A bit early for a mid-life crisis, but I face a "problem" that is causing no end of angst.
In the next 2-3 months I need to make a decision on my immediate motoring future. In a nutshell it boils down to this: Should I
a) Sell the Alfa and buy a new Nissan X-trail SVE DCi as my main personal transport, running up 25,000-30,000 miles per year
or
b) Keep the Alfa until the wheels fall off, using it as my main car, and spend a not dissimilar amount to the purchase price of a new X-trail on the purchase of a secondhand Maserati 3200GT (likely to be a 1999 or 2000 model, with perhaps 30,000-40,000 miles on it), using it for no more than 5,000-8,000 miles per annum. This would be a "keeper" for as long as I have breathe in my body. Or that's the idea anyway.
I've advanced all kinds of arguments and counter arguments for both options. Bizarrely, option 2 makes more financial sense..... Provided nothing truly horrible goes wrong with the (diesel) Alfa within the next 60,000 miles (it has 61,000 on it at present and has had a couple of niggles, but both fixed immediately under warranty. I can buy an additional year for £169, which seems a bargain). In a nutshell, option (a) exposes me to £15k of depreciation over 4 years combined with 30-33mpg whilst option (b) involves a lot less depreciation, 36-40mpg for 80% of my motoring and, er, 15mpg for the remaining 20%. Servicing costs aren't as much of an issue on the Mazzer as you might think.
I shan't bore you with my tortured thoughts for now. Instead I thought I would throw this one open to the floor for your thoughts. Help me!
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purchase of a secondhand Maserati 3200GT
>>
do it.
don't even think about why you should not.
the likes of ken livingstone will soon have these motors banned. so enjoy them while you can afford them or are not banned from doing so.
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Sell both. Buy a steam engine
(Don't forget the low loader)
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Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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Option 2 obviously :-) But beware of the Maseratis and their ball joints. They are £600 each and last about 5 minutes and show no sign of failure until they disintegrate.....if you can find one where they've all been replaced you'll have up to 4 or 5 years where you don't have to replace them again. It is possible that they are the rose joint types and need regular greasing or whatever and they don't get it hence fall to bits....
teabelly
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Do you really need me to say which way I suggest you go?
Naah ... go for the sensible, conventional option. Spend your twilight years wondering what it would have been like to enjoy yourself. Not.
You seem to have good luck with Italian cars, ND, and the Maser is a truly beautiful car. You can't guarantee you will have another chance; you only get one life after all.
Practicality can go hang. If something won't fit in a sports car, its probably not worth the effort.
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I agree. Buy what you want and hang the consequences. I've worked hard for many years and bought second hand this and that and even bought sensible montegos and picassos becuse the kids fitted in with bikes fitted on the back. Now I have the money to buy what ever I want (ahem under 30 thou) so just do it. Enjoy life. Buy a 740 and get 15 mpg. Just do it. I'm going to (when I can get rid of this sensible Passatt HDI)
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Life is for living.
If you have the chance now to get the Maser and you don't, you'll never forget that you missed that opportunity.
Plus it keeps you in the Alfa which you also enjoy so much.
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Option 2
My father died at 50, but achieved his two childhood dreams, he was a main line express steam train driver and he owned an MG.
If the gream reaper is tapping on your shoulder can you claim you lived some of your dreams?
Do it while you can. Its not life or death is it?
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Who the hell is the gream reaper?
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He's the PC version of the old one.
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We'll stop believing you have No Do$h is you go for the Maserati :)
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I read often, only post occasionally
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And if the Alfa goes phut? (sorry thats *when* the alpha goes phut) - well blimey - second hand company car fodder is so cheap these days its not worth worrying!
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a secondhand Maserati 3200GT (likely to be a 1999 or 2000 model, with perhaps 30,000-40,000 miles on it
Mmmmmmmm, tasteful. Don't waste any more time overheating your ageing cranium thinking about option a. Enjoy, and tell us all about it.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Have you considered option c?
Buy a Vectra ;o)
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Things you're not likely to say on your deathbed:
"I wish I'd spent more time at the office."
"I wish I'd married somebody uglier."
"I wish I'd been sick more often."
"I wish I'd been paid less."
"I wish I hadn't bought that Maserati."
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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More of a late life crisis, but I went through this sort of worry before I bought Toad (OK a Supra is not a Maserati but it's the quickest I was likely to afford) and took the plunge, abetted by family, curiously.
Not regretted.
Go for it!
