Looking to make the leap

Alifry

New Member
Messages
6
Evening all. I’m 99% decided on taking the leap, and getting a Granturismo.

It would be a 3rd car, so very much a “toy”, used weekly but probably covering about £4K a year.

I’m thinking a 2008/09 GT, about 40k miles, mainly driven by budget (and keeping it low enough so I don’t end up sleeping on the sofa)

The main question, is what are the sort of things I should be looking for, beyond the usual “full service history/accident damage” stuff. - I.e common faults or issues.

Thanks for anyone’s thoughts.


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Navcorr

Member
Messages
3,839
Evening all. I’m 99% decided on taking the leap, and getting a Granturismo.

It would be a 3rd car, so very much a “toy”, used weekly but probably covering about £4K a year.

I’m thinking a 2008/09 GT, about 40k miles, mainly driven by budget (and keeping it low enough so I don’t end up sleeping on the sofa)

The main question, is what are the sort of things I should be looking for, beyond the usual “full service history/accident damage” stuff. - I.e common faults or issues.

Thanks for anyone’s thoughts.


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Good evening. Welcome. I'll say it before someone else does - there's no such thing as a Maserati that's economic to run.
That said its a buyers market at present with plenty of choice and you'll can get an awful lot of car for your money.
Buying wisely will minimise the inherent risks - you've made a good start by, errr, starting here. Enjoy the search.
 

Alifry

New Member
Messages
6
Good evening. Welcome. I'll say it before someone else does - there's no such thing as a Maserati that's economic to run.
That said its a buyers market at present with plenty of choice and you'll can get an awful lot of car for your money.
Buying wisely will minimise the inherent risks - you've made a good start by, errr, starting here. Enjoy the search.

Thanks - less worried about the running cost, mainly the initial purchase price (I have a tendency to get carried away when buying things - eg go out for 08 GT and come back with a 14 MC), and wanting to avoid lemons as much as possible.


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MGT

Member
Messages
262
Thanks - less worried about the running cost, mainly the initial purchase price (I have a tendency to get carried away when buying things - eg go out for 08 GT and come back with a 14 MC), and wanting to avoid lemons as much as possible.

Check out my MC Shift for sale and call/PM me if you'd like to discuss. You pretty much described my car in your first post!

Here it is : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123399764254
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
All sound advice above. No matter where you buy there is no substitute for a proper inspection.

Things I know of on the GT(S):

Front upper suspension bushes - these wear and cause clunks and unusual handling.

Make sure the A/C works - condensers are a pain to change.

Brake discs are expensive (for now) so make sure there is plenty of life left in them.

Autos can have issues with limp home if there is a sensor fault.

The nav screens can freeze requiring a new hard drive.

Choose a car with as much history as you can. Every thing that has been done by the previous owner is something you aren’t going to have to do.
 
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MGT

Member
Messages
262
Forgot to mention - Christian Lewis are down the road (5 min drive) and both Christian/Ed know my car well. I am sure they would happily facilitate any inspection.
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,017
Also check for timing gear gasket leaks (cheap parts, eye-watering amount of labour) and cam-gasket leaks. It takes a proper inspection for the timing gear - the under-tray can hide things quite nicely and also acts as an excellent place for oil drips to hide. Oh, and the bearing at the front of the a/c compressor can also wear out, which means a new compressor.

But don’t be put off - these are amazing, wonderful, intoxicating cars. Love ‘em.
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,040
Great advice above....more advice would do go for an GT S and not a GT as they are worlds apart and when you can get Phils GT S on here for a few K more than a GT it makes no sense not taking the leap. If it's a third car then the GT S will feel even more special. Phils car may have 57k on the clock so more than what you have asked for but now these cars are 10 years old it's more about condition and history than miles and age and Phils is a well looked after car with all the bits done that needs doing...All for 27995.... Seems a great buy to me.
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,017
It's a good point. I'd sooner have a car which had been used than not. More bits stop working when not used then when they are used. I sold mine at around 53k miles and it was running like an absolute dream.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
im fairly new to Maserati ownership (classic) and don't really have any knowledge of these modern models being discussed, but what I can say as per some of the comments already mentioned above, I have seen high mileage cars that have been in fantastic condition and extremely well looked after by fastidious owners and then on the other side of the coin ultra low mileage cars that are in extremely poor condition and with all sorts of problems from lack of proper maintenance, poor bodywork and kept in damp garages picking up rust on the underside, forget mileage to a certain degree and concentrate on actual physical condition and maintenance regime the car has had
 

Alifry

New Member
Messages
6
All, thanks for the input. Certainly things to consider. What is everyone’s thoughts on warranty’s? A worthwhile investment or a waste of cash?


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dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
Messages
7,309
All, thanks for the input. Certainly things to consider. What is everyone’s thoughts on warranty’s? A worthwhile investment or a waste of cash?


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If buying from a dealer you’ll get a warranty, just make sure it’s from a reputable company. If buying privately, your call, but they’re not cheap, about £1k for a good 6 month warranty and £1750 for 12 months. Bargain if you need to make a large claim, waste of money if it’s not required but it does give peace of mind.
 

BuckRog64

Member
Messages
334
Check the claim limits on any warranty. Limits tend to reduce on cars over say 5 years old and/or premiums increase. Others can better advise but I think you'd need a minimum per item limit of £2.5k and ideally £5k to cover things like aircon, variators etc.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
was thinking of getting one of those aftermarket private warranties a few months back for one of my daily jelopies and they are not cheap, the amount of get out clauses in small print is ridiculous, heard of stories where engine/part has to be stripped to establish how it's failed and then if not covered you end up with a huge garage bill for the work carried out to strip down and a car in bits, waste of money in my opinion, but I'm sure some have benefitted from such warranties.
 
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bigbob

Member
Messages
8,952
was thinking of getting one of those aftermarket private warranties a few months back for one of my daily jelopies and they are not cheap, the amount of get out clauses in small print is ridiculous, heard of stories where engine/part has to be stripped to establish how it's failed and then if not covered you end up with a huge garage bill for the work carried out to strip down and a car in bits, waste of money in my opinion, but I'm sure some have benefitted from such warranties.

Indeed, warranty companies only make money because the average claim costs less than the average premium. It's a question of how lucky you feel!