Sold - MY 04 MAS for sale ...£8000 New MOT

[Silvercat]

Sadly after trying to sell my stunning 2009 QP 4.7S ( with full SH, 50kmiles etc..) for over 6 months, I gave up in February and part exed it for a lovely Merc, just 9 months old with just 7k miles on the clock, at the Merc Lookers dealership in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
Best car Ive ever bought and I got a trade in value within spitting distance of my original selling price. So I walked away a very happy chappy.
Worth thinking about if you want to shift the QP quickly ( once the dealers are back open again!)

 

[Motorsport3]

Sadly after trying to sell my stunning 2009 QP 4.7S ( with full SH, 50kmiles etc..) for over 6 months, I gave up in February and part exed it for a lovely Merc, just 9 months old with just 7k miles on the clock, at the Merc Lookers dealership in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
Best car Ive ever bought and I got a trade in value within spitting distance of my original selling price. So I walked away a very happy chappy.
Worth thinking about if you want to shift the QP quickly ( once the dealers are back open again!)

Good call. A new Mercedes will be a lot more dependable (and frugal?) than a 10 year old maserati. What value did they credit for your QP ?

 

[Sommi]

I do have an interest in looking at Merc Family SUVs. Have been researching the R class which is out of production but appeals to me more than than their really large offerings.
Would be interested to know a bit more about what deal is possible and what car did you get, @Silvercat.

 

[Andyk]

Sadly after trying to sell my stunning 2009 QP 4.7S ( with full SH, 50kmiles etc..) for over 6 months, I gave up in February and part exed it for a lovely Merc, just 9 months old with just 7k miles on the clock, at the Merc Lookers dealership in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
Best car Ive ever bought and I got a trade in value within spitting distance of my original selling price. So I walked away a very happy chappy.
Worth thinking about if you want to shift the QP quickly ( once the dealers are back open again!)

I never really warmed to Mercedes but bought a 2013 C250 as my dIly drive 2 years ago and to be honest never looked back. It's pretty quick for a daily drive handles great and is a real quality product. Never let me down and the interior and build quality is supurb. I had a brand new Jaguar XE which looked great and I also loved but the quality of the build and interior was no where near the C250 which is 4 years older than the Jaguar. I fully understand why people buy these again and again.

 

[Silvercat]

I never really warmed to Mercedes but bought a 2013 C250 as my dIly drive 2 years ago and to be honest never looked back. It's pretty quick for a daily drive handles great and is a real quality product. Never let me down and the interior and build quality is supurb. I had a brand new Jaguar XE which looked great and I also loved but the quality of the build and interior was no where near the C250 which is 4 years older than the Jaguar. I fully understand why people buy these again and again.

I 100% agree. Ive owned many German cars in my 40 years of driving, VW's, BMW's Audi's and now a Merc for the very first time. I have to say out of all of them ( all have been excellent cars in their own right and never let me down) the Merc is on another level. So I may have just been converted to Mercs for life now, certainly for daily runarounds. You can also pick upsome fantastic deals on them.

 

[Andyk]

I 100% agree. Ive owned many German cars in my 40 years of driving, VW's, BMW's Audi's and now a Merc for the very first time. I have to say out of all of them ( all have been excellent cars in their own right and never let me down) the Merc is on another level. So I may have just been converted to Mercs for life now, certainly for daily runarounds. You can also pick some fantastic deals on them.

Agree, when this is all over I am after an E class Coupe...around a 2014.

 

[Silvercat]

Good call. A new Mercedes will be a lot more dependable (and frugal?) than a 10 year old maserati. What value did they credit for your QP ?

The Merc I bought was the A 200d AMG for my missus. It's like a little pocket rocket , very fast off the blocks, very quiet and the best fuel economy I have ever had from any car ( between 56-65mpg depending on road conditions , speed etc.). It also has all the technical gizmos on it including flat screen displays which are awesome. I bought it when it was just 9 months old with 7k on the clock. Compared with a new car it was priced around 30% less even with part ex. ( Merc Lookers Stourbridge do some amazing deals...much better than many other dealers I went to. So much so I drove 360 miles round trip to buy it because it was so well priced) For my 2009 QP, they offered me £15350 against my original selling price ( private sale) of £16950. But it was in top condition with all the right history, paperwork and low mileage for a 10 year old car. I would have liked more but the market has collapsed over the last 12 months or so, so I was happy with what I sold it on for. All I know is it went to auction afterwards so I dont know what Merc Lookers sold it for.

 

[Silvercat]

Agree, when this is all over I am after an E class Coupe...around a 2014.

Now that would be a car and half!

 

[Team GCR]

I do have an interest in looking at Merc Family SUVs. Have been researching the R class which is out of production but appeals to me more than than their really large offerings.
Would be interested to know a bit more about what deal is possible and what car did you get, @Silvercat.

R Class is a great car, we replaced a Discovery 3 with a 2007 R500 two years ago and have been really pleased with it. It is better built than the Land Rover but doesn't seem as well built as the SL500 I had a few years ago. It is surprisingly good to drive for such a big car but it is a BIG car, remember it shares its platform with the big GL off-roader.

We bought it because we need the loadspace as we are doing a house renovation and with all the rear seats down it is a luxury van, the load area is longer than the Disco but not quite as high. When we have had friends to stay and taken them sight seeing even the third row is comfortable for adults and not an unpleasant place to be especially if you have the panoramic roof.

We went for the V8 petrol as a) it was so much cheaper than a diesel one and b) it was better specced than most diesel ones. With the mileage we do we will never spend more on petrol to justify the price difference buying a diesel and well it is a 5L V8.................. need I say more.

I totally get the R Class was a bit pointless when new, most people who could afford to drop £80k on a people carrier would probably buy an S500 and a Renault Espace for the au pair to drive the kids to school but as a sub £10k big old barge they are hard to beat.

