Guy
Member
- Messages
- 2,166
After almost three years the QPV 4.7 GTS is gone. 24k miles, 2 services, more tyres than I can remember and many very happy memories! The good news is that its place in the Carcoon has been taken by a new toy; more of that to follow. More good news is that Richard Grace is currently selling the car so it is now someone else's turn to discover the pleasures of one of the last QPVs https://www.richardgracecars.co.uk/for-sale/maserati-quattroporte-sport-gts/261 .
Those who read my earlier reports will know that this was my first time away from a long list of high performance German machinery and I only wish I had done it sooner. Apart from its rarity, the extraordinary noise and sense of occasion I enjoyed every time I took it out, the main contrast was the way that the car works with the driver to carve its way across country with little effort and much reward, not relying on brutish turbocharged torque or electronics to manage unhelpful weight distribution. So what did I learn?
It has to be the most beautiful saloon on the road; time and familiarity never eroded my opinion.
It can be used as an everyday car – mine did for its first year and it never failed to start or let me down once.
It generates a genuinely enthusiastic response from all types, enthusiasts or not. Just be prepared to be engaged at petrol stations or car parks!
Maserati parts pricing is absurd and possibly a major contributor to the small marketplace for used examples and hence depreciation! Over £500 for brake pads! (I opted for EBCs at £100), £7000 for cats (fortunately mine were replaced under warranty!). I wonder if it is the same with the newer mainstream cars like the Ghibli, QPVI and Levante?
We are fortunate to have a network of independent specialists who seem genuinely enthusiastic about the marque and are always open to share their knowledge. I am sure there are more but I have had the privilege of dealing with FTech, Emblem and of course Richard Grace, who helped convince me in the first place. I doubt there's a QPV or GTS in the UK he doesn't know! I have bought more than 60 cars over the past 36 years from specialists and main dealers and standards vary but I would not hesitate to use Richard again, in fact I did when he sourced my new Maserati, a 2014 GTS MC Shift. The passion for Maserati continues!
Those who read my earlier reports will know that this was my first time away from a long list of high performance German machinery and I only wish I had done it sooner. Apart from its rarity, the extraordinary noise and sense of occasion I enjoyed every time I took it out, the main contrast was the way that the car works with the driver to carve its way across country with little effort and much reward, not relying on brutish turbocharged torque or electronics to manage unhelpful weight distribution. So what did I learn?
It has to be the most beautiful saloon on the road; time and familiarity never eroded my opinion.
It can be used as an everyday car – mine did for its first year and it never failed to start or let me down once.
It generates a genuinely enthusiastic response from all types, enthusiasts or not. Just be prepared to be engaged at petrol stations or car parks!
Maserati parts pricing is absurd and possibly a major contributor to the small marketplace for used examples and hence depreciation! Over £500 for brake pads! (I opted for EBCs at £100), £7000 for cats (fortunately mine were replaced under warranty!). I wonder if it is the same with the newer mainstream cars like the Ghibli, QPVI and Levante?
We are fortunate to have a network of independent specialists who seem genuinely enthusiastic about the marque and are always open to share their knowledge. I am sure there are more but I have had the privilege of dealing with FTech, Emblem and of course Richard Grace, who helped convince me in the first place. I doubt there's a QPV or GTS in the UK he doesn't know! I have bought more than 60 cars over the past 36 years from specialists and main dealers and standards vary but I would not hesitate to use Richard again, in fact I did when he sourced my new Maserati, a 2014 GTS MC Shift. The passion for Maserati continues!
