Where to get an ADG car inspected?

[simonc]

Despite some bad press, the quality of ADG's stock of gransports is difficult to ignore!

I realise the closest specialist to ADG may not be fully independent, where else would be close and easy to arrange. Is it a case of organising someone from ADG to drive the car to another specialist and paying both the cost of the inspection and fuel?

Any help or advice would be useful

Cheers

Simon

 

[Parisien]

Ideally any seller shouldn't object to an inspection, even on their forecourt using their ramp/facilities. Am sure in the list there are 2/3 not far from there......though isn't Giallo linked to ADG or am I mistaken?

INDEPENDENT MASERATI GARAGES UK

http://classicmaseratis.co.uk/

http://www.emblemsportscars.com/home.aspx

http://www.grimaldiengineering.co.uk/

http://www.cars.robertsaerospace.com/

http://www.autoshieldmaserati.co.uk/...rati/Home.html

http://www.davidaskew.co.uk/

http://www.giallo.co.uk/

http://www.mpsupercars.com/

http://www.auto-sportiva.com/

http://www.shiltech-ferrari.com/

http://www.ferrarimaserati.co.uk/

http://www.sgmsportsltd.com/

http://www.dadsspeedshop.com/

http://www.autofficina.co.uk/about-autofficina

http://www.bhpmsport.com/

http://www.verdi-ferrari.com/about.php

http://www.theferraricentre.com/service

http://www.auto-sportiva.com/maserat...icing-kent.htm

http://www.sbraceengineering.co.uk/



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[dickygrace]

Giallo's logo appears on ADG's site so they have some sort of affiliation.

 

[lozcb]

Despite some of bad press, the quality of ADG's stock of gransports is difficult to ignore!

I realise the closest specialist to ADG may not be fully independent, where else would be close and easy to arrange. Is it a case of organising someone from ADG to drive the car to another specialist and paying both the cost of the inspection and fuel?

Any help or advice would be useful

Cheers

Simon

Hi Simon , tricky this one as its had some press before , history has shown that most cars that ADG have had used to go into Giallo next door for a quick inspection , most if any known faults were diagnosed and costs to put right were then conveyed to ADG , Obviously ADG had a budget to work to and therefore all or PART of the repairs were usually carried out to the tune of the budget set by ADG , this may or may not have covered the costs for all or part of the repairs ,

Obviously Mathew at Giallo probably relies heavily on the turnover of cars from ADG and his hands are tied somewhat ,so whether he would be extremely accurate about any particular cars you might be interested in is open to conjecture , which is why to be 100% fair we have always advocated getting someone completely Independant of the two to inspect the vehicle in question.

Im pretty sure that most indie inspectors have their own requirements and arrangements so best to ring a few and find out

Could be worth as a test case to ask Mathew to do an independant inspection for you , over and above what he might have already done for ADG, i know that he is reasonably eager to dispel what has been banded about in the past , so perhaps this could be his chance , surely costs would be less , andabsolutely NO reason why you shouldn't be present personaly under the ramp with him whislt all is going on , that way you could be reassured

regards loz

 

[Woody]

If you're thinking about PXing, I would agree a deal before, subject to inspection. I was given a PX offer which migh as well have had "you're stupid" attached to it, there and have subsequantly read that my experience wasnt unique. To give you an idea, I asked a mate in the trade to give be bottom book (i.e. the worst condition for its age/milage) and it was MORE than I'd been offered for what I considered to be a **** near spotless car.

In terms of ADG themselves, you're absolutely right, if you want a GS, you cannot ignore them - they seem to have the market pretty much sewn up when it comes to GSs. Their prices seem to be high to start with, but quickly become more realistic.

I'm not 100% sure and perhaps I'm putting 2 + 2 together and getting 22, but I seem to think that they had a new partner when I was there who has subsequantly moved on....they always have good stock so do something right somewhere along the lines!

As for inspection, personally, I would want the car inspected 100% independandtly. Generally, I believe you take the car to the place for inspection so they'd have to be willing to do this. If they're confident in the car, they'd be happy to olbige. Its worth remembering though that you're buying a used car so remember that the inpection lets you know what you're buying, it is not to provide a fix list for the vendor to address and to get the car back to A1 (IMO).

Best of luck with the hunt. Of ADGs current stock, I like the sound of the one owner Rosso Mondial. It that's been serviced on time and looks to be well loved, thats a hard one to walk on by

 

[Parisien]

Still Woody, some defects ..SD reading poor on clutch.........or other things need put right or book not all stamped result in powerful negotiating tool....it did for me.


