Hello, Gran Turismo MC shift wanted

[Wowbagger]

Hello,

I am a new member from Perthshire and I am hoping to buy a GranTurismo MC shift in the next few weeks. My budget will be £55k ish but I may be able to go a bit higher for the right car,
I have had a brief test drive at the dealer in Edinburgh and I have read a lot of threads on here but I still have a couple of questions.

What is the best suspension option? We have a lot of superb driving roads round here (The top gear Ferrari F12 video where they claimed to be in the south of England was filmed near here) so I want it to handle well and cope with these sometimes very challenging roads but I want to retain the GT character and not ruin the ride quality.

Does the car need oil changes between the main services? I am seeing a lot of 4 year old cars with only two services and I'm wondering if that is OK.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Robert.

 

[Bowker Maserati]

Hi Robert

I have a couple of MC Shifts available, check out our website, pictures waiting on a couple of them. we have sold a couple of Maseratis to Scotland recently.
http://www.bowkermotorgroup.co.uk/maserati/pre-owned/

Servicing is every two year or 12500 miles, service history is crucial, if you need any info and have any questions don't hesitate to ask

Gary

 

[Wowbagger]

Thanks, I have been looking at the adverts for your cars, particularly the black one with red leather and the handling package but I am not in a position to buy quite yet.

 

[Bowker Maserati]

Thanks, I have been looking at the adverts for your cars, particularly the black one with red leather and the handling package but I am not in a position to buy quite yet.

No worries Robert, give me a shout when you are ready and ill see what we have to offer you
gary

 

[Felonious Crud]

Hi Robert, welcome.

Excellent choice! I can't comment I whether Skyhook or non-Skyhook is better. I have it and the car drives and handles brilliantly. From what I understand it drives and handles brilliantly without it, too. I think Skyhook can help even out bumpy roads, but numbs some of the overall feeling. I suppose it depends on what kind of driver you are but unless you have some particular preference you'll likely be delighted whichever route you choose. I seem to recall Harry Metcalfe commenting that it's not worth the £1500 option price, which is less of an issue when you're buying second hand. Have you looked for his Evo video review? We'll worth a watch. The main options I'd suggest you target are front parking sensors and comfort front seats.

Best of luck, keep us posted, and keep asking questions.

 

[bigbob]

Most cars have Skyhook. This allows you to have a soft ride in traffic and a harder ride when the roads open up. I've not driven a non Skyhook car but the reports are that the settings are pretty much in the middle suspension wise.

£60k retail should get you are nice three year old car with a warranty from a sensible dealer. Obviously less private - there was a 58 plate one for sale on here last week for £47k ish.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Wowbagger]

Thanks for the advice, I am definitely after the front parking sensors and comfort seats. I have seen the Harry Metcalfe video and it did make me more sceptical about Skyhook. I am quite drawn to the MC handling package partly because of the slightly lower ride height but some of the roads I drive on regularly have some quite severe yumps and compressions, I don't want it to bottom out and the lower hight may not help with this. To be honest I will probably be perfectly happy whatever suspension it has but it is nice to able to make an informed choice.

 

[Andyk]

A big warm welcome to the forum..Hope you enjoy it here and good luck with your search for your perfect GT.

 

[Felonious Crud]

I am quite drawn to the MC handling package partly because of the slightly lower ride height but some of the roads I drive on regularly have some quite severe yumps and compressions, I don't want it to bottom out and the lower hight may not help with this.

It's a sensible consideration. Aesthetically I think a touch lower looks really good, but from a practical perspective I'm not sure I'd want mine to be any lower than it already is. A Lambo-style lift kit would be useful on a car with a lower ride-height!

 

[bigbob]

You have to remember that Harry Metcalf owned the same 4.2 twice and liked the Skyhook. He then bought the 4.7 later on and only started criticising Skyhook once he was thinking of selling the car - now has.

