Maserati Quattroporte - Am I Mad?

[Deleted member 37751]

If you have an unlimited cheque book then go for it.

I would rather have a car that spends less time and money being repaired.

Have you owned one? What was it like?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Cant be much more than an AMG to run surely?

I'm going in expecting W215 CL65 costs...

And anything less is a bonus.

 

[jotter22]

Well you dont tend to let the grass grow with your ownership do you so put it up for sale as soon as you take delivery and take the first bit of profit offered.....Job done scratch itched Just chuck in some man math's and get it bought!

Tony.

 

[kid-jensen]

Run screaming in the other direction!

The reason people are impressed with Masers is not the georgious styling or "musical" exhaust note, it is ENTIRELY BECAUSE THEY'RE A MONEY PIT!

In the same way people are impressed with the Gin-palaces moored in Monaco Harbour, it's the percieved cost that implies the owner is stinking rich, and that's why people point and stare.

Though some of the pointers ans strarers are laughing...

Masers are not for car enthusiasts (despite what the owners will tell you) they are for posers.

All of the above said with kindness, obviously. No offence intended.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

The reason people are impressed with Masers is not the georgious styling or "musical" exhaust note, it is ENTIRELY BECAUSE THEY'RE A MONEY PIT!

Have you owned one? It seems everyone who calls them a money pit hasn't actually ever owned one?

they are for posers.

Guilty as charged.

All of the above said with kindness, obviously. No offence intended.

None taken.

 

[toffee-pie]

Run screaming in the other direction!

The reason people are impressed with Masers is not the georgious styling or "musical" exhaust note, it is ENTIRELY BECAUSE THEY'RE A MONEY PIT!

In the same way people are impressed with the Gin-palaces moored in Monaco Harbour, it's the percieved cost that implies the owner is stinking rich, and that's why people point and stare.

Though some of the pointers ans strarers are laughing...

Masers are not for car enthusiasts (despite what the owners will tell you) they are for posers.

All of the above said with kindness, obviously. No offence intended.

When I see that car I don't think of that at all, I think the owner has extremely good taste and wavers from the norm and gets something entirely different, kudos to him (do women drive these )

having said that running costs will be prohibitive to say the least so getting one vetted by a specialist should be your first port of call.

 

[kid-jensen]

......... ENTIRELY BECAUSE THEY'RE A MONEY PIT!

Have you owned one? It seems everyone who calls them a money pit hasn't actually ever owned one?

Of course not, I'm working Class!
The most a working class boy of my age should aspire to is a Jensen Interceptor, but I only kept mine for 38 years.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulG..
they are for posers.

Guilty as charged.

I'm glad you have such a balanced world view. If I bought one, that would be my primary reason

Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulG View Post
All of the above said with kindness, obviously. No offence intended.
None taken.

I should think not... To be fair, I've only met 3 Maser owners, all now ex-owners. They said the reason for getting-rid was the breakdowns and general unreliability. Worryingly, they also said they weren't actually much fun to drive either...

Mind, two now have 911s and the other one an M5, so why should I listen to them?

 

[MOR8A]

Another car on my list of potentials (as discussed with JohnEboy) but they do worry me a little. Build quality from the Italians is not always what it should be (and I have very strong Italian links and have had lots of Italian cars that are not on my signature) etc etc plus being a bit down on power to its rivals is a problem for me (I know it won't be for others and that's cool) I can't help but feeling rather mixed and confused about the brand identity. I also feel that one of the World's greatest marques is being controlled to it's detriment (on some levels) by its Fiat group owners. If only they could have survived as an independent company, I feel exactly the same about other brands too, it genuinely saddens me to tears (bit passionate about this subject )

 

[fab1975]

Another car on my list of potentials (as discussed with JohnEboy) but they do worry me a little. Build quality from the Italians is not always what it should be (and I have very strong Italian links and have had lots of Italian cars that are not on my signature) etc etc plus being a bit down on power to its rivals is a problem for me (I know it won't be for others and that's cool) I can't help but feeling rather mixed and confused about the brand identity. I also feel that one of the World's greatest marques is being controlled to it's detriment (on some levels) by its Fiat group owners. If only they could have survived as an independent company, I feel exactly the same about other brands too, it genuinely saddens me to tears (bit passionate about this subject )

Maserati and Alfa Romeo operate as a separate division within the FCA conglomerate. The CEO Harald Wester is German...just in case that is relevant ;-)

If Jaguar / Land Rover can still produce top quality cars despite being part of the Tata group, I would not be too worried about Maserati.
Definitely a Fiat 500 is much more desirable than a Tata Nano... IMHO.

If TCO was not a problem (at least under my current circumstances), I would buy a Quattroporte tomorrow!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

After having a lengthy conversation with a forum member about his QP for sale, I'm going to wait until spring to buy one because if I bought one now it'd be the wife's daily drive and it isn't really that type of car and I don't really want the ZF box, I want the proper DS one.

 

[flango]

You are not mad you are radio rental I've never owned one but repaired many when I was in the trade and hence the reason I have never owned one, the simple reason being my cajones are not big enough.

