3200 Buyer's guide

[TUS 373]

I'm starting to get in the mood for a car change and the Maser 3200 is appealing to my senses. Is there a PHs buyer's guide that details the usual pros and pitfalls of car purchase? Also, can anyone tell me how wide the 3200 is please, at least compared to a Tuscan?

[bad loser]

You could visit here and read members' notes on the 3200 www.pistonheads.com/members/fleet.asp?m=73&s=d&submit=++Show++

As far as width goes, I don't know but about the same at a guess?!?!

[chris_n]

A quick look on the Maserati UK website reveals - 1821mm is the width.

If you do a search of this forum for "3200" over the last year or so you'll pretty much have a ready made buyers guide.

It would be good if someone consolidated all that knowledge into one FAQ or similar (not that I'm volunteering or anything! )

Obviously quite a different car to a tuscan but if you fancy a change there is certainly plenty to commend a 3200! Good luck.

Chris

[TUS 373]

Thanks guys and to Mr Tony.

Yes, I was wondering whether that info had been consolidated. I had a look but couldn't find anything with it all together so I hope no one minded me asking the question. If its anything like Tuscan ownership, you will have a new person every week asking the very same question!

So...who here has had a Tuscan and a 3200 so qualifies to make the direct comparison of ownership experience? (I know one from the Tuscan forum). Also, what is the preferred choice - auto or manual amongst you? I like autos for convenience and comfortable effotless waffy crusing - but OTOH I like manual for driving pleasure and setting up nicely for the twisties.

All contributions gratefully received!
Bryan

[flasher]

My advice would be to avoid it at all costs. Watching mine go today is the best feeling I have had in years. Without doubt the worst car i have ever owned and the worst experience I have ever had apart from being seriously ill.

I would reccomend you avoid one at all costs for the following reasons.

1. parts are almost impossible to get.
2. Parts and servicing are so high it's frightening.
3. Although build quality is vastly superior to TVR it's still utterly crap.
4. Depreciation is the worst I have ever seen on any car ever. I dont want to say what I lost but I know of one guy who lost £36,000 in 12 months on a new one.....
5. Buying outside of the dealer network is financial suicide, I did this and it was the worst mistake of life. Private buying would be even worse.....

There are plus points.

1. Fabulous interior
2. Great noise
3. Huge top end performance

My advice would be to go and drive a 996. A million times better and they dont depreciate at all compared to Maseratis.

I wont say any more because of Teds name and shame rule......

[Andrew Richmond]

flasher said:

My advice would be to avoid it at all costs. Watching mine go today is the best feeling I have had in years. Without doubt the worst car i have ever owned and the worst experience I have ever had apart from being seriously ill. I would reccomend you avoid one at all costs for the following reasons. 1. parts are almost impossible to get. 2. Parts and servicing are so high it's frightening. 3. Although build quality is vastly superior to TVR it's still utterly crap. 4. Depreciation is the worst I have ever seen on any car ever. I dont want to say what I lost but I know of one guy who lost £36,000 in 12 months on a new one..... 5. Buying outside of the dealer network is financial suicide, I did this and it was the worst mistake of life. Private buying would be even worse..... There are plus points. 1. Fabulous interior 2. Great noise 3. Huge top end performance My advice would be to go and drive a 996. A million times better and they dont depreciate at all compared to Maseratis. I wont say any more because of Teds name and shame rule......

Flasher

Sorry you did'nt like it. Mine was the most problematic car I ever owned but I expected that when I bought it. I found that the warranty covered all that mattered, parts were ok to get and it did'nt rattle any worse than my Mercs have.

I agree with the problems on selling on - mine went to an independent as the dealer network did'nt want to know and most of the buyers were rude when I said I wanted to sell a Maser (and not a Ferrari).

Hope you are liking the CLK - I've got a 500 cab. Take a look at my thread on fitting Brabus sports suspension - it helps a lot.

[exint2]

flasher said:

I would reccomend you avoid one at all costs for the following reasons. 1. parts are almost impossible to get. 2. Parts and servicing are so high it's frightening. 3. Although build quality is vastly superior to TVR it's still utterly crap. 4. Depreciation is the worst I have ever seen on any car ever. I dont want to say what I lost but I know of one guy who lost £36,000 in 12 months on a new one..... 5. Buying outside of the dealer network is financial suicide, I did this and it was the worst mistake of life. Private buying would be even worse..... There are plus points. 1. Fabulous interior 2. Great noise 3. Huge top end performance .....

