Maserati Coupé

[Shant J.]

I just realized that a well-sorted Maserati could be had for under $30,000. I could see myself picking one up in a few years. What are your opinions on the car?

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

Its one thing to be able to buy the car out right, and another for maintenance, insurance etc. Pretty awesome car though, but for that price range, why not just get a C6 Corvette, or better yet a Viper if you find one cheap enough.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

Those cars did not age very well...nor are they very durable. Any example with more than 30,000 miles will show significant wear on the driver's seat. For some reason, these cars and certain Ferraris (looking at you 550/575) do not take well to people actually using the car. The bubbly & curvy styling on the exterior screams early 90's. The interior screams late 80's. It's cool b/c it's a Maserati. Take off the badge and I think it would be a hideous car. It's kinda like a slower, more forgetful, and less appealing Jag XKR that'll cost more to own.

I've never researched them much since I've always been horrified at the amount of wear and tear the interior takes. It's as if the previous owners wore 300grit driving suits and gloves. And sitting in an auction lot parked next to a Jag, Audi, MB, etc...it's always the ugly friend that the hot chick brought to the party.

$30k burning a hole in your pocket? Buy an air-cooled (pre-1974 if possible) 911. Those things will always be cool, always look good, and someone will always be willing to buy it if you decide to sell it later on. Very charming cars.

 

[Joey D]

I have no idea how old you are, but I'm guessing you are fairly young. The insurance on a car like that would be hella high for anyone under the age of thirty barring they had a spotless driving record.

$30,000 will buy you a better, more durable car that is more sensible with the insurance. You wouldn't have to sacrifice fun, sportiness or image either. Plus there are a ton of cars that are not offensively hideous like the Maser. And you would also have to consider the maintenance on something like that, you would almost have to take it to an import speciality shop or a Maserati/Ferrari dealership to get the thing serviced and none of that is ever cheap.

 

[Dan_]

Expensive to keep, not that appealing and in entire honesty, looks bland.

There are many better options at 30 grand to consider, however to pick one wisely you should first determine exactly what you're looking for.

I echo BrutherSuperior's comment on a vintage 911. It's the kind of car that never gets old or uninspirative, a true timeless classic.

 

[Shant J.]

Though the car is somewhat bland to look at, it's a great GT, with amazing sounds under the bonnet, and a sumptuous interior.

I do love 911s, but it's hard to beat the appeal of a high-revving Ferrari V8. I imagine I would use it only as a weekend driver, and would insure it as such.

 

[astrosdude91]

These early V8/GranSports are cheap for a reason: absolutely pittiful gearbox. Avoid. Sure it would be cool to say you own a Maserati, but not if you can never drive it.

 

[Joey D]

These early V8/GranSports are cheap for a reason: absolutely pittiful gearbox. Avoid. Sure it would be cool to say you own a Maserati, but not if you can never drive it.

I give you a quote from Jeremy Clarkson to drive the point home:

"In a list of the five most rubbish things in the world, I’d have America’s foreign policy at five. Aids at four. Iran’s nuclear programme at three. Gordon Brown at two and Maserati’s gearbox at number one. It is that bad." - JC

 

[Jim Prower]

It's not like the flat-plane twin fours, it'll sound more like an American V8 engine, so don't be thinking it'll sound anything like a Ferrari.

You can do much better for the price. Hell, a Mustang would be more useable than this old thing.

 

[Shant J.]

I give you a quote from Jeremy Clarkson to drive the point home:

"In a list of the five most rubbish things in the world, I’d have America’s foreign policy at five. Aids at four. Iran’s nuclear programme at three. Gordon Brown at two and Maserati’s gearbox at number one. It is that bad." - JC

Was that in reference to the CambioCorsa, or the manual?

Also, I've heard the engine, and I have no complaints. I intend to buy one a few years down the line, when, hopefully, they'll be even cheaper.

I realize that maintenance is expensive, but I don't plan to drive it daily.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

I intend to buy one a few years down the line, when, hopefully, they'll be even cheaper.

