Help! Anyone have any knowledge of this Granturismo?

[allandwf]

Obviously see people they think have money!

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Thanks again guys.
I'm not exactly turned off this car, IF the price was what you suggested it ought to be and ALL other things being equal.
I'll throw in an offer of £22-£23k, time limited and see if he bites.

 

[allandwf]

Seems like a reasonable plan. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[rockits]

How can head gaskets cost 2k.... aren't they just....well......... a gasket?

 

[Wack61]

How can head gaskets cost 2k.... aren't they just....well......... a gasket?

One of the posters on the pistonheads thread is a Bentley technician , 9k service bills aren't uncommon , from what I read Bentley haven't authorised stripping of the engine so apart from service items nothing is available outside the dealer network, probably never will be , who's going to tool up to make a head gasket they might only sell a handful a year of

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Seems like a reasonable plan. Good luck and keep us informed.

No dice unfortunately.

 

[iainw]

You will definitely get a decent non cat GT 4.2 for close to 25 if you bargain hard.
You are right to pass on this one..

 

[voicey]

RAC and AA inspections are rather limited from my experience...not much more than a MOT.

Agreed. Please pay the extra and get the car checked out by someone who knows the brand. These cars can hide thousands in deferred maintenance.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Thanks guys. Good to know.
And, yep, it's that deferred maintenance that's always at the back of my mind, as well as all the possible money pit areas I can't see.
As Donald Rumsfeld famously said, it's about the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.
If anyone does trip over a possibility, that they consider worth following up, do give me a shout.

 

[Wack61]

No dice unfortunately.

Depending on how desperate he is to sell it I'd wait a few weeks then contact him again if you haven't found anything

I'd also give dicky grace a ring and leave your number and budget , he has a magic wand when it comes to maserati sourcing , he may know of something in the trade

 

[Contigo]

Show him this thread and see how he feels about selling it at the price it is currently

 

[zagatoes30]

The Bentley W12 engine is the same basic block as the W8 in the Passat with an extra bank of 4 and the Veyron is the same again with an additional 4.

This engine configuration has lots of failings and is extremely expensive to repair as only VW hold parts. My W8 Passat had a misfire which needed the head to come off to find the problem. VW insist on replacing the cam chains and guides when a head comes off at a cool £3k plus labour. So I can imagine the Bentley is no cheaper.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Thanks again guys. Going to follow up on all your suggestions, plus I have my own guy 'in the trade' keeping an ear to the ground

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Hello again guys. Been noodling on various Granturismo options and would welcome some more advice.
Firstly, does anyone have any experience with Simon Chambers in Belfast. According to recommendations,
he's a highly regarded Maserati Indie.
I've stumbled upon an 08 Granturismo, with full main dealer service history, a decent colour combination and 80k mileage
for around £25k. Intending to see it this weekend. My other question is. Assuming everything checks out with the
car and as far as I can ascertain, no big expenditure is imminent, should I necessarily run away from a car with
this kind of mileage? Does reliability fall off a cliff with high mileage, no matter how good the maintenance regime?
I have a solid 4x4 as a daily driver, so will only be doing a few thousand miles a year in the Granturismo.

 

[CatmanV2]

Mine has 80K on it. I love it
Check that
Variators have been done. Seriously
Springs
Drop links
Exhaust manifolds (they crack)
Cam cover gaskets weep.


Other things that I've had:
Full alignment was needed
Alternator was over charging
Oil pressure sender was weeping
ABS sensor


Think that covers most of the non-obvious bits. You probably want to get a full diagnostic read out. Thos ABS sensors sting a bit since you have to replace the entire hub with bearing.

C

 

[ChrisQP09]

Hello again guys. Been noodling on various Granturismo options and would welcome some more advice.
Firstly, does anyone have any experience with Simon Chambers in Belfast. According to recommendations,
he's a highly regarded Maserati Indie.
I've stumbled upon an 08 Granturismo, with full main dealer service history, a decent colour combination and 80k mileage
for around £25k. Intending to see it this weekend. My other question is. Assuming everything checks out with the
car and as far as I can ascertain, no big expenditure is imminent, should I necessarily run away from a car with
this kind of mileage? Does reliability fall off a cliff with high mileage, no matter how good the maintenance regime?
I have a solid 4x4 as a daily driver, so will only be doing a few thousand miles a year in the Granturismo.

Simon Chambers trained @ CH Ferrari so far as I understand. My advice would be to call into CH Ferrari and have a word with the Maserati sales guy, if the funds are in place they could source you an example from within the network if you would be willing to finance 5-10k on top.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Cheers Catman. That's very helpful. I don't know yet, whether the maintenance has been preventative, reactive or deferred (don't suspect this), so I'll make sure to cover these items.

 

[CatmanV2]

Cheers Catman. That's very helpful. I don't know yet, whether the maintenance has been preventative, reactive or deferred (don't suspect this), so I'll make sure to cover these items.

No worries. I'm rather of the opinion that you simply can't buy a GT at this price without being ready for some spending. I was ready, as was Beau when he bought his for about the same price. Having said that I've had more issues with mine due to circumstance than with the car itself.
Mine had a full MD service history as well, but as you rightfully imply, there's no way of telling if things have been put off, even if you have the invoices etc.

Is there a link to an ad?

C

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Thanks Chris. I'm just about to take three years out to retrain as a leadership psychologist, so although I'll be doing the odd bit of consultancy work to top up my income, I don't want to add finance to the mix for this purchase. I know I'm not doing this the smartest way. But, if I can de-risk it sufficiently, I can cover most eventualities out of income, if that makes sense.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Yep, I'll post the link, when I get to my laptop. Travelling atm