Now that is pushing it too far - a 15k granturismo

Zep

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Ten years later, you cant source basics parts for a car in some cases...(eg QP5-PAS exchanger. OBSOLETE N/A. Why does it matter ? Because they keep leaking as they were placed in a vulnerable place )

While I agree that their approach to older models is not great, this is not a good example. The replacement later cooler will fit an older QPV, it just won’t fit some other cars as a work around.

As for the vulnerable place, this is a fact of life for lots of cars. Manufacturers make mistakes, BMW put the wrong gauge of wire on the rear lights on the E60, Audi make crappy oil pumps which break (the bastards!), Aston Martin Vantage rear lights leak water onto the electrics frying the PCBs, Porsche IMS bearings. I could go on and these issues occur on cars with much higher R&D budgets.

And Dealers, where do I start. My company BMW coming back from a service the fleet company having been charged for new brake discs, that weren’t new, VW leaving the keys to my friends car in the cupholder of another customers car. Maserati don’t give a f00k, but does anyone else?

I love my car, I love my old one, they were great, **** parts prices and all. I actually enjoy part of the experience that requires some ingenuity to own the car. It makes the whole thing a bit less ordinary. If I wanted cheap and plentiful parts I’d buy a VW Golf.

The car in this post needs a lot of love, I feel a bit sorry for the chap that has clearly tried and failed to run it in the way it needed. It might be rescued like an abandoned puppy, because of its cute eyes, or it might end up in a sack at the bottom of a canal. But it will have given someone a lot of smiles and that, surely, is the point.
 

Lavazza

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1,060
Am I missing something...if you look after something in the first place, you shouldn't end up in a position where you end up selling it for peanuts.

I don't think there's anything especially difficult about looking after a Granturismo, it just the cost, surely?
 

Contigo

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As an example he put new discs on it (would have failed MOT on them) and put the old pads back in. Most of us (99.9%) on here would have put new pads in when replacing the discs and also done the suspension bushes at the same time. Whilst the wheels were off we would have had them refurbed and new tyres put on.

It's these things which separate a loved car from a champagne car run on lemonade money.
 

Oneball

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11,075
As an example he put new discs on it (would have failed MOT on them) and put the old pads back in. Most of us (99.9%) on here would have put new pads in when replacing the discs and also done the suspension bushes at the same time. Whilst the wheels were off we would have had them refurbed and new tyres put on.

It's these things which separate a loved car from a champagne car run on lemonade money.

I’ve begun to think some people do this sort of cr p thinking it’s the right thing.

Someone took a fair bit of effort to bypass a relay on my car when it just need a new one for £8. I had a 540i a couple of years ago that someone had blacked out the ABS light instead of changing the sensor. It’s 15 mins to change the sensor but about 5 hours to take the dash apart and separate the binnacle to get to the paint the light over.
 

philw696

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25,120
Am I missing something...if you look after something in the first place, you shouldn't end up in a position where you end up selling it for peanuts.

I don't think there's anything especially difficult about looking after a Granturismo, it just the cost, surely?
From my experience the GT 4.2 is a lot easier to look after than the F1 transmission cars. Some jobs are labour intensive like variators.
Most of the service work is straight forward but parts can be expensive but relative to the original purchase cost.
 

CatmanV2

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48,555
As an example he put new discs on it (would have failed MOT on them) and put the old pads back in. Most of us (99.9%) on here would have put new pads in when replacing the discs and also done the suspension bushes at the same time. Whilst the wheels were off we would have had them refurbed and new tyres put on.

It's these things which separate a loved car from a champagne car run on lemonade money.

I think that's bordering on obsessive. I'd change the discs and pads for sure. For me there's no link on the other stuff *unless* the bushes needed doing. If I was planning on doing the wheels, then yes.

But I certainly wouldn't think: Oh pads and discs, and while I'm there.....
YMMV

C
 

Contigo

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I think that's bordering on obsessive. I'd change the discs and pads for sure. For me there's no link on the other stuff *unless* the bushes needed doing. If I was planning on doing the wheels, then yes.

But I certainly wouldn't think: Oh pads and discs, and while I'm there.....
YMMV

C
The bushes need doing, he has the kits. Whilst this work was done he could easily have had the bushes done while it was on the ramp having the discs done. It's not obsessive it's about getting the car in tip top shape and the love it deserves. Why buy a car like that if you are going to scrimp on the finer points?
Again champagne car run on lemonade budget. The irony is it has cost him more now at the time of sale.

He just called and said he wants to put the price up because he has had 30 odd calls again today (multitude of dreamers trust me) and many have offered him £15k transfer over the phone. I said he should have snapped their hand off ffs! He talked about needs to be face to face, I disagree, more fool them.