Buy real estate or start a business instead. No one ever got rich buying out-of-warranty 15 year old Italian gran touring cars. In fact, I'd wager that's a recipe for becoming quite poor.

If you have that kinda cash burning a hole in your pocket in a few years, use it to make more money so you can buy a NEW Maserati...and a boat...houses...concubines...you get the idea.

 

[Shant J.]

Buy real estate or start a business instead. No one ever got rich buying out-of-warranty 15 year old Italian gran touring cars. In fact, I'd wager that's a recipe for becoming quite poor.

If you have that kinda cash burning a hole in your pocket in a few years, use it to make more money so you can buy a NEW Maserati...and a boat...houses...concubines...you get the idea.

I don't buy cars as investments, only for pleasure.

Also, new Maseratis don't offer a traditional manual transmission, which is a must for me. That's a real shame, as I find the GranTurismo to be gorgeous.

 

[Keef]

Terrible car. They're only worth $30,000 for a reason.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

I don't buy cars as investments, only for pleasure.

Money can't buy happiness...but misery is free.

Wouldn't it just suck if you plunked down $30k and a few months later you need $6,000 worth of repairs/maintenance? Not real pleasing to have a car you cannot afford to keep on the road.

I've seen this scenario with other maintenance nightmares (MBs, Bi-Turbo S4's, etc) where the owner could not afford the car payment & insurance along with the $500+ they'd have to spend in monthly repairs. That's a recipe for depression right there. Polishing/waxing your pride and joy while you wait a couple paychecks to have someone fix the mysterious cooling leak you can't get to b/c you do not have access to the tools needed.

**** that.

I'd rather see someone invest $30,000 in themselves before they do the same in an old car that's a known basketcase. Get rich and change your cars like you do your women...or is it socks/underwear? Who cares. Financial security is much more pleasing than owning a vehicle that may bankrupt you if the wrong belt snaps.

 

[McLaren]

A good Coupe will run you $40,000+. That's going to be hard to find. Anything under is pushing well over 20,000 miles on the odo, & at that point, you're asking for maintenance troubles. These engines aren't built to withstand that sort of mileage without incredibly expensive, routine maintenance.

The only Coupe you should be looking at is the GranSport, and good luck having nice one for under $60,000. At that point, the cars starting passing 12-15,000 miles & you're right back into the maintenance fees as before, even more expensive.

A good, & I mean really good Coupe will be a 2006 GranSport for $65-70,000. At that price range, the cars will have around 7,000 or less miles & still be in relatively mint condition.
Beyond that will be the 90th Anniversary, LE, & MC editions. But, they don't come on the market often & are the only models that will retain their value.

I'd say a Viper, NSX, or Corvette would do you better, but personally, the NSX & the Viper would be better bought with $35-40K to spare. Under that, & you start taking on the possibility of maintenance issues with them as well.

 

[Mr. CoolFiat]

This is the kind of car you RENT for a party... and then you go back to your old sensible Toyota. Nothing else to do with a worn-out Maser...

 

[Shant J.]

If you say so . . .

 

[Azuremen]

I was going to suggest an NSX if you want an interesting and exotic car for $30,000. Far more reliable than anything Italian. But even for under 30, you'll still have to keep an eye out for maintenance issues, and an NSX will have considerably more miles at that price.

Also, according to BrutherSuperior, no one should buy anything unless they have invested all their money first. Or something like that. I wouldn't mind him too much.

 

[McLaren]

I was going to suggest an NSX if you want an interesting and exotic car for $30,000. Far more reliable than anything Italian. But even for under 30, you'll still have to keep an eye out for maintenance issues, and an NSX will have considerably more miles at that price.

Also, according to BrutherSuperior, no one should buy anything unless they have invested all their money first. Or something like that. I wouldn't mind him too much.

I'm going to admit, I laughed when the majority of his first post against the purchase was about how much wear the interior gets or the styling. Because that's what Shant needs to be looking for if he wants to purchase one.

