its that time of year again!!

[snazza]

HI Chaps,
well its about that time of the year where i like to shake things up and change motor.... having owned porsche (nice but a bit dull), TVR (great fun, but nightmare to live with) and various rice rockets over the years (again like porsche nice but a little dull)I think its about time to dip my toe in the italian water!!!.....had a drive in my friends Maser 3200, and absolutley loved it ....so that, or rather the 4200, is a definate possibility......budget is going to be between 35 - 50k ......just wondered if any of you could steer me in the right direction. For info I live in central london....and only really get to drive at weekends...also motor will be left on the street ...so I think anything to exotic is probably out of the question.
Many thanks in advance,

Pete

[mr_tony]

If you can stretch to a Gransport you won't regret it!
Like all these things however would recommend a series of test drives in anything you think is a possiblity, and then take it from there

[snazza]

Thanks Mr Tony, being a bit of a numptie when it comnes to the massers ...is there any particular site I can look at to get all the model info/reviews etc?

[mr_tony]

Well check out McNabs profile, speak to maserati3200GT on here who has a 3200 and a gransport on order. Also get yourself down to your nearest franchised Ferrari / Maserati dealer have a chat and a test drive.

Asically the 3200 is an awesome car, but it is flawed - chassis not brilliant (compared to a 911).

4200 - slightly better built than 3200, runs 4.2V8 rather than 3.2 TT like 3200. Owners of both 4200 and 3200 seem to think 42 is more livable day to day.

Gransport is final iteration of 4200 - it's better set up than the 4200, mostly down to suspension I guess. Also got another 5-10bhp, and looks the mutts nuts too. Interior is fantstic on all models and should really be demonstrated to just about every car designer going that this is how it should be done in a GT car...

see my profile for 3200 running costs etc. I'd expect a 4200 / Gransport to be remarkably similar (if a little cheaper perhaps)...

[snazza]

Thank you very much Mr T ......very comprehensive .....I must say the 4200 is edging the 3200 oput of the picture a little now .....will be popping down to HR Owens this weekend for a shufty

[3200gt]

Both really nice cars, but only the 3200 has THE lights.

[David A]

And of course bear in mind you might not like the cambicorsa first test drive out, but once you've had it in the maser for a bit you won't go back to a manual. It just takes some getting used to.

Dave

p.s. I'm beginning to wonder what to get next, had a 3200, got a 4200 spider, if I got a prancing pony then I'd need another car for client work...ah well its a year away at least

[brandeego]

I'm in the same position. I went from an Impreza to an Evo to a Tuscan. with the Japs you seem to get used to the car very quickly, have it modified and still feel there is something missing. The TVR has the exitement, but is a lot more difficult to live with on a day to basis than I had hoped for. I have considered the usual replacements from the extreme of a Caterham, via a Noble and have arrived at the conclusion that a Maserati is the only "sensible" choice.

I have recently tested a Spyder and Coupe, both Cambiocorsa. You seem to get a lot of car for the money. My budget is at the bottom end of £30-35,000. The difficulty is in deciding whether to go for a spyder or coupe. My heart tells me to go for the spyder, whilst my head says the coupe because it will be more usable. The heart won last time with the TVR. I may be sensible this time.

I was always put off Maserati because of the reputation. Pretty stupid as I ended up with a TVR. I must say the build quality of the 4200 seems very good, but then anything after a TVR would.

A lot of the cars in my price range have a mileage of 20,000 plus. I gather the cam service is due at 30,000 miles and will cost about £2,000 at a main dealer. Are there any good independents who could do the work at a lower cost? I also gather that the clutch is likely to need replacing at about 20,000 miles at a cost of about £1,500. It seems that it would be better to buy a car for a little over budget with a lower mileage, spending the cost of cam and clutch on a newer better example.

Is there anything else I should consider when choosing? Are some options more desirable than others? It seems that all have Skyhook and satnav fitted.

Any advice would be appreciated as I want to get it right this time.

[johnnyboy225]

Snazza,

Echo what David A says above, you may take a while to get used to the Cambiocorsa on the 4200 - but you will, and you will NOT wanna turn back (IMHO)....

I'm STILL having enormous amounts of fun in mine (childishly giggling/grinning every drive - after 3 months of ownership!!!)

Brandeego - as far as reliability goes, all I can offer is to report that mine has been my daily drive for the last three months (except for a few days of snow over xmas), and has been perfect.

HTH

[Twin Turbo]

Nice choice down at my local car dealer

www.maseratidealers.com/maranello/egham/maseratistock.php

[luciano]

snazza said:

For info I live in central london....and only really get to drive at weekends...also motor will be left on the street ...so I think anything to exotic is probably out of the question.

My thoughts entirely.

However two weeks ago during a walk through Mayfair, I found a road with numerous Aston's, Porsches and a Bentley. Parked on the street, on the same stretch of road... unbelievable. I didn't think people did that..

[tiny]

Just before Christmas, I bought an 04 Coupe CC with under 5K miles from a main dealer for a little over £40K.According to the dealer, the 04 model has a number of significant improvements over the 03 production year.

I chose the Coupe over the 3200 primarily because I wanted the Ferrari built V8 and a later car.I didn't go with the Gransport because IMHO they were a lot more money ( around £55k) for not a lot of gain.In addition I didn't personally like either the side sills or the fabric dash.

Whatever you go with, I would recommend that you invest in a Tubi exhaust - this makes an appreciable improvement in sound quality.

Best of luck with your search.