Anyway told him I wouldn't be paying full price as it needs £3-4k spend and he said no way so I covered all the items and he came round to my way of thinking. He said he would call if no one buys it.

I'll expect a call next week.
 

bigbob

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8,952
Bush kits are quite cheap, it’s the labour and the risk of snapping a wishbone that stopped my local garage from being prepared to do it.

Lots of sensible comment on here but a car that needs work doing should have it done or be a px, not a private sale. All IMHO of course.
 

Oneball

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11,075
Bush kits are quite cheap, it’s the labour and the risk of snapping a wishbone that stopped my local garage from being prepared to do it.

Lots of sensible comment on here but a car that needs work doing should have it done or be a px, not a private sale. All IMHO of course.

I think he deserves a pat on the back, hasn’t tried to screw a dealer (which a lot of people think is fair game) he’s been open about the issues. There’s an awful lot of people who would have it up for £20k and not say anything of the issues.
 

BuckRog64

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334
Bush kits are quite cheap, it’s the labour and the risk of snapping a wishbone that stopped my local garage from being prepared to do it.

Lots of sensible comment on here but a car that needs work doing should have it done or be a px, not a private sale. All IMHO of course.
I've always sold my cars privately with no known faults and it would be nice if everyone else did the same (or at least list what needs attention). Problem with a car like this being px'd is the possibility of the trader who retails it only doing the obvious fixes.

Re bushes, forgive me if I misunderstood but I recall Voicey telling me it was as cost effective to simply change the wishbone due to the labour and risks associated with extracting bushes.
 

bigbob

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8,952
I've always sold my cars privately with no known faults and it would be nice if everyone else did the same (or at least list what needs attention). Problem with a car like this being px'd is the possibility of the trader who retails it only doing the obvious fixes.

Re bushes, forgive me if I misunderstood but I recall Voicey telling me it was as cost effective to simply change the wishbone due to the labour and risks associated with extracting bushes.

Parts price difference is off the scale but the answer also depends on what labour rate you are paying.
 

Zep

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9,110
I’d much rather do the bushes on a GTS than a GS, they really aren’t too tricky once you have your eye in. And you don’t have to drop the rear subframe to get one of the bolts out.
 

Ewan

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6,757
I bet this chap doesn’t even know half of what’s wrong with this GT. Just for a laugh I’m tempted to pay to have it sent to Emblem for a PPI. My bet is that their isn’t enough paper at Viking Direct for them to print out their report!
 

slay

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409
All very interesting discussions. It is actually a good thing that we are seeing these unloved Maserati GT being sold at a ridiculously low price, because of the terrible condition these cars are in. In the short term, not good news for anyone trying to sell the Granturismo, because perspective buyers want the perfectly maintained enthusiast cars at the same prices as these lemons.

In the long run however, you will only see the properly pampered examples owned by enthusiasts like us, and that is when the price will start to appreciate, because none os us will be prepared to sell at a price of a lemon.

I am actually planning to keep mine for the long run, I really don’t know what else would stir my emotion as much as the Granturismo does - Ferrari and Lamborghini simply attracts too much unwanted attentions. The GT enegine and the mechanical parts have been very reliable, A well maintained one will still be on the road in 10, 20 or 30 years time (maybe with a few derived Maserati parts), they will stir the souls the way they do today. Having seen many YouTube videos comparing Maserati GTs and Ferrari exhaust notes - majority of people’s comments all preferred the Maserati !

Regardless of what it’s value will be in 10 years - I am certainly going to enjoy the journey of the ownership.
 

philw696

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25,120
Has anyone actually viewed the car ?
The pictures in the ad on Auto trader don't look too bad but Phil Contigo states they are not the car.
Swans last comments funny as poor neglected car indeed but it was once loved.
 

Contigo

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Has anyone actually viewed the car ?
The pictures in the ad on Auto trader don't look too bad but Phil Contigo states they are not the car.
Swans last comments funny as poor neglected car indeed but it was once loved.

No viewing is hard, not in this week. might not be able to do Saturday... it's all hard work Phil!
 

philw696

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25,120
Cheers Phil just intrigued as to how neglected it really is and what money would buy it.
Asking for a friend.
 

Felonious Crud

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He's been open to the extent that the car pictured in the ad is not the car he is selling. Nuff said!

Seriously??

I was chatting to someone on here recently who'd bought a car from a dealer only to find out that the engine shots were stock pics and not of the car he'd bought, which I thought was pretty bloody cheap and dishonest. The flaking paint on the cam covers gave it away. But an entire car??