Clutches - how often and how much?

From what i've read, Maseratis tend to wear out clutches fairly quickly. What sort of mileage have members done before requiring a new clutch and what is the typical cost of having a clutch replaced (from indie or main dealer)?

Coupe cc wise 2002 -2007 largely depends on how well they are driven , my 52 plate 4200 coupe had one after 17k miles from new , on the other hand my 55 plate Gransport is now just due its first clutch at 38K miles , early clutches were upgraded to double tang along with software upgrades and subsequently last longer , so the general consensus wisely driven around 20k miles Im not conversant with Quattroporte but assume they will be similar to the GS and yet to hear of a Turismo that needed a new clutch , which surely has to be a good positive sign


Cost wise for a coupe £11-1200 at an indie and around £1500 at a main dealer
Quattroporte about the same

Turismo sorry cant help


regards loz

Loz, whats this about the tang upgrade, do you mean the spring fingers of the clutch housing? Mine collapsed after 6k miles, probably had the old version.

I have read that it is possible to get an estimate of the life of the clutch that is remaining when buying a used Maserati. How does this work and is this only available from main dealers?

evoke said:

I have read that it is possible to get an estimate of the life of the clutch that is remaining when buying a used Maserati. How does this work and is this only available from main dealers?

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I believe all of the listed sponsors/recommended independent specialists reported on the board can hook you up to the old computer/SD2/3 reader and tell you approximately what the wear situation is. Better still to get a full indie specialist inspection done as this finding will be included! Budget for £200-250

P

Agree with Loz about the QP / GS comparison...seems fair,
mine was changed by the previous owner at just under 27,000 miles, now at around 45,000...
Word of caution on the clutch wear reading, it is only an estimate and I believe can be a little unreliable...
I had an SD3 reading taken when it had it's 43,500 mile service at the end of last year by Roberto Grimaldi,
a well respected independent...reading was 17% worn...
As Parisien says, best to get it as part of an inspection, that way they can also give you their impression
of how cleanly (or not) the clutch is engaging.
And of course, once you test drive a few, you can start to compare,
Regards,
Enzo.

Drive llike a maniac 10,000 miles...........drive like me ( The real Captain Slow ) then your clutch will last as long as any other car

...and treat the car with respect.
This doesn't mean driving too slowly (though we oldies might just make ours last longer), but enjoy and listen to what the car tells you..
man & machine!

What an interesting thread...

I may (and stress the may) have one of the higher mileage 4200's around... you see, I bought my beast to drive her, as and when I could and boy have I... my beauty now has a veritable 75,595 on the clock... she is a 52 plate 4200 CC...

I bought her in September 2007 (at the tender age of 3 years) with 26,000 miles on clock, and I have deliriously enjoyed adding nearly 50,000 miles in that time...

I need to re-visit all the earlier paperwork (in her first 3 years) to see whether the history (which is full) shows clutch replacement..., but I can tell you she remains on the same clutch in all the time I've owned her...

It's true to say that I will be looking to replace the clutch soon, but anyone who knows me knows I have never driven like a Sunday driver, and thoroughly enjoy (more often than not) exercising the horses...

I know (from many posts/replies on the same subject on another "broader" petrolhead forum) that there are always exceptions (i.e. comments meant to marginalise mine, as in I was the exception), and I cannot comment on other's experiences, and only share mine... but for me... I've never thought about driving to preserve my clutch, anymore than I've thought about counting the pennies spent on fuel and consumption...

Anyway... I hope others have such longevity... perhaps the answer is to drive hard and often?

Regards,
John

^ That's good to hear. I drive my cars a lot too so things like rate of clutch wear and cost of replacement are fairly important to me.

John, like your post for two reasons - clutch life and total mileage. Anyone got a 4200 with higher miles?

For the OP, my 2005 4200GT is on 36k miles and is still on its first clutch. Its a manual if that helps.

bigbob said:

John, like your post for two reasons - clutch life and total mileage. Anyone got a 4200 with higher miles?

For the OP, my 2005 4200GT is on 36k miles and is still on its first clutch. Its a manual if that helps.

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Thanks bigbob... might be worth a new thread on higher milers!!!

64K here, second clutch, first replaced under waranty back in 2005 at less than 25k...last read out 64%.

Key to long life [long clutch life], dont get stressed out too much [limit town driving], enjoy life [don't live in auto], eat and drink well [service by a good indi], and exercise frequently [take her for a blast, don't stay on the couch watching footie].

So if you and your clutch want to enjoy a long life follow the above.

....and buy a manual but lets not start that thread!

safrane said:

64K here, second clutch, first replaced under waranty back in 2005 at less than 25k...last read out 64%.

Key to long life [long clutch life], dont get stressed out too much [limit town driving], enjoy life [don't live in auto], eat and drink well [service by a good indi], and exercise frequently [take her for a blast, don't stay on the couch watching footie].

So if you and your clutch want to enjoy a long life follow the above.

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spot on

Of course, logically, I would buy a manual for a sports car but I could really do with an auto or semi-auto gearbox this time around. I've had two manual Porsches and they were fabulous. However, due to the number of miles I do every year which are mostly for business rather than pleasure, a manual isn't ideal for me. I would imagine the correct choice for my use of a car would be a full auto box. It's the one point where I may have to let my head rule over my heart!

I am probably going to get jumped on here, but my experience of my 3200 manual was not a pleasant one, if I was buying again, I would go auto. Also, from what I have been let to believe the 4200 manual is no better, but to be fair I have not tried one, so I am only going on what I have been told.

Evoke, go test a GS with F1 shift, its still a manual gearbox and you feel like Schumaker when you push it. Must be in sport though, if your a manual guy, you will hate the gearbox in normal.

I understand where your coming from, you think sports car and you think manual, the F1 system is brilliant, and when I make the step up to a GTS, Ill be going for the MC shift (F1) not the auto box.

The F1 is a bit Marmite

Biased of course, but my manual works just fine on the basis I short change to third when warming up (which I always do in the Alfa as well, anyway). It may be by 2005 they had it sorted; I have not driven an earlier manual.

Happy with my manual but I do understand why people like the CC. The only beef I have is that you need to retard the MSP to get the quicker CC shifts. I only drive my manual with 'sport' pressed if it is bone dry. Anyway, my shift speed is slow whatever I do with the 'sport' button!!

Be careful about what a dealer says about the amount of clutch life left especially if you are still using them for servicing.

I had a long chat with one of the tech people at Maserati UK who told me that the reading is easily manipulated by changing certain parameters, so that it could come out anywhere from 60% left to zero. Armed with this information I spoke to several reputable indies who confirmed this to be true and was also informed that many cars still within the dealership cycle have had clutches changed when they actually had plenty of life left.

Back to the thread, my car had its first change at 35k and as has been said before it is how you drive the car, primarily at take off. If you like leaving rubber then that clutch will not last, the same as any other car driven that way.