Some GTS Mc Shift questions please

Good morning all.
I have a chance of getting a decent 4.7 GTS Mc shift for a very reasonable price from an acquaintance. It's a 2008/58 with 35K miles/2 owners,Full MD history decent colour ( Black/Black with red stitch), decent spec ( Comfort seats/Bose/Skyhook etc),and it likely I could grab it for around trade money, which unless I'm mistaken,seems cracking value, especially as it still has an extended Maser warranty until October?

A couple of questions if I may please.
Clutch wear is 58%, as of it's last service a few hundred miles ago,and as this won't be covered by the warranty what do I need to budget in worst case scenario's for replacement,maybe £1500-2000?

Is there anything they simply must have for resale?

At this price point, it would allow me to set the car up how I'd want it,so has anyone used the uprated suspension from Performance Italia( or another option else),and if so your thoughts ? Also, does this drop the ride height at all?
As above, how about the uprated software,anyone used it and what would be the extended warranty implications? As I'm coming from a Noble M400, I appreciate that it won't be a sharp drivers tool, but it will carry the kids, sound fantastic,feel special and if I can just sharpen the driving experience a tad I may well be in!

Last question I promeise...for now anyway!
As I only quickly looked at the car a couple of months ago, I'm sure it has the standard Ali trim inside, are there any carbon interior trim suppliers where I could spnd some oney without doubling teh cost of teh car!

Many thanks to all of you in advance.

In a word buy it, if the clutch goes, just accept it. If the cover breaks, which they seem to do at the end of their life, it will be covered by the warranty. Based on the current mileage, you should be good for another 20k miles anyway.

The MC suspension is a must from what I have heard and yes, the rear wheel arch gaps are horrendous so get it dropped an inch.

You could wrap the trim with carbon, its not bad and will be fine for such minor interior trim, AJ, Dhanj's nephew had it done and it looks rather good.

Other than that, buy it, if you dont, there will be a que on here to do so if you dont want it.

Hope you get it and enjoy it but I would suggest a drive first if you have not already just to be sure you are happy with the size, clutch etc.

It's good to get a better insight as to where trade value is on these cars so thanks!

Thanks for your replies so far.
Any one on here had experience of the upgrades above, or worst case scenario clutch costs? I'd like to pitch my bid in an area where I still have change to tweek it to my tastes if I can.

Sub £40k is a bargain. Even if you need the new clutch it will cost £2k max, at that price you have plenty of delta to factor this expense. What are you waiting for - buy it!!!

Re Carbon trim - Matt is right, you could get the trim wrapped. Try these guys, have seen a few recommendations online:

http://www.totally-dynamic.co.uk/go/home

Best of luck.....

Yup, buy it but - as Matt says - drive it first because they are outrageously large. Same footprint as a Range Rover. But they are also (as my son says) epic. And you can fit the family and all your holiday junk in it (subject to not *too* much holiday junk).

fcz360 on here had his interior trim wrapped in carbon in situ and it looks great and didn't cost a bomb.

Re the clutch, I'm on 26k miles and 48% wear, so yours sounds about right but note that the reading is not precise - a rough guide rather than a definitive reading. My local MD reckons it hasn't changed a clutch on one yet. Once you've bought it always drive in sport and drive it hard to reduce clutch wear (officer).

Good luck!

Cheers, I have driven a couple,and I'm Ok with the size, there has to be a compromise somewhere if you want four seats.I'm not a fan of Coupes, especially where the rears are utterly useless,which has counted out virtually everything,and I'm perfectly happy to compromise on performance and nimbleness,for the noise,practicality and looks.I'd drive it more than the M400 ( which is down to 1500 miles a year max now due to two kids of 10 and 12,and doesn't go out in anything other trhan good weather).I'd proabaly do around 5K miles in the GTS, as I have a Rover 75 that does the barge/leave anywhere duties.
The fact that I'm likely to get change from the M400 to buy a Maserati that is 3 years newer with the same mileage,and cost nearly 40 grand more when new, kinda adds somewhat to the appeal! Gives me a little float to put towards a silly summer toy as well.

