Newbie seriously considering a GT

[Sam McGoo]

Just thought I'd say hi.
I've joined the forum hoping to find a bit of info/and or buyers guide for a GT.

I'm at that point where I've been working hard all my life (so far) and feel I should treat myself to a new motor.
I've always been a petrol head but have only had a modest budget to play with which has kept me mainly in Japanese cars. My current one being a Nissan 350z which is Supercharged and running 442bhp. (Pics below) I've had it 5 years now and love it, but feel it may be time for a change to something special.





I've spent the last year thinking my next purchase was going to be an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, until I recently when I saw a GT for sale....What an awesome looking car!

So here I am. I'll spend a bit of time reading through this forum and see what info I can find, and I'm sure I'll have a few questions in the not too distant future. In the mean time, if anyone has any buying advise, what to look out for, any re-occurring problems, dealer or private etc.. it would be appreciated. There doesn't seem to be a massive amount of info out there for these rare cars.
Also, I do like to have a tinker with my cars. Are some of the 'niggles' and basic service items easy enough for DIY? Or is this a big 'No no' for a marque such as this?

I'm hoping to have a good look and drive of one at some point this week, so will know more about if its the car for me after that. My main concern is whether it will feel a little under powered, but I'm hoping the noise and sense of being in something special will be enough to overcome that!

Budget will be around 35k so probably just the 4.2 in my price bracket. With dealer prices, what can I expect to realistically get off advertised prices? ie my budget of ~35k shall I be looking up to 40k advertised?

Cheers,

Sam

 

[Trev Latter]

Hi and welcome. If you haven't discovered him already, speak to Richard Grace. He's a well respected independent specialist and a really nice guy to deal with. I'm sure some GT owners will be along shortly to answer all your questions.

 

[Andyk]

A big warm welcome to the forum...As Trev has said...Speak to Dicky Grace as he will be more than welcome to help you.....Even if its just advice...but pretty sure he could find you your perfect Maserati.

http://www.richardgracecars.co.uk/

A very different car the GT to your 350Z......GT will feel heavy and it certainly is more GT than sports car. But you will feel very special every time you get in her and as you say the noise is good and it looks stunning.

 

[hoyin]

Good luck with the search. Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have. Someone will be able to answer them.

Where are you in the UK?

Regardless make sure you drive both the AM and GT. Also when you drive the GT make sure you try all variants as they all sound and drive differently.

 

[safrane]

Welcome.

4.2 is a lovely car and there are plenty for sale in that price range.

Your main areas to look at are brakes and suspension as most of the early ones will be showing wear and tear.

DIY service is doable but what you save you may loose when you sell as people expect to see a service hustory as a bit of a guarantee its not been scrimped on.

 

[Doohickey]

Welcome to the forum. I don't think there are too many of us with 4.2s on here but they are great cars. I've had mine for about 15 months now and I love it. Mine's March 2008 so an early car but I've had no problems with mine at all (bound to go wrong tomorrow now!).

I guess the usual rules apply - buy the best you can afford, FSH is a must and get an independent inspection if it's private. You've already been pointed towards Dickie who is a great source of cars and advice. I'd have thought self servicing is a possible as Peter said, it will probably impact come sale time.

If you're local you're more than welcome to come and have a look at mine.

 

[stewarttownsend]

Yep take Dave's out, its like a bat out of **** ... I still think there is a 4.7 hidden under there ☺

 

[stewarttownsend]

I was in same thinking as you Sam I was looking at Aston's, Jags etc and then spoke to the guys on here and then a long call with Richard G and I was sold on the Maaerati... Never looked back and everyone will smile as you drive by.

Nice Nissan looks awesome, you going to keep that as well

 

[StuartW]

Welcome along and the GT 4.2 is an excellent car. As has been said already, very much a GT but there are plenty around to look at and to test drive at dealers so take your time and enjoy the hunt

 

[VMSRTI]

Welcome Sam. You will find lots of info on here and as other have said, start with talking to Richard Grace.

 

[dickygrace]

Firstly welcome to the fold Sam, and I'd be happy to discuss any queries you have. Secondly, thanks so much to all for the glowing recommendations.

 

[Sam McGoo]

Thanks for the warm welcomes guys.
Sorry I took a while to reply, I've had a busy week and been sorting out the sale of my current car.

So first things first, I obviously needed to take one for a drive to see if I even liked the GT other than the looks. So being the only one close to me and around budget I wet for a look at this one.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507165262398?radius=1500&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&sort=default&postcode=pe149lj&page=2&price-from=500&price-to=40000&search-target=usedcars&make=maserati&model=granturismo&logcode=p

I thought the price might be a little high compared to some of the others I've seen for sale of that year and similar mileage. The condition was pretty good. There were a few marks and stone chips here and there, but nothing significant and unexpected for a car its age. The interior was immaculate, it had new tyres, new pads all round and discs up front and just serviced. Also comes with a 12 month warranty but I'm yet to find out what that covers exactly.

