Man maths assistance requested please?

[Rwc13]

You surely have to take account of what your GTS would be worth in 2 years unless an alternative is to sell it and not replace it? And £14k might be more like £10k with a slightly more optimistic lens. If you drive a Strad you will realize quite quickly there is quite a bit of difference - as a driver’s car everything is better and it all adds up to feeling very different to drive. If you like driving the GTS quite hard but find it feels a bit big, doesn’t turn in as sharply as you’d like, lacks some composure on certain roads, the Strad resolves much of that

 

[JonW]

In case this helps Jon, and as a sucker for a Blu Maser, I may be interested in buying your GTS. Is it manual or auto, and what is the interior colour?

Thanks Ewan - PM sent...

 

[slay]

Why wouldn’t I is a great question that I’m trying to come up with a sensible answer to... at the moment, if I try really hard to engage the left hand side of my brain, it comes up with this:

If we assume (being prudent and just for the sakes of a rough calculation) that in 2 years time the Strad would be worth £55k. This means, if I financed it with a final payment of £39k, that would leave me with roughly 16k of “value” in the car for a future deposit

If we also assume that the current value given for my GTS in part ex is £30k, then the cost of ownership over the two years is the 14k reduction in my available deposit plus the £5k in interest payments. There would probably also need to be a new clutch if I wanted to sell the Strad for close to £60k, so maybe another 4k on top. I’m not adding anything for brakes or servicing, as I’m going to have do these on my GTS anyway.

So I think that means I’m looking at a total cost of ownership of roughly 24k over two years... which on the face of it looks expensive.

However, if I kept my GTS that would probably only be worth £20k in two years, so I feel as though maybe I can justify saying that 10k of that £24k is effectively a sunk cost, and therefore the fundamental question is whether I think £14k is a fair cost for two years of owning a Strad, and how much upside I think there might be in owning a limited edition Centennial in a rare colour.

I also still have some doubts over how much better than a GTS can a Strad be...

I was thinking exactly th same thing, until I drove one, and the answer is a definitely yes. Why don’t you go to the dealer for a test drive? That would help with your decision making, or make it more difficult to say no to a Stradale.

 

[Oliver6796]

What’s the expected pad life on a Strad ?

 

[Strad]

All
I know this car has been posted before, but I’m interested in the collective view on:

1) a fair price for a centennial with full Maserati service history, 19k miles, 50% clutch wear and 50% brake pads
2) likely value in 2 yrs time with roughly 25k miles
3) a sensible trade-in price for my GTS (2012, 36k miles, full history, med blu, etc...)

Hi Jon,
Who knows what the residuals will be in two years but it’s highly probable that the Stradale’s depreciation curve will be flatter than the GTS’s so my man maths says that pays for the upgrade. Done.

I question whether the Centennial cars really offer much over the standard car but that’s probably just the over-powering red which doesn’t work for me and in fairness this one doesn’t have too much of that. The clutch and pads are what they are for a car with 19k miles. As a comparison Romans have a Stradale with just 4.8k miles which though has a deposit taken, probably would have been interesting (if you like pure white) as the £6k gap could have been narrowed - man maths then says buy the lower mileage car where the extra cost is covered (mostly) by not having to do the clutch and pads and long term residuals will be stronger.

The one guarantee you have is that the Stradale is truly epic, I waste far too much time trawling Autotrader and 17 months into ownership, just can’t think of anything else that gets near for the money. You have to buy one!!

Mark.
p.s. I was going to say “Shame no MC Design alloys” but you have the spare set from my Stradale. Did you sell the Neptunes as you have to get the MC’s on your soon to be new Stradale.......??

 

[Lavazza]

Honest question, and not trying to be argumentative, how can the depreciation curve on the Strad be less than an older GTS?

 

[Strad]

Honest question, and not trying to be argumentative, how can the depreciation curve on the Strad be less than an older GTS?