Sounds like a flawless plan, sjc. It even seesm to include real logic and sense instead of just man-logic. Well done! My boys are 13 and 15, growing like weeds and they fit in just fine. Although I reckon they'd not say if they didn't...

If you need one of us to come with you and give it the once over, just let us know where you are.

Other things to look out for, front parking sensors fail, pay particular attention to the interior trim as it peals and cracks. The panel to the right of the steering wheel and the glove box and centre consuls are favourite, it will be covered under your warranty.

Look our for a 'ping' from the back axle when you reverse then pull away hard, this is the first signs of worn half shaft splines, again covered by warranty. Also rear lights have a recall as they fail.

Check the AC pump for weeping, these are £5k parts!!!...again, covered under warranty (if its the Maserati Trident one)

Take it up over a 100mph (on a track obviously) then stamp on the brakes and do it again very lightly and check for vibration. This is the front discs which are silly money. You can have them skimmed which worked for me for circa £300 at the main dealer.

Other than that just check the usual stuff like tyres, brakes and suspension, just buy it and enjoy.

SJC - at that price point i would worry about the options.

If the car is mechanically fine, then you have a bargain on your hands and in effect a year or so of virtually depreciation proof motoring.

The FD Springs on any Granturismo, transforms the handling of the car. Ive just had them fitted to my GTS and the improvement in all areas is pretty significant.

No Diving under braking and No lifting under hard acceleration
Sharper turn in
More body control and significantly reduced body roll.
No floating and nervousness on high speed corners
Car generally feels tighter and better setup.

All this, and still offering a pretty compliant ride on our roads.

Give me a shout if you need any further info.

Regards

Noor

SJC - if you don't want it, I'd certainly like to get first refusal!

Bargain! Get it

Thanks for the valued advice and encouragement guys, and for teh kind offer of a look/see on my behalf.Myself and the car are both in Essex, which makes my immediate viewing easy,although unfortunately me and the seller are both pretty tied up at the moment.
The more I'm thinking about it the more sense it makes, if that's possible buying a Maserati!
Noor I will be in touch, would like to have a chat regards your stuff.
Thanks again to you all, and anymore advice, or "stop pussyfooting and buy it" comments welcome!

Where in Essex, sjc? There are a few of us lurking round this corner of our little island. As well as a few SMers we're also blessed with a great indie - Grimaldi in Halstead - as well as Lancaster in Colchester for any warranty work.

Oh, by the way - just buy it, won't you? You know you need to. Imagine how disappointed you will always be if you let this moment pass you by. I couldn't live with that, personally. Oh, imagine the torment of such an opportunity wasted!

Ok, a little update..

I haven't managed to view the car properly yet as the owner and myself have both been away, but we're getting closer.The full spec is 2008/58 4.7S Mc shift/Bose/Comfort pack/auto dim mirrors/Front park/Skyhook/Ali pedals/Red stitch/Grigio Neptune wheels/Met black paint/Bluetooth+ Aux lead.I also have something suggesting it has alcantara Headlining and High gloss interior but can't confirm that yet.

I'm in possesion of the service history and maintenance,(all at Maser MD's) the bulk of which is as follows,
May 2010 @ 12500 miles:12,500 mile service
June 2001@ 21,000 miles refurb all 4 wheels
Sept 2011,@ 24,500 miles : 25,000 mile service,with campaign 196 + alignment carried out. 2 year warranty added.
March 2012@ 29,000 miles:Skim brake discs all-round as badly lipped,4 new tyres,4 wheel alignment,engine variator replacement ( noise on start-up),system re-set, kisspoint adjustment and bled clutch.
April 2013 @ 35,000 miles : 4th service ( not sure why it's been called this unless they call the PDi the first one?)including oxygen sensors and Carbon filter,front/rear Lambda feelers.Refurb alloys,new floor mats,refit trim under glovebox.

Clutch wear shows 58.9%.
It had a front bumper fitted at the Main Dealer a couple of years ago due to a parking incident,again I have the paperwork for it.
The only thing that remotely concerns is the constant wheel alignment and wheel refurbing,and the discs being skimmed due to lipping.Common stuff ? I hear the discs are expensive but there may be another option?

Any thoughts on the above,good or bad or anything obviously missing?

