour of my parents bought brand new in March 81, he was speechless
when i took it round to house,
Edited by ratrod 2 on Tuesday 20th February 08:39
Hi Rat rod,
Nice to hear from you. As you say waiting for the better weather so not much going on though got out for the odd spin.
Cars more or less the same, main activity is quite a lot of work on my Fulvia Fanalone which I got last summer. Car was really good but is now hopefully tip top.
On the newly painted subject, it is always difficult after that if the car was enjoyed on track etc. hopefully over time one adapts.
Nice to hear the story about the 308 and distant neighbour, I am sure I would be equally amazed!
Nice to hear from you. As you say waiting for the better weather so not much going on though got out for the odd spin.
Cars more or less the same, main activity is quite a lot of work on my Fulvia Fanalone which I got last summer. Car was really good but is now hopefully tip top.
On the newly painted subject, it is always difficult after that if the car was enjoyed on track etc. hopefully over time one adapts.
Nice to hear the story about the 308 and distant neighbour, I am sure I would be equally amazed!
Fessia fancier said:
Hi Rat rod,
Nice to hear from you. As you say waiting for the better weather so not much going on though got out for the odd spin.
Cars more or less the same, main activity is quite a lot of work on my Fulvia Fanalone which I got last summer. Car was really good but is now hopefully tip top.
On the newly painted subject, it is always difficult after that if the car was enjoyed on track etc. hopefully over time one adapts.
Nice to hear the story about the 308 and distant neighbour, I am sure I would be equally amazed!
My dad took me to Monaco for the Monte-Carlo rally when i was about 18 and remember the cars lined up along the front amongst themNice to hear from you. As you say waiting for the better weather so not much going on though got out for the odd spin.
Cars more or less the same, main activity is quite a lot of work on my Fulvia Fanalone which I got last summer. Car was really good but is now hopefully tip top.
On the newly painted subject, it is always difficult after that if the car was enjoyed on track etc. hopefully over time one adapts.
Nice to hear the story about the 308 and distant neighbour, I am sure I would be equally amazed!
were the HP Fulvia's, Alpines and very narrow looking 911's, even better we went up into the mountains and watched the night stages
which was exciting with the air horns blasting to clear the crowd and all lights ablaze on studded tyres..
The HP's left a big impression on me so much so that i bought a 1.3 coupe as my first Italian car when in my early twenties, couldn't
quite run to a HF, Must admit i had to look up what a Fanalone was as i've never heard of one up til now.
Learn something ever day even at my years.
sidewinder500 said:
Had a 2005 GranSport about 5 years ago, these cars are cheap for a reason.
Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
Agree with a lot of this - apart from your last line, modern Maseratis have been a "sure fire investment" for over a decade and I doubt will come good.Unfortunately the issue with them is, when neglected the faults cumulate to a point that it takes a while to separate the initial fault which triggers all the following faults, and that costs money the people in current custody are not willing to afford because they only drive and don't do any spannering, let alone being sympathetic towards the machinery.
It speaks volumes about the inherent quality of the cars that you can have your dashboard lit up in all colours but still can move on its own power.
Some things are just parts for pennies, or loose or corroded connections, a bad battery or battery drain because of a faulty swich or sensor.
I got my car dirt cheap because of many small things the owner was fed up with and didn't want to pay a dealer to sort.
I managed to get all small things sorted for peanuts, but of course had a big one as the oil pump seized and caused a massive F1-like blowout, my profit went out of the window, that says everything you need for garage queens...
The next big thing with these is that Maserati doesn't really care for their older models, so some parts are unobtainium or mega expensive (3200 windows are no more...).
And the biggest thing on QP Vs is the front subframe, it's a scrapper when thoroughly rusted, as in C2 or C3s, the main thing is the birdcage, and there may be a reason you don't see too many pics in the ads from that...
As beautiful as these cars look like and how nice they sound and drive (when fully sorted), the bork factor is quite high, and right now it's hard to justify the cost of keeping a turd going.
In five to ten years everybody will sing the 'should have bought one when they were pennies' song, though, same as with Yanks.
I sold my 06 GS pretty cheap as there were a lot of niggles that I couldn't sort, and I fell out of love with the car and just wanted rid. The niggles meant we used it less, which meant there were more of them, etc. The buyer was a very able enthusiast who spent quite a bit of time and money sorting it but still got a reasonable (I hope) deal from it.
Parts were a PITA for the GS, but for the newer (so hopefully better built) and more popular QP (about 5000/year in the 2000s rather than the 2600 total Gransport run) there will be better spares backup. I remember waiting ages dor discs, having power steering lines custom made, interior lights and ridiculously flimsily finished Alfa switchgear unobtainable, and the £40 glovebox button unit with the self melting light in had a Lancia part number on it and actually cost about a tenner.