It makes perfect sense to someone who has a massively biased view on how these rare and special cars should depreciate or not!!! However, trying to be slightly more impartial, that’s a good question and if the numbers talked about earlier in the thread are anything to go by then there’s not a huge £ amount in it.
Just so my deluded man maths still works, I’m going to focus on how Jon estimates the trade in at £30k now but £20k in two years time which at 33% is a steeper depreciation than a well looked after Strad over the same period.

 

[Lavazza]

Fair enough. I guess only time will tell. £20k would be super cheap for a GTS though. Trade-in prices generally seem insultingly low though; at that price point you'd surely just keep it and enjoy without bothering about mileage etc?

My advice on this one would be to drive the Strad' and see if it really feels like it justifies the extra outlay. You could have a lot of fun with the price difference.

Ps. I absolutely agree that the Strad' is rare and special.

 

[JonW]

It makes perfect sense to someone who has a massively biased view on how these rare and special cars should depreciate or not!!! However, trying to be slightly more impartial, that’s a good question and if the numbers talked about earlier in the thread are anything to go by then there’s not a huge £ amount in it.
Just so my deluded man maths still works, I’m going to focus on how Jon estimates the trade in at £30k now but £20k in two years time which at 33% is a steeper depreciation than a well looked after Strad over the same period.

Fair enough. I guess only time will tell. £20k would be super cheap for a GTS though. Trade-in prices generally seem insultingly low though; at that price point you'd surely just keep it and enjoy without bothering about mileage etc?

My advice on this one would be to drive the Strad' and see if it really feels like it justifies the extra outlay. You could have a lot of fun with the price difference.

Ps. I absolutely agree that the Strad' is rare and special.

Thank you both. I think I may be gaining an appreciation of what it feels like to be bi-polar, as I’ve got two sides of my brain trying to persuade me they are right....

Side 1: Just buy it... it’s fecking gorgeous and shiny and quick... and rare

Side 2: Get real - you don’t need a better car, you have NEVER used finance before, and it will end up costing you much more than it is worth...

Side 1: Blah, blah, blah, for once in your life don’t be a boring accountant. You only live once, and £200/month is less than you spend on cappuccinos and flat whites!

Side 2: it’s not even a nicer colour than the one you’ve got.... and
only car nerds like you will know it’s any different.

@Lavazza - hope you don’t mind but I’m going to add you onto Team 2, as almost everyone else on here seems to be firmly in Team 1...

 

[Lavazza]

Don't mind at all.

My man maths calculator is alive and well though. Before now I've bought a Lancia Fulvia on the justification that I could save the necessary purchase funds by reducing my canteen spend!

I'm very tight and like to own cars outright, but I can see the fun in fantasy garage purchases..but are you still happy if it ends two years later without owning it? Or excited at the prospect of financing your next fantasy garage experience?

The price to play could fund some brilliant road trips in your current car though.

Whatever you do, as long as your happy with your choice and have no regrets, then that's the right decision. Enjoy!

 

[Rwc13]

Side 1 for the comfortable win then!

 

[D Walker]

I’m down the middle,
I like the car......but, I don’t like financing,
I too went through this fantasy for an F430 Spyder, but luckily the trade in and finance terms from Ferrari were an abhorrent anathema...

 

[rockits]

Thank you both. I think I may be gaining an appreciation of what it feels like to be bi-polar, as I’ve got two sides of my brain trying to persuade me they are right....

Side 1: Just buy it... it’s fecking gorgeous and shiny and quick... and rare

Side 2: Get real - you don’t need a better car, you have NEVER used finance before, and it will end up costing you much more than it is worth...

Side 1: Blah, blah, blah, for once in your life don’t be a boring accountant. You only live once, and £200/month is less than you spend on cappuccinos and flat whites!

Side 2: it’s not even a nicer colour than the one you’ve got.... and
only car nerds like you will know it’s any different.

@Lavazza - hope you don’t mind but I’m going to add you onto Team 2, as almost everyone else on here seems to be firmly in Team 1...

