Maserati GranTurismo Sport Convert vs Jaguar XKR

Any thoughts on this 2012 Maserati Gran Turismo Sport Convert vs the Jaguar XKR

Maserati Other 2dr Conv Gra | eBay

Anyone have any experiences with the Maserati brand and the Gran Turismo Sport in the convertible model?

This car appears to be a possiblity for an addition to the premium brand collection of automobiles.

Interested on thoughts of reliability, maintenence, depreciation and repair costs.

Appreciate any input.

 

engine reliability is a disaster. These ngines have poor oil circulation problems leading to total engine failure. Including thrown rods, and shattered pistons, and scored cylinders.

I can only give the example of the Maserati at Auto America in Grand Prairie texas from august 2013.

They had a customer come in with a maserati with a new engine, with less than 1000 miles on car. Maserati replaced original engine due to alledgely poor oil circ and passage blockage from the casting when the engine was manufactured.

The customer drove it from the maserati dealer to Auto America and promptly traded it in.

BTW autoamerica in grand prairie is a great auto seller with fantastic prices. Ask for nicole

 

Yeah, I have heard mutterings about engine & gearbox reliability. They sound great, but if you get a bad one, it's a nightmare. However, there must be some good ones out there too.

 

This Maserati forum has plenty of knowledgeable members.

Good place to start.

MaseratiForum - An Online Maserati Collective

 

Just like Jaguar, Maserati is suffering from bad reputation.

There is nothing wrong with the Ferrari engines in them. As far as the transmissions go, they did had issues back in early 2000s, but that was over 10 years ago.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...urismo-110574/

 

I posted on there for a while as I wanted an Maserati gran sport back in the day, i did not buy a gran sport since they have a clutch built out of glass with a lifespan of 20k miles..... no thanks

on the Maserati, I could only go with the MC trim level. it looks and sounds 10x better than the base level you posted.

overall for $110k for a used 12 I would prolly buy something else.

Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale Coupe | eBay

 

I agree - I would only look at mc stradale. I briefly considered this car, but went with the Jag Xkr-s due to its superior performance.

 

About 3 years ago at Spring Mountain Raceway, a guy brought his new (at the time) Quattroporte to our Audi Club track days event. On the first lap of his track time, he blew his engine and had to have the car hauled from the track. It may have been a fluke, who knows? The Gran Tourisimo is a beautiful car, however, and sounds great as well.

 

Had an '85 Biturbo E a long, long time ago. Problematic car, but really beautiful interior that was mostly fake leather, just as the Gran Turismo is today. Buddy had an '07 Qporte Automatico and the car ran trouble-free for 3 years he owned it.

Maserati seems to be a hit or miss car. Depends if the workers were hung over or not. I'd look one with some miles on it and good service history so you know you are past the lemon phase.

 

Thanks for all the input....probably not worth pursuing the Maserati Gran Turismo as an addition to my car collection. All replys have been negative. Appreciate the input. The GranTurismo does look nice in the convertible style.

It's not worth taking any risks spending $80,000 to $90,000.

 

My biz partner had a 2010 Quattroporte, bought used, kept it for a year and had no problems with it so I agree, its hit or miss. Really quick car for its size but you would expect that out of a Ferrari engine. As much as I like the Masa looks I still don't think I could pick one dollar for dollar over an R but that's just me.

 

If you experience the sound of a Ferrari V8 it is something to be had. The older ones as I had wind up to 7500-8000 and make a howling sound. Unlike the Jag V8 which brings me back to my hot rod days but still a little more unique. I had just ended 14 years with a Ferrari and it was a great experience. Participating in Ferrari track days and watching the Ferrari challenge has been a great experience. A lot of Mas. folks at these events and their cars had just as much a great sound as the Fcars. A lot of the newer engines run to 8000-10000 RPM which as you could imagine puts a lot of stress on these little V8's. So back to the point which is out of 14 years I have never seen an Fcar or Mas engine blow.

 

The Maserati and Ferrari engines are quite different. Ferrari manufacturers the engines for Maserati, but the Maserati does not have flat plane crank and does sound quite different.

To me, the Ferrari sourced V8's aren't as true to the Maserati marque as their old engines. Maserati was known more for low end grunt like an American V8; not the high revving whail like it is today. Just my little rant...

 

Richard, before you completely disregard the Gran Turismo, please watch the following links, at least they are very entertaining.

 

Of course, you could always go this route, Richard.

ADV.1 Gallery | Lamborghini Aventador ADV5.2TSCS

 

Too expensive for my pocketbook....in addition, I see a few Gallardo's running around our small city and don't like the look.

Also my problem with some of the high end premium cars is the service. Jaguar dealer 60 miles away, Porsche dealer 250 miles away, Lamborghini dealer 450 miles away as well as Maserati ....if I ever needed service from the dealer.

 

Haha, I find this video from the guy who made the first Maser video in BillyD's post waaaay more amusing ....

