Newbie in NEast England

[PaulH]

Hi all,

New forum member - Stockton-On-Tees in the North East, looking for advice.

I want to buy a 4200GT with a budget of +/- £14k - some basic questions please.

I have picked up that Richard Grace would be a worthwhile call - will do that this week.

As a rough guide is it better to go for latest year I can find (04) or lowest mileage (32k) on an older car ?

Any garages in the North East offer service on Maserati's

Any other NE based owners

Thanks in advance for any answers and having the patience to deal with probably the same questions that have been asked many times !!

Cheers

Paul

 

[Chrisbassett]

As a rough guide is it better to go for latest year I can find (04) or lowest mileage (32k) on an older car ?

There are some updates between the 02 & 03 and between 03 & 04. I think they are mostly to do with a CC gearbox though, both the hardware & software for control of the clutch/gearbox...and some interior and exterior cosmetic changes (lack of a cup holder being my pet 'hate' about my '03 car)

Otherwise, the 4200 mechanics seem to be pretty bullet proof, so a well looked after high mileage car would certainly not frighten me any more.

 

[Andyk]

Welcome to the forum.....You are spot on..Buy the latest car you can as the ujpgrades make then drive much better. If ou can get an 04 car all the better but if a face lift car comes up then thats the one....There is a silver one for sale at 11995 which is great value for a face lift car but has a patchy history, but a recent clutch I believe...but at this price range and with an inspection by a good garage it could be a bargain ...worth a look.......

Talking to Dicky is the right thing to do as he may know of something good out there......

 

[conaero]

Hi Paul and welcome. Echo the advice above, stretch to an 04 car with sub 50k miles on her and a recent clutch and complete history, that's the basic advice we give.

Oh, pay £250 for an independant Maserati inspection will save you £££'s and give you peace of mind.

 

[Parisien]

Hi Paul, as ever buy the best one you can find/afford, indie inspection a must.

GT 4200 only 10% of 4200 sold in UK, so choice very limited etc.

They are now 8/9/10 year old cars, wear and tear begins to tell the tale and its wise to budget for ongoing extra maintenance, above just servicing and tyres etc.

Good luck with the hunt


P

 

[PaulH]

Dear All who replied to my thread.

Many thanks for the help and advice.

kind regards

Paul H

 

[dickygrace]

I was going to post, forgotten what now!

 

[Parisien]

I was going to post, forgotten what now!

....aide memoire....DG...or just let it lie on account....

P

 

[mjheathcote]

Given the age of the cars condition is more important than model year.
You can buy a facelift than has lived its life outdoors and is in poor condition (they are Italian remember), or an early car, lived its life in a heated garage, never seen any salty roads, and low mileage fully serviced, like I did!

 

[dickygrace]

I remembered, we on here know a 4200 GT is a manual car, cambiocorsas (flappy paddles) are known as a 4200 Cambiocorsa. Which are you after? Just thought it worth clearing up.

 

[dickygrace]

Benfield in Newcastle are a Maserati Main dealership for servicing, although I know a couple of people from your neck of the woods come to have their cars serviced at Autoshield in Manchester. Hedgetrimmer on here is from Newcastle Gransport owner, a knowledgeable chap, he'll help you out too.

 

[PaulH]

Ooops - beginners mistake :>))

I am really open on this - from what I read manual may be more reliable ( CC 's always seem to have had or need a new clutch) .... but there are a lot more CC's available in my price range.

I was going to call you ( @ Richard Grace Cars ) to see if you have any 4200's in the pipeline

cheers

Paul H

 

[Parisien]

We all had to learn Paul................well lots of guys swear by the semi-auto aspect of the CC....GTs give you a bit more control plus not got the clutch issue..........but....my last clutch got changed early after 40K....would have lasted 50K....so not a huge issue if doing 5/6 thousand a year...ie if buy one now.....it will last life time of car if car 8/9/10 years old!


P

 

[Andyk]

You need to drive both Paul and see which you prefer...Most go for the CC which makes the manual pretty rare and around 1k os so cheaper than a CC.

 

[BennyD]

Go CC. I was always a manual man and was looking to buy a manual spyder. That aim lasted right up to the point I drove a CC. Fantastic! I really don't like driving manual cars now; far too much effort required for no gain.

 

[CatmanV2]

Go CC. I was always a manual man and was looking to buy a manual spyder. That aim lasted right up to the point I drove a CC. Fantastic! I really don't like driving manual cars now; far too much effort required for no gain.

I was thinking yesterday, as I bombed across Herts how much nicer CC was. In some kind of odd way I miss manual trans, but blimey. Once you learn how to use them, the CC boxes simply rock.

Not sure about people not happy with them in traffic, either. Mine seems to cope pretty well. I find it hard to believe that any car with that much power is going to be very tractable under those conditions

C

 

[Andyk]

Thats the thing with all the flappy gearbox cars .... You need to learn how to drive then...A quick ten minute test drive isn't enough and ou could walk away thinking what all the fuss was about.

 

[dickygrace]

I was going to call you ( @ Richard Grace Cars ) to see if you have any 4200's in the pipeline

cheers

Paul H

I've two facelifts in at present, one a manual, one a cc, but both well above £14k I'm afraid. At your budget, you wouldn't be looking at a facelift but likely a 2003 car would be your best bet. I always have things coming in so I'll keep an eye. Call me anyway as I'm sure there's loads you need to ask, happy to help.

 

[CatmanV2]

Thats the thing with all the flappy gearbox cars .... You need to learn how to drive then...A quick ten minute test drive isn't enough and ou could walk away thinking what all the fuss was about.

In honesty, I spent a couple of months, if not more, wondering about that....

C

 

[Parisien]

It took me a while to get used to them........now you wonder how you did with out them




P