These were £100k cars, and have running costs to match, but if you want something exotic and imposing to trundle around in for a year or 2, then a high mileage QP will feel far more special every time you get in it than any of the german rivals, and you'll have far more opportunities to bathe in the admiring glances when at the fuel station
Don't know about the QP, but I know the GS low fuel light came on with over 4 gallons left in it, which was about an hour's driving.Actually I fondly remember my GS, even after the oil pump decided to let go.
The sense of occasion was definitely greater than in almost anything else except for real supercars or high-viz oldies, and at the same time it was a little bit under the radar in black, was not obnoxiously loud etc etc and deliberately not German.
But after suffering some electrical drain the battery was always dead after 2 weeks not moving and I simply got fed up after two years.
Selling in '19/'20 meant buyers were sparse and it had to go to the only one who actually turned up, took a hit in price and that was it.
We agreed on delivery to his place the week after and so I took the 40 or so miles as a farewell drive.
It all was OK but after exiting the motorway (only 7ish miles left) it was stuttering (never did that before), all the lights in the dash etc etc.
I drove in the next parking space, stopped, engine off, key off, 5 mins outside, opened car, insert key, perfect.
After this brown moment I knew it was the right decision and had no hard feelings whatsoever.
Sad as there are some lookers (esp Ghibli II), but I'm cured.
After getting drown in the yank thing again after a 25 year hiatus it was like rediscovering a long lost friend/love and that is that.
The sense of occasion was definitely greater than in almost anything else except for real supercars or high-viz oldies, and at the same time it was a little bit under the radar in black, was not obnoxiously loud etc etc and deliberately not German.
But after suffering some electrical drain the battery was always dead after 2 weeks not moving and I simply got fed up after two years.
Selling in '19/'20 meant buyers were sparse and it had to go to the only one who actually turned up, took a hit in price and that was it.
We agreed on delivery to his place the week after and so I took the 40 or so miles as a farewell drive.
It all was OK but after exiting the motorway (only 7ish miles left) it was stuttering (never did that before), all the lights in the dash etc etc.
I drove in the next parking space, stopped, engine off, key off, 5 mins outside, opened car, insert key, perfect.
After this brown moment I knew it was the right decision and had no hard feelings whatsoever.
Sad as there are some lookers (esp Ghibli II), but I'm cured.
After getting drown in the yank thing again after a 25 year hiatus it was like rediscovering a long lost friend/love and that is that.
sidewinder500 said:
Actually I fondly remember my GS, even after the oil pump decided to let go.
The sense of occasion was definitely greater than in almost anything else except for real supercars or high-viz oldies, and at the same time it was a little bit under the radar in black, was not obnoxiously loud etc etc and deliberately not German.
But after suffering some electrical drain the battery was always dead after 2 weeks not moving and I simply got fed up after two years.
Selling in '19/'20 meant buyers were sparse and it had to go to the only one who actually turned up, took a hit in price and that was it.
We agreed on delivery to his place the week after and so I took the 40 or so miles as a farewell drive.
It all was OK but after exiting the motorway (only 7ish miles left) it was stuttering (never did that before), all the lights in the dash etc etc.
I drove in the next parking space, stopped, engine off, key off, 5 mins outside, opened car, insert key, perfect.
After this brown moment I knew it was the right decision and had no hard feelings whatsoever.
Sad as there are some lookers (esp Ghibli II), but I'm cured.
After getting drown in the yank thing again after a 25 year hiatus it was like rediscovering a long lost friend/love and that is that.
You need a De Tomaso Pantera in your life, best of both worlds. The sense of occasion was definitely greater than in almost anything else except for real supercars or high-viz oldies, and at the same time it was a little bit under the radar in black, was not obnoxiously loud etc etc and deliberately not German.
But after suffering some electrical drain the battery was always dead after 2 weeks not moving and I simply got fed up after two years.
Selling in '19/'20 meant buyers were sparse and it had to go to the only one who actually turned up, took a hit in price and that was it.
We agreed on delivery to his place the week after and so I took the 40 or so miles as a farewell drive.
It all was OK but after exiting the motorway (only 7ish miles left) it was stuttering (never did that before), all the lights in the dash etc etc.
I drove in the next parking space, stopped, engine off, key off, 5 mins outside, opened car, insert key, perfect.
After this brown moment I knew it was the right decision and had no hard feelings whatsoever.
Sad as there are some lookers (esp Ghibli II), but I'm cured.
After getting drown in the yank thing again after a 25 year hiatus it was like rediscovering a long lost friend/love and that is that.
sidewinder500 said:
Was close on purchasing a Longchamp last year, financial issues prevented that...
Not far out then ,the Longchamp seems to be the forgotten De Tomaso,no where as pretty as the Pantera butin the real world prices ,
Had a couple of Pantera's when nobody wanted them, a 71 lhd with factory GT5 arches ,wing and wider wheels , bought as a none
runner but managed to get it running and a 74 original rhd car , 1 lady owner,26,000miles but looked like it had been sprayed with a
vacuum cleaner.
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