Maserati 4200 Black WX55BAU on eBay Anyone know anything about this car.

[UlstermanAbroad]

Hi Guys

This car is on eBay. Current bidding at £6,400 with twenty two hours to go.
Sorry. No link, cause I'm on a tablet.
Seller is CarsWithNoReserveReading whose reputation I'm very familiar with.
To be honest, it's unlikely I'll take a punt on this car, but I am curious about its
history. (because of who the seller is)
Had a look on the Govt MoT website and that made for interesting reading.

Thanks for any info

 

[leeq61]

I went to have a look at this about 3 years ago down in Worcester. It wasn't a bad car at all, had a few issues with the gearbox (re dropping out of gear), needed new brakes and the service history was quite sketchy apart from that, a nice car. I've noticed now that this has a horrible front bumper which it didnt back then..... why would anyone want to do that.

I really wanted a Gransport but was looking at late model 4200's to see the difference.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Cheers Lee. All good stuff to know. Will be interesting to see what it makes this time around

 

[leeq61]

Cheers Lee. All good stuff to know. Will be interesting to see what it makes this time around

I've just been having a look over past emails. Back in 2014 when I went to have a look at it, the guy Darren who was selling was looking for £14K and was open about the gearbox/clutch problem hence the price and was after a quick sale. It was then for sale in 2016 again (with the new horrid bumper) and was up at £18K with a new seller who advised that Colchester Maserati had fixed the clutch issue. Yes, would be quite interested to see what this makes.

 

[GeoffCapes]

Based on where the MOT was done last it is probably worth speaking to Felice at Sunnyside Garage or rather Auto Alfa as they are now, as the MOT place was next to them.
He knows Maserati's and did some work on my 4200 and think he does Catmans GT.

 

[CatmanV2]

Based on where the MOT was done last it is probably worth speaking to Felice at Sunnyside Garage or rather Auto Alfa as they are now, as the MOT place was next to them.
He knows Maserati's and did some work on my 4200 and think he does Catmans GT.

He's done loads of work on my old Alfas and Mrs Catman's 147. He looked after my 4200 for nearly all stuff (only SD stuff needed to go elsewhere)

For the GT he's done a significant amount of work, but it becomes more limited without the diagnostic kit, but exhausts, pads and discs and so on. It's due an MOT in December and I'll take it for that, probably alignment as well.

I can completely recommend his work, even if the cars on display are not necessarily as much fun as at Giallo's or AV

C

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

This forum is better than having Special Branch to turn to for info
Twenty minutes to go and the car is at £9,200 and on £100 increments.
Someone is going to get a bargain, all things being equal.

Ended up at £10,623, after a few new bidders piled in with a couple of minutes to go.

 

[dgmx5]

Whether it is a bargain remains to be seen but I was the winning bidder and less than the £11k it reached the last time it 'sold'. The non-standard bumper and the sprayed wheel centres aren't ideal but I like the interior. I am aware of the advisories re play in the suspension and have factored that it to my thinking. WOuld have liked to get it for less for never likely given the suggestions of shill bidding.

I am aware of the business model which is to view and reject if you don't like it which is why I was prepared to give it a punt.

Ideally then I need to get someone along to PPI in the next few days. Any suggestions who would be best placed to do so?

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Congrats. Hopefully.
You and I were nearly bidding against each other. I was going to give the car a punt also. But this model isn't really my thang, so with three minutes to go, I didn't bother. I stand corrected if I picked it up wrong, however I thought there was a gentleman's agreement amongst forum members, not to bid against one another in auctions.
If I'd have known you were seriously interested, I wouldn't even have contemplated bidding.
It could've ended up rather bloody
Someone more knowledgeable than I will pop along shortly and advise you on a local specialist, I have no doubt.
I really hope the car is in great shape. It is a nice interior and with a bit of TLC could be very tasty indeed

Good idea on the PPI. Wouldn't trust these guys, as far as I could throw them.

 

[dgmx5]

Congrats. Hopefully.
You and I were nearly bidding against each other. I was going to give the car a punt also. But this model isn't really my thang, so with three minutes to go, I didn't bother. I stand corrected if I picked it up wrong, however I thought there was a gentleman's agreement amongst forum members, not to bid against one another in auctions.

Good reminder. I had read your thread as one of interest rather than intent especially having seen your biturbo purchase. It would not be a great way to introduce myself and I should have come out and said I was intending to bid myself.

