Maserati 3200 running costs

[modernclassics]

Hello all, I perhaps ought not to post this under the work account, but here goes.
I've been hankering after Alfa 156/147 GTA-shaped entertainment for a good while. Alas I'm too tall for a 156 (it has the same floor pan as the 147 but an extra set of doors, so the hatch is roomier - I'm 6ft6).
I'm toying with the idea of an Alfa GT 3.2 (Bertone) as they're half the price of a 147 GTA yet not half the car.
This has got me considering cheap, high-mileage-ish Maserati 3200s for the 6-9k range - the same as a GT. I've driven both and a Q2-diff-equipped GT V6 is a fantastic car. Though not quite turbocharged V8 in a Maserati fantastic.

Has anyone done this and survived? What should I realistically set aside for keeping it going each year?
While Alfas are... Alfas... (I've owned two, I know the score) and do require firm bank account resolve, there is greater strength in parts depth and aren't quite on the same level as Maserati.
I've near enough talked myself out of it, but has anyone done it the 'cheap' way?

This all hinges on someone buying my Merc W123 Coupe. If anyone knows anyone etc...

 

[CatmanV2]

You can get a 4200 for the top of that budget. And it blows the 3.2 Alfa GT into the weeds without even trying. I made exactly that move. The car I did it with is probably available for your budget. Is well known on the forum and you'd be hard pushed to do better.

C

 

[Ewan]

I'd be wary of buying a 3200 at that budget, especially if you then want to rely on it, and even more so if you want to run it on a sensible budget. You might get lucky, but it's unlikely.

Most people buying 3200's now have them as an occasional weekend toy, doing maybe 1 or 2k miles per year. They buy the best they can (around the mid teens) and budget on maybe 1 or 2k per year for servicing/restoration.

That said, I'd love to see you take one on as they can be fantastic. Good luck with your search, and a pre-purchase inspection by a 3200 specialist (including an end-float reading) is absolutely essential.

 

[Contigo]

I paid £9k for my first and spent about £6k on it getting it to the point where I could take it to Le Mans. A cheap 3200 is a money pit believe me. If you want a good one buy my Auto.

 

[Contigo]

Oh and Nathan, I did buy one for £4K and did it up and it is still out there loved by its owner. Search for "Project 3200" if you want to see the work involved.

 

[Contigo]

Said thread.

http://www.sportsmaserati.com/showthread.php/20483-Project-3200

 

[allandwf]

I can see your point re the GT and GTA. I would advise against a cheap 3200, they will be cheap for a good reason, you need to keep on top of them, use them regularly. The little jobs can mount up some can be quite expensive, so you can end up paying the same again just to get it to a reasonable standard. That said there is not much to beat a good one.

 

[highlander]

All been said I'm afraid. You buy cheap and it will be Russian roulette......probably with more than one bullet in the gun pointed at your wallet.
Even getting a good 32 around the mid teens is no guarantee of free fun motoring. Reckon on 2 plus k per year and some years you will be pleasantly surprised it is under that, others, you will need the left over. From the previous year to make it up. I reckon Marci is a good one and I've spent nearly 5k over the last 3 years. Still, she has insurance value risen by 6 so not all bad (I'm ignoring she is in just now with a probable 2k bill at the end for a chain service and some other work.....man maths says that will level out at her 5th year service next year )

 

[GeoffCapes]

Buy Wacks 4200.

What year is your W123 Coupe?

 

[Mott The Hoople]

I'd be wary of buying a 3200 at that budget, especially if you then want to rely on it, and even more so if you want to run it on a sensible budget. You might get lucky, but it's unlikely.

Most people buying 3200's now have them as an occasional weekend toy, doing maybe 1 or 2k miles per year. They buy the best they can (around the mid teens) and budget on maybe 1 or 2k per year for servicing/restoration.

That said, I'd love to see you take one on as they can be fantastic. Good luck with your search, and a pre-purchase inspection by a 3200 specialist (including an end-float reading) is absolutely essential.

Let's be clear - buying an expensive or low-mileage 3200GT does NOT mean it will be cheap to run. If you keep the car for any length of time you will end up paying out big money on it at some point. These cars were not built to age easily (like a Lexus) and they are all getting on a bit now. If you are prepared to tackle some (fairly) serious mechanical work yourself and use this forum to research stuff you can mitigate these costs quite a lot. However, this will involve a significant amount of your time and there's no getting around the parts costs. (Apart from a few alternatives well documented within this forum.)

Notwithstanding the foregoing maybe the following course of action may be practical?

