[KadeSdad]

Got my eye one of these (2002). Has anyone had one, know of anyone having one?

[TMP]

RogerXP is your man....sure he will be along to tell you how many £££ it cost him per amber warning light

[andymc0001]

i've been looking at the quattroporte. so would also be interested in any feedback you receive.

[dxb335d]

Both the 4200 and quattroporte are lovely cars!

[davyk31]

Massive repair costs I reckon but previous owners can verify.

[RagingKileak]

Test drove a Spyder (v similar but with no lid) and I found it an excellent car for the 10 minutes it was in my mittens... Would I wanna own it? No. I'm not sure why!!

Matt

[rogerxp]

Marcus, yes I owned one, only for about 6 months, when reality kicked in I knew I had to get rid asap. The potential costs involved in maintaining it were just eye-watering and whilst, at the time, costs wasn't a huge issue, as I didn't really gell with the car it wasn't a gamble I was happy to take so put it up for sale.

I got my car from Stratstones in Manchester so was a well-sorted car. Only a couple of months after buying it I was informed that it needed a service, a 'big' service. I managed to get Stratstones to do it for free but the cost should have been £1,200 I think, or it might have been nearer £2,400, can't quite remember. That of course was just for the service, if anything needed doing (which wasn't covered under warranty which I doubt an 02 plate will be) the cost sky-rocketted. I think a windscreen was about £4k or something daft. Everything is shipped over from Italy and costs a bomb.

That said, a chap called Marios, from AutoShield in Chorlton turned out to be a top find (autoshieldmaserati.co.uk). He's a Maserati independent specialist and well worth a chat with. He's happy to speak to potential buyers about the marque and in fact went to Stratstone to check over my car before I bought it to make sure it was OK. He even told me what I should be offering costwise which I duly did. Plus, his servicing, etc, is much cheaper than a main dealer so worth a chat with him about costs, etc.

Mine was a 'cc' car (cambiocorsa - automated manual, F1 style) which I don't think helped my cause - too jerky and not suited to my daily commute. About 1 in 20 journeys was memorable for the right reasons. I never tried a 'gt' car (manual) as the word on the street was that the clutch was soooo heavy it was difficult to drive.

I only managed an average of 12mpg, got it down to 8mpg once, but it didn't seem to matter what sort of driving I did I couldn't get about 12mpg (motorway, start/stop, ragging it made little difference).

Mine had the Skyhook air suspension which is a must have really and really was quite a comfortable cruiser but there was no hiding it's weight. That said, we are talking 4 years ago, so it's difficult to recall.

All that said though, it looked fookin' stunning, sounded fookin' stunning, was a fookin' special place to be sat (mine had a leather headlining which was just gorgeous) and created nothing but positive reaction everywhere I went.

Would I own another, very very unlikely, but am I tempted to test-drive and challenge my self control in a 4200 GranSport; fook yeah.

I adore Maserati, have had a Maserati screen-saver ever since, so am dissappointed to have had such a poor experience. There are 'bad ones' out there though, you know, built in Italy on a Friday afternoon, and maybe I got one of those so my experience isn't truly reflecting of a 4200.

A very good forum is 'sportsmaserati.com' which was set-up a year or two ago by a bunch of contributors to 'maseratiforum.co.uk'. These guys will be able to answer anything you may want to know.

Sorry my tale isn't more uplifting but I can only be honest with my experience.

Feel free to ask anything else and I'll see if I can answer.

Just to tease you, here's mine (in Grigio Nuvolari which I consider the best colour)...

[RagingKileak]

Hi Rog,

Doesn't sound too bad mate - more like a case of you and her not getting along almost!!

Matt

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

Marcus, yes I owned one, only for about 6 months, when reality kicked in I knew I had to get rid asap. The potential costs involved in maintaining it were just eye-watering and whilst, at the time, costs wasn't a huge issue, as I didn't really gell with the car it wasn't a gamble I was happy to take so put it up for sale.........

Bloody Roger thanks for the concise and honest feedback. Sounds all too familiar with some of my past cars, but it at least I wouldn't be going in to blindly, 'once bitten never shy!'

