Quattroporte in the New Forest

M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Ladies & Gents,


Had a great day out at the Emblem meet. Thank you Peter for the U Tube video of my rear ..... the Quattroporte that is!


Regards,


Paul
 
lozcb

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,586
The QP did you proud Paul and looked the Dogs , had you in my rear view mirror most of the time looked well intimidating :D


regards loz
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Thanks Loz. Appreciated.


Regards,


Paul


PS Your comment reminds me of the name of a powerboat I once saw. It was called 'the bogs dollocks!'


l
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Hi Andy, It was great to meet you and your good lady on the Emblem run.... Matt, Thank you for the welcome to the forum and for the invitation to the Ace Cafe on 11th March. Sorry work commitments prevent me from attending.... I have however signed up to the Auto Italia in Bristol on 24th April, the Lake District run on 23rd May and the Fovant Badges event the following week on 29th May. I am also planning an organsied tour of the RNLI Lifeboat College at Poole followed by a blast around the Isle of Purbeck on 23rd June.... Details to follow.

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Last night I collected two of my sons from the train station and I have to say it is always a pleasure to pull onto the forecourt in what Jeremy Clarkson once described as a thumping great Maserati. Anyway two people from work happened to be on the platform by the entrance and they had a grandstand view of my arrival. Being a private person I have never made Maserati ownership public knowledge...... It was therefore the look of sheer amazement and the jaw dropping expression left on their faces that caused me to laugh all the way home! So sorry for this uncharateristically immodest and boastful account of events but I have included it here on the grounds that it was so cringingly funny! Ha ha he he............
 
lozcb

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,586
Think we all know that feeling , sort of helps convince you, that you definately made the right purchase choice , tho i Bet you get an Audit soon at work , they're gonna be checking there stocks pretty soon once word gets out i reckon ,


regards loz
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
A brief history if thats not too dull!....... I bought my low mileage 2006 QP privately in October last year for a competitive price. I wanted this later model with 19 inch wheels and revised duo select arrangement. I was less concerned about having all of the extras but I was hoping for a pleasing colour. I knew it wasn't perfect but the agreed price provided me with a margin and opportunity to tackle some of the issues. I decided not to do eveything at once so I drew up a list of priorities as follows. Lacquer was peeling in places around the front spoiler, there was a small superficial scrape on the cill and what I would describe as a shot blasting effect at the rear of both cills. Other QP's I looked at seemed to suffer with this. Perhaps it has something to do with the sculpting and flaring arrangement that makes it vulnerable. There were also some dents in the bodywork, probably caused by the careless opening of doors whilst parked. The rear tyres were also well overdue for replacement. This QP had been used as a family car and I wanted to bring back up to standard. I checked the internet for advertised Pirelli P Zero prices and then challenged a local supplier to see what they could do. I then approached Triangle Sprays in the New Forest to quote for paintwork and dent removal. Currently they specialise in Mercedes and Saab but they used to be the preferred choice for Maserati main agents Meridien Modena in Lyndhurst. Their work is not cheap but it is of a high quality. With respect to the rear cills I asked them to fit clear protective transfers, similar to those fitted on the CLS Mercedes. Anyway when I got the car back I was very pleased with the results. The attention to detail was obvious. In February I put the car into Emblem for a 31,000 service. This brought an instant improvement in balance and performance. I simply could not fault their expertise or customer service. The car is going back at the end of month for wheel refurbishment and some finishing touches. I cannot pretend that it will be in concourse condition at the conclusion of this process but it will have the appearance as Top Gear presenter James May once said, of something rather special......

Regards,

Paul
 
Parisien

Parisien

Moderator
Messages
34,927
Paul, loved the overview.....I do hope you get great satisfaction from renewing the inate qualities of your Maserati and enjoying driving it as it was meant to be!

P
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Parisien,

Thank you. The QP occasionally turns heads and receives admiring glances. (Unfortunately I am sure it's the car and not the driver prompting the attention!) It has all come at the right time for me and I am keen to get the very best out of it, hence my membership of this forum.

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Conaero,

I am supposed to be working but I do have some time owing so I will go and knock on some doors......

Regards,

Paul
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,695
Probably want to leave 1ish, we wil play it by ear. It might be easier to meet at Winchester Services for say 1pm?

Maybe a little later if its too early for you.

Matt
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Six months into Quattroporte ownership what's the verdict? Well when I first started looking I test drove a wonderful and totally immaculate version at a main dealership. It was a 2006 model, it had only covered a few thousand miles and it was beautiful. The only problem was the price tag. Now any prospective owner considering this purchase could be certain that they had found a four year old QP in fabulous condition for half the price of a new car. I cannot argue with this great enterprise but I simply did not want to invest the capital required. The recurring question for me was certainly challenging. Could I acquire a vehicle with a similar specification for thousand of pounds less? In effect the answer to this question meant buying privately. However, to venture along this path with an expensive Italian exotic was likely to involve an element of risk. I am not referring just to potential serious mechanical defects but also to the ever present threat posed by fraud. I knew that a cautious, thorough and even what could be considered a tenacious approach to due diligence would be required.........

Paul
 
Emtee

Emtee

New Member
Messages
8,446
Hi Paul, That sounds ominous and you leave us on tenterhooks? I hope everything is okay? Can you elaborate? Cheers, Miles.
 
Andyk

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,402
Please tell us all was OK......I would be gutted for you if there was an issue.
 
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