Maserati 3200 how are they to live with?
Discussion
maserati 3200
Can anyone tell me about these stunning looking machines in terms of how the drive perform in the real world reliability and any common issues they may have and running costs I quite fancy the idea of them but can’t seem to find much out about them.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1954371.htm
Can anyone tell me about these stunning looking machines in terms of how the drive perform in the real world reliability and any common issues they may have and running costs I quite fancy the idea of them but can’t seem to find much out about them.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1954371.htm
Blib! (There are quite a few 3200/4200 owners on here I believe)
FWIW The main thing that always sticks in my head from looking into them was an advert for a 3200GT that read something like:
Maserati 3200GT
VGC FSH
£12,000 ono
Bills for £6,000 of work in the last year ...
(It probably said more but I stopped reading at that point)
I had a serious look at an immaculate 55 plate Gran Sport - Black with special order leather interior. Looked (and sounded) fantastic. Heart very nearly ruled head sat in that thing, but then head kicked in and I started asking questions about servicing/running costs etc. I ultimately walked away when I was told that it was normal for warning lights to come on for no reason etc. Lovely cars, but like any V8 exotic, you will need deep pockets. Running a V8 as a daily driver is great, you just have to shrug your shoulders and accept that it hurts the wallet.
been there done that got t shirt etc.
view profiles of owners on here to get an idea of costs and search the fml forum here for this topic as it is covered regularly..
in the end its a 4seat itallian supercar, so expect the same costs as running an f360 of similar vintage.
I loved mine and would love another to keep but you will not find a cheap one that is good unless you are very lucky.
smart money goes to the gransport which is holding its value well...
view profiles of owners on here to get an idea of costs and search the fml forum here for this topic as it is covered regularly..
in the end its a 4seat itallian supercar, so expect the same costs as running an f360 of similar vintage.
I loved mine and would love another to keep but you will not find a cheap one that is good unless you are very lucky.
smart money goes to the gransport which is holding its value well...
Seems like the usual PH scare stories and misinformation being touted about.
I wont argue that these are cheap cars to maintain, but if you find a decent independant, you'll be very surprised at the running costs and the reliability is not too bad either.
In fact the 4200 I had was far more reliable than the Jag XKR and Aston DB7 I'd had previously. If youve got a TVR the maser should be a comparative walk in the park
In the two years of ownership, I spent a couple of hundred a year on servicing and a new clutch at £1200...thats it!
As for not feeling very fast, the 3200 was renowned for its non subtle power delivery. When those turbos kick in Id best describe it as "savage"!
Id suggest you get yourself over to http://www.maseratiforum.co.uk/ to get a real feel for these cars before discounting.
I wont argue that these are cheap cars to maintain, but if you find a decent independant, you'll be very surprised at the running costs and the reliability is not too bad either.
In fact the 4200 I had was far more reliable than the Jag XKR and Aston DB7 I'd had previously. If youve got a TVR the maser should be a comparative walk in the park
In the two years of ownership, I spent a couple of hundred a year on servicing and a new clutch at £1200...thats it!
As for not feeling very fast, the 3200 was renowned for its non subtle power delivery. When those turbos kick in Id best describe it as "savage"!
Id suggest you get yourself over to http://www.maseratiforum.co.uk/ to get a real feel for these cars before discounting.
Edited by Aeroresh on Saturday 14th August 09:17
I ran one for about a year without any trauma.
Mine an auto so dead easy to drive.
I got loads of positive comments,especially from slightly older guys who had respect for the Maserati name I think..
The paintwork on mine wasn't the best and bugged me to the point of falling out with it.
Wasn't the cars fault of course but previous owners/dealer bodges.
Mine an auto so dead easy to drive.
I got loads of positive comments,especially from slightly older guys who had respect for the Maserati name I think..
The paintwork on mine wasn't the best and bugged me to the point of falling out with it.
Wasn't the cars fault of course but previous owners/dealer bodges.
My friend has had one for nearly 2 years. An early manual one.
He loves it, but it does have electric gremlins setting off engine warning lights intermittantly for no reason at all.
Sometimes it goes into get you home mode, and when you restart it then its fine!
Think of it as an expensive Alfa!
He loves it, but it does have electric gremlins setting off engine warning lights intermittantly for no reason at all.
Sometimes it goes into get you home mode, and when you restart it then its fine!
