Finally I have my first maserati!!!

must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Hi all,
Having coveted a maserati since I test drove a 3200 back in 2006, I have lusted after the 3200, 4200, QP, Granturismo (gorgeous car) and Ghibli, all in turn depending on my domestic situation and what I thought I could get away with.
I even toyed (more than once) with the idea of selling my Lotus Esprit (which I love and have had since 2002) to finance it.
I went and test drove a very low mileage, fully loaded ghibli and although it was lovely it was very expensive and I resigned myself to having to spend another year or 2 in something else. Then at stupid o’clock one morning last week I couldn’t sleep and started browsing autotrader. I was looking for a Jag XF or Merc CLS as a stopgap before a maserati. The wish list was fairly simple - rear wheel drive, not a 4 pot, minimum of 4 seats, nice interior, climate control and 0-60 in 6.something or less.
Everything I looked at was getting more and more expensive and as usual I got bored and defaulted to my usual search of maserati.
Suddenly there she was, a remarkably cheap ghibli only 8 miles away. The mileage was a little high for a maserati but about average for a 2015 car and at 3 o,clock that afternoon I was standing in front of her.
She was a little under spec’d compared to others I had seen but nothing that was a deal breaker. Up close there were a few marks and the interior was a bit lack lustre with a few battle scars but she drove beautifully and sounded great.
The dealer wasn’t a maserati guy and I quickly established that there wasn’t going to be an enduring relationship and repeat business between us however, I wanted a maserati and this one was in reach now. What made things worse was that my flawed petrol loving disposition coupled with only my usual casual grip on reality had kicked in, and I started to feel sorry for this gorgeous machine that had found itself abandoned in this awful place. **** bent on rescuing my damsel in distress I attached my cape and after 2 days of torturous negotiating and painful admin I finally took her home.
This weekend is her spa weekend, yesterday was spent fixing her rear vents, cup holder lid, and giving her a deep clean and leather treatment. Today is a full rub down with a wash mit followed by a machine polish and wax. Then she has 2 weeks to settle in and make friends with the Lotus (will probably have to give the lotus some attention today as well so that image doesn’t get jealous) before she goes off to NJS in pershore for and astronomically priced service (5th year with belts and plugs) and a remap.
Would have preferred to do the work myself however I have to keep the warranty company sweet and NJS are top notch.
Anyway, after all that diatribe and a disturbing glimpse into how my head works (or doesn’t), I actually just wanted to say Hi folks.
All the best
Chris
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,512
Congratulations - the Maserati bug is almost as contagious as Coronavirus - I caught it 4years ago with a Granturismo 4.7 MC.
Enjoy !
 

must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Scaf - Thanks, Granturismo’s are lush!!

mjheathcote - went for petrol. Although i call it my daily driver I won’t use it every day and will probably only do between 7k - 10k Miles a year. Living in London I’m also a bit weary (maybe needlessly) about future ULEZ legislation with everyone seemingly being anti diesel at the moment.
 

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,746
Great intro, welcome to the club!

Get some pics up. Look forward to seeing the progress as you bring it back to life.
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
Congrats, and welcome to the Lotus and Maserati club. Our numbers are few, but clearly, we get it, right? ;)
 

flat-12

Member
Messages
120
Great introductory story...enjoyable reading for a petrol-head like myself. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read through your rationale and decision making process. Welcome to Italian car ownership, actually I'm not sure who really owns who.... but it's all good.
 

stevepen

Member
Messages
139
Great into. Bit similar to mine. First Maserati and looked for one for ages. Found my beauty at a Honda dealer and should be collecting later this week.


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must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Thank you for all your warm welcomes and kind replies. Just finished the spa treatment and so as requested here are the pics:
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As you can see, the evening was drawing in but feeling better now it’s clean. Managed to polish out most of the paint issues. Still a couple left and a few stone chips but all in all I’m happy (I have to remember she’s the daily driver and we live in London therefore my ocd has to take a rain check).