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Option B is the one I've just decided to do. The 156 is now on 96K and doing 30+K per year. We are potentially moving nearer to Bracknell thereby reducing the drive. The depreciation on new cars is horrific especially doing the mileage I am.
The TR7 cost £16K + to rebuild and I intend keeping that for a long time.
Jim
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No Do$h
like Nike says.........................
Just do it.
had my scooby 3 months, 0-60 4.9 secs, 17mpg, enjoyed every minute.
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had my scooby 3 months, 0-60 4.9 secs, 17mpg, enjoyed every minute.
Which impreza is it? I'm niggling for an Impreza in the next year or so and don't know whether to find a good P1 or buy a new or nearly new STi with the prodrive pack.
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Option b) it should be. Suggest also purchase Brompton to carry in Alfa for convenience.
Happy Motoring in a Maserati for Dosh
PhilI
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We never regret our extravagances, but only our economies.
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Option B every time.
You know the Alfa well and it seems to have avoided all the usual italian problems, so you might as well keep it especially as you avoid depreciation doing so.
Having decided to keep the Alfa, you may as well enjoy yourself with the savings. Now, what should you do.......??
Maserati - lovely especially with the boomerang tail lights. I would refuse the 4200 on the grounds of having soulless tail lights.
Enjoy!!
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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ND,
Having just reached the end of my younger days (ok 40) Mrs StarGazer and the little StarGazer have been winding me up somewhat. It may also be 'that time of life' but I have in front of me a fine scale version of 'Flying Scotsman' and my beady eyes on a Live Steam 'Mallard'. They are to run on my daughters train set honest! Always did prefer steam anyway.
Back to the questions....keep the Alfa and go for the Maserati. Having just seen a Quattroporte in the metal....absolutely stunning and wonderful engine sound.
StarGazer
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Hi ND,
You would be silly not to go for X-Trail option.
These multi award winning vehicles are spacious, practical, economical and reliab....
...oh sod it. I can't type this this drivel with a straight face.
Buy the Maserati. You know you want to. We all would. You will always regret it if you don't. And we are not giving you a cop-out by trying to dissuade you.
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Use Lady Badger's justification. "I'm just going out to look at such-and-such, but if it isn't there I won't buy it". I had nodded agreement, and she was off, before the words sank in. Luckily it wasn't there.
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What does it say about me if the wild, frivolous purchase I was considering was a 156 JTD 8-(.
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Trancer, when I bought my 156 JTD it was a wild, frivolous purchase. I just earn more now than 2 years ago :o)
To everyone who has rubber-stamped my Maserati fetish, I thank you. By the mid/end of March I should have done all the research I need to make sure I don't get a wrong-un and will have the funds in place to start the search. It may take some time to get the one I want, but oh boy.......
:o)
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Hang on a minute - what about for all those occasions you will be going off road? Don't think the Maser will be up to it. Think carefully about the proportion of time you spend off road, driving in deep snow, through floods etc. This needs careful consideration.
Or of course you could say sod it I'll have the Maser anyway despite the one day a year you actually need the 4WD - I rather think you will. (Unless you are a secret muddy field caravanner???).
Can I have a go when you've bought it?
And I think its name should be "Birdcage"
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Where does the Toureg/Cayenne fit into these plans? Has it been sidelined?
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Where does the Toureg/Cayenne fit into these plans? Has it been sidelined?
I did look at the poverty spec Cayenne and the Touareg, but I thought that if I was going to settle for 18-20mpg in my one and only car I was going to get very upset, very quickly. I also realised that neither would actually excite me. And it was more money than I really wanted to spend.
Sooooo I started looking at the X-trail and found I really liked it. Then I got back in my Alfa and thought "Do I really want to say goodbye to this?" The answer was, of course, a heartfelt "no I bloomin' don't"
I've held a torch for the 3200 since launch (much like I did and still do for the Sportwagon) and realised that for around the same money as a new X-trail I could buy a genuine Italian GT bordering on supercar status and keep running the Alfa.
It may be 6 months before I find the right car, but when I do, it will be a keeper.
:o)
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ND - you probably don't want or need my endorsement particularly, but I really don't think there's any choice.
I didn't realise how cheap they'd got - and I'm sure they'll get cheaper still - but it's got to be far more fun than a mud plugging Nissan.
While it's really only as 'exotic' as an XK8 it's a lot more exciting and it hasn't got the "vulgar golf club" image of an ageing Jag.
Of course I suspect you'll replace the Alfa sooner than you would have the Nissan, but by then, who cares, you'll have a Maserati!