 

[Silvercat]

Ive also been looking at a2 tear old GLB, GLC and maybe a GLE although that is a really big motor. Again like you I need loadspace and it would be a great way to get rid of my 3 year old 'truck' (Shogun LWB)....which is pretty agricultural TBH!

 

[rivarama]

My dad has been driving Mercs since 1983 - his first one was a W123 1982 240d. In a colour that only Germans in the 80s could come up with. 0-60 in 4.5 days... an absolute tank.
i am sure that car is still driving somewhere in Africa or Central Asia !!
He still drives a Mercedes today... nuff said!!

 

[lozcb]

Surely the time taken and specialist tools (computer thing) needed to change a clutch preclude using anything other than guaranteed OEM parts?

The clutch plate re-furb is based on resurfacing an existing plate plus replacing springs ,once the poor tang issue was recognised and overcome its more of a judgement thing , from memory my complete clutch replacement kit ex Dick lovets , clutch plate thrust bearing flywheel sensors etc was around the £700 mark (dick lovets) back in the day, 7/8 years later its probably closer to £1000 now possibly more , the resurfacing company were charging around the £55 mark plus additional if springs were needed

 

[Guy]

I thought for a minute that I had been switched to a German car forum! I have four of them for different reasons but isn't this about our passion for Maseratis. There seem to be more posts these days on politics, pandemics and diesesals! Am I on the wrong forum?

 

[Motorsport3]

The Merc I bought was the A 200d AMG for my missus. It's like a little pocket rocket , very fast off the blocks, very quiet and the best fuel economy I have ever had from any car ( between 56-65mpg depending on road conditions , speed etc.). It also has all the technical gizmos on it including flat screen displays which are awesome. I bought it when it was just 9 months old with 7k on the clock. Compared with a new car it was priced around 30% less even with part ex. ( Merc Lookers Stourbridge do some amazing deals...much better than many other dealers I went to. So much so I drove 360 miles round trip to buy it because it was so well priced) For my 2009 QP, they offered me £15350 against my original selling price ( private sale) of £16950. But it was in top condition with all the right history, paperwork and low mileage for a 10 year old car. I would have liked more but the market has collapsed over the last 12 months or so, so I was happy with what I sold it on for. All I know is it went to auction afterwards so I dont know what Merc Lookers sold it for.

We also have a 2015 reg A250 4matic that we bought as pre-reg and it's a proper hot hatch when you want it but also a good dependable run around.

 

[Silvercat]

I thought for a minute that I had been switched to a German car forum! I have four of them for different reasons but isn't this about our passion for Maseratis. There seem to be more posts these days on politics, pandemics and diesesals! Am I on the wrong forum?

Ummmm...you might be right! Maybe we should ban all those who used to have a Maserati but sadly dont anymore.....but then we would miss all this camaraderie!

 

[Sommi]

The clutch plate re-furb is based on resurfacing an existing plate plus replacing springs ,once the poor tang issue was recognised and overcome its more of a judgement thing , from memory my complete clutch replacement kit ex Dick lovets , clutch plate thrust bearing flywheel sensors etc was around the £700 mark (dick lovets) back in the day, 7/8 years later its probably closer to £1000 now possibly more , the resurfacing company were charging around the £55 mark plus additional if springs were needed

Hi Loz
If that is the price difference then I am really interested in what can be done to refurbish the clutch plates. Given the QP will not gain any value in near future given its high mileage and running costs, if this solution keeps it ticking then I will choose to go down this route. Please see if you can find details of this outfit and share. Much appreciated.Thanks.

 

[Sommi]

R Class is a great car, we replaced a Discovery 3 with a 2007 R500 two years ago and have been really pleased with it. It is better built than the Land Rover but doesn't seem as well built as the SL500 I had a few years ago. It is surprisingly good to drive for such a big car but it is a BIG car, remember it shares its platform with the big GL off-roader.

We bought it because we need the loadspace as we are doing a house renovation and with all the rear seats down it is a luxury van, the load area is longer than the Disco but not quite as high. When we have had friends to stay and taken them sight seeing even the third row is comfortable for adults and not an unpleasant place to be especially if you have the panoramic roof.

We went for the V8 petrol as a) it was so much cheaper than a diesel one and b) it was better specced than most diesel ones. With the mileage we do we will never spend more on petrol to justify the price difference buying a diesel and well it is a 5L V8.................. need I say more.

I totally get the R Class was a bit pointless when new, most people who could afford to drop £80k on a people carrier would probably buy an S500 and a Renault Espace for the au pair to drive the kids to school but as a sub £10k big old barge they are hard to beat.

I like the R500 but then there is the unicorn R63! If that came on now I will be looking to go that way. Else I will choose the R350 L non blue-efficiency version as it is more reliable.

 

[Wack61]

Ummmm...you might be right! Maybe we should ban all those who used to have a Maserati but sadly dont anymore.....but then we would miss all this camaraderie!

If Matt banned everybody that used to have a Maserati it'd be a WhatsApp group not a forum

My advice to Sommi would be sell/PX it for what you can get for it while the clutch is still going

If you put a new one one in and get it serviced when you don't really want or need the car that'll be another 4k you won't be seeing again, new clutch or not nobody is paying 12k for an 18 year old QP in 2022.
The market for Maserati is very small at the best of times, at the moment it's non existent

 

[Sommi]

I will look at the P/X route a bit more now. MOT tomorrow so that would be good time weigh all options.

 

[Guy]

Ummmm...you might be right! Maybe we should ban all those who used to have a Maserati but sadly dont anymore.....but then we would miss all this camaraderie!

Indeed, nothing wrong with being ex Maser owner, as long as the passion is still there!