Think of it as an expensive Alfa!
Aeroresh said:
Seems like the usual PH scare stories and misinformation being touted about.
I wont argue that these are cheap cars to maintain, but if you find a decent independant, you'll be very surprised at the running costs and the reliability is not too bad either.
In fact the 4200 I had was far more reliable than the Jag XKR and Aston DB7 I'd had previously. If youve got a TVR the maser should be a comparative walk in the park
In the two years of ownership, I spent a couple of hundred a year on servicing and a new clutch at £1200...thats it!
As for not feeling very fast, the 3200 was renowned for its non subtle power delivery. When those turbos kick in Id best describe it as "savage"!
Id suggest you get yourself over to http://www.maseratiforum.co.uk/ to get a real feel for these cars before discounting.
Cheers good to hear from people who have owned these cars and i could not see how twin turbo 380bhp can be slow I wont argue that these are cheap cars to maintain, but if you find a decent independant, you'll be very surprised at the running costs and the reliability is not too bad either.
In fact the 4200 I had was far more reliable than the Jag XKR and Aston DB7 I'd had previously. If youve got a TVR the maser should be a comparative walk in the park
In the two years of ownership, I spent a couple of hundred a year on servicing and a new clutch at £1200...thats it!
As for not feeling very fast, the 3200 was renowned for its non subtle power delivery. When those turbos kick in Id best describe it as "savage"!
Id suggest you get yourself over to http://www.maseratiforum.co.uk/ to get a real feel for these cars before discounting.
Edited by Aeroresh on Saturday 14th August 09:17
i think i will continue my research. Thanks againScotty
musclecarmad said:
i'm now 25 which was about 8 years ago so around mid 2002. Myself and my best mate wanted to turn up to this college event in a nice car and at the time a Maserati 3200 in dark blue seemed to fit the bill nicely - funnily enough that's the car he had .
When you was 17 your best mate had a Masarati. (Why isn't there a shocked smilie??).. reggie82 said:
musclecarmad said:
i'm now 25 which was about 8 years ago so around mid 2002. Myself and my best mate wanted to turn up to this college event in a nice car and at the time a Maserati 3200 in dark blue seemed to fit the bill nicely - funnily enough that's the car he had .
When you was 17 your best mate had a Masarati. (Why isn't there a shocked smilie??).. 
Not sure really.
Edited by soprano on Saturday 14th August 22:13
A friend got one about 18 months ago. It did seem unreliable, frequent little niggles, plenty of electrical gremlins, which seemed to constantly spoil his enjoyment. Parts costs were pretty eye watering considering the cost of the car (I think he spent £5k in a year on a car which set him back maybe £18k) but then I suppose this is part of the reason why they are so cheap in the first place. The main thing that put me off though was the length of time it was off the road with little problems, almost all parts seemed to take 10 days+ to come in, sometimes 3 weeks.
I came very very close to buying a 3200 myself. To be honest you will be much better off getting the 4200 as these are meant to have solved a lot the problems the 3200 suffered from. (In fact I fancy one myself).
Even if all that is written above doesn't put you off, just try finding a good one. I looked at the 6 most expensive cars on autotrader (out of the 20-30 advertised at the time) and all bar one were sheds and the one that wasn't a shed was the highest price and had the highest mileage, the wrong colour and still needed money spending on it. Unless you live very close to a specialist I really wouldn't consider it. I got to a place where whatever car I got, I was going to have to spend ~£5K on an overhaul just to get it into a state I was happy for a (at the time) ~£20K car to be in.
As for feeling slow, I've driven a reasonable number of fast cars and the 3200 really does feel like a weapon. Forget the on paper specs, you have to completely change your driving style to adapt to the power delivery.
Even if all that is written above doesn't put you off, just try finding a good one. I looked at the 6 most expensive cars on autotrader (out of the 20-30 advertised at the time) and all bar one were sheds and the one that wasn't a shed was the highest price and had the highest mileage, the wrong colour and still needed money spending on it. Unless you live very close to a specialist I really wouldn't consider it. I got to a place where whatever car I got, I was going to have to spend ~£5K on an overhaul just to get it into a state I was happy for a (at the time) ~£20K car to be in.
As for feeling slow, I've driven a reasonable number of fast cars and the 3200 really does feel like a weapon. Forget the on paper specs, you have to completely change your driving style to adapt to the power delivery.
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