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Now repeat after me......
"Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2, Option 2,..........."
It's not a choice!
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Hang on a minute - what about for all those occasions you will be going off road? Don't think the Maser will be up to it. Think carefully about the proportion of time you spend off road, driving in deep snow, through floods etc. This needs careful consideration.
Ah, but Mrs ND still has her L200 double-cab
Or of course you could say sod it I'll have the Maser anyway despite the one day a year you actually need the 4WD - I rather think you will. (Unless you are a secret muddy field caravanner???).
Only if it rains at the Gerat Dorset Steamfair and we befriend some caravanners whilst sampling apple juice.
Can I have a go when you've bought it?
Er, no. Sorry.
And I think its name should be "Birdcage"
I was thinking more along the lines of "ChestWig" or "Medallion". ;o)
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What a dumbass question.
Kevin...
PS. If you don't go crazy, which you won't need to, you'll get 20 to 25mpg.
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What a dumbass question.
A strong argument, and well presented too. It was kind of a stooopid question.
PS. If you don't go crazy, which you won't need to, you'll get 20 to 25mpg.
Duh! And why else would I buy a car that does 0-60 on 5.7* and thunders on to 167mph? Apart from to look at, stroke, whisper to and cherish of course.
(*going for the auto. Lazy muscualr GT with town-car drivability. How cool is that?)
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Alan, Alan, Alan.
You know what I'm going to say. So much so, I'm not even going to say it.
--
Adam
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>Duh! And why else would I buy a car that does 0-60 on 5.7* and thunders on to 167mph?
>Apart from to look at, stroke, whisper to and cherish of course.
5.7? Same as my lazy old Chevy.
>(*going for the auto. Lazy muscualr GT with town-car drivability. How cool is that?)
I think the auto is the better choice. I seem to recall reading a review that said that there were driveability problems with manual 'box models, something related to how the ECU reacts to gear changes.
>I just earn more now than 2 years ago :o)
I though the other Moderators had to make do with a ploughmans?
Kevin...
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>>I just earn more now than 2 years ago :o)
>
>I though the other Moderators had to make do with a ploughmans?
Oh he takes his 1/4 of the PLoughman's Lunch as well. And its not like he's even a full-time moderator.
He's swanning aroudn the coutnry in his new toys while the rest of us are slaving away trying just to earn a sufficient crust that'll keep the bailiffs from the door.
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Reading through the posts the heart was sayinhg 'go for the Maserati and live' but the chartered accountant in me was thinking 'high mileage motorists like you and me need something we can rely on'.
Let's try a little lateral thinking - a way round with the best of both worlds?
Maybe keep the Alfa until the end of the extra year's warranty (£169 really is a bargain) or it gets too unreliable, whichever is the sooner. Presumably that means about 90,000 on the clock.
Then swap it for either a newer Alfa if you can afford it or if you need a straight financial swap, maybe a Honda (as reliable as a Nissan or Toyota but better to drive), perhaps a Mazda 6. You have the Maser for fun and - if you allow her to drive the Maser - the ability to borrow the 4wd from Mrs ND when you need it.
Any help?
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Any help?
Pretty much my thinking too. A 3-year old Nissan Primera (current model), Mondeo or Mazda 6 in a year or so will keep me motoring for another 2-3 years whilst I continue to lavish obscene amounts of love upon the Maserati.
And Mrs ND thinks the idea is sound (although she's a little peeved it's not a TVR Chimaera)
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How about an Aston Martin DB7?
Cheers, SS
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ND,
Try to get a later model if you can. The 4200 was mechanically an improvement on the 3200, even if they did wimp out re the rear lights. And the facelift 4200 was mechanically still sounder - the pre-facelift 4200 I was given to test drive had a failed gearbox linkage so was wont to select R if you were not careful*.
Someone has mentioned driveability issues with the manual - no idea what they mean. 4 days in a 4200 including one on track and I detected nothing. I was almost tempted by the cambiocorsa - possibly the best flappy paddle shift I have ever tried - until I drove the manual. The manual gearbox is simply so, err, well, perfect, that to hide it behind frippery is pointless.
You have mail, btw.
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*ISTR that a mod was issued for pre-facelift cars - might be worth asking if this has been done on a potential purchase
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>Someone has mentioned driveability issues with the manual
It was a test report I read a few years ago when the 3200 first hit the streets. The only reason I remember it is because it seemed odd to me that they disliked the manual 'box. It's usually the other way around.
I think the criticism was that it was difficult to get the revs right for smooth changes.