1- Interesting point, apparently this will change dramatically when Ferrari directly take control over the UK concession in a couple of months - Marenello are bloody useless at this.

2- Not cheap but not much more than other premium makes (certainly a service on a TVR or JAG costs as much - but they are all expensive)

3- Can't agree on this the build quality has been steadily improving and on my 4200 is excellent.

4- Don't buy new! - they are a fantastic 2nd hand bargain! AN 18 month old 4200 costs less than a 4 year old 996 - yes you'll lose a bit more but you know that before you start.

5 - Dealer network = peace of mide at extra cost, if you get a "bad" car then you are as you said stuffed.

However all these experiences are relative, the worst car in terms of reliability I have ever owned was a Mercedes .... (and I've had a couple of TVRs and a fiat.....)

[TUS 373]

Well I got the impression that Maser had a bit of reputation - but so do TVR, and I have had them for the last 6 years without anything more than trivial problems. I therefore put it down that Maser's reputation was rather unfair with respect to the 3200 and 4200.

Hugely disappointing to hear of your experience Flasher, I was really setting my sights on a 3200 in the £25-30K bracket with a year 2000 or later. It was seeing your car up for sale that had got me so interested - and I know that you know your way around cars. So maybe the Tuscan gets a stay of execution then.

What appeals to me about the Maser is the fabulous interior, near-Tuscan like performance and the addition of 2 seats in the back. I'm not really a Porsche person and I feel that after a couple of really good TVRs I want a change - so I'm not really considering a Cerbera. That leaves......eh......nothing. I really cannot think of a another prestige, slightly quirky, high performance gob smackingly fast and gorgeous car with 4 seats for that kind of money. Bugger.

[David A]

Agree with some of the points on this thread, disagree with others.

I guess what it comes down to is are you buying with your heart or your accountant and common sense advisor on your shoulder.

I'm 10 months in with mine and no complaints so far, its gone wrong a couple of times, but I've expected far worse than I've got. Everthings been sorted under warranty. Love it, would/will buy another

Dave

[v12v8]

I'm surprised by Flasher's comments. However, my experience has been somewhat different. Sure parts are expensive but they don't come cheap on a Ferrari or Porsche.

I have done a lot of real driving in my car and it has been faultless.

To compare the Maser with TVR is like comparing boats to planes. They are worlds apart.

For the money, Masers are a great buy. Also don't be put off by buying privately. Just make sure you know what you are getting in to and haggle a warranty.

Happy 3200 hunting!

[Andrew Richmond]

Forgot to add. If Maser decide to fit ISOFIX bars in the rear of the 4200 (to take child seats) I'II probably be back in one.

For those of you who are not interested (or need to be) in the above then just buy a used car. Maranello have manual 4200's on their first tank of petrol for £49,995 sticker. Cracking cars for the money - just make sure you get a manual (IMHO - I think the paddle shift is pants).

[flasher]

Sure, some of you have had relatively few problems but I can only speak from my personal experience.

1. Gearbox= £6K
2. tyres = £230 each
3. exhaust rear silencer = £346
4. Missing red key = £2967

I could go on.....all of these were warranty issues but lets face it the prices are scary as is the fact the car was only four years old.....

Before you all leap to the defensive try calling round the dealers this morning and getting some bids on the car.....you will not beleive some of the bids I had, and that was from the ones that didn't start laughing...

[bennno]

flasher said:

Sure, some of you have had relatively few problems but I can only speak from my personal experience. 1. Gearbox= £6K 2. tyres = £230 each 3. exhaust rear silencer = £346 4. Missing red key = £2967 I could go on.....all of these were warranty issues but lets face it the prices are scary as is the fact the car was only four years old..... Before you all leap to the defensive try calling round the dealers this morning and getting some bids on the car.....you will not beleive some of the bids I had, and that was from the ones that didn't start laughing...

If you exclude the 4th item which isnt a failure and take in to account that the warranty covered the gearbox then a couple of tyres and an exhaust back box on an almost 50k mile car is not unreasonable....

