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BizBuz

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13
Hi everybody, I am new to the forum and am currently hoping to buy a QP GT Sport from 2008. Fingers crossed but it does depend on a major business deal coming off so as the horizontally challenged lady has not sung yet we will have to see. In any case I hope one day or another to be a proud QP owner. I can only agree with Jeremy Clarkson that on top of being a beautifully crafted car, they actually perform very well and just have so much presence compared to an equivalent Teutonic offering. To cap it all their sound track is without compare IMO !

In my searching on the web I have been looking for a spec sheet for a 2008 GT Sport automatic, and cannot find one anywhere. Does anybody have any access to a copy they could let me have as the car I am looking at is in Germany and the current owner does not speak English and I live in France so it is a bit far just to pop over to have a detailed examination. I will obviously go and see it properly before I buy but in the mean time it would be nice to know what equipment it has as standard and what else could be on it :).

I would also like to envisage doing some of my own more basic servicing so if anybody has any ideas on that they would be most welcome. Just to say I do have a fairly extensive set of tools, and do have a reasonable knowledge of mechanics, I have worked on engines and small helicopters for years so enjoy the odd diagnostic or mechanical challenge. I dont suppose there are any Haynes manuals available due to the small volume of potential customers, but are there any servicing guides or any other such documents available anywhere, for sale or otherwise, which could be helpful?

Many thanks in advance for any ideas, hints, or pointers.

BizBuz
 
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6,001
Hi mate
Great choice for a wish list. I have the exec GT (2007) and it is truly wonderful.
Other more knowledgeable chaps than me will be along presently, do keep us up to speed with your progress
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Hello and welcome. QP V Sport GT is a great choice. For UK specs see http://www.sportsmaserati.com/showt...n-options-price-list?highlight=specifications

I'd be careful buying an automatic because of the well known variator issue affecting the wet-sump engines. Costs £3.5k or so to fix. So find one that's been done or check it's engine # 148697 or higher.

If you read the reviews on the Sport GT you'll find the software controlling the Duo Select gearbox was sharpened up for this version and personally I prefer it to the ZF - the car feels sharper and more responsive. The ZF suits drivers who sit in jams a lot and want less involvement.

Stating the obvious, but cars from Germany will have had a harder life. The QP can happily cruise at 140mph plus there, traffic permitting. Having said that I've no idea whether a regular moderate use like this is good or bad for these cars. I can vouch that a few hundred miles at high speed aren't a problem - they're not fragile, but every day? Worth speaking to some long term German owners.
 

BizBuz

New Member
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13
Thank you for your warm welcome and Mr K for your valuable comment on the variator issue, obviously as a newbie I had no idea of this. I had thought though that the ZF box was preferable to the dry sump duo select option, as they seemed to chew their way through clutches rapidly and the gear change, if not driven hard was a not overly smooth? Perhaps not? In any case the car in question is a May 2008 and has done 80k KM so about 50k miles. It looks great black, more a sort of charcoal black and lovely cream leather interior. I have not managed to get detailed specs or engine numbers yet, I do have a chassis number but Maserati are not giving me any info on the car as regards options fitted on sale etc, as I am not yet the owner.

Not sure if there is any other way I can find out what was fitted to it or what the engine number is, if I already have the VIN : ZAMFD39B000034489 Any thoughts or ideas welcome!
 

BizBuz

New Member
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I have had a look at the specs on the link but cannot see the 2007/8 year band, as I thought that was when the ZF box was introduced. I know the Sport GT has the gear change paddles as standard, but I thought I had read somewhere else on the web that in 2008 only the ZF box was available on all models? Perhaps I am wrong but I am sure somebody can correct or confirm.....?
 

Keano

Member
Messages
287
Welcome BizBuz

You can read the code as per attached chart. For a point of reference mine is engine number 139043 and the doc shows my VIN.

Keano

VIN Code.JPG
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Thank you for your warm welcome and Mr K for your valuable comment on the variator issue, obviously as a newbie I had no idea of this. I had thought though that the ZF box was preferable to the dry sump duo select option, as they seemed to chew their way through clutches rapidly and the gear change, if not driven hard was a not overly smooth? Perhaps not? In any case the car in question is a May 2008 and has done 80k KM so about 50k miles. It looks great black, more a sort of charcoal black and lovely cream leather interior. I have not managed to get detailed specs or engine numbers yet, I do have a chassis number but Maserati are not giving me any info on the car as regards options fitted on sale etc, as I am not yet the owner.

There were facelift cars sold as late as 2010 that have/had the variator issue, so a 2008 car will be pre- engine # 148697. The gear change in the DS is just like in a perfectly driven manual. You do obviously get a brief pause in acceleration during changes, but it's not jerky. I have another car with the VW DSG gearbox and that is better than the single-clutch F1 system in the DS, but I prefer the interaction with the QP's gearbox via the paddles. You do see a disproportionate number of Maseratis in London, and it's for places like this you need the ZF if you must waste a nice car by going around at 12mph. If you use a DS in cities you will chew though clutches - it's the number of starts from rest that matter, not the mileage.

If most of your motoring is around Charente and you're an enthusiastic driver you'll enjoy the DS. However if you prefer wafting along and sit in autoroute toll-booth queues a lot, you may prefer the ZF.

