Gransport Coupe

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,038
Feck me….You would think i wood have learnt after all this time to reed what I type.
 

Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
Given they don't loosen up until about 30k miles, a 14-20 year old car with less than that on it is really under used and is going to have issues from sitting around so much. Urby was told to change his tyres this year or it would not get a clean MOT, the tyres still had the chicken strips on them but were aged out. Low mileage is not going to protect the hoses or heater matrix, it won't stop the rockers leaking, or the door seals drying out. It will cause your door locks to seize up, the suspension rubbers to crack, the seats to stop working etc. Good maintenance and garaging are far better points to look for. There is a yellow spyder not far from me that is very low mileage but has sat outside for 15 years at least and frankly is going to be a project for whoever takes it on.

Oh yes (edit) and then there is the sticky issue.... I mean everywhere, I sat in mine last week and well anything black in the cabin is sticky, every button, cowling, vent, handle recess etc. sticky everywhere!
Not sure this is always true, or even often true. I know of and have owned quite a lot of low mileage Maseratis of this generation and not a single one of them has ever suffered from their low miles/lack of use. My current QP5 is 16 years old and has done only 10k miles. It also only had around 4 or 5 services in all that time. However, having done a mild recomissioning at purchase, it runs beautifully and has had none of the issues that were forecast by many. And it was recently driven by a well known specialist and he confirmed that it is a very good car that drives like new. So be cautious and get an car inspected, but don’t be put off by the “needs to have been used and requires perfect service history brigade“.
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,656
Not sure this is always true, or even often true. I know of and have owned quite a lot of low mileage Maseratis of this generation and not a single one of them has ever suffered from their low miles/lack of use. My current QP5 is 16 years old and has done only 10k miles. It also only had around 4 or 5 services in all that time. However, having done a mild recomissioning at purchase, it runs beautifully and has had none of the issues that were forecast by many. And it was recently driven by a well known specialist and he confirmed that it is a very good car that drives like new. So be cautious and get an car inspected, but don’t be put off by the “needs to have been used and requires perfect service history brigade“.
Notwithstanding- I think it's still true that many of the consumables will still suffer, and perhaps more than if they were used, as a result of incorrect or unsympathetic storage, just as much as unsympathetic use will...
..and Newton's list is populated with the favourite suspects in this regard.....
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Not sure this is always true, or even often true. I know of and have owned quite a lot of low mileage Maseratis of this generation and not a single one of them has ever suffered from their low miles/lack of use. My current QP5 is 16 years old and has done only 10k miles. It also only had around 4 or 5 services in all that time. However, having done a mild recomissioning at purchase, it runs beautifully and has had none of the issues that were forecast by many. And it was recently driven by a well known specialist and he confirmed that it is a very good car that drives like new. So be cautious and get an car inspected, but don’t be put off by the “needs to have been used and requires perfect service history brigade“.

Good maintenance over a suspiciously perfect dealer stamped service book, there is a subtle but valuable distinction there.
 

drellis

Member
Messages
795
Garage Queen in Portugal or Spain etc has a much better chance of less rust. Garage Queen here might have great body and lots of rust
 

Swedish Paul

Member
Messages
1,807
Given they don't loosen up until about 30k miles, a 14-20 year old car with less than that on it is really under used and is going to have issues from sitting around so much. Urby was told to change his tyres this year or it would not get a clean MOT, the tyres still had the chicken strips on them but were aged out. Low mileage is not going to protect the hoses or heater matrix, it won't stop the rockers leaking, or the door seals drying out. It will cause your door locks to seize up, the suspension rubbers to crack, the seats to stop working etc. Good maintenance and garaging are far better points to look for. There is a yellow spyder not far from me that is very low mileage but has sat outside for 15 years at least and frankly is going to be a project for whoever takes it on.

Oh yes (edit) and then there is the sticky issue.... I mean everywhere, I sat in mine last week and well anything black in the cabin is sticky, every button, cowling, vent, handle recess etc. sticky everywhere!
Ermm. Mines a garage queen. Just turned 40000km. I don’t use it all year round because of the snow (and personal circumstances). Starts first time ( now the broken starter wire is fixed), and no big ticket items out of the ordinary. Looks brand new. Especially underneath. Keep to the service schedule which isn’t so expensive even with Maserati dealers. Sits in a heated garage (snow).

But yes, history, condition, history, condition. Isn’t it the same with houses? Location and all that.
 

Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
Garage Queen in Portugal or Spain etc has a much better chance of less rust. Garage Queen here might have great body and lots of rust
Really, living close to the sea in a humid environment? I thought that they would also rust here? ;)
 

Swedish Paul

Member
Messages
1,807
And we all know a fully stamped dealer history is not worth the paper it is written on if work has not been done ;) as those of us who do our own maintenance will testify to.
I must have been lucky because Maserati in Stockholm have been excellent. Stopped and talked with the service engineers (mechanics?) as often as I wanted, always knowledgeable and helpful.
 

Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
Notwithstanding- I think it's still true that many of the consumables will still suffer, and perhaps more than if they were used, as a result of incorrect or unsympathetic storage, just as much as unsympathetic use will...
..and Newton's list is populated with the favourite suspects in this regard.....
Just not been my experience with 10 or so low mileage/low use 2005-2011 Maseratis over the last 10 year (not to mention the numerous other similar cars I know of) but then opinions are much more powerful than facts these days, as we know…..;)
 

safrane

Member
Messages
16,748
I guess the point people are trying to make is low miles does not necessarily equal a good car, but that also the opposite can be true.

Maserati may be a fantastic high performance car, but the market is less supportive than other comparators; sadly as a result residuals are lower. In turn that results in people being less willing to service the car as per the schedule as the return is just not there.

My own car in point has had more spent on maintenance over its life than it is worth today and at higher 50s is seen by many as being high miles (3.5k pa).

Conversely there are lots of very low miles cars of the same age with just 4 or 5 services and 20k on the clocks... which is the better option? Eye of the beholden.

The final point is that a low miles car will only retain its value above a higher used one if it is not used... which kind of defeats the point as no modern one gains more in value than it costs to run and maintain.