What do you guys in the know think regarding pricing? How much can you expect to get off a dealers' advertised price?


Anyway... The test drive .... Nice! Its a very nice place to sit and surprisingly quiet and refined inside. I liked it a lot.
For a big GT car it handled much better than I was expecting. And although a bit slower than my current car, I think the noise and sense of occasion made up for it. I also liked the different gearbox options, paddles, knocking the stick up and down and full auto etc...

Now the noise...Wow what a lovely tone it has low down and fierce growl at redline! I've read a few comments regarding the early 4.2 being a bit too quiet. And it was a little quieter than I may have liked but was still impressive.

I had a little look underneath and saw what I thought was an alteration to the exhaust just forward of the x-pipe. Can anyone shed any light on what is going on with this?

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm145/sammcgoo78/Mobile Uploads/20150901_140534_zps329ifumd.jpg

Anyway, I think a GT has just jumped to the top of my want list. Just need to do a bit more research, and maybe speak to a few people in the know (that might be you Dicky! if you don't mind) also if a 4.2 would be enough, or whether I should hold off till the 4.7 drops into budget.....

 

[hoyin]

It says adjustable front head restraints. Really? How do you adjust them??

The only thing I note is that there is no front parking sensors. This is something that I would prefer.

 

[StuartW]

I was at Marshall a couple of weeks ago and saw that car. It's a nice car but for that mileage, I think the price is a little high and can see them dropping it by a few thousand. At £40k, you are getting very close to 4.7 territory so if you can stretch a few more thousand, then I would.

And I don't like the look of that exhaust, someone has been playing around with it - they're not like that out of the factory.

And I echo the suggestion above, go for front parking sensors if you can - very important!

Good luck

 

[bigbob]

It says adjustable front head restraints. Really? How do you adjust them??

The only thing I note is that there is no front parking sensors. This is something that I would prefer.

They do but only horizontally not vertically and it's just a tilt function.

 

[hoyin]

Do you just push them manually?

 

[bigbob]

Do you just push them manually?

Hi, get hold of them at the bottom of each side and they tilt backwards and forwards.

 

[Sam McGoo]

I was at Marshall a couple of weeks ago and saw that car. It's a nice car but for that mileage, I think the price is a little high and can see them dropping it by a few thousand. At £40k, you are getting very close to 4.7 territory so if you can stretch a few more thousand, then I would.

And I don't like the look of that exhaust, someone has been playing around with it - they're not like that out of the factory.

And I echo the suggestion above, go for front parking sensors if you can - very important!

Good luck

Hi, thanks for the reply. The exhaust did concern me a little, as it's obviously some diy bodge job, but I was wondering if that's why is sounded nice and if I'd be disappointed with the sound of a standard one now lol.
What's your impression of marshal Maserati ? I hear it's only been there a year. Are you fairly local to it then?

I may need to find a 4.7 s to try, as everything I read says that's the one to get and if my budget might stretch that far I assume the depreciation will be a bit slower if it's the more desirable one?

 

[hoyin]

Hi, thanks for the reply. The exhaust did concern me a little, as it's obviously some diy bodge job, but I was wondering if that's why is sounded nice and if I'd be disappointed with the sound of a standard one now lol.
What's your impression of marshal Maserati ? I hear it's only been there a year. Are you fairly local to it then?

I may need to find a 4.7 s to try, as everything I read says that's the one to get and if my budget might stretch that far I assume the depreciation will be a bit slower if it's the more desirable one?

I would say the depreciation would be less for a 4.2. Whilst the 4.7 maybe more desirable they are also newer. The 4.2 I would say has been around long enough that the prices are at the bottom and would be fairly static.

If you are looking at 4.7 there is the S and then the MC Shift. But once you start looking there you are in a dangerous slippery slope to spending more money than you want to.

If your budget is tight and you want the noise you can go for a 4.2 and get an xpipe fitted.

Suggest you try driving a 4.7. You may find the 4.2 is good enough (unlikely, but you never know!).

 

[StuartW]

Hi Sam, as much as the exhaust looks a bit of a mess, I don't think any MD would sell a car that had an obvious blowing exhaust - they do all sound very good! The 4.2 is still an excellent car but for £40k, I was pointing out that you are getting close to 4.7 money.
I have found Marshall to be fine with my dealings with them. They are new of course and from a service perspective, there is always that fear that they don't have the experience yet but you have to start somewhere!
If you 'only' had £35k to spend, I would say go for a 4.2 and you'll be very happy but with £40k, I suggest you try a 4.7 also and then decide if you want to try to stretch a little more.
Good luck