Greetings to you all, from over the pond,
I'm in the market for a new or pre-owned Quattroporte. I hope the forum doesn't mind my questions being I know circumstances can be different for "Rati" owners over here than in England.
First a little background:
We've been in the market for a new car for a few weeks. We've test driven almost every SUV and car imaginable. We currently have a 2013 BMW Z435is convertible and a 2011 328i convertible BMW, a 2002 Mazda Tribute SUV and a 2007 Toyota Prius.
The Prius has 215,000 miles on it. It's been a flawless companion for ten years. The Mazda has as well. Both are getting long in the tooth and I'd like to drive something new before I'm too long in the tooth. The 328i was a car I bought for my dad, who was born in England by the way, but unfortunately, he only got to drive it for a year. Now that he's gone, the car has a lot of sentimental value to me. It doesn't make sense to have two convertibles and we really need a bigger car for versatility. My wife tried to get me to trade in the 328i. Every time I tried to acquiesce, I just couldn't because I love that car and its hard to let go off because of what it means. It drives very well especially for an every-day-driver. Well, anway, back on target...
So we settled on an F Pace SUV loaded $83k for a purchase (I like to own cars not lease them because they are long term holds for me). We put down the deposit and drove away to settle the deal and paperwork the next day. I wasn't excited and the wife knew it. She knew I once drove a friend's 2007 QP in 2009 and I was in heaven. So she said why haven't we test driven one lately? So we went to the dealership. I drove the Levante (great vehicle), Ghibli (I didn't like the dashboard layout) and the base model Quattroporte S with adaptive cruise control. The Quattroporte stole my heart. Finally, I found a car I could fall in love with, again. I was loosing hope I was too old now and pragmatic to love a car but now I just had to hope I could afford this masterpiece.
So since I realized this is my crave ride, I've test driven the supposedly exact same car but in different trims and colors of the same model year and I swear they don't drive/feel the same. The steering and the suspension feels different from car to car. Call me crazy but it does. I also drove a 2016 pre-owned with 11,000 miles on it and that was a different feeling too. Am I loosing my mind or did any of you find that these cars are truly individual with varying levels of differences in drive response feedback? I tried them all in sport mode and regular and ICE modes. The first 2017 QP felt nimble as if it was on a gimble. The second one not so much. Maybe I'm loosing it early in life.
My next question is in long term ownership. I don't like to throw away money and I guess no one does. Some people realize the depreciation is a real factor and are willing to pay for it perennially. But I prefer to pay for a lesser amount or rate of depreciation.
The only way to do that is to buy a car that holds its value well or buy a used car. I just can't see leasing as an option for me when I'm constantly taking the brunt of the depreciation hit. I instead like to lessen the financial strain by finding something I like, and drive it for ten years or longer. So, yeah, a $100k car is expensive but if I'm keeping it for ten years it's because I love it and when the payments are over I hopefully have equity in it. I always put at least 20% down so I'm not upside down as soon as I drive it off the lot. etc.
However, in the world of Maseratis, there are factors that don't play nice with reality, reason or numbers:
First off, here in the US, these depreciate faster than a lead balloon.
To counter this, I'd like to think I could get a used QP so someone else has taken the depreciation hit but do I really want a long term hold that I didn't drive new? No. If I drive it from day one, I know the oil was changed regularly and it wasn't abused in anyway.
Can I trust the previous owner didn't gun the engine after every red light turned green? No.
After the car is paid in full, will the maintenance issues be reasonable to make me not think I should just be driving a newer one? Probably not. The cost of ownership could average out to an amount that would equal a new car payment in the future time value of money, etc.
So, I'm at a crossroad and I'm not sure what to do. I've heard conflicting reports of ownership issues. I'm thinking it's really hard to figure out what it will cost to own.
So what do I know?
What I do know is there are Ghibli vehicles with 8k miles on them and less than 12 months old selling for $45k in very good condition. The 2016 QP I drove yesterday was flawless with 12k miles on it and was $69k. I just hate the idea of burning so much depreciation the very moment I drive away from the new car showroom floor. If I take the cost of the car I really want (2017 QP) and divide it by 120 months after putting 20% down and not calculating interest I come to $849 per month. So, it really makes me wonder if driving a newer car every 2 to 3 years is the way to when dealing with these higher cost cars?
Thank you for allowing me to vent. Hopefully, with your help I can balance this all out. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thank you.
