Love the GTS but now sure I can run it...looking to temper dreams with reality

miless2111s

New Member
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20
I love the look of the Granturismo and can probably afford the 4.2 but might be able to stretch to the 4.7 if the bank is nice to me :) The real issue is the running costs... The car would be by daily driver with a commute of between 50 and 100 miles each way so realistically 15-20K per year.

I am currently driving a lotus elise with a Honda engine which is a little rocket of a car and very different to my expectations for the GT/GTS however it is probably doing 30 mpg. Now I can take the increase in fuel especially for the sound but the big thing that worries me is the cost to maintain the car.

What should I be budgeting per year for
* services?
* fixes?
I saw a previous post suggesting 3K / year however I don't know if this is now loow given the car is older etc....

Assuming i'm in the 30-40K bracket I'm guessing that the car will be out of warranty however I have seen recommendations for a specific company (the name escapes me) but that seemed to be around 1.5K per year but I don't know if you can warranty a car which has fallen outside of a previous agreement?

I am not letting myself try one out until my head has some information for fear of what my heart will do to the family finances as I sadly haven't won a lottery and hence can't just go "hang the cost it's a bargain for what I'm getting, you only live once..." :)

Thanks

Miles
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,594
Hello and welcome Miles.

You must know of Dan (Andrews) he also has a Lotus with the Honda conversation, the think is insane! He's well known on Seloc.

I would say if you are doing the miles, and budget is important then maybe the 4.2 Auto is the way for you to go.

Ok, its not the quickest thing but its still no slouch and you will thus get away with the expensive clutch change of the MC shift. If you could stretch to a 4.7 Auto, I would say that this may well be the way to go if you want POWER.

Go test drive them is all I can say and see which one you like the best.
 

Doohickey

Velociraptor
Messages
2,496
Welcome along.

I've just moved from a 4.2 which I loved into a 4.7 auto. As Matt says the 4.2 isn't a slow car and probably suits a commute. i was getting around 30 mpg on a run but traffic will put a big dent in that number. The 4.2s are good value now I think and i didn't think was particularly expensive to run for what it is. I reckon £2/3K pa should cover it but you need to see if the variators have been fixed on older cars.

The 4.7 is a different beast altogether and is just 'more'.

Drive a few and see what suits you (and your budget).
 

miless2111s

New Member
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20
I was tending towards the 4.7 on the 'more' basis but also because of comments that they were getting hard to sell on because the 4.7 was such a better car :)

I have to admit that I already love the car and I don't want to start the process if I can't afford it :) The suggestion of 2-3K per year chimes with other comments I have read. Does this cover servicing and fixes (and warranty) or just fixing things? :)
 

iainw

Member
Messages
3,386
You will afford it because it's necessary and gives you lots of smiles. If you go 4.2 you will be hankering after a 4.7 and you will lose money trading up. Get a 4.7 and keep it a while. Do a big bob - it makes lots of sense.
There is no better car for the money and you won't lust after anything else
 

Contigo

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18,376
Spot on, Do it, life really is too short to not have a Maser GT/S in your life.
 

Wack61

Member
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8,764
I was tending towards the 4.7 on the 'more' basis but also because of comments that they were getting hard to sell on because the 4.7 was such a better car :):)

If you buy a 4.7 I doubt 2-3k a year will cover it for 20,000 miles PA, a service every 7-8 months, a set of tyres, front discs are £600 each plus if you keep it 3 years and put 50-60k on it the depreciation will be eye watering, Maserati's are a tough sell privately with miles on unless they're very cheap and PX offers will be very low even if you are buying another and adding 20k.
 

TheYoungconnoisseur

New Member
Messages
77
if you've got a lotus you can swing a maserati. Unless european values of them are what the usa used to be 5yrs ago and its a 17usd car and your talking about a 65usd car is quite a jump
 

miless2111s

New Member
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20
If you buy a 4.7 I doubt 2-3k a year will cover it for 20,000 miles PA, a service every 7-8 months, a set of tyres, front discs are £600 each plus if you keep it 3 years and put 50-60k on it the depreciation will be eye watering, Maserati's are a tough sell privately with miles on unless they're very cheap and PX offers will be very low even if you are buying another and adding 20k.
This is the sort of position my gut is telling me but I wanted to put some numbers into the situation to test it. My lotus experience is not a cheep one but I don't know if it's better or worse that the GT/GTS position I would be jumping into :)
Regards
Miles
 

miless2111s

New Member
Messages
20
You will afford it because it's necessary and gives you lots of smiles. If you go 4.2 you will be hankering after a 4.7 and you will lose money trading up. Get a 4.7 and keep it a while. Do a big bob - it makes lots of sense.
There is no better car for the money and you won't lust after anything else
What the heck is a 'big bob'? :)
 

Contigo

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bigbob bought new and still has it, some say a great way of owning a car but not for me as I get bored and want to change every couple of years.
 

miless2111s

New Member
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20
ah :) I guess I'm a bit of a holder to - I've had the lotus for 13 years (bought it when our first child was born) and am only just starting to consider a change :)
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
Messages
7,309
Buy a low mileage 2010-12 4.7 Auto, around £40-42k; it will cost around £6-7k to run for 45k miles and 3 years at a good independent. Make sure you have a clean PPI done at purchase and you won't go far wrong. Depreciation would be around £5k pa.
 

miless2111s

New Member
Messages
20
Buy a low mileage 2010-12 4.7 Auto, around £40-42k; it will cost around £6-7k to run for 45k miles and 3 years at a good independent. Make sure you have a clean PPI done at purchase and you won't go far wrong. Depreciation would be around £5k pa.

Thanks for the clarity. At 40K+ I will not get that past the household budget and I'll be better of getting a Tesla on the company. However the figures are very useful for clarity and helping make a decision.
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
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7,309
I reckon Teslas will be a victim of their own success and depreciate massively. My son and I spot cars all the time and we've grown bored of pointing out Teslas as they're everywhere. Sometimes confuse them for a Mazda 6 though.
 

miless2111s

New Member
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20
I reckon Teslas will be a victim of their own success and depreciate massively. My son and I spot cars all the time and we've grown bored of pointing out Teslas as they're everywhere. Sometimes confuse them for a Mazda 6 though.
I agree but the depreciation will be time rather than mileage driven I suspect.

Out of interest if my budget can't stretch to a 4.7 and I am only able to go for a 4.2 (with the attendant upgrade risk) what sort of numbers would you suggest (using the same model as you gave for the 4.7)?

Regards

Miles
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
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7,309
It would be a far more complex thing to cost with too many variables to generalise.
 

miless2111s

New Member
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It would be a far more complex thing to cost with too many variables to generalise.

OK, that's a shame. I guess this isn't for me then as I can't go into this blind with the risk of an 8K bill or a massive annual bill - sadly I just don't have that much disposable cash :( I could cope with "allow 3K for bills and you'll be OK" but blank open ended costs - nope :( :(

Thanks for trying to help, in this case head has to rule the heart.