Kevin...
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I think the criticism was that it was difficult to get the revs right for smooth changes.
Sounds like a journo with too little experience of powerful cars.
Go on - tell me it was Clarkson..... ;-)
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After years of penny pinching & making sure everyone else had their wages,or suppliers were paid,plus all the MUST BE CASH merchants, every week - leaving Mrs V & me, to suffer our 'baked bean' periods, I'm afraid/pleased to be in a position to be able to say........... I want THAT one .. & have it, if I choose!
Plus, of course, as we've all done similar calculations in here, several times. look how easy it is to run a Jaguar with a few years & miles on it, cheaper than a NEW Mondeo (or Vectra Dave).
Not my choice, but, you may as well go for it - ther's always Ebay!!!
VB
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I want THAT one .. & have it, if I choose!
Won't Mrs V want a second dress now?
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>Sounds like a journo with too little experience of powerful cars.
>Go on - tell me it was Clarkson..... ;-)
Nope, can't remember exactly who it was but it wasn't Clarkson.
Kevin...
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I had a feeling that I'd seen someone I know in one of these (Maserati I mean) some time ago. It turns out it was a close friend of a good mate of mine. Very nice looking car IMHO but turned into a money pit apparently so he got sho t of it - even his Italian heart didn't over-rule his head.
Who knows, buy one and you may be able to live up to your name at last ND :)
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I have to say go for the Maserati - its your money to spend No Dosh and life is not a rehearsal - its for living.
I fear No Dosh will have even less dosh when it comes to servicing and running costs.
I actually had a Maserati overtake me last night, first one I've seen on the road in a couple of years and strange considering I was reading this thread only yesterday , I'm not an expert but recognised the boomerang tail lights mentioned above and then managed to get close enough to the back of it at a roundabout to see the Maserati name before he turned off.
Just Do It!
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Very nice looking car IMHO but turned into a money pit apparently so he got shot of it - even his Italian heart didn't over-rule his head. Who knows, buy one and you may be able to live up to your name at last ND :)
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Too many Maseratis around in my area.
NSX?
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What kind of money were you aiming to get one for ND? I have just done a search in Autotrader and it produced nothing under £23,000.
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What kind of money were you aiming to get one for ND? I have just done a search in Autotrader and it produced nothing under £23,000.
There are a few around at £20k. Just a question of waiting for the right one to come up. There's a Grigio (Silver) one with grey leather in Reading for £20k that would fit the bill if it weren't for the interior. I prefer the tan leather interior.
Remember not all people who advertise in the published autotrader pay the extra for the internet ad.
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Nothing showing in AuctionView TopCar, sections today, I've just looked.
Would you consider buying it from a sale??
Must be potential £$£$£$£$ savings, if someone needs a sell!!
VB
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I'm in no hurry. When the right one comes up I shall make my move, a assuming the various tales of suspension failure causing crashes that I keep digging up don't put me off in the meantime.
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I prefer the tan leather interior.
Oh No, Do$h. Please... no....
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I'd be tempted to get something different.
A nice Focus saloon should do the trick nicely I think. And you wouldn't get insulted any more (or less) than you do now with the Alfa.
--
Adam
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In gold obviously.
--
Adam
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>> I prefer the tan leather interior. Oh No, Do$h. Please... no....
Ok, it's the two-tone tan & beige that looks rather lovely (Tan piping, beige seats and door cards, black dash top. The tan seats look rather nice on the Dark Green exterior (verde brooklands?) and the Bordeaux Red exterior.
The Bordeaux red interior is ghastly, the blue looks like vinyl. The black is ok but really makes the interior look small.
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Tan piping, beige seats
Oh that's a relief. For a moment I thought you were in need of help from the men in white coats.
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I saw a Maserati 3200 in a layby on the A120 this morning - belching steam and about to be loaded onto a recovery truck.
I'd get the Nissan if I were you !
Not really! Get the Maserati and keep a warm coat in the boot !(The layby bit is true).
--
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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It'll be the top hose blowing. The person I know with one had it happen to them. Outside lane of dual carriageway 70+ mph so bit of a brown trouser moment!
teabelly
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Would you consider one of these, No Do$$h??
MASERATI 4200 4.2 CAMBIOCORSA Coupe, GREY, 2 Doors, Auto Clutch, Petrol, 3024 Miles, VAT Qualifying.
MX04NRZ Registered 15-03-2004
It's the only Maserati, currently in Auction View!!
VB
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More fun with one of these..
tinyurl.com/4l8pr
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