Look for a mechanically sound Cat D or C car going extremely cheaply.
Service history is more important than mileage.
Live with the dents that can't be pulled.
Do your own routine servicing.
Be prepared to walk away and sell for very low bucks when something expensive happens. There are a few excellent specialist breakers in this forum so you should get something more than scrap value for it. Who knows, a forum member might even take it off you and resurrect it?
At least you can say that you once owned a Maserati and it went like stink.

Steve.

 

[CatmanV2]

My word! We've done quite a job of slagging our own cars off, have we not?

C

 

[allandwf]

My word! We've done quite a job of slagging our own cars off, have we not?

C

Not really, just bottom end 3200s. Which could be said for any make of car which has been neglected.

 

[philw696]

We have had many people come and go on this forum doing just this to never come back to a Maserati one of brothers did it with a 3200 auto that I looked at with him and said don't do it.
In two years it was with Marios more than with him.
He now drives a Porsche.
You can keep costs down if your handy on the spanners I have done a Project 4200 and it's still going good.

 

[Contigo]

Happened to a guy I was introduced to, he bought a 3200 at Carfest auction(where I bought my Golf) and he stored it for a year whilst selling off his business and going into retirement, he asked me to help him get the car running but it sounded ropey on tickover, Car had an engine rebuild done at Autoffcina and had been banged out at auction, to cut the story short he sent it down to Ftech recently and they have told him it needs a new engine, has end float (strange as we got a bar on the crank and there was no movement at all) and they are surprised it even cranks so he has just wasted a fortune on getting parts on the car (MOT, suspension etc...) and probably been offered next to **** all for it

 

[safrane]

Totally agree with the latter points.

I have PM'd a few prospective owners who hoped to buy a sub £10k coupe with megga miles and a spartan history.

I have been honest with the running cost to them in the hope they do not turn into that bloke in the pub who really down sells the cars as the result of their poor choice.

 

[greeny12]

Happened to a guy I was introduced to, he bought a 3200 at Carfest auction(where I bought my Golf)

Blimey - I remember that car. It didn't go for small money on the day as I recall. Looked quite tidy, but as ever with 3200s the devil is in the detail. Driving mine to Emblem this afternoon. With the various bits and bobs that need doing I'll get no change out of two grand I'm sure...

 

[davy83]

I bought a neglected car cheaply and do most of the repairs myself, and i have had it now for over 10 years. it has been a roller coaster, it took a couple of years to get it to run reliably enough to do more than short local runs in it. the routine stuff is no harder than any other car, like brakes and oil change and even the regular timing belt change is not too hard to do. the stuff that you wont be expecting that is seriously ******* your pocket is first and foremost the throttle body, and pedal sensor, both cause lots of trouble and can ruin your experience, upgrades to these two will cost you 1000. End float on the manual cars requiring engine out or replacement engine. Suspension arms failing, there are 8 in total and they are 400 each and they only last 5 years or so. Turbos fail, they don't last forever, and this requires engine out or front sub-frame off. the shocks can be refurbished so these are not scary, however they are computer controlled using small Ferrari motors which are expensive and these have been known to fail. And then there are the Italian electrical systems, they are.... well ... Italian.
So i bought one just as you are considering, thinking i would keep it a couple of years so i can say i had a Maserati, and i still have it, i cannot think of anything i could replace it with, so 10 years later its still there. Buying it was crazy, has cost me a lot of hours, money (probably 25k+ in 10 years) and many frustrating moments, but many vacations, and days out and although it was not trouble free i made it to Modena and back for the centenary 3280 miles, its a brilliant car, don't underestimate what you get back from one of these cars, its infectious, and a car owning experience that will constantly make you forgive it for emptying your bank balance occasionally! But be warned you may get hooked, and its both brilliant and mad at the same time! some one on this forum i think referred to the 3200 as "crazy as a bag of frogs" and that's about right. Go drive a good one and you will know the answer to your question, its not a financial decision, its a gut feeling.

 

[2b1ask1]

^^^^ Very well put Davey

 

[RSM Masser]

So i bought one just as you are considering, thinking i would keep it a couple of years so i can say i had a Maserati, and i still have it, i cannot think of anything i could replace it with, so 10 years later its still there. Buying it was crazy, has cost me a lot of hours, money (probably 25k+ in 10 years) and many frustrating moments, but many vacations, and days out and although it was not trouble free i made it to Modena and back for the centenary 3280 miles, its a brilliant car, don't underestimate what you get back from one of these cars, its infectious, and a car owning experience that will constantly make you forgive it for emptying your bank balance occasionally! But be warned you may get hooked, and its both brilliant and mad at the same time! some one on this forum i think referred to the 3200 as "crazy as a bag of frogs" and that's about right. Go drive a good one and you will know the answer to your question, its not a financial decision, its a gut feeling.

I think that just about sums it up

 

[philw696]

Agreed well put and after all there is nothing else like the enjoyment you get from a Maserati.