I owned a 2002 Maserati Spyder a couple of summers ago. I got it from a dealer off-lease with (get this) 1700 miles on it. I think some rich guy just drove it up and down his driveway.

It was a blast to drive. The engine is the Ferrari 390HP and I had the F1 shifter in it. It was all hand-tooled leather inside including the dash. (It could have used a Tubi exhaust and if it had that, I'd have probably never sold it.).

My wife hated it. Said it was like owning a mink coat -- just nowhere you could take it. So I sold it a few months later (actually made a few thousand off the transaction).

Bought a 2003 Targa then added a Cargraphic sport exhaust, a 997 short shifter, Carrera side skirts and Misca carbon fiber wing.

Overall, the Spyder felt a lot less durable to me. The early ones 2002/2003 are notorious for feeling "shakey" over train tracks, bumps in the road, etc. You could try to ignore it but it was always there. I was constantly worried about getting it fixed when something eventually broke. I found out later that the F1 shifter do have expensive issues with the clutch.

The Targa on the other hand is rock-solid and a blast to drive. Opposite from the Spyder in that the more I drive it the more I love it (especially with the sport exhaust).

Owning the Spyder is like falling in love with a girl who you KNOW is going to break your heart if you give her the chance. (Unless you can flip it after a few months and it's already fully depreciated).

I don't regret at all having owned the Spyder for a few months. But I'm happy as hell to have gotten out of it without losing my a$$.

Hope this helps!

This is heresy on the 996 board, but here's a picture of my "ex" . . .

[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Mike/My%20Documents/maserati%20spyder.JPG[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Mike/My%20Documents/maserati%20spyder.JPG[/IMG]

 

Buy the 996, alot more durable, more performace and less heartache.
Had a friend who had a QP, broke down on the way to Vegas, 110 degrees
outside, how do think he felt? Drives an a 2007 M5 now.

 

I have a 996 C4S and i got a friend who has a Maserati QP.
As for which to buy, I don't think the two are really comparable, just depends if you want a 4-door sports limo or a rear engine sports car.
As for reliability, my friend's doesn't have a lot of issues, but he is religiously maintaining it.
When something does brake though, the Porsche will be much cheaper to maintain.

 

As another point of reference, I have seen a lot of cars on the track, from Ferrari, to Lambo, to MB Black, to Porsche and BMW etc. I have even seen Nobles, Ariel Atoms, Rufs, Porsche/Ford GTs, but I have never seen a Maserati at the track - not sure why. Although they are probably capable cars, I would venture to say that the Maserati would not fare as well as the Porsche for repeatedly hard flogging on the track.

-td