GT - new owner journey

Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Hi all, I’ve found a 2017 Bianco Eldorado Maserati GT which has the perfect spec (including exterior and interior carbon packs - evo 1 & 2). I’ve put down a holding deposit, however it has come to light that the first service was completed (at a main dealer) in October 2020 with 17k miles on the clock, almost 2 years and 5k miles after the manufacturers recommended servicing schedule. As this is my first high performance vehicle purchase, could anyone provide their feedback on whether I should proceed with the purchase or whether I should walk away?
 

c4sman

Member
Messages
1,251
Get it to trusted indie for inspection. At the right price and depending how long you plan to keep it…. Could work? Remember the impact that history will have on resale should you want or need to move it on.
 

Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Thanks C4sman

In terms of next steps, do I ask the dealer to arrange the inspection or would I need to arrange it? If so, what would be the best approach for getting this done?

(just to mention the car comes with 6 months RAC warranty that can be renewed for up to 3 years with a £3k max limit per claim - is this enough to make up for the missing service?)
 

Contigo

Sponsor
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18,376
Walk and buy my mint 14 plate with Carbon Pack and only 11k miles on. It is most certainly a better car and has been serviced properly.
 

c4sman

Member
Messages
1,251
Thanks C4sman

In terms of next steps, do I ask the dealer to arrange the inspection or would I need to arrange it? If so, what would be the best approach for getting this done?

(just to mention the car comes with 6 months RAC warranty that can be renewed for up to 3 years with a £3k max limit per claim - is this enough to make up for the missing service?)
For me the warranty isn’t enough if it’s not a good car and unlikely to cover all the potential costs if it proves to be a problematic one. I would arrange an inspection yourself rather than from the dealer (had a recent bad experience going down that route). As Contigo suggested there are other good cars around and if this is your first trip into high end car ownership it might make more sense to take a safe route unless this car is very keenly priced and inspects well IMHO.
 

Sam McGoo

Member
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1,758
This is a difficult one.
Personally, I don't even like the idea of 2 year servicing on cars, and at least do an oil and filter change yearly, unless very low mileage had been driven.

Yes, modern oils, and engine tollerances are far better better now days, but I would also argue that the first service is one of the most important. Any swarf or debris from manufacturering and the engine running in needs to be flushed out.

If it'd been 4 years, but only covered 2k miles, then maybe not a big deal, but the fact its double the time and 50% over the recommended mileage, I think would put a lot of people off.

However, it's VERY unlikely that it has caused significant damage, but there is no way of knowing.
No inspection can tell you this either, unless your gonna start stripping components.

I would say, your biggest issue would be re-sale. You'll be narrowing down your audience quite a bit, as most buyers of these sorts of cars prioritise mileage and service history when looking.

So..... You've got to decide personally whether it bothers you.

Have you checked with the dealer network whether it has actually missed the service and not just missing a stamp in the book?

Was the service that was carried out, a late 2 year service or an actual 4 year service? As the 4 year service includes more and can be significantly more expensive.

To get the service history back on track, it would be due another service in 2021 as well, is this being carried out prior to purchase?

Is the car priced low enough to take the service history into consideration?

Do you intend to keep the car a long time? If so, it will have much less impact, as your (on time) service history builds up and hopefully no issues arise.

Regardless of whether its this one or not, get an independent inspection done by someone recommended on here, as there are lots specific things to check that could negotiate you a better purchase price or save you a headache down the line.
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,554
I think the main problem is resale value and people’s attitude to the missing service, rather than problems arising for it having missed a service.
Afterall is a low mileage car, some people easily put 17k miles on these between oil changes.
So if the price reflects the history, get it inspected and bought.
 

safrane

Member
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16,828
Think of the poor first owner who spent all thier pennies on a dream car, they could not afford to look after... are the tyres from China too.
 

Hawk13

Member
Messages
1,471
(just to mention the car comes with 6 months RAC warranty that can be renewed for up to 3 years with a £3k max limit per claim - is this enough to make up for the missing service?)

3k will not cover much on a GT - especially if it is engine or gearbox related.

Also bear in mind that the 4 year service which will invariably required for the warranty is £3k (from an MD).

That said, the GT is a pretty reliable car and for the right price I wouldn't worry too much if you plan to keep for a bit.
 

Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Hi all, thank you so much for your replies and guidance! It’s much appreciated... the reason for my delayed response is I’ve been busy trawling the market and viewing other GT’s! I’ve just viewed a 2017 facelifted version which has a full and on schedule main dealer service history and was fully inspected by them a few weeks ago and everything was given the all clear... however the seller mentioned the need for permanently using a CTEK charger to trickle charge the battery... and that if I don’t do this there is a risk the car won’t start even if it’s only been parked up for a couple of days..! I’ve not come across this ‘advice’ before (none of the other GT sellers I’ve visited have mentioned this to me)... Should I be worried that this car has some sort of parisitic battery drainage problem? Or is the battery dying after a couple of days the norm with GT’s? Many thanks in advance for your feedback!
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,626
It’s a 4 year old oem battery I suspect so it needs replacement. Varta blue about £80 or a Bosch or Exide should help.

I am of the opinion that permanently Ctek of a battery is not a good thing.

Put the charger on the evening before you use the car only.
 
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Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Thanks Conaero...

Looking at the main dealer inspection report, the battery is in ‘good’ condition... however, is it a possibility that the battery still needs to be replaced? Or would this indicate that the battery itself is not the issue and that it could be something else that is draining it... thoughts please?
 

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,758
These cars are known to eat batteries. If you scroll through 90% of the problem posts on this forum you will see that the first bit of advise is reset, charge or change the battery.
It sounds like this is a private sale, as you said the owner was honest about needing to keep it trickle charged. There can be some parasitic drains such as trackers etc... But shouldn't drain it in a couple of days. Both of my granturismos would last about 3 or 4 weeks before they would noticeably turn over a bit slow, and throw a couple of fault lights.
If it was me, I'd ask them to replace it or get it tested and/or get some money off for it.

Also, just because its just been serviced, doesn't mean it'll have a clean bill of health.

No offence, but from your last few posts, it seems that your not overly knowledgeable about these cars, so I would definitely advise getting an independent inspection done prior to any purchase. A couple of hundred spent now, could save you thousands in the first year of ownership. And if your looking at 2017 cars, you've obviously got a healthy budget.

I don't know your location, but @PrestigeAutoworks is mobile around the London area and travels a bit further a field if required, @conaero and his team at Sportsitalia on the South Coast, Av Engineering in Kent, @marios kriticos Autoshield in Manchester
.. Etc...
 

Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Hi Sam, no offence taken... I’m a complete novice when it comes to high end cars! (I’ve been driving a 320d for the last 10 years lol) But thank you for your feedback... I wasn’t even aware that you could get specialist independent inspections done, but that’s definitely the next step here... the car is based in Retford and I think Manchester is probably the closest location but it’s still approx 1 hour 40 mins away... Are you aware of any other indy’s that could complete the inspection that are closer to Retford? Or is @marios kriticos my best bet?
 

montravia

Member
Messages
1,623
I got the usual fault codes. My 2.5 year old battery tested 'good when checked. Replaced it with the Bosch. All the faults disappeared.
Just that it tested good after a charge doesn't mean much
 

Arehman

New Member
Messages
13
Out of interest, could anyone please advise how much it could cost to test and fix a parasitic battery drainage issue?
 

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,758
Hi Sam, no offence taken... I’m a complete novice when it comes to high end cars! (I’ve been driving a 320d for the last 10 years lol) But thank you for your feedback... I wasn’t even aware that you could get specialist independent inspections done, but that’s definitely the next step here... the car is based in Retford and I think Manchester is probably the closest location but it’s still approx 1 hour 40 mins away... Are you aware of any other indy’s that could complete the inspection that are closer to Retford? Or is @marios kriticos my best bet?

I'm not too familiar with what specialists are 'up norf' other than the main dealers Greypaul Nottingham, Jct600 Bradford and the independent Autoshield Manchester, as I've used them myself.

To be fair there 'shouldn't' be much wrong with a 2017 car so don't panic, and if all you need is a new battery that's to be expected anyway.
 

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,758
Out of interest, could anyone please advise how much it could cost to test and fix a parasitic battery drainage issue?

What Phil said. You could identify it quickly with a multimeter and just pulling a couple of fuses..... Or it could be hours and hours to trace.
However, as was said, it's very likely that it's just the battery that needs replacing after 4 years.