Maserati intrigue

Arde

Arde

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Site Donor $$
Messages
5,460
Reaction score
2,533
Location
Cupertino, CA
Intrigued by the Maserati marque, starting to read about them. They depreciate fast so one can afford a used one, but then again perhaps one cannot afford the maintenance. I wonder if the Granturismo EV will solve that conundrum by having a reliable drivetrain.

For those that enjoy paradoxes, Robert De Niro has a beautiful Granturismo in his collection. He may no longer have it, because the ruthless son of Don Corleone (on the screen) was swindled in real life by an accountant who stole 50M$ and forced De Niro to regroup financially. Real life is harder than acting tough I guess...
 
Pretty sure Al Pacino played the ruthless son and Robert De Niro played the young Don Corleone. Also, pretty sure that the young Al Pacino would not approve of the his older self's choice in iPhone covers. :)
 
Yes, Al Pacino was Michael, and Marlon Brandon Don Corleone in the original.
None of them would have allowed an accountant to get away with that...
 
Maintenance on a modern Maser is not that bad. No different than a middle aged 7 series or S Class. GO for it.
 
I went down the Maserati road…..just not really in a serious fashion. I bought this dumpster fire for $400. Mostly for fun and to rob parts off of it. The grill, in near perfect condition, is an awesome garage decor piece, the steering wheel is obviously a legitimate Nandi and probably worth the purchase price alone. The mirrors are being used on my M1 project as they are the same, a good score. I intend to sell the good engine or make a killer coffee table out of it for the hangar. I’ll find some cool use for the wheels as well. After all this, I’ll ask if anybody needs parts and finally send it to the claw at the local metal scrap yard. I know this silly response isn’t what you were looking for. What this car did show me is how crummy these cars were compared to BMWs of the same era. I can only hope that design and quality have changed for the better. The new offerings with the Ferrari sourced engine could be very good and they are attractive to me in many ways, not the least being the price point. Interestingly, the motors are abundant and cheap in the salvage yards. This loosely indicates to me that they are generally robust. Parts for newer cars should be readily sourced if this is a concern for cost of ownership or replacement of drivetrain components. $0.02
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4898.jpeg
    IMG_4898.jpeg
    519.1 KB · Views: 117
  • IMG_4899.jpeg
    IMG_4899.jpeg
    249.1 KB · Views: 100
  • IMG_4907.jpeg
    IMG_4907.jpeg
    277.6 KB · Views: 101
  • IMG_4909.jpeg
    IMG_4909.jpeg
    276 KB · Views: 107
  • IMG_0179.jpeg
    IMG_0179.jpeg
    380.9 KB · Views: 97
  • IMG_0174.jpeg
    IMG_0174.jpeg
    482 KB · Views: 99
  • IMG_0175.jpeg
    IMG_0175.jpeg
    489.4 KB · Views: 117
I worked on them (at an engineering level) a little bit when I was at FCA (now Stellantis) for a few years.

Ferrari bought them a while ago, then FCA kept it as part of their IPO. Unfortunately, this has made modern Maseratis effectively parts bin cars. They tend to use a Ferrari or modified Ferrari powertrain (particularly going back to cross-plane cranks, not flat plane) coupled with a FCA platform and bits for everything else. I distinctly remember getting in and driving a Quattroporte and it feeling like a fast Chrysler 300. They depreciate like a stone because they have no clout, and very little dedicated engineering; as I said, they are parts bin specials. Nobody is impressed with a Maserati when I can get it as a rental at the airport. They are also not fun to work on; all their systems are just different enough that most FCA dealers won't touch them, leading to a small service network. Parts availability has also been an issue, as all the Ferrari parts are prioritized for Ferrari first.
 
One of my favorite YouTube channels recently dealt with this topic. A BMW guy buys a Maserati This is the end of and 8 part series of repairing a neglected Quattoport. This is a good recap of his experience. He’s a funny guy.

 
vince said:
I liked your earlier bad idea of buying an e30 as a daily driver.:)
Click to expand...
And in between I toyed with other options, to wit:
- a Lancia Delta Integrale.
- a brand new Alfa Tonale.
- a 1981 E24 with an M90 engine that I missed because I was busy with family priorities.
- converting my totaled E36 to EV.
So far Diogenes' wisdom has prevailed, the more I know men, the more I like my do.
 
Took Wendy over to pick up her new Porsche Macan EV on Friday.

Still haven't figured out how/where to charge it.

Seems nice... fingers crossed.
 
Arde said:
And in between I toyed with other options, to wit:
- a Lancia Delta Integrale.
- a brand new Alfa Tonale.
- a 1981 E24 with an M90 engine that I missed because I was busy with family priorities.
- converting my totaled E36 to EV.
So far Diogenes' wisdom has prevailed, the more I know men, the more I like my do.
Click to expand...

That's another one I was able to get into early, it's changed a bunch over the years.

Just... don't. Look at how bad the Dodge Hornets have been, it's the same basic vehicle, except the Tonale's got more custom electronics for the rest of the body systems.
 
coupedegrace said:
Maybe you should get a Citroen SM. That way you get French panache with a soupçon of Maserati drivetrain.
Click to expand...
Yes, I almost got a Maserati Merak once that shares much with the Citroen.
I was too busy with family stuff and could not pull the trigger, big regret, YOLO.
 
x_atlas0 said:
That's another one I was able to get into early, it's changed a bunch over the years.

Just... don't. Look at how bad the Dodge Hornets have been, it's the same basic vehicle, except the Tonale's got more custom electronics for the rest of the body systems.
Click to expand...
Wow, I was planning to test drive it on Monday... Thanks Cassand.. I mean x_atlas.
 
Arde said:
Wow, I was planning to test drive it on Monday... Thanks Cassand.. I mean x_atlas.
Click to expand...

Over the years, with multiple OEMs under my belt, I still remember some of the first advice I got about buying a car when you are in the industry: "Never buy what you make, because then you bring your work home with you." I know every car has dirty laundry from the engineers that worked on it, but to a certain degree, ignorance is bliss. The Tonale has abysmal reliability ratings, including mechanical ones. The Giulia / Stelvio, at least, got enough cash during development to deal with the major systemic issues. The Tonale is a different base platform, and is shared with the Dodge Hornet.

Stellantis killed the best thing they make, the L cars. The RU (Pacifica) isn't bad as long as you skip the PHEV, although then you still have the awful ZF 9-speed.

If I had to buy a Stellantis product now, it would probably be a JL Wrangler or a WK-2 Grand Cherokee. The Giulia / Stelvio have had most of the bugs worked out by this point, but the spares are pricey. I was pretty close on pulling the trigger on a Quad Giulia, but I got an E550 instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top