Considering a 10 year old + Maserati

[Guy]

Lots of good advice here already! Only buy to keep and if you buy well you won't regret it. Key is a Maserati specialist inspection on anything you buy to ensure you are not picking up the costs for the current or previous owner. Buy badly and it could cost you £10k, buy well and you will have the most beautiful saloon in the road/village/town and you will be hooked. QPV GT Sport or 4.7S (change the grille) for me at this budget. Spend £15-18k and start the war chest with some credit. Good luck.

 

[MarkMas]

.... if I can't live with it move it on after 6 months for minimal loss. Is this realistic?

As others have said, you really need to 'buy to keep'. The gap in money and time between buying and selling is huge for this sort of car in this market.

And a six-month ownership suggests car problems or owner problems, either of which depress value.

And a good dealer warranty (together with legal obligations) is of significant value, given that a private warranty can cost £2k. This also increases the price/time gap between 'buy from dealer today' and 'move it on after 6 months'.

 

[rs48635]

Welcome! Much good advice already dispensed.
Get along to any place that has QP for sale and drive the car. Then see if you could bear to part with the car after only 6 months. Maybe a dealer would offer buyback??

All sensible advice is to have an exit plan for big decisions. The experience here shows selling any of these older cars is not a quick job, unless you get lucky. Price in the give-away loss if you ditch the car quickly to the likes of WBAC.

 

[Gazcw]

My S is a 58 and going strong. I bought the best I could and found a 1 owner, low miles car. Yes it needed variator work but that was done by dealer.Everyone that has serviced or worked on it has said its a good one.
I have it serviced every year and my spend this year on wheels, paint etc. was my choice. I don't think there is anything wrong with buying at 10 yrs with a proper history and pppi.I wouldn't throw the full budget at one and you are unlikely to get back nearly all that you purchase for unless you get a great deal. 6mth ownership would definitely ring alarm bells as a buyer.
Good luck though. They are great imo.

 

[Felonious Crud]

If not already mentioned, talk to Nareman Virk at Nuvola London and Richard Grace at, welll, Richard Grace. SportsItalia will see you right on a check-up (and if you ask nicely they'll look over any possible car purchase as well).

 

[Mr_Buller]

Thank you all so much- great advice.

Unfortunately I think I'm probably short of budget when I really put head above heart, but I will return and I think it is worth leaving this thread here to inform others.

Think I will probably look at a Merc CLA shooting break in the meantime to keep me happy (although not as happy as I would have been with an Italian V8, albeit with an unhappy bank balance)

 

[ensignia]

Merc CLA

 

[Mr_Buller]

Hey I like what I like

Maybe a Jag XF at least that way I could still get a V8

Have gone off Mercs a bit as they are so ubiquitous and never really liked BMW or Audi - what other alternatives would people recommend?

 

[gb-gta]

If you want a V8 saloon with minimum risk/running costs sub 20k you should get a Lexus ISF. 99% of people will not know what it is but they are superb cars.

 

[ensignia]

Hey I like what I like

Maybe a Jag XF at least that way I could still get a V8

Have gone off Mercs a bit as they are so ubiquitous and never really liked BMW or Audi - what other alternatives would people recommend?

Ford S-MAX 2.5T. Goes like s**t off a shovel allegedly.

 

[Guy]

If you want a V8 saloon with minimum risk/running costs sub 20k you should get a Lexus ISF. 99% of people will not know what it is but they are superb cars.

That's a good left field call. You know it will all be working at 20 years old. Back in the day when we flew around the world (hard to believe less than a year ago) the guy who drove me to T5 used Lexus, his first did 450k miles and was still working when he sold it. I must drive one of the ISF but have heard good things. I'll look at importing one from Japan as it will be close to new in condition.

 

[gb-gta]

That's a good left field call. You know it will all be working at 20 years old. Back in the day when we flew around the world (hard to believe less than a year ago) the guy who drove me to T5 used Lexus, his first did 450k miles and was still working when he sold it. I must drive one of the ISF but have heard good things. I'll look at importing one from Japan as it will be close to new in condition.

They do have a strong following now, values having firmed up over the last few years. Rare in the uk, about 200 cars over a 5 year run. Probably not the preferred ‘image’ in the uk when new, and still not now, but people are slowly cottoning on to the actual engineering quality as a second hand purchase. The bulletproof 5 litre NA Yamaha tuned V8 being the highlight.

The telling stat is this, Lexus will happily put a 2 year full extended warranty on one that is up to 10 years old, and/or 120k miles for just £795. 2 years! And that includes top level AA breakdown cover.

Check what all other ‘premium’ manufacturers will charge for an extended warranty for just 1 year after the first 3 years, never mind 5 or more years, if at all, as they get older.

 

[Wattie]

Hey I like what I like

Maybe a Jag XF at least that way I could still get a V8

Have gone off Mercs a bit as they are so ubiquitous and never really liked BMW or Audi - what other alternatives would people recommend?

Jag XFR Is a good choice,
had an XFS ,loved it.

 

[gb-gta]

Jag XFR Is a good choice,
had an XFS ,loved it.

I nearly bought one of these before my QP popped up for sale, great value now and very fast!
This is the one, BRG with tan leather.

 

[Andyk]

Hey I like what I like

Maybe a Jag XF at least that way I could still get a V8

Have gone off Mercs a bit as they are so ubiquitous and never really liked BMW or Audi - what other alternatives would people recommend?

Nothing wrong with a CLA as a daily drive...….Jaguar is a nice choice as well with a V8

 

[Andyk]

Ford S-MAX 2.5T. Goes like s**t off a shovel allegedly.

Yes but it's a people carrier...…….Once you have a people carrier you have lost the will to live......

 

[Wanderer]

Biggest kick in the back I ever experienced was from a Chevy Caprice, 5.7ltr auto, most impressive. Everything else was shiiit tho. The normal family car in UK them was an Austin Montego....

 

[DJS]

Ever thought about a 12 yr old one - I m thinking of selling mine - 08 great condition and good service history £12000 ono

 

[Wanderer]

Mine is 14 years old, cost me 13k, had it three years, cost me, what, 2k in servicing/fixing mechanicals and about 1k in buying extra nice bits like red-striped tridents etc, plus a recent 1k in tyres and rear discs/pads.

As it's on 120k miles now not worth MD servicing so local indy does it, probs worth 8k now as it's a DD and dirty and driver's seat needs a clean and defuse from my copious farting over time...

Get one, get a DS, rag the àrse off it and if it breaks get another and use old one for spares! That's what I'm doing, hoping prices stay low!

 

[stevepen]

If you want a V8 saloon with minimum risk/running costs sub 20k you should get a Lexus ISF. 99% of people will not know what it is but they are superb cars.

+1 for the ISF. Had one for a couple of years. Drove it hard everyday and not a thing went wrong.


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