Blind, foolish impulse purchase of a 4200.

breezer

Member
Messages
229
Afternoon all, I hope everyone is having fun in Maserati Land. I've lurked here for a long time, as I was once in the market for a GS (but I bought a DB7 Vantage instead) and have always hankered after a 3200/4200.

I am tomorrow collecting (well, a chap with a trailer is) a green 2004 4200 I accidentally won on eBay. I wasn't looking for a car, but this looked far too cheap so I stuck a bid in to make sure it wasn't given away - I was extremely confident someone would stick a few bids on top. I then won it. Whoops.

The good stuff: It's a pretty colour. It has had recently had the heater matrix, clutch, F1 pump, brake disks and pads, and battery replaced. I got a good vibe from the advert and the seller, and it has a really clean MOT history (no advisories aside from tyres/lights since 2013).
The bad stuff: I've never seen it, it's on the other side of the country, and it has no current MOT. Whoops.

Should I just drive it into the sea now and save myself the heartache/bankruptcy?

This will sound silly, but is there anything 'quirky' I'll need to know about getting into it, getting it started, changing gear with an automated manual gearbox, etc? Closest I've driven is a 3200 AC and that was (a) manual and (b) a decade ago.

Anyway, subscribe to this thread for fun and games, and please pray for me to any deity that will listen.

Thanks!
 

tokyomb

Member
Messages
263
Welcome. Saw your post on PistonHeads - hope all works out for you and you enjoy your new purchase without too much heartache. Can't help with advice on the 4200 but sure others will be along who can.
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,756
A high performance but aging car bought sight unseen and not professionally inspected? If it was any other make, I'd be worried. But because it is from the engineering excellence that is Maserati, you'll be fine.:) No, seriously, I think you'll be okay. The 4200 is a pretty robust thing, especially the engine. And with the recent work you list, and the good MOT history, it sounds as though you may have bagged a bargain. Well done, and fingers crossed.

Pictures and a report in due course, please!
 

jasst

Member
Messages
2,313

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
What's to lose apart from your sanity :)

That is getting close to breaker money and maybe with some TLC you will have a cheap runabout, get the wishbones checked that's the only other big bill that is missing from your list
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
If you have not already you can read my ownership experience here: https://www.sportsmaserati.com/inde...00-project-the-story-so-far-and-beyond.28073/ I bought a car with less of the major works done on it than yours and it was "fine"... two biggest bills were heater matrix and clutch which yours has had done.

A high performance but aging car bought sight unseen and not professionally inspected? If it was any other make, I'd be worried. But because it is from the engineering excellence that is Maserati, you'll be fine.:) No, seriously, I think you'll be okay. The 4200 is a pretty robust thing, especially the engine. And with the recent work you list, and the good MOT history, it sounds as though you may have bagged a bargain. Well done, and fingers crossed.

Pictures and a report in due course, please!

Agree with this. 4200 is a robust car compared to the 3200 which can be more finicky (sorry 3200 owners but it is true)



Take a lesson from this post... if it has the original euro spec cats on it have them changed as a priority... might be a expensive bill (750-1500 depending on which route you take, perhaps even less if you do not opt for new pipes and just cut out/replace the old cats) but it is one of the few weak points on the car that can cause problems.... It was one of the first things I did on mine within the first 6 months of ownership
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Jeeepers! at that price (if it is that one) you have nothing to loose except a great big smile on your face! treat it to a new set of rubber all round, get the wishbones and tie rods checked and invest in a proper Hunter geo setup and provide some shims, insist they do the FULL setup not just the tracking and tell you it is OK.

Liberate some noise from it and enjoy the awesomeness....
 

dgmx5

Member
Messages
1,142
On the face of it, could be a bargain. Had some decent history and then left untouched but not for too long and the new clutch and heater matrix are big ticket items. Get to a specialist to check over and you will hopefully be fine. Whereabouts do you live?
 

Devonboy

Member
Messages
1,289
Mmmmm.......Blind foolish impulse purchase and Maserati in the same sentence!

Look you fool - that’s what we all did here! Otherwise we would be running a Ford Focus or god forbid a Daewoo something....

Good luck (All Maserati owners need that) and keep us posted!
 

iainw

Member
Messages
3,386

safrane

Member
Messages
16,746
Woth more than that in parts alone... so I thnk you should be safe.

Well done and if there are things wrong with it there are plenty on here who will be happy to help (including myself).

Given the miles and price paid it is going to be a Maser that is used and hopefully enjoyed. Good luck.