 

[chepu]

The Mainteneance Fees on these kind of cars are Reaally Expensive, and Not only that but spares, and assuming thats the kind of engine that isnt made to last, Messing with engine internals and gearbox is something expensive and complicated.

I suggest some Japanese Sports Car, like a Supra, or some used Bmw M3.

 

[ExigeEvan]

It's a shame you don't have the option of Alfa Romeo really. It would tick all the boxes that Maser' does and leave you some spare cash for the maintenance bill. Ah well, get one and learn the hard way I guess.

 

[Tornado]

This car runs into the exact same set of problems that every other Ferrari-engined non-Ferrari runs into. The car isn't worth anything because it isn't a Ferrari, but it still costs as much as a Ferrari to maintain.

In addition, the Coupe itself was never a particularly good car in the first place. It was bland to look at, bland to drive and basically just meh all around. There were several cars that were better to own when the Maserati was new, and several years later when they have depreciated like a stone there are even more to choose from. If you really want something in that segment in the low 30k area, you might as well look for an NSX or 993/996.


For that matter, you can drop 30 grand on a new Mustang that would do practically everything better than the 4200GT could ever hope of doing. The Maserati simply isn't worth it.

 

[Shant J.]

What can I say? I like Italian V8s, but my options aren't exactly plentiful.

 

[Tornado]

Just get a Mondial or 328 or something then. At least then maintenance intervals are somewhat less frequent and considerably less expensive, and they won't depreciate any more than what they currently cost.

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

What can I say? I like Italian V8s, but my options aren't exactly plentiful.

Like people have already suggested, invest that 30k responsibly (what ever that means) and hopefully eventually you will have the financial means to be able to afford a Italian V8.

 

[Keef]

What can I say? I like Italian V8s, but my options aren't exactly plentiful.

Why? Besides the sound, they cost a fortunate to maintain, and that's if it doesn't catch on fire.

A brand new Mustang GT will do literally everything better than that Maserati, except be a Maserati. However, with the Mustang you won't have to constantly hide from people the fact that your car is indeed terrible.

The car is pathetically cheap for a reason. Because they're undesirable.

 

[McLaren]

This whole Mustang comparison needs to stop. Might as well tell people to buy goddamn Corvettes instead of Vipers, M3s, & NSXs just because they'll do everything better than them too. Why buy anything over $100,000.

It's not a case of what will do anything better than the Maserati. It's the fact that it's the OP's dream car. If he really wants one though, he needs to invest more than $30K for a decent modem.

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

This whole Mustang comparison needs to stop. Might as well tell people to buy goddamn Corvettes instead of Vipers, M3s, & NSXs just because they'll do everything better than them too. Why buy anything over $100,000.

It's not a case of what will do anything better than the Maserati. It's the fact that it's the OP's dream car. If he really wants one though, he needs to invest more than $30K for a decent modem.

Kind of different in this sense. The OP is willing to spend 30k I'm assuming, so why not get a superior car for your buck? Obviously if he had a 100k to blow, People would suggesting brand new Vipers, Corvettes, maybe a 997 Carrera?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Kind of different in this sense. The OP is willing to spend 30k I'm assuming, so why not get a superior car for your buck? Obviously if he had a 100k to blow, People would suggesting brand new Vipers, Corvettes, maybe a 997 Carrera?

But how do you judge superior? Performance? Aesthetics? Interior? Appeal?

I'm not denying that a Mustang will win out in most, if not all, these areas. But OP is after a very different beast to a Mustang, so lets assume his ideals lie elsewhere.

 

[xNEVER-ONEx]

But how do you judge superior? Performance? Aesthetics? Interior? Appeal?

I'm not denying that a Mustang will win out in most, if not all, these areas. But OP is after a very different beast to a Mustang, so lets assume his ideals lie elsewhere.

He likes the sound of an Italian V8. Maybe it has to do with the fact he wants to own a Italian car.