I currently drive a Porsche but really love the lines on these cars and will someday be ready for something less German, if you know what I mean. Given the depreciation on these cars, (all sports cars for that matter) and my assumption that Maserati owners take good care of their cars, are there any pit falls in buying a used model to look out for ( maybe a couple of years old or so) and which model years would be preferable from a reliability stand point ?

 

Dadio,

Not all Maserati owners take care of their cars. In fact, before I purchased mine, I came across several that had been cleaned up cosmetically, but had been somewhat trashed mechanically.

If you buy an '07 or earlier, one of the biggest things to look out for is the clutch on the DuoSelect. It can be $5-8K to replace one which would severely dent any savings you got on a "good deal" if you weren't aware.

While not too expensive, things like brake pads, rotors, suspension components and tires can add up.

Ideally, get a car that has been serviced by a Maserati dealership its whole life as I have heard soem dealerships giving 2nd and 3rd owners a hard time if they can't find all of the maintenance records in their system or if the owner can't provide them. Ferrari/Maserati is very adamant that you take care of your car as specified.

Whatever you do, make sure to have a QUALIFIED mechanic look at the car and give it a full PPI. Not just your local shop (which could be OK), but make sure whoever is looking at the car has experience with Italian exotics and preferably with Ferrari/Maserati. There are A LOT of things a trained set of eyes can see if they have just an hour with the car.

Hope this helps and good luck with your purchase. The QP was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned!

 

Thanks for the good advice. It may be enough to make me think twice about buying used. I have been exposed to the "cost " factor of repairs when buying semi-exotics but understand Italian cars tend to push that a bit further than German ones. Sounds like buying new might be the most cost effective way to own a Maserati. I see you sold yours, are they reliable if maintained properly ? My mileage in the car wouldn't exceed 6-7 K miles a year.

 

I still lost $30K even buying my QP used. So good luck.
The only way I can see you not losing as much is picking up an 05-06 in the $35K+ range
Buy anything in the $70K and higher range and you will end up losing $20-30K or more when you resell.

I see some people here linking to 09 QP's with the 4.2 and 4.7 engine with a price of $107K~ and saying its a good deal. It's not, I've already seen 2009/2010 QP "GTS" being sold for $99K with only a few thousand miles.
Thats massive depreciation since they were sold for at least $150K~.

 

Agreed lot's of great deals on QP'S that are sitting new on dealer lots.

I had an 06 Bianco Fuji Gransport that i bought 2 years old with only 1,600
miles msrp was 125k. I bought the car for 71k and sold it a year later with only 4k on the dial for 55 and it was a tough car to unload.

Bottom line you will lose even buying good used Masers. Great cars for the $ but they depreciate at amazingly high rates.

 

Unless u got money to burn, don't buy new. Look around for cars that are low mileage and a model year or 2 old, still with lots of warranty left. You'll be surprised at how big a discount you can get. I got my 2010 GTS in the Fall used with <1000 miles at 30% off. Even then, I am expecting to lose my shirt at least on paper over the next year or 2!