 

Loved it, laugh my butt off. The Arial Atom is a cool car, very much like my Formula F1000....only so street legal....and FAST.

 

Just an update on wattieincyprus, as I understand it, Wattie had to part with his Gran Turismo because he was landed with a Euro30,000 import levy, after buying and transporting the car from the UK

 

From this article, it seems like the Granturismo is quite bullet proof. Nice that it has not cam belts to change like our Jags!
Maserati Buyers guide:
We spoke to Richard Lukins at independent Maserati specialists Fiorano Cars, who told us that he has seen very few GranTurismos displaying anything that looks like an inherent problem. This may be because it’s still a young model and issues will develop as mileages grow, or it could be simply because the GranTurismo is a very well put together car.
With almost all GranTurismos on UK roads still under warranty, any initial issues will be dealt with as a matter of course. However, there are still a few points to be aware of if you want to start out with the best possible example.

Engine

The V8 in the GranTurismo is fundamentally the same unit as found in the 4200 and the Quattroporte, and, like them, it can develop oil 
leaks. ‘The GranTurismo is far less likely to develop a leak than earlier models,’ says Richard Lukins, ‘but we have still seen examples where oil leaks from both the upper and lower front covers.’

Lukins also says there were reports of issues with the cam variators on early examples. ‘The key is to check that the car has had any factory recalls applied to it,’ he recommends.

Transmission

The ZF automatic transmission is virtually bulletproof. However, Lukins suspects that, in time, GranTurismos may need to be checked for lash (unwanted slack) in the differential. ‘Late Quattroportes tend to suffer from differential lash, and because the GranTurismo uses the same final drive, I would expect to see this develop in older or higher mileage cars.’

He also mentions that cars equipped with the Cambiocorsa gearbox tend to use clutches sooner than you’d expect with a traditional manual transmission. ‘The clutch will last the same number of changes, but because of the addictive nature of the transmission system, drivers tend to make more gearchanges for a given distance.’

Wheels and brakes

The GranTurismo is heavy on brakes – it weight almost two tons, remember – and so it can wear them quickly. ‘You can get to the inner face and run your finger out from the centre of the disc to feel for scoring, ridges or rust,’ suggests Lukins.

GranTurismos tends to eat through tyres quickly, mainly as a result of the way they are driven. Lukins also recommends that the tracking is checked at least annually, as specified in the handbook, since it can easily be knocked out of alignment by potholes, for example.

Something else Lukins has seen are rusty wheel bolts. ‘Maserati changed the style of wheel bolt for the GranTurismo and they rust very quickly. We offer a replacement which is made in the UK and offers better corrosion resistance.’

Bodywork

The build quality from the factory is very good, so check carefully for any uneven panel gaps or colour differentiation, which could indicate the car has been damaged and repaired in the past.

Interior

The interior is very well put together. However, there can be electrical issues. ‘The rain sensors for the automatic wipers can play up on early models,’ says Lukins. ‘There can also be problems with the rear lights, with flickering or the central brake light staying on. This is an ECU problem and can usually be cured by reflashing.’

Lukins recommends that GranTurismos are not jump-started. ‘We’ve seen cars with blown airbag ECUs because of a voltage spike when jump-starting,’ he says.
Specification (2007 GranTurismo)
■ Engine V8, 4244cc
■ Max power 399bhp @ 7100rpm
■ Max torque 339lb ft @ 4750rpm
■ Transmission Six-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel drive
■ Tyres 245/40x19 front, 285/40x19 rear
■ Weight (kerb) 1880kg
■ Power-to-weight 216bhp/ton
■ 0-60mph 5.5sec
■ Top speed 177mph (claimed)
■ Price when new £78,950 (2007)
Parts Prices- Supplied by Fiorano Cars, London. Prices include VAT at 17.5%. (4.7 S prices in brackets)
■ Tyres (each) £275 (£279) front, £293 (£355) rear, Bridgestones
■ Brake pads (front) £459.59 (£1306.05)
■ Brake discs (front, each) £733.48 (£559.43)
■ Clutch, complete n/a (£1083.90)
■ Flywheel n/a (£283.03)
■ Oil filter £34.93
■ Air filter £95.93
■ Spark plugs (set of eight) £131.37
Servicing - (Prices supplied by Fiorano Cars, London)
■ Minor service (12,500 miles) £899
■ Major service (25,000 miles) £1299
■ Two-yearly service £699 extra
■ Four-yearly service £999 extra
■ Cambelt change n/a (chains)
What to pay
One Maserati trend that the GranTurismo bucked was appalling depreciation. In fact, it topped the tables in Glass’s Guide’s prestige car values early in 2010. This means that an early 2007 model will cost from £50,000, while being a year younger doesn’t tend to add a huge amount to that. However, the big price hike arrives when you start to look at the S model; a 2008 S will cost close to the £70,000 mark while a late 2009 example will start to approach £80K.
* All prices correct as of August 2011

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