Looking back the average annual spend to keep your Mazzer in good shape £5k would be a normal figure, clutches go out of alignment more often than I go to the pub, electrics have a whole mind of their own and mention the M word and the price goes up tenfold, seat subframes rot through and god knows what sort of cows the leather comes from but it is so soft you wouldn't dare to drive it wearing jeans and you wouldn't want kids anywhere near it as it rips like tissue paper.

That said if I had a lottery win it would be the first car I would buy, the sound of the V8 is glorious and only a short whisker behind the best sounding V8 of all time which IMHO was the AGP flat plane crank used in the TVR's

All I can say mate is if your cajones are bigger than mine then go for it but make sure you drop buy our house so I can have a go

 

[poormansporsche]

Didnt Louis Walsh have one ?

 

[MOR8A]

Maserati and Alfa Romeo operate as a separate division within the FCA conglomerate. The CEO Harald Wester is German...just in case that is relevant ;-)

If Jaguar / Land Rover can still produce top quality cars despite being part of the Tata group, I would not be too worried about Maserati.
Definitely a Fiat 500 is much more desirable than a Tata Nano... IMHO.

If TCO was not a problem (at least under my current circumstances), I would buy a Quattroporte tomorrow!

That is true but I don't think that it can be denied that the Maserati brand is ''controlled'' by the Fiat group under Sergio Marchionne. Years ago Ferrari and Maserati were in direct competition that quite clearly is no longer the case, which I think is a real shame.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Looking back the average annual spend to keep your Mazzer in good shape £5k would be a normal figure, clutches go out of alignment more often than I go to the pub, electrics have a whole mind of their own and mention the M word and the price goes up tenfold, seat subframes rot through and god knows what sort of cows the leather comes from but it is so soft you wouldn't dare to drive it wearing jeans and you wouldn't want kids anywhere near it as it rips like tissue paper.

See, that's not what I'm finding; the general service costs are in supercar territory but other than the clutch in the DuoSelect (which is more to do with drivers lack of knowledge) I'm struggling to find anything "unreliable".

 

[abecketts]

You can hire a quattroporte from Sixt car rental, you could drive all weekend and either decide the scratch has been itched or go ahead and get one, initial expense reasonably small and much knowledge gain.

On holiday in Italy this summer, the folks in the next chalet had driven from the UK in one and got there without mechanical issues

 

[MOR8A]

You can indeed rent one. £500 per day (inc VAT and insurance). 300 mile limit. £1.50 per mile after that. £4000 deposit and an excess of £1500 for damage.

Approx £2000 for 7 days.

 

[daveenty]

See, that's not what I'm finding; the general service costs are in supercar territory but other than the clutch in the DuoSelect (which is more to do with drivers lack of knowledge) I'm struggling to find anything "unreliable".

That's that Duo Select issue which I read about when I was researching a while ago. I decided to chicken out and go for the full auto, which was obviously newer therefore more expensive, but would have given me peace of mind. Thinking back, this was a few years ago as I bought an S8 Audi instead, ran that for three years and then had an XFR for nearly a year. I still want one though but will stick with the E Class for now.

Appreciate what you're saying about "driver's lack of knowledge" though it all depends who has had it before you really.

I seem to remember an episode of Wheeler Dealers where they bought one (Could have been a GranTurismo but same principle) and they had issues with the throttle body sensor (I think). They found a Guru who specialised in them, working from home in his garage who stripped and modded it at a reasonable price, though I'm sure others will be aware of the same fix.

Most cars have issues at some stage in their history, some more than others, but they're all repairable. Just that some may be dearer to fettle.

Get it bought. :bannana:

 

[C240Sport97]

Maseratis' "beauty" is skin deep ..

I think of them of food that is well presented but which has no taste or which has gone off.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

That's that Duo Select issue which I read about when I was researching a while ago. I decided to chicken out and go for the full auto, which was obviously newer therefore more expensive, but would have given me peace of mind. Thinking back, this was a few years ago as I bought an S8 Audi instead, ran that for three years and then had an XFR for nearly a year. I still want one though but will stick with the E Class for now.

Appreciate what you're saying about "driver's lack of knowledge" though it all depends who has had it before you really.

And that's my point really Dave; if the clutch is taken care of it'll last 10's of thousands of miles while if the owner sits there at traffic lights in gear, it's going to last only a fraction of what it should.

To be honest, before I looked into it, I was told how unreliable the clutch was etc when that's not quite the case.

 

[PHAB]

My old man has a 2009 Mazzer QPS nettuno/avorio, it is his pride and joy and (sadly) a true garage queen. That said, he does do the same trip in it every year, around Europe about 2500 miles return in the middle of the summer and it has never missed a beat, not once in 6 trips and 15,000 odd miles. The only non routine visit to Maserati was to have the leather seen to (a lot of the glue had melted in the sunshine which resulted in erm...rather large flaps of leather around the place!) but apart from that it is as lovely as the day it was delivered. Rather amusing being told not to drive it in hot climates if you don't want to pay exorbitant amounts of money to have the leather re-glued...all part of the Maserati charm I guess!

If you can afford one go for it, they are breath taking even when compared with other Italian exotica and the noise gives you goosebumps. £5k a year seems very very steep to me, just remember...don't abuse the car and with any luck it wont abuse your wallet. Its not a car for hooliganism...