As the car will be 5 years old later in the year, can the Trident warranty be renewed or does it then go to an inferior /cheaper version?

Thanks in advance for any views, thoughts or comments!

Hi sjc,

Looks good and well looked after. The alcantara headling is great and was an expensive option - somewhere over 1k rings a bell. "Your" car has a pretty similar spec and history to mine. My brake discs were skimmed and pads replaced 6 months (and hardly any miles) before I got it. Replacement discs are expensive but some OEM options are avilable and much cheaper, if still not cheap. I don't know what lipped means (a residual lip round the circumference where the disc has worn in the middle..?) but if it has been dealt with at a main dealer you should be fine. Front bumpers are stupidly expensive (9k or something daft) and the advantage of a replacement is getting all the stone chips and scuffs sorted out, so you should have only half as much wear and tear up front as you'd otherwise expect, so that's a nice bonus. The front parking sensors are essential. As per previous comments make sure they work: get someone to do a slow lap of the car while you sit in with the sensors activated and watch their progress on the display.

Wheel alignment is included in every GranTurismo service FWIW so nothing to worry about.

I think by fourth service they mean the four year service. The car appears to be well maintained as the carbon cannisters and lambda sensors being done is not cheap and some people would delay it a tad as the intervals seem overly cautious. Encouraging sign.

Went to view the car today,and it looks pretty straight. I didn't drive it,I wanted to listen for anything untoward, which there wasn't. The owner didn't drive it hard at all, which was interesting.I will drive it before I commit, to put my mind at rest that there's no forthcoming eye watering brake disc replacements!
It needs two rears tyres( I'm surprised they didn't note this at the last service 6 weeks ago, but having spoke to them they said they only if below 3mm, which I'd say they are!) A couple of chips on the edges of the doors, and some very light scratches to the rear bumper, but nothing a good buff from a detailer couldn't sort out.
The owner said he normally drove it in auto, which leads me to believe it's had an easy life, the flip side of which is that I've heard it mentioned this isn't ideal for these MC cars. I assume that's for clutch life ( which is at 59%), or is there anything else to arise from that sort of driving?
The nice touch was it did indeed have the Alcantara headlining and the Piano black upgrade interior, and he has even got two new front mats on order to go with the car!
I am extremely tempted,the only thing holding me back really is do I want to sell my beloved M400. I'd say, barring unlucky disasters, for 1500 quid ( to allow for 2 tyres, a bit of detailing/valet and odd and sods) over what I might pay for the car, I could get it spot on, and still have 3 months Trident warranty to cover myself.Maybe an inspection from (the very helpful so far) Grimaldi to flag anything to be done before teh warranty runs out would be a good idea.
A few more questions if I may please?
1: Has anyone had experience of the 6/7 year Maserati warranty, which only covers engine/diff,box etc,
2: Has anyone had the door handles and chrome exterior trim painted black to match the body, or replaced them with black, if so who was the supplier and the likely costs?
3: Has anyone used the alternative brake disc supplier, opinions and costs? Colchester quoted more for brakes than the clutch! Also, can they be skimmed more than once from experience?
4:At what % wear does the clutch start to show issues, am I likely to say have another 30% left ( wear at 59%), and it's the last 10% that becomes a problem? If so, that will give me another 15-18K miles,which will be 3 years use for me which is fine.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who has advice or opinions on the above, and I hope in the next week or so I may have some good (for me)news!!

1. Sorry no experiance if this

2. You can have the trim inc dour handles wrapped in carbon vinyl it looks great and costs next to nothing.

3. There are no alternative brake disc suppliers but I think FD have some in the pipeline.

4. 80% is the general agreed point at which slippage occurs but saying this the MC Shift has not had the issues of the CambioCorse so there is no reason it won't last longer. The MC Shift clutch would appear to easily handle 60k miles plus.

Matt, I assume carbon vinyl wrap can be used on all the exterior chrome - window trim a well as door handles? I'd be interested to see the results of that. Anyone on here had it done?

sjc, it sounds like a good car, though why the poor thing's been driven in auto is a mystery. An affront to it's character, actually. Do it a favour: buy it and drive it like it should be driven.