Maserati 3200 - Pros and Cons of ownership?
Discussion
Searching around for my hypothetical (now that my savings have all gone into the mortgage fund) budget of £10k, I'm looking for Lotus Elises, early Porsche Boxsters and Honda S2000s.
I quite fancy something a bit more GT-ish, so a 993 Carrera is suggested, then a friend comes across Maserati 3200s, around the £11-12k mark.
Obviously having seen the "Supercars for ten grand" challenge on Top Gear I'm a bit wary, but they bought ropey old bangers. These seem to be around 5-8 years old, and most have full dealer or specialist service histories.
I guess what I'm asking is - what's the catch?
Just for a bit of background - I do about 300 miles a week commuting, total (including a couple of 'ring trips) around £15k a year on the main car. Missus has a car as well, and I will be keeping my 205 GTI (on a classic policy) as it's a bit special (to me!). Is a cheap Maserati an oxymoron? What can I expect to pay for an annual service? I live in Southampton, so Meridien Modena in Lyndhurst is probably closest for me. Obviously I'm prepared to make some sacrifices to own something so goddamn beautiful, but will I get stung for a £5k bill every year?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice or experience. I don't want to get carried away and think I can afford one if I obviously can't!
I quite fancy something a bit more GT-ish, so a 993 Carrera is suggested, then a friend comes across Maserati 3200s, around the £11-12k mark.
Obviously having seen the "Supercars for ten grand" challenge on Top Gear I'm a bit wary, but they bought ropey old bangers. These seem to be around 5-8 years old, and most have full dealer or specialist service histories.
I guess what I'm asking is - what's the catch?
Just for a bit of background - I do about 300 miles a week commuting, total (including a couple of 'ring trips) around £15k a year on the main car. Missus has a car as well, and I will be keeping my 205 GTI (on a classic policy) as it's a bit special (to me!). Is a cheap Maserati an oxymoron? What can I expect to pay for an annual service? I live in Southampton, so Meridien Modena in Lyndhurst is probably closest for me. Obviously I'm prepared to make some sacrifices to own something so goddamn beautiful, but will I get stung for a £5k bill every year?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice or experience. I don't want to get carried away and think I can afford one if I obviously can't!
As I've just said on another thread in this section, these are not cheap cars to run; I've spent more on my 3200 than all my four Porsches combined! But hey, when they work, as mine has most of the time, only stranding me once in 3.5 years when the starting motor died, they are fantastic! Just be prepared for the unexpected bills, and I see you will do a huge milage compared to what mine goes through, so beware I guess.
You could have a Maserati and not fork out any extra money other than tyres Service etc. But then you could end up paying an absolute fortune.
I live near Southampton and use Emblem in Bournemouth, alot better value than going to a main dealer, and the workmanship is better in my opinion.
I live near Southampton and use Emblem in Bournemouth, alot better value than going to a main dealer, and the workmanship is better in my opinion.
I put 20k miles on mine in the first year of ownership, but it was only 6 months old at the time, all the cost (apart from fuel circa 15-20mpg) was the first service which was a freebee as it was under warranty. I would never do that now its 9 (dear ol girl). If you cant afford between £3 -5k per annum on running costs then 3200 ownership is not for you I'm affaid. I'm not saying it WILL cost anywhere near that but it COULD!
If you take the plunge go for an auto as on that mileage you will go through clutches reasonably often and they are not cheap. Auto's, on the whole, seem to be less trouble than manuals, not quite sure why, but they do. Mine costs me about £500 - £1000 a year and I only use it very occasionally these days, but I think the good bedding in I gave it when I first got it has done it good as it has been no trouble in those 9 years.
There are a lot on things to check if you go looking for one, most of which have already been discussed on here, so I suggest you do a search. I would say however, that much of what has been said about them is scare mongering and check the poster's profile to see if they have actually owned one before taking what they say as gospel.
If you take the plunge go for an auto as on that mileage you will go through clutches reasonably often and they are not cheap. Auto's, on the whole, seem to be less trouble than manuals, not quite sure why, but they do. Mine costs me about £500 - £1000 a year and I only use it very occasionally these days, but I think the good bedding in I gave it when I first got it has done it good as it has been no trouble in those 9 years.
There are a lot on things to check if you go looking for one, most of which have already been discussed on here, so I suggest you do a search. I would say however, that much of what has been said about them is scare mongering and check the poster's profile to see if they have actually owned one before taking what they say as gospel.
Popeyed said:
As I've just said on another thread in this section, these are not cheap cars to run; I've spent more on my 3200 than all my four Porsches combined! But hey, when they work, as mine has most of the time, only stranding me once in 3.5 years when the starting motor died, they are fantastic! Just be prepared for the unexpected bills, and I see you will do a huge milage compared to what mine goes through, so beware I guess.
Which Porsches did you own? Would ownership of a 993 Carrera 4 cost less than a 3200? It'd probably do about 10,000 miles a year.There are just so many options at the £10-12k level it's hard to decide! My boss is constantly going on about his (base spec) Cayman, so getting something "above" that would be a massive coup. I know that's not a reason to spend a hell of a lot of money, but it's a definite bonus! Having seen the price of the Maserati, I cannot believe a car like that is within my reach. It's amazingly tempting.
So is the consensus that the less you use it, the cheaper it will be?
I've heard with things like TVRs and Lotii (Lotuses?) that not using it is a diseconomy. They don't like sitting around, only being used at weekends.
Not the same with the Maserati then? I could probably limit myself to a Friday-only commute and weekend use I think, which brings the annual mileage down to around 5,000. At that level can I expect say a £500 service annually, tyres every 2-3 years and a "big" service every 3-4?
I've heard with things like TVRs and Lotii (Lotuses?) that not using it is a diseconomy. They don't like sitting around, only being used at weekends.
Not the same with the Maserati then? I could probably limit myself to a Friday-only commute and weekend use I think, which brings the annual mileage down to around 5,000. At that level can I expect say a £500 service annually, tyres every 2-3 years and a "big" service every 3-4?
Errr in a word no. 5000 a year will still need regular servicing etc. And of course with a proper GT car, you have to do proper GT trips, to europe, to unrestricted autobahn, to le mans.
The costs will add up. See my profile for the costs of an 18 month old last off the line 2002 car, that covered around 16k miles in my ownership in 24 months.
Then realise that I was lucky becuase the warranty covered some of the costs listed and a whole bundle of little niggles that probably are not.
At 5k per annum - parts can and will fail, and they are no cheaper (and indeed the same parts a lot of the time) as the F456 / F550.
If you can put away 500 a month into a slush fund then it will probably see you through.
The costs will add up. See my profile for the costs of an 18 month old last off the line 2002 car, that covered around 16k miles in my ownership in 24 months.
Then realise that I was lucky becuase the warranty covered some of the costs listed and a whole bundle of little niggles that probably are not.
At 5k per annum - parts can and will fail, and they are no cheaper (and indeed the same parts a lot of the time) as the F456 / F550.
If you can put away 500 a month into a slush fund then it will probably see you through.
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