Maserati 3200 GT: Spotted
A sub £10k Maserati always sounds too good to be true. And it probably is
This business of buying a really interesting old car for the sort of money that wouldn't buy you a new car - say £10k - is all very well, but if you've only got that much to spend on a car are you going to have the wherewithal to be able to pay the running costs an older and more exotic car will doubtless demand? Actually, that's your affair - we don't care. After all, our job is merely to tempt your appetite, and yours is to control it.
However, before you do control it take a look at this Maserati 3200 GT we've found in the classifieds. A good-looking and popular car, the 3200 GT, but this one is of course featured here because of its bargain-basement price tag: £9995. Dare you take the plunge on something so richly furnished and convincingly badged and yet so goddam cheap?
The car in the ad certainly makes a convincing case for itself, and you can't diss a 3200 GT, especially one with the boomerang rear lights. The engine is its heart, though. Under that elegant bonnet the 90-degree 3.2-litre V8 uses two IHI turbochargers with air-to-air intercoolers, and each of the V8's cylinder banks has double overhead camshafts, and each cylinder has four valves, so all the boxes are ticked there then.
Along with Magneti Marelli fuel injection, this engine offers 370hp at 6,250rpm and 376lb ft of torque at 4,500rpm. You can expect performance from this four-speed Automatica version to be in the order of 5.7 seconds 0 to 60mph, and a top speed of 168mph flat out. In other words, that'll do, pig, that'll do.
What won't do, of course, in the real world, is the potential for huge expenditure. For God's sake make sure it's got a full service history and the cambelt's been changed regularly, because even a small thing like the throttle body is a known - and £2000 - weak spot. In fact nearly every part on this magnificent-looking beast will be expensive to replace or repair, so expect it to cost a fortune to run, and just putting fuel in it and servicing it and taxing it will probably cost you more annually than the average third-world budget.
But if you can only afford a £10k car and you bought this one I would think you a man or woman of infinite style. I might even drive you to the bankruptcy hearing.
Mark Pearson
SPECIFICATION - MASERATI 3200GT
Engine: 3,217cc, twin turbo V8
Transmission: four-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 370@6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 376@4,500rpm
MPG: 17
CO2: 388g/km
First registered: 1999
Recorded mileage: 76,000miles
Price new: £60,575
Yours for: £9995
All 3200GTs have boomerang rear lights. The later Coupe/4200 which has more conventional lights is a different car, just based on the same shell and interior.
"...make sure it's got a full service history and the cambelt's been changed regularly"
You would be insane to buy one without a full inspection from a specialist who can check for all the known signs of trouble (like "end-float")
"...just putting fuel in it and servicing it and taxing it will probably cost you more annually than the average third-world budget."
The servicing will. Budget £3000 a year for servicing regardless of mileage. Fuel is no different from any similar car. Tax on a 1999 registered car will be the same as any other post 1978 but pre-2001 car with more than a 1.5 litre engine ie £235 a year. The 2001 registered cars had a number of improvements and are reputed to be slightly less unreliable but the tax will be a bit more (£330).
Love it, A.G, and glad your 4200 has been kind to you. I ignored my own advice in my post above as I didn't bother with an inspection and bought the first 3200GT I saw. But then my first proper service cost £8,000...
The £3k a year I mentioned is for the 3200, which is more expensive to run with cambelt change every 3 years and generally more bits dropping off. I've had mine for nearly 10 years and haven't spent anything like £30k but you should still BUDGET for £3k a year. (I'm terrified the fact I've spent less means the balance is coming at the next service!)
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