Buying a 1996 Ghibli

Buying a 1996 Ghibli

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MJC175

Original Poster:

1 posts

6 months

Tuesday 23rd April
quotequote all
Hi,

I'm considering the purchase of a 1996 Ghibli but have some concerns regarding maintenance and service.

Anyone who can tell me from their own experience what I'm looking at when it comes to service, costs and breakdowns ?

It seems that on the internet there are mostly negative stories about horrible reliability issues and tremendous annual costs.

This scares me a bit. Not so much the cost (if reasonable) but mainly the breakdowns as I intent to use the car for my daily driving.
I expect to drive around 20k km per year.

It would be nice to hear from people who actually have a 1996 Ghibli.

MJC

Edited by MJC175 on Tuesday 23 April 13:46

ex-devonpaul

1,266 posts

143 months

Tuesday 23rd April
quotequote all
I applaud your idea, the thought of doing 20,000km a year in any 30 year old car is a brave one, let alone doing it in a Maserati.

As you are in NL your local support network will be different - over here there are quite a few specialist that can look after these things. The other consideration is spares - at that sort of mileage things will wear out and replacements can be difficult to find or expensive (usually both).

There is a sportsmaserati forum in the UK that would be worth looking at and joining, a wealth of info and support.

NathanChadwick

323 posts

47 months

Tuesday 30th April
quotequote all
MJC175 said:
Hi,

I'm considering the purchase of a 1996 Ghibli but have some concerns regarding maintenance and service.

Anyone who can tell me from their own experience what I'm looking at when it comes to service, costs and breakdowns ?

It seems that on the internet there are mostly negative stories about horrible reliability issues and tremendous annual costs.

This scares me a bit. Not so much the cost (if reasonable) but mainly the breakdowns as I intent to use the car for my daily driving.
I expect to drive around 20k km per year.

It would be nice to hear from people who actually have a 1996 Ghibli.

MJC

Edited by MJC175 on Tuesday 23 April 13:46
AS Motorsport might be worth a try if you're in the Netherlands.
I own a Cup but I'm in the UK. Parts and parts prices are the challenge, but once you've got it all sorted initially, and keep on top of things, they're no better or worse in reliability stakes than any other 30-year-old classic.
There's the odd niggle – for example, under hard acceleration one of my bulbs decides not to be a bulb. Obviously when I'm accelerating quickly I can hardly get out and check which one...

The Ghibli II is remarkably useable. I honestly think it could do 20km a year, if you make sure it's all rustproofed. Some of the consumables (discs/pads) can be pricey mind.