Bennno

[TUS 373]

I've got to ask, what is a red key? It costs nearly £3K so it sounds important.

All the parts on TVRs are going to be red soon .

Also, another important q. What is there in the way of warranties on these cars? Is it Maserati's own? What are the exclusions e.g. do they argue over the typical wear and tear (its therefore not broken so we won't pay) kind of thing? What does the warranty cost? Can you get a warranty on a car where the previous warranty has lapsed?

>> Edited by TUS 373 on Tuesday 3rd August 09:39

[sek]

Sorry to hear of your problems with the car.

I've had mine now for three months and over 3,000 miles and it's been flawless. The build quality is also excellent (at least as good as my friends plakky 911), so I'm surprised by the adverse comment on that, although my car is a 2001, which may help.

The problems you've have don't sound that shocking. The auto is a BTR unit which has a good reputation for reliability and strength (also used in Holdens, I beleive), so I guess that's just bad luck (or abuse by previous owner) and tyres and exhaust are fair wear and tear. The red key is a stupid feature shared with other Fiat group cars, so it's vital to check that the car has one before buying.

For me the moral of the story is to buy this type of car from a main dealer with a warranty.

[craigw]

v12v8 said:

I'm surprised by Flasher's comments. However, my experience has been somewhat different. Sure parts are expensive but they don't come cheap on a Ferrari or Porsche. I have done a lot of real driving in my car and it has been faultless. To compare the Maser with TVR is like comparing boats to planes. They are worlds apart. For the money, Masers are a great buy. Also don't be put off by buying privately. Just make sure you know what you are getting in to and haggle a warranty. Happy 3200 hunting!

agree with all the above, I was surprised too, mine has been fine.

[mr_tony]

craigw said:

v12v8 said: I'm surprised by Flasher's comments. agree with all the above, I was surprised too, mine has been fine.

Well I could hardly say I was that suprised by his somments knowing of Flashers issues with his car. Compared to all the others I know of with 3200 Flash has had the sh**y end of the stick I feel. Mines been fine too. Not much consolation though I know

[flasher]

Please dont get the wrong idea here, I did love the actual car as in the 3200, and for the money there is little else like it in looks,performance and ambience.

However, let me give you one example of why a 996 is so much better.

Porsche 996 Carrera 4 99V list new: 59K value now £40K

Maserati 3200GTA 2000V list new £65K value now £20-25K

The red key is vital. Without it you will need a new engine ECU, Alarm ECU and immobiliser ECU and a new key set. Sum total £2697. Which is exactly the amount I had to reduce my car by to sell it as no one would touch it without a red key.

As has been said above, those of you who bought from a main dealer are fine as they wouldn't dare sell a car with the stack of problems mine had. I'm just telling what happened to me to give a balanced view of 3200 ownership. I hope it helps someone from having the horrendous problems I had. The other thing to bear in mind is residual values which even compared to TVR are scary.

[chris_n]

flasher said:

However, let me give you one example of why a 996 is so much better. Porsche 996 Carrera 4 99V list new: 59K value now £40K Maserati 3200GTA 2000V list new £65K value now £20-25K

Don't disagree with your numbers, but you could also equally argue that they are precisely why the 3200 makes such a good second hand buy. Let some other bugger take the initial hit on the depreciation and pick up a bargain!


I think the Porsche probably is the easy/sensible buy, but for many, me included, that works against it. I've got a sensible reliable(ish!) everyday car and the 3200 is pure indulgence. The fact that it is so unusual is part of the appeal.

There certainly seems to be a concensus amongst 3200 owners on here that they signed up for something a little less easy to live with than a 996, but the pay-off is the specialness/individuality of the experience.

I've certainly had some not insignificant niggles with mine. The main one being an electronics gremlin that kept the car off the road for longer than I think it should have, but I would still buy the car all over again knowing what I know now.

It's a shame your car has ultimately not worked out but at least it seems like you have some good memories out of it.

Chris

[sek]

Sounds like you suffered from a dodgy dealer if they sold you a car without a red key. I'm not surprised that you are so hacked off. The depreciation is pretty grim, especially if you buy new, but it does level off after a couple of years, which makes them good used buys.