Gransport must have options....

[MrCoop]

Hi guys

Me again, asking silly questions. Who'd of thought buying a Gransport would be such a headache. There aren't many about for a start and then the ones that are in my price range have varying levels of options. I've found a couple that I'm very keen on but as mentioned, have different levels of kit.

Xenons - are these worth paying the extra for?

Full leather - would I struggle to sell on in the future if I bought a car that didn't have full leather and had the techno cloth instead? I'd prefer the full leather, of course, but haven't yet seen the techno cloth so can't comment on whether I can make the sacrifice.

Upgraded audio - better to get an aftermarket upgrade?

Carbon pack - does this add extra value in the used market?

Heated seats - are these a must have? I'm not going to do much winter driving when I get mine, so wouldn't bother me either way. Dicky mentioned that the Gransport heated seats aren't all that anyway, they're either 'on' or 'off' and now varying degrees of heat.

Are there any other options that should be a must have?

And finally....what's the consensus on colour? Are lighter Gransports less desirable than darker ones? I know it's all down to personal preference but like I said, with one eye on shifting it on at some point, are the lighter colours more difficult to sell? Looking at what is out there for sale at the moment, about 90% are light metallics. I guess this should answer my question!

Once I get my car, I promise to stop asking silly questions!

Kupe

 

[highlander]

you will get 101 opinions on these but my "basic" view is that all extras are preferable in a 2nd hand car but not essential or a deal breaker. I've never seen a colour on these cars I personally would not drive and even if you go for a colour that is not rated as popular, there will be someone out there who loves it when the time comes to move it on......just might take a little longer that is all.

 

[jayblue]

The full leather is nice and much easier to keep clean than the tech cloth which tends to stain when it gets wet if your not careful.

From what i've read the stock stereo is awful and the Auditorium 200 stereo "upgrade" is also pretty poor. If you have auditorium 200 and put a better head unit in you will most likely find the sound more than adequate, so i think its worth having. Having said that you will probably drive around listening to the glorious V8 as your preferred soundtrack!

The heated seats are ok but i wouldn't get too hung up on having them. The heater warms up very quickly indeed compared to all my previous cars and does a good job of keeping you warm.

Colour is a personal preference but silver, black and red are by far the most common. Silver can sometimes command slightly less of a premium as a result. Just go with the colour combination you like the best but more importantly make sure you get a good one!

 

[mjheathcote]

Personally for me it would have to have Xenons.
Xenons are a premium car prerequisite in my view!

 

[MAF260]

Two essentials for me:
1. Xenons. The standard lights are rubbish/dangerous and xenons can't be retro-fitted (without prohibitively massive cost).
2. Full leather heated, memory seats. I've yet to find anyone who prefers tech cloth over full leather. As mentioned, tech cloth can mark easily and there is no supply of replacement cloth.

There are plenty of others I would recommend, but these are personal preferences and are easier to retro-fit if required. Missing certain options might make a car harder to sell on, but you should judge a car on what works for you - budget, colour, mileage, condition etc.

Forget any concerns about the audio. Standard and the 'upgrade' are both ****. Carbon pack is a nice to have, but very few cars have this and it adds no value. Colour is purely personal choice, but I think the most popular colours were black, silver and blue. Not sure why somebody said red is common, it's not.

Find a car you like that has your essentials and then get it inspected. Enjoy the search!

 

[BL330]

Hi Kupe,
Getting the stars to align in one second hand car is very difficult. In terms of the colour and options, there is price, mileage, presentation and service history to consider too. Yes I was searching for an LE version with all the items you mentioned, but when my Red ( rare in Australia ) one showed up at a bargain price I had to jump. Yes I need to clean the techno cloth from time to time, but no more often than I condition the leather. The standard lights are useless. Had my electrician upgrade the bulbs to maximum legal ones and set the adjusters high so I can extend the length for high speed night work.
Mine came with rear parking sensors, alarm and of course red calipers. Enjoy the chase, it's part of the fun.

 

[nfm]

My view is if you find a good one re fsh/condition/mileage at the right price and acceptable colour combo I would buy; you could be a long while waiting for the perfect one, if it is even out there.

 

[jayblue]

Here is a link with the approximate numbers produced in the five most common colours -http://www.sportsmaserati.com/showthread.php/4527-Official-UK-Gransport-Colours-Numbers

Black out numbers the others by a fair margin.