I'm very similar to you on this and see it a similar way. I guess it is the law of diminishing returns. Yes of course the Strad is a better car for most. Is it twice or more better than a GTS...of course not. Man maths was as we all know invented to somehow find a way to justify the not so justified.

That is not to say you shouldn't do it but you have a considered thoughtful approach rather than a gung ho throw caution to the wind approach. Same as me. No bad thing and to be applauded.

If money was no object it is not a decision....do it. If like me money it is very much an object then it changes all.

If it were me I would be keeping the GTS as couldn't justify the Strad. I don't see a 30k GTS being worth only 20k in 2 years though as expect it to be worth more. I think the depreciation curve for a GTS is slowing now and is supported by early also plentiful 4.2's underneath.

I bought my 4200 as I thought it represented the very best vfm and was a sensible purchase for a non-sensible car purchase. I was looking at 430's and thinking it is not worth 3 times the price against a car that is half to two thirds of a 430. Same decision on buying my 4200 to a GS as a GS at the time was 10k more. Was it worth it....not IMHO. I stand by that today and still happy with my decision.

I can understand these new fangled ways of financing a car but the costs are the costs. Can you afford or judytify the costs only you can say. A GTS is still a very fine car. Will you regret not having the Strad? Only you can say.

I don't do as many miles as I would like so to me the difference is less marked as I have less time to enjoy the benefits. You may have different circumstances though.

The main problem is you are starting form a very fine car in a GTS already that most people would give their left arm for and would be very happy with.

We can all chip in with our 2p's but the buck stops with you ultimately. You don't really need to justify your decision to us only yourself and maybe your wife/family.

What a decision in life though?!

 

[Felonious Crud]

It’s only money and you can’t take it with you. A monthly bill for takeaway coffee.

When I replaced my GTS, a Strad was out of the running for being too aesthetically similar. The topic of this thread is a uniquely gorgeous car and one which is more likely to hold its value than the relatively common GTS.

Despite my glib opening comment, for me the decision would boil down more to grin factor than financial. And that Strad really is worth a huge grin.

 

[rockits]

Forgot to add as Adam mentions. We are on this planet for a short time so don't have any regrets. You can't take your money with you.

My decisions are based on the fact that I need that money for other things. Sometimes this has been to buy/another car/cars I always wanted as a kid. I find it hard to have just one car so split my money across several. I could easily buy a Strad or more cash if I sold them all but choose a different approach.

I'm also not a fan of any finance other than a mortgage that I'm trying to deal with but obviously the numbers are much harder to settle.

 

[Oneball]

I’m going to be the voice of doom and gloom. Apart from the hideous colour. I don’t understand the Stradale. It takes what was at the time a good car (auto shift) and ads the not so good gearbox and then makes it less good as a GT and pants as a sports car. I don’t see the values holding up in the long term. They sold few because few wanted them. I think value wise they’ll end up at current GS levels.

 

[Felonious Crud]

I’m limited on the space, time and energy needed to deal with owning more than two cars. The admin would give me the right hump. We own one car outright (paid cash) and the other is financed. It costs far less than the mortgage and the children and therefore my man maths calculator just shrugs at it and concerns itself with more vocal monthly duties.

 

[conaero]

What’s the expected pad life on a Strad ?

I would say easily 30k miles. I feel my Strad will do 40k miles as they are half spent at 26k.

 

[Felonious Crud]

I’m going to be the voice of doom and gloom. Apart from the hideous colour. I don’t understand the Stradale. It takes what was at the time a good car (auto shift) and ads the not so good gearbox and then makes it less good as a GT and pants as a sports car. I don’t see the values holding up in the long term. They sold few because few wanted them. I think value wise they’ll end up at current GS levels.

That’ll be you working outside the headmaster’s office for the rest of the week!

 

[safrane]

Is the £60k value in two years what you can sell it for or what a dealer will sell it for? There will be c£5k minimum in both transactions so its current value should reflect the lower cost as should your sale price.