I'm in the market for a new or pre-owned Quattroporte. I hope the forum doesn't mind my questions being I know circumstances can be different for "Rati" owners over here than in England.
First a little background:
We've been in the market for a new car for a few weeks. We've test driven almost every SUV and car imaginable. We currently have a 2013 BMW Z435is convertible and a 2011 328i convertible BMW, a 2002 Mazda Tribute SUV and a 2007 Toyota Prius.
The Prius has 215,000 miles on it. It's been a flawless companion for ten years. The Mazda has as well. Both are getting long in the tooth and I'd like to drive something new before I'm too long in the tooth. The 328i was a car I bought for my dad, who was born in England by the way, but unfortunately, he only got to drive it for a year. Now that he's gone, the car has a lot of sentimental value to me. It doesn't make sense to have two convertibles and we really need a bigger car for versatility. My wife tried to get me to trade in the 328i. Every time I tried to acquiesce, I just couldn't because I love that car and its hard to let go off because of what it means. It drives very well especially for an every-day-driver. Well, anway, back on target...
So we settled on an F Pace SUV loaded $83k for a purchase (I like to own cars not lease them because they are long term holds for me). We put down the deposit and drove away to settle the deal and paperwork the next day. I wasn't excited and the wife knew it. She knew I once drove a friend's 2007 QP in 2009 and I was in heaven. So she said why haven't we test driven one lately? So we went to the dealership. I drove the Levante (great vehicle), Ghibli (I didn't like the dashboard layout) and the base model Quattroporte S with adaptive cruise control. The Quattroporte stole my heart. Finally, I found a car I could fall in love with, again. I was loosing hope I was too old now and pragmatic to love a car but now I just had to hope I could afford this masterpiece.
So since I realized this is my crave ride, I've test driven the supposedly exact same car but in different trims and colors of the same model year and I swear they don't drive/feel the same. The steering and the suspension feels different from car to car. Call me crazy but it does. I also drove a 2016 pre-owned with 11,000 miles on it and that was a different feeling too. Am I loosing my mind or did any of you find that these cars are truly individual with varying levels of differences in drive response feedback? I tried them all in sport mode and regular and ICE modes. The first 2017 QP felt nimble as if it was on a gimble. The second one not so much. Maybe I'm loosing it early in life.
My next question is in long term ownership. I don't like to throw away money and I guess no one does. Some people realize the depreciation is a real factor and are willing to pay for it perennially. But I prefer to pay for a lesser amount or rate of depreciation.
The only way to do that is to buy a car that holds its value well or buy a used car. I just can't see leasing as an option for me when I'm constantly taking the brunt of the depreciation hit. I instead like to lessen the financial strain by finding something I like, and drive it for ten years or longer. So, yeah, a $100k car is expensive but if I'm keeping it for ten years it's because I love it and when the payments are over I hopefully have equity in it. I always put at least 20% down so I'm not upside down as soon as I drive it off the lot. etc.
However, in the world of Maseratis, there are factors that don't play nice with reality, reason or numbers:
First off, here in the US, these depreciate faster than a lead balloon.
To counter this, I'd like to think I could get a used QP so someone else has taken the depreciation hit but do I really want a long term hold that I didn't drive new? No. If I drive it from day one, I know the oil was changed regularly and it wasn't abused in anyway.
Can I trust the previous owner didn't gun the engine after every red light turned green? No.
After the car is paid in full, will the maintenance issues be reasonable to make me not think I should just be driving a newer one? Probably not. The cost of ownership could average out to an amount that would equal a new car payment in the future time value of money, etc.
So, I'm at a crossroad and I'm not sure what to do. I've heard conflicting reports of ownership issues. I'm thinking it's really hard to figure out what it will cost to own.
So what do I know?
What I do know is there are Ghibli vehicles with 8k miles on them and less than 12 months old selling for $45k in very good condition. The 2016 QP I drove yesterday was flawless with 12k miles on it and was $69k. I just hate the idea of burning so much depreciation the very moment I drive away from the new car showroom floor. If I take the cost of the car I really want (2017 QP) and divide it by 120 months after putting 20% down and not calculating interest I come to $849 per month. So, it really makes me wonder if driving a newer car every 2 to 3 years is the way to when dealing with these higher cost cars?
Thank you for allowing me to vent. Hopefully, with your help I can balance this all out. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thank you.