Thinking of getting a Maserati 3200 GT... opinions?

[RhysQ]

Now I know it's not a dub buuuut, I've always loved these cars but actually forgot about them until I was in Melb recently and saw one cruising down Chapel St. Everyone stopped and looked at it and the sound was just absolutely amaaazing!!! That 3.2L twin turbo V8 noise through the quad pipes is peeerfect in my opinion. Standard figures of 0-100 in 5.1sec is pretty inticing too. Being turbo I'm guessing there's potential for a custom ECU remap as well.

Anyway, looking on carpoint, you can probably pick up a good nick '00 or '01 with around 60,000 km's for about $60k. I thought that was a pretty cheap price!

I got a few quotes today and it seems under my name (i'm only 24) it would cost me between $1,600 to $1,800 to insure. I would go under a company which would make it cheaper again.

Has anyone here been in one or know of anyone with one. What do you all think??

This is my inspiration at the moment...





Cheers,
Rhys

[maca]

Jeez that's a sexy car.. Especially the white on black. I say if you can afford it, do it .

[RhysQ]

Jeez that's a sexy car.. Especially the white on black. I say if you can afford it, do it .

I now can afford it. I've graduated uni and gone off of my cadetship onto full wage. Let's just say it's about 4 times as much as I was earning.

[maca]

I now can afford it. I've graduated uni and gone off of my cadetship onto full wage. Let's just say it's about 4 times as much as I was earning.

Go nuts!!! Best cruising car I've seen in a long time. Have a particular one in mind (carpoint)?

[gregozedobe]

Just a suggestion that you have a look at maintenance and parts costs before you sign on the dotted line. Sometimes cars like this can be great fun to drive, but much more expensive to own than you'd expect (been there, done that with an Alfa Romeo many years ago). Parts prices are usually more related to the new price than to the (strongly depreciated) secondhand price.

Also watch out for very low Km cars, they often have issues related to not being used enough, so that they end up less reliable than a regularly used, higher mileage example of the same car.

If it all looks good, buy one and have a great time

[RhysQ]

Just a suggestion that you have a look at maintenance and parts costs before you sign on the dotted line. Sometimes cars like this can be great fun to drive, but much more expensive to own than you'd expect (been there, done that with an Alfa Romeo many years ago). Parts prices are usually more related to the new price than to the (strongly depreciated) secondhand price.

Also watch out for very low Km cars, they often have issues related to not being used enough, so that they end up less reliable than a regularly used, higher mileage example of the same car.

If it all looks good, buy one and have a great time

good advice there greg, cheers mate!

parts is the only real thing i have to watch out for, which yes i know will be expensive. perks of getting an exotic i suppose. you'd hope/imagine a car built by Ferrari would be of pretty reliable quality though. i've looked into servicing already, can be done by my mechanic.

[oliverconnell]

Just a suggestion that you have a look at maintenance and parts costs before you sign on the dotted line.

yeah, one review i read awhile ago said something relating to the camshaft needing to be replaced every three years, think its was 1500 pounds or euro.

but then that becomes irrelevant when you turn it on, they sound awesome

[Mrk_Mickey]

Wow I didn't know they were that cheap...does that mean all the old men I see driving them down in Sydney are just pretending to be rich?

Personally I wouldn't go for one because a) it's a v8 and I would hate the economy b) 60k could be spent on either a turbo mk4 R32 or something with much more added 'cool' and c) they're an old man car cos that's all I see them driven by...lol

[Greg Roles]

The running costs would indeed be a Biarch, but the pussy alone would be worth it!

[Spyda]

Very nice car for that money, go for it man, providing you can afford maintenance on it and all the condoms your going to need from the chicks its guna pull.

It might need a couple of bigger tuboes though, 5.1 could be 4.....

[GoLfMan]

Very nice car for that money, go for it man, providing you can afford maintenance on it and all the condoms your going to need from the chicks its guna pull.

It might need a couple of bigger tuboes though, 5.1 could be 4.....

hahah!!!

x2 man, go for it if you have weighed up all the options and CAN afford it

[WABIT]

was the one you saw in melbourne like a dark blue almost black?

dom

[RhysQ]

was the one you saw in melbourne like a dark blue almost black?

dom

yeah either that or gunmetal grey. it had different wheels on it as well.

[RhysQ]

yeah, one review i read awhile ago said something relating to the camshaft needing to be replaced every three years, think its was 1500 pounds or euro.

Yeah I saw something about that as well. It was 1,650 pounds and yeah, needed to be replaced every 3 years.

Personally I wouldn't go for one because a) it's a v8 and I would hate the economy b) 60k could be spent on either a turbo mk4 R32 or something with much more added 'cool' and c) they're an old man car cos that's all I see them driven by...lol

a) Although it's a V8, being a 3.2L, the economy is actually meant to be surprisingly quite good.

b) It might be just me but a Maserati in any shape or form is 10x cooler than any mk4.

c) I'll be happy to look like an old man in one of these.

I read this quote in a review of the car the other day....

"imagine the following conversation. A friend asks: “What are you driving?”

You respond: “A Maserati.”

Feels good, doesn’t it?"

I also read that when the turbo's wake up at 2,400rpm, there is meant to be an intense rush of power. It apparently takes about a week to get used to, but after that is easily controllable and a "hellavalotta" fun.

[Tim]

Always loved these cars. Especially the ones with the boomerang tail lights!

There are quicker cars than a maserati. There are more reliable cars and there are better optioned cars. But i doubt there are sexier cars!

If you can afford to be this cool then go for it. Although i would think that something like this would be a nice weekender moreso than a daily driver. Speak to 1 or 2 maserati independant mechanics and research the servicing costs/common faults before taking the plunge..

Im sure like any high end car porsche/bmw/whatver you can end up with a 15 - 20k repair bill in the blink of an eye. If that scares you.. walk away!