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[simonc]

Thanks all

I might give Matthew at Giallo a call, it seems he's keen to build the business and an independent inspection would clearly be easier at Giallo.

I'm not Px'ing, cash burning a hole in my pocket after the sale of my lotus

The incoming Rosso looks interesting

Now its finding the time to get down there

Simon

 

[Parisien]

On reflection Simon, I would strongly advise a fully independent inspection, costs a couple of hundred but potentially can save you 2/3/4K to put right esp if a clutch needed.

Cash is king.........as it the buyer of 2nd hand goods!!!!


P

 

[lozcb]

One must not get too hung up clucth % , it CAN and DOES get manipulated by those that know how to ,( basically anyone with and sd/2 and knows how to use it ) better to make a judgement through a physical inspection with a torch and checking previous paperwork for the last clutch replacement if any ,

What would be really credible as far as ADG/ Giallo is concerned is to see the paperwork of the original ADG inspection and how much of it was completed, and what was left out and still to do , that is really where most have come unstuck before, once it has been mentioned by the ADG salesman that the car has already been sorted by Giallo people have rightly so and automatically assumed that ALL the points noted had been rectified Not always the scenario , subsequently Mathew has taken some stick for this once trhe car goes in and gets checked by another Indie

As Woody says and i myself would go the completely independant route , then you have done all you physically can to get to the true facts regarding the car

Remember buying a car involves placing a lot of trust in someone , get it wrong and it costs , we have had 3/4 people on here that didnt go the independant route with ADG and can now testify that it cost them thousands to put right the first time their car went into another Indie


regards loz

 

[simonc]

Just spoke to Matthew who recommended an independent inspection elsewhere, he was very up front about it.

He suggested a chap called Steve Lee from http://www.alternative-vehicle-inspections.co.uk/ who has seen plenty of maseratis, and was happy for him to inspect the car at Giallo

A clutch reading should have been done by ADG already

Any experience of this chap?

Simon

 

[Parisien]

As Loz says, if an invoice for clutch in the last few thousand miles, probably ok......don't know him sorry, ideally needs an SD device ( does he, or can use theirs, or knows how to use it?) to check properly the various systems and codes which have been stored by the cars computer.

An indie Maserati specialist best way to go.


P

 

[lozcb]

Just spoke to Matthew who recommended an independent inspection elsewhere, he was very up front about it.

He suggested a chap called Steve Lee from http://www.alternative-vehicle-inspections.co.uk/ who has seen plenty of maseratis, and was happy for him to inspect the car at Giallo

A clutch reading should have been done by ADG already

Any experience of this chap?

Simon

Any clucth reading will have been done by Giallo , and possibly a print out available , i dont blame Mathew for wanting an outsider to inspect it as i said at times he has come in for some unfair flack , this way he is not involved , remember a physical check can be done on the clutch plate material so i would plumb for this aswell , unless there is supporting recent replacement paperwork , fortunately the double tang clutches now used as replacemnets since 2005/6 last a great deal longer than the earlier clutches


regards loz

 

[ratbag]

Yes Steve Lee came and inspected my old 4200 for my buyer who lived in Australia. Seemed to know what he was doing and did it all my driveway.Gave it a good report and off it went to OZ.

Going back to ADG they retail more used Maseratis than anyone else in Britain. There is nothing that Alistair the owner does not know about Maseratis and generally only stocks nice cars. However buyer beware of course......
Giallo are next door and there is a loose tie up between the two (separate) companies. Having got to know Mathhew over many years he is a nice guy and will always try to help.

If you are nervous perhaps Steve Lee is the way to go though....

 

[lozcb]

Very difficult to check steering/suspension joints / bushes, good underside damage/brakeline check on a driveway , ideally it wants going on a ramp, even jacked up its still difficult to get a good view



regards loz

 

[Woody]

Still Woody, some defects ..SD reading poor on clutch.........or other things need put right or book not all stamped result in powerful negotiating tool....it did for me.


P

Dont get me wrong Frank, I totally agree...but its within reason. Of course, I had my GS inspected before buying it and had what was defective (rear suspension rattle, among other things) priced up so not only did I know what I had to spend to get it to a condition I wanted, but also so I could say to the previous owner "this is what it'll cost you if you keep it".

I used that as a mechanism for working out needed doing and went from there.....the vendor responded with "its as Maserati, you need to get used to big bills" which I laughed at, but I didnt want for him to pay for the car to be A1, I just wanted him to know that I wasnt prepared to pay top dollar if the brakes were needing looking at, the clutch was on its way out, etc etc.

Either way, inspection is the only way to go in with your eyes open. Regardless of intentions, if the vendor thinks they're selling a great car with full history etc, its your homework that will tell you if thats the case...an inspection followed by a call to previous dealer/servicing indy to check all services were done doesnt take long and is time well spent.