I don't think any of the suspension options are perfect. The non Skyhook option would irritate me ultimately as it would be too soft when pressing on whereas normal Skyhook is softish for normal use but needs Sport pressed when you want to lean on things. That's why it works best for me - crusing and leaning modes.

The lowered MC Sportline option - essentially the Stradale suspension - would be brilliant for a Sunday morning blast but the GranTurismo is too heavy to be that car IMHO.

 

[Wowbagger]

I am a fairly fast driver and enjoy giving a car some stick down a twisty road but if that was all I wanted I would go and guy a Nissan GTR. I have been considering an F430 but I have kids and I want to be able to drive up to North West Scotland or down to Italy in comfort and style and still have fun when I get there. It sounds like the Skyhook suspension is probably the best compromise but it will partly come down to what is on the market when I am in a position to buy a car.

 

[Felonious Crud]

Skyhook seems to be more common than not, so you should be ok. There are a small number of really good and well respected used dealers around, but some way further south from you unfortunately. Are you prepared to travel? Dicky Grace (Richard Grace cars) and Nareman Virk (Nuvola), as well as Bowker of course, are excellent.

 

[bigbob]

Dealers prefer Skyhook for resale. If I didn't want that and wanted the F1 shift then I would go the whole hog and have a Stradale despite a 911 GT3 being lighter and faster.

 

[Wowbagger]

Skyhook seems to be more common than not, so you should be ok. There are a small number of really good and well respected used dealers around, but some way further south from you unfortunately. Are you prepared to travel? Dicky Grace (Richard Grace cars) and Nareman Virk (Nuvola), as well as Bowker of course, are excellent.

I am happy to travel for the right car, the necessity of travelling for unusual cars is one of the few downsides of living where I do so I have done it before on several occasions.(I went to Southampton for the Barchetta and Kent for the Volvo)
I will keep the above mentioned dealers in mind when I start to look properly.

 

[bigbob]

Yes I do too, used exotic cars tend to be overpriced in Scotland.

 

[Torenno Performance]

A Big vote here for the MC Sportline Suspension package...

Ive driven the 4.7 with Skyhook, without Skyhook, with the MC Sportline Suspension and ofcourse the MC Stradale.

Maserati spent a considerable time getting the MC Stradale/Mc Sportline suspension right, it performs extremely well. My MC Strad is my daily driver, the ride quality doesn't feel any worse than my previous GTS Skyhook, but at the same time the sports characteristics are so much better, car feels tighter, less body roll and can carry more speed into the corners. Its just a great package with a great balance of comfort and great handling.

If I was patient i would hunt out a car with the MC Sportline suspension (you may need to dig deeper, as even dealers sometimes don't know if the car has it!!), or alternatively you follow the great FD upgrade path for the suspension. A simple set of springs will transform the handling like it did on my previous GTS.

Maserati Granturismo Sports Suspension

Regards

Noor

 

[Wowbagger]

A Big vote here for the MC Sportline Suspension package...

Ive driven the 4.7 with Skyhook, without Skyhook, with the MC Sportline Suspension and ofcourse the MC Stradale.

Maserati spent a considerable time getting the MC Stradale/Mc Sportline suspension right, it performs extremely well. My MC Strad is my daily driver, the ride quality doesn't feel any worse than my previous GTS Skyhook, but at the same time the sports characteristics are so much better, car feels tighter, less body roll and can carry more speed into the corners. Its just a great package with a great balance of comfort and great handling.

If I was patient i would hunt out a car with the MC Sportline suspension (you may need to dig deeper, as even dealers sometimes don't know if the car has it!!), or alternatively you follow the great FD upgrade path for the suspension. A simple set of springs will transform the handling like it did on my previous GTS.

Maserati Granturismo Sports Suspension

Regards

Noor

Thanks for the reply, that is exactly the sort of information I wanted, the MC Sportline Suspension sounds like it would be perfect for me and is definitely on the list of must haves for my GTS.