Newbie N Wales

[zoros]

Courtesy: Richard Grace Maserati (Cheshire/NW).
I took delivery of my first Maserati yesterday in the pouring rain!
She's from Ireland [Charles Hurst: Supplied and Serviced]. Additions: SkyHook and Comfort Pack.
Richard fitted the front perimeter sensors for which I am already very very grateful!!!
A couple of early pics.

PS: This was 14 weeks of research, hundreds of miles of viewing and 2 failed attempts at other purchases.
Some of what I have here is as a result of you lot and your advice and above all - Richard Grace for his font of knowledge and endless efforts to please the customer. Thanks guys.

Couple of camera fone pics for now:







Let the games begin.............................

 

[Parisien]

Result....well done Zoros...........


P

 

[Parisien]

Can you post up a few pics instead of us having to register for dropbox?

Thanks

P

 

[CliveP1]

welcome, That is bloody lovely. enjoy

 

[philw696]

Lovely get out and enjoy.
Well done Richard too for customer satisfaction.
Phil.

 

[Andyk]

Bloody lovely..Another satisfied Dicky customer.......

 

[bigbob]

Hope you enjoy it. I'm on my second dark blue/light interior Maser so think the colour scheme is the right way to go.

Just remember to watch the battery charge. Oh, and the front PTS can be iffy when they are not perfectly dry and clean - worst I have experienced but they are 'all like that'.

 

[highlander]

very nice, bet you are still grinning like a lunatic! lol

 

[zoros]

very nice, bet you are still grinning like a lunatic! lol

Getting used to it - slowly.

I left an E46 M3 for this and they are like black and white.
The M3 is itching to go - slightly nervous and twitchy but on A roads it is a dream car. Downside - permanently "on heat" and a hard ride.

The GT is much more sedate. A tourer - it reminds you it is a half ton heavier than the M3. The size of the car makes you think twice about certain manoeuvres!
Pro's so far: A lot more head turners - not just because she looks sleek (a lot of high end cars are like that) but because it is a Maserati and real petrolheads out there understand that the Maserati is THE "style statement"...dare I say not like "most" of the Ferrari breed...and God help you if you are seen in a Lambo
Con's: That bonnet badge HAS to go. I've seen posher on a LADA. It must have cost Fiat all of 30p to make that badge!

 

[Andyk]

Interested in your thoughts against the M3 as I have one and always liked the idea of a GT...As you say two very different cars..

 

[zoros]

Interested in your thoughts against the M3 as I have one and always liked the idea of a GT...As you say two very different cars..

Hi Andy,
What have you got now then?

The M3 is much much cheaper to run!!! It is a LOT of car for the money wouldn't you agree? Provided you hang around the top of the torque curve, then she runs like a scalded cat! Good fuel consumption too.
The GT is a huge amount of car for your money (especially if you let the depreciation settle(<2009, say)).

If you want driver feed back - M3 all the way - no bones about it! The M3 will tingle your nerves.
If you want style, comfort and quality in heaps - the GT wins. You 'may' be disappointed with the power: The M3 has the edge.
The biggest difference is road holding - you simply couldnt do to the GT what you could do with the M3 on A roads, you'd never stay on the road. The M3 has very very few competitors on A roads.......

I have the GT for the following main reasons:
I need a softer ride. I am late 50's and even though I am a professional helo pilot, my reactions aren't quite what they were (even) ten years ago!
I fancied trying out a car whose kudos was more elevated than a BMW.
I was looking for style / class.
I wanted to own a little piece of motoring history....

I would recommend the (convertible) M3 to anyone (I love convertibles).
But I wouldn't have missed the looks on my kids faces when they saw the GT in the flesh. Pictures don't do it justice, do they.........................

PS: I still have the wind cheater for my M3 if you know anyone who wants to buy one??

 

[Hexadex]

Welcome to the forum, great looking car!

 

[Andyk]

Hi Andy,
What have you got now then?

The M3 is much much cheaper to run!!! It is a LOT of car for the money wouldn't you agree? Provided you hang around the top of the torque curve, then she runs like a scalded cat! Good fuel consumption too.
The GT is a huge amount of car for your money (especially if you let the depreciation settle(<2009, say)).

If you want driver feed back - M3 all the way - no bones about it! The M3 will tingle your nerves.
If you want style, comfort and quality in heaps - the GT wins. You 'may' be disappointed with the power: The M3 has the edge.
The biggest difference is road holding - you simply couldnt do to the GT what you could do with the M3 on A roads, you'd never stay on the road. The M3 has very very few competitors on A roads.......

I have the GT for the following main reasons:
I need a softer ride. I am late 50's and even though I am a professional helo pilot, my reactions aren't quite what they were (even) ten years ago!
I fancied trying out a car whose kudos was more elevated than a BMW.
I was looking for style / class.
I wanted to own a little piece of motoring history....

I would recommend the (convertible) M3 to anyone (I love convertibles).
But I wouldn't have missed the looks on my kids faces when they saw the GT in the flesh. Pictures don't do it justice, do they.........................

PS: I still have the wind cheater for my M3 if you know anyone who wants to buy one??

I still have the M3 for all the reasons above....No other car comes close to it for the money and the family can come along as well........I have had a few M cars E39 M5, E30 M3, M3 CSL and my current E46 so you could say I like them..........

Oh and I want GT for all the reasons above apart from the over 50 bit ;-

 

[zoros]

Had the car a few days now. Still settling down with her on A roads - one can feel the weight. Can't 'chuck' it round like the M3.
On carriageways - she is superior because she is smooth and planted. Brakes are rubbish! 2 tonnes take a lot of stopping.
After 65 miles each way to and from work the mpg shows a very generous 31 mpg @ 70mph average and 27mpg @ possibly 80mph average (but I wasn't looking at the speedo at that stage officer. This is phenomenal for a big block. Good Sat Nav. Good radio quality. Seat comfort average. Steering feedback excellent. Car doesn't wander like the Beemer did. Torque curve most satisfactory.
AND it fits into my garage - hooray! [But needs an outsider to guard my rear wheel arches.

 

[Tilum]

Brakes are rubbish! 2 tonnes take a lot of stopping.

That was my first thoughts about my old base GT It's probably the weakest area of the GranTurismo IMHO. I toyed with the idea of upgrading them by replacing them with the larger brakes that are in the 4.7l engined variants ('S', 'Sport' and 'MC'). But was told that this would void any warranty etc. as the 360mm front discs and 6 pot front calipers were not type approved on the base GT It's a real shame, as the better brakes make a BIG difference! They're still not at Porsche braking levels yet, but they have been drastically improved!

T

 

[hodroyd]

Welcome to the forum Zoros and a lovely choice of car, Richard does get some very nice machines, enjoy her..!!

 

[zoros]

Thanks Hodroyd.