The Car:

V8 with 6-spd manual
Blu Nettuno with cuoio tan leather piped beige
Black carpets and black leather trim with blue stitching on dash.
Air conditioning as standard
Xenon headlights
Cruise control
Quilted leather headlining
Skyhook suspension
satnav with full set of discs for Europe
Leather cubby holders on back seats
Parking sensors
Powerfold mirrors

This car has also been tinkered with a little:

GranSport front bumper and chrome grille.
19in Kahn RSVs in Mercury grey with Goodyear F1s all round.
Lowered 15mm at the front, 20mm at the rear.
FormulaDynamics springs,
Drive by Wire and Power Module ECU.
Full geo from Emblem.
Chrome wheel nuts,
Red brake calipers (with new Brembo discs and pads).
Fully bespoke exhaust from ProSpeed with sports cats, no centre section and then into Larini back boxes/tailpipes.

I think I will try and arrange a drive and see how I get on...note to ones self 'leave heart at home'

As soon as I get some pics I'll post one up.

Thanks again Roger. I'll also try and get in touch with your Italian plumber friend if I get close to a purchase.

Marcus

P.S The same guy is selling his DB7 so might jump in that as well

[rogerxp]

...in response to Matt...

Possibly mate. Still at least it wasnt as bad as the RX8!!

To be honest it was the gearbox that ruined it for me. It never made me feel in control of the car and was jerky & unpredictable; a real pain in the arse. Hence my obsession now with a manual gearbox.

If the potential bills dont put you off, and youre happy with the gearbox (Marcus did refer to the GT which is a manual), try one out, it will truly make you feel special.

[rogerxp]

Marcus, how much are they asking for as a matter of interest?

By the way, in 'Maserati-land' changing the wheels on a Maser is similar ro putting an M badge on your non-M Beemer - lol

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

Marcus, how much are they asking for as a matter of interest?

By the way, in 'Maserati-land' changing the wheels on a Maser is similar ro putting an M badge on your non-M Beemer - lol

13.5k, had its big 68k service done last year. Has FSH by Maserati up 56k then by a specialist.

Picture of car:

[kaishang]

Mmm, interesting feedback. I've got half an idea to get a Quattroporte - I like 4 doors. The asking price before you look for a discount for a 3yo car seems to be about £40k.

However I'm not a "weekend car" person, so it has to be a daily driver at about 16,000 miles a year. Do you really only get 12mpg?!?!?

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by KadeSdad

13.5k, had its big 68k service done last year. Has FSH by Maserati up 56k then by a specialist.

Well, for £13.5k you get a hell of a lot of car for your money, BUT, you could find one unforseen servicing bill could be half that. I know I'm being dramatic but I've heard it happen on the forums. I suppose you could always get a back-up warranty but not sure what that would cost (I was lucky & had main dealer warranty). It is feels & looks good, and the servicing all stacks up, then worth a punt...

Originally Posted by kaishang

Mmm, interesting feedback. I've got half an idea to get a Quattroporte - I like 4 doors. The asking price before you look for a discount for a 3yo car seems to be about £40k.

However I'm not a "weekend car" person, so it has to be a daily driver at about 16,000 miles a year. Do you really only get 12mpg?!?!?

The mark-up on these cars is about £5k from a dealer so you can knock a fair chunk off that instantly. The 'proper' warranty isn't cheap so you need to allow the dealer some margin if getting them these guys.

Yes, I got 12 mpg, which was a little shock at the time but my commute doesn't favour good efficiency (my right foot doesn't either). I travel 6 miles to work and back again most days up a relatively clear by-pass which is full of roundabouts so it's hard on the brakes then accelerate hard (the sound is addictive) all on a cold engine. But at the end of the day it's a 4.2 litre naturally aspirated V8 made by the not-so-efficiency-driven Italians!!!

Bloody good fun though .

[kaishang]

Maybe I should just find an older/higher milage one for less cash and have 2 cars....

[Em135eye]

Those wheels completely ruin the look of the car - and for a Mazzer, looks are everything.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Those wheels completely ruin the look of the car - and for a Mazzer, looks are everything.

+1

Horrific.

[dxb335d]

+1

[KadeSdad]

Now sold, not to me though.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by KadeSdad

Now sold, not to me though.

That bloody Roger gazumped you?

Are you disappointed?

[xenon]

Agree with the wheel comments too, they're awful.

[Em135eye]

Kahn make hideous wheels then somehow manage to get away with charging a fortune for them.

They should be arrested for crimes against taste.