You can inspect on site and decide whether to accept or reject. I suspect there will be no ramp to allow a proper inspection underneath which isn't ideal given the suspension advisories. I doubt it will come with much, if any, paperwork.

 

[dgmx5]

I've just been having a look over past emails. Back in 2014 when I went to have a look at it, the guy Darren who was selling was looking for £14K and was open about the gearbox/clutch problem hence the price and was after a quick sale. It was then for sale in 2016 again (with the new horrid bumper) and was up at £18K with a new seller who advised that Colchester Maserati had fixed the clutch issue. Yes, would be quite interested to see what this makes.

Colchester Maserati have nothing showing for the 3 registration plates Cazana says it has had. Still, I spoke with the ebay seller today and I have paid my £100 deposit and I can take if offsite to get it inspected as long as I return it by close of business if I don't want to accept it which seems very reasonable. So I have booked it in to Dick Lovett Swindon (easiest to get to/from) for Friday. Just need to make sure I have insurance in place as I sold my car at the weekend and insurance expired on Sunday... and breakdown cover too just in case the worst happens. I hope I am not posting on the Low Loader thread on Friday.

 

[allandwf]

Just remember to differentiate between the things they will highlight, sometimes difficult to see the forest for the trees in these inspections. Hope it's all good.

 

[UlstermanAbroad]

Colchester Maserati have nothing showing for the 3 registration plates Cazana says it has had. Still, I spoke with the ebay seller today and I have paid my £100 deposit and I can take if offsite to get it inspected as long as I return it by close of business if I don't want to accept it which seems very reasonable. So I have booked it in to Dick Lovett Swindon (easiest to get to/from) for Friday. Just need to make sure I have insurance in place as I sold my car at the weekend and insurance expired on Sunday... and breakdown cover too just in case the worst happens. I hope I am not posting on the Low Loader thread on Friday.

Will be keeping everything crossed for you

 

[Gp79]

Make sure you have a good poke round the subframes, checking for corrosion.

The front subframe where the lower wishbones are attached seems to be the first place to go.

 

[Contigo]

The killers on these are the wishbones and subframe corrosion. I think you are wise having it inspected and I think it will be an eye opener!

 

[dgmx5]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Things to sort out today are test drive insurance and making a list of all the potential issues I have been made aware of so that I make sure I ask the right questions tomorrow when I see the paperwork and for the PPI. I am very lucky to live only 8 miles away from AV Engineering so if the car checks out, I will have a great place to go to get work done and have the car maintained.

 

[Vampyrebat]

Also the heater matrix is a common one to go also and can cost around £1500 - £2000 to put right by others. Check both drivers and passenger carpets to see if they are damp.

 

[zagatoes30]

Good luck, being close to a decent specialist will be an enormous benefit going forward.

 

[dgmx5]

Waiting the results of the PPI, but points so far are:

Good points

Car runs
No noticeable issue with the gearbox/clutch (which was raised in leeq61's previous enquiries)
Central locking appears too work and not cause alarm issues (also a previously noted issue)
Alloys have been refurbed and are in generally good condition (although wheel centres are a dog's dinner)
Bodywork and paint in reasonable condition (not perfect)
No damp in footwells and aircon appears to work
hpi clear
Evidence of service history from DL Swindon up to 2009 (but cannot provide copies without consent of the owner at the time)
Mirrors move on placing car into reverse
Spec sheet includes Skyhook, heated front seats, phonekit, electrochromatic rear view mirror, custom door panels
Electric seats do move

Bad points
Only 1 key, and that is in poor condition
Front aftermarket bumper (which is in poor condition) with a poor panel fit on o/s
Sat nav is missing the CD
Some wear and marks to leather and door trims (would need work to bring up to condition but possibly a good repairer could sort it all out
Plastic of rear interior trim has been melted
CD rack(?) between the front seats is broken and sits in position but is clearly cracked
Usual wear to all buttons
Seat heater indicator for driver's seat does not light up

I will see what the inspection says.

 

[CatmanV2]

Hmm, the bumper is a bit of a drag. Most of the rest is quite common. CD is simple to replace, but ultimately pointless. Lorenzo can redo your buttons for very little. Leather is easily fixable either DIY or professionally. Melted trim? Wow. Still pretty sure that one of the breakers will be able to help. Seat indicator is probably water in the switch unit on the seat. I recall a not very expensive fix.
Key is a few hundred quid, but so many of them only have the one.

C