I was very surprised how many cars (GSs in my case) simply don't get serviced. My favourite was a stunning nettuno blue with avorio GS which was for sale at a well known independant with FSH etc etc. It came on eBay for sale by the current owner and when I looked into the full serivce history at Meridien, I was told "yeah, we've seen the car. Last time was 2.5 years ago" haha....thats not my idea of FSH Again, perhaps the independant didnt look into the history as much as I did and the current owner wasnt having it that 2.5 years between a service wasnt FSH. Needless to say I didnt buy that one.

 

[markp4200]

Simon,
as someone who bought my 4200 from ADG, I have to say that you should be wary.
When I joined the forum it was at the time I was on the lookout for my perfect Maserati and ADG had just the car.
I was told of one or two horror stories of cars that had ben involved in accidents and ADG purported to have no knowledge - on the back of this I did have an independent inspection carried out by the RAC who do a special inspection for non-basic cars - I had one done and it found the car was essentially sound with one or two smallish isssues that needed rectifying. Fed back to ADG myself and through the RAC and was assured the issues would be attended to.
Took delivery and within a short time one issue became apparent so booked it into my own FANTSTIC indi - Emblem in Poole who diagnosed one of the issues that should have been seen to. On the back of this I had Emblem do a thorough overhaul/service which showed that non of the issues had been seen to at all.
ADG were singularly unhelpful and wouldn't do anything other than offer me a minute goodwill gesture.

Susequently Mathew from Giallo told me that he had NOT been asked to attend to any of the issues - so I have no complaint with him. However I feel very indignant at the way ADG treated me and it took ages to find out that nothing was rectified.

Now ADG are a large Maserati Indie and have a reputation to support but if I was ever in the market for another car, I wouldn't buy from them. I have no doubt that most cars are excellent and well-prepped for new customers but in the light of my experience and the warnings of other forum members I would suggest caution and an independent check followed up by a check that any issues are resolved before taking delivery.

I must say that now, 2 and a half yaers on and with Emblem having taken great care of my car, it is now close to perfect and I am absolutely smitten with it - if you get yourself a GS, you will enjoy it very much, of that I'm sure.
So do go to ADG but with forum advice in your mind.

 

[Parisien]

Proof in the pudding I'd say Mark.

I can assure you Simon, there is nothing worse than being taken for a ride when you've shelled out your hard earned!

Good luck with your search and I hope you buy a car to truly fulfill all your dreams!


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[Andyk]

GHo take a look and make your own mind up I say....If Giallo gives the car an inspection for you then surely they will do a great job....You are paying for the service and if in doubt stay with the car when the inspection is being completed....The chap from Giallo is on here and he sounds a decent chap....

As you say they have some very nice GS that you would have to look at if on the market....

 

[Emtee]

Though it makes the inspection a bit more of a chore, I have to applaude Matthews stance. It seems that he wants to distance himself from the inspection, as he can only carry out any subsequent remedial work as he is instructed (and paid to do) by the vendor, in this case his neighbour. If this assumption is correct, it speaks volumes of both parties (but in very differing ways).

As for the clutch, without dwelling on the detail, it's very easy to manipulate should you wish, so be very wary of pre-existing recent clutch reports. Either get one taken by the vendor as you watch, or better still if your chosen inspector is SD equipped, then get another taken independently. This reading can then be checked against the paperwork, receipts, recorded mileages to arrive at a likely level of wear.

On this point, does anyone know if the new clutch / first setting of PIS is date tagged within the SD software?

 

[Geofflyn]

Yes Steve Lee came and inspected my old 4200 for my buyer who lived in Australia. Seemed to know what he was doing and did it all my driveway.Gave it a good report and off it went to OZ.

Going back to ADG they retail more used Maseratis than anyone else in Britain. There is nothing that Alistair the owner does not know about Maseratis and generally only stocks nice cars. However buyer beware of course......
Giallo are next door and there is a loose tie up between the two (separate) companies. Having got to know Mathhew over many years he is a nice guy and will always try to help.

If you are nervous perhaps Steve Lee is the way to go though....

Steve Lees name came up when I was looking for an inspection on my car (I bought it in the UK and shipped it down heretoAust as well) but there was a list of fairly important things that he couldn't do for me such as Clutch reading, rotor thickness etc. he may do more these days I dont know so certainly no criticism or disrespect for what I understand he does I think the right sort of check on these cars needs to be done by people who have the kit to check the important stuff. A general roadworthy check isn't enough. Pay the extra for a full inspection.