Best if you test drive both - glad I did as various motoring journalists had me thinking the ZF was preferable for my 2nd QP, but I found it softened the car up and I decided I wanted the sharp responsiveness of the DS. You don't just lose 0.4s of 0-60 time and 4mph of top speed, the car just doesn't respond as quickly. I could live with the ZF, but the car wouldn't be as special.
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,040
A big warm welcome to the forum.....Good luck with your search ... The QP is a stunning car.....Keep uppdated.
 

BizBuz

New Member
Messages
13
One thing I need to think about is the "shelf life" of the car. Now that these high performance cars are so wired, is there a moment in their life, say when they are 15 years old when it just becomes economically un-viable to run one without running up huge technical bills, or are they reasonably stable if well looked after?

Just out of interest another car I was looking at buying was a Fiat Dino Spider, but obviously the entry cost is greater, but if you buy a well sorted car, the running costs are modest and your resale value only goes up, so almost the complete opposite to the QP option! The possibility for doing DIY day to day mechanics are possibly much higher also.

Any views on this conundrum?
 
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6,001
If most of your motoring is around Charente and you're an enthusiastic driver you'll enjoy the DS. However if you prefer wafting along and sit in autoroute toll-booth queues a lot, you may prefer the ZF.

This is me (the wafting along bit) and the QP Exec GT does it effortlessly, hence my choice of ZF Auto

When / if I get to sell mine it will probably be for another QP rather than a GT
Mine (2007) had the variator issue before I bought it and was fixed for a cost of about £4500 (included a couple of hoses too) at JCT Leeds in about 2014
This was around 45000 - 50000 miles on the clock. Since then I have had front discs and pads done and that is all
 

BizBuz

New Member
Messages
13
Thanks Dave it is always reassuring to have some real details, as I said before though the period of 2007 and 2008 seems to be a sort of interim period when they introduced the new box, but not the rest of the changes they did in 2009. Please correct me if I am wrong as looking in from outside as I am at the moment it is not always easy to get your hands on the original marketing data and to actually see which models are/were available in which countries when. If you add in manufacturing lag and overzealous salesmen, then you have a potential nightmare!! In any case just looking at the gear lever I believe it is a ZF box, which is fine by me, as I will undoubtedly have to do some slow stuff on a regular basis. Just out of interest in France they banned speed camera information on the car nav systems, but obviously could not enforce it, are there any speed camera overlays that are available for the nav system? Not that I would dream of breaking any speed limits ! Coyote seems to be a very good system but I am sure there are others. In passing, any thoughts on a Fiat Dino 2.4 ?
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Just out of interest in France they banned speed camera information on the car nav systems, but obviously could not enforce it, are there any speed camera overlays that are available for the nav system?

No chance - also the latest maps are dated 2013 so about 4 years old. Just get a decent Garmin or Tomtom unit. I'm talking about the pre-facelift models, though. The facelift ones have a newer infotainment system, which is just about the only useful upgrade! Lots of people prefer the looks of the original QP V.
 

BizBuz

New Member
Messages
13
Thanks Mr K, one thing though which I am not sure about (amongst many !!) is which group of models, year or type make up the facelift models. Obviously it is the result of a slight tidy up, but are there only certain models of the QP concerned, or years of manufacture or serial numbers etc? Are there easy to spot visual clues? Thanks for enlightening me, I suspect it is over the 2007/8 year span which is what I am looking at, as I think the model range was given an overhaul in 2009, or perhaps this is what you are talking about ? :thanks2:
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
The facelift cars came out in 2008/9 as you say, and are recognisable by the changes to the headlights, which are larger and have a row of LEDs at the bottom. At the rear, the lights changed to all-LED. There are quite a few reviews online, which mostly coincide with launches. Some links for you:

http://www.evo.co.uk/maserati/quattroporte/6204/maserati-quattroporte
http://www.autozine.org/Archive/Maserati/old/Quattroporte_V.html
http://www.evo.co.uk/maserati/quattroporte/9114/maserati-quattroporte
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/maserati/quattroporte/

Enjoy!
 

BizBuz

New Member
Messages
13
Hi Mr K, just another question! I have now found two QP's, both Sports GT and both similar KM on the clock, one 2008 pre-facelift with a ZF box the other a 2008 post facelift, with the dual shift. I think the extra bits are similar. The second facelift car is about 9k€ more, is it worth it? It also has about 20k km more on the clock. Are there any engine management issues sorted or any other ancillary things improved apart from the lights and the nav hifi system?? Thanks in advance.
 
Messages
6,001
Ah the perennial question is it worth the extra?
Afraid it is your choice!
Me, I would take the Auto box but I know others will differ and quite rightly too
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,040
Is the facelift a 4.2 or 4.7......It a 4.7 worth the extra...It a 4.2 for me no as the non face lift is the better looking car.....Ah, did they make a 4.7 S with duo select?
 

BizBuz

New Member
Messages
13
Dave hi, I believe you own an Exec GT, is there a major difference between the Exec and the Sport GT versions? Obviously there are the upgraded brakes, and the gear paddles, and a slightly different trim, but in essence they are pretty similar I suppose. Are the gear paddles good, fun efficient or just a gimmick?