[Lual]

Jeff, I am sure you took the correct decision. The QP looks beautiful. What a coincidence, I have 3 dream cars in mind, and one is the 512 TR (which I personally find a bit nicer than the Testarrosa) and the QP Gts 2010. The other is the 550 Maranello. Look at it in this way, lucky you that owned two of them!!!

[apottedplant]

congrats mate. enjoy your QP in good health, and may a ferrari join your QP in your garage sometime in the future.

[12 cylinders]

Yes another Ferrari would balance everything out perfectly!

[kramsay1234]

great story and congrats on the new car. The TR was very nice as well. Time for the next chapter.

[12 cylinders]

I've been blessed to have owned 3 Testarossas over the years. I'm just a regular blue collar guy who happens to love cars that are above his income bracket! Consequently....I had to learn to do all of my own work, including dropping the engine out of the TR, doing valve adjustments, cam timing and belts, tensioner bearings....the whole bit. I must say it was a wonderful and fulfilling experience. I also learned how to adjust the fuel injection system and all that fun stuff. I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

What scared me away from the TR is....although I find them to be VERY reliable if you take care of them, the thought of the differential going to pieces and blowing out the side of the gearbox case was just too much. This is a rare occurance, but when it does happen....it's a $15,000 or more repair bill. There is no rule of thumb on if or when this will happen....it just does, without warning usually. After 9 good years of Testarossa ownership, I figured I'd used up my nine lives.....it was time to move on. I now have lots of odds and ends to sell on ebay....

It will be a struggle if I ever get back to owning a Ferrari. I'll have to start small, maybe a nice 308....which I also love.

But for now...I've got this Maserait bug. It's a somewhat illogical car that just pulls emotion out of you....some bad but MOSTLY good. It's a magnificent car...with a sound to die for! I now have a whole new "Italian Car" learning experience ahead of me....and I'm looking forward to it. I have many of you good people to thank for it. Several Maserati owners took the time to write me detailed emails on what their experiences have been, and what to watch our for. Ferraris will always have a place in my heart, but now it will have to share the room with Maserati !!!!

[pelorosso]

Originally Posted by TBigs

Wow.

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

What a story. What a day! I got a little bit choked up myself reading it. I was sure you were going to turn around!

I'm so happy to hear that everything worked out so easily and positively. And now a new love begins.

Congratulations on a beautiful car and an amazingly understanding and supportive wife! Life is good.

Tell me about it... I had a lump in my throat.....

[ApriliaNut]

Boy 12 Cyl I must say, one CAN have it all!!! And boy do you and good on you. That was a most amazing write up; you should perhaps consider prose as a 2nd (3rd? haha!) profession.
I was right there with you on the trip, b/c I too get emotionally attached to my "things Italian" and hate to part with them.
But to have such a soul mate that appreciates these niche vehicles and ALSO understands your ambivilance and doesn't get in the way, that's the cat's meow; over the top; the BOMB! IYKWIM..
Bravo and enjoy your new/next Italian experience.

[12 cylinders]

Thank You EVERYONE for your understanding and well-wishes. Unless you've owned an Italian car....it's hard for people to understand the passion and emotional connection that we get for these mechanical works of art. I think Italian cars have a soul....they nearly qualify as a living thing.

Yes I AM very lucky to have such an understanding wife! It really helps that she just loves the Quattroporte too! I've only showed the QP to a couple of people...they raved over it. I explained to them all the little quirks inherent to the QP...and typical of Italian cars. It's these things that endear the car to us. I mean....that button that lowers the rear-center head rest??? What's that all about? Or having the option of a rear seat passenger controlling the position of a front seat??? Who ever thought up that one!

I do have plans to make some improvements to the car. The DBW enhancement, and later on the computer chip. I also want more sound....BUT....I want it to be that Italian-V8 sound or nothing. I see that another QP owner on the forum removed the mufflers completely and put in straight pipes. I would consider doing that if I as long as the tone doesn't change much.

Another thing that the QP has is that L-O-N-G wheel base! Just stand back and look at it compared to other cars...it is significant. It gives the QP a graceful look....and at times a sinister look....no other car like it that's for sure.

The weather has been dreadful lately...and me being OCD about detailing the car...I won't drive it till the roads are dry. Maybe over time I'll relax a bit......but not yet.....

[ApriliaNut]

I absolutely concur about the wheelbase. Yet it is also so purposeful and inherently CORRECT imo. No other large saloon - not the S-class, 7 series, A8, whatever, gets it so right!

I've been a gearhead since 1963 when I somehow stumbled on the radio broadcast of the Indy 500. Jimmy was catching Parnelli in the waning laps and the commentators (remember back then they had a broadcaster in each corner and one on each straight, 6 in all, so you had to imagine in your minds eye what was going on) were going crazy, getting more and more excited with each lap, wondering aloud if he would be black flagged b/c he was spewing oil out everywhere...I've no doubt Clark would've won had that not happened as he was catching him so fast (the Lotus was so much quicker and stable in the turns) that it was only a matter of time. But he wisely backed off when almost spinning out so they said.

Anyways, after that I devoured all I could about European marques. It was interesting to see how the different nationalities did things: English seemed to excel in their chassis design and wonderfully smelling top shelf leather. And infamous for their crappy electrical systems of course. Germans for their stark (at least back then) Teutonic approach to everything, "You vill sit dis vey"; French for their weird approach to design and their most comfy seats. Story was that some dentists took Citroen seats out and put them in their waiting rooms, they were so comfy. And then there were the glorious Italians! Ahh, once experiencing their way, I was hooked. They do indeed have an intangible soul quality to them!
Got my 1st Alfa @ 20 in Austin (thanks Stan) in 1970. '59 Guilietta Sprint with a 1600 and 5spd shoehorned into it, by the mechanic at the mom 'n pop International Motors. I'll never forget that smiley grill beckoning me from the lot. It was positioned right @ the corner at a 45 degree angle, right where the 90 degrees would be of a corner of a square, so it stood out compared to the others lined up side by side next to one another. This place was so ahead of its time, it had a Lancia AND a Saab Sonnet in the showroom!! I lusted after it for 4 months, no $$ cuz I'm a starving college student poking around in a 67 Plymouth Fury III w/118k on it that my travelling salesman dad gave me. I'd go by at least 3 times a week and talk with him about it. He was my Italian tutor!!! He'd also rewired the entire electrical system so it was definitely sorted. His timetable for moving to Europe (lucky me) was rapidly contracting and the only offer he had was laughable from someone who didn't understand. He knew I was "one of the fold" so-to-speak and definitely appreciate that red (of course) piece of art, so he TRADED me straight up!! I was stunned when he called me and said to come over b/c he wanted to talk to me and when I got there almost fainted.
He later said he KNEW I would treat her right (cue Roy Head and the Traits!!) and absolutely wouldn't sell it to the jerk professor. I guess he felt more at east just unloading the Plymouth at auction or whatever but boy was I blesssed. Though I've strayed to two Rover 2000TC (always carried an extra condensor with me b/c ...well you know), Peugeot 504 wagon, BMW, Audi 4000Quattro, Renault Gordini, and others, I always came home to Alfas. And now that my financial situation looks like it's about to improve in a big way, I've begun my search for "the one"!!!

What a great forum that we can all mutually experience each others anecdotes into this wonderful world of "things Italian"!!

Oh, one more thing: I remember reading in a car mag, or book about the differences between the Euro manufacturers, and the guy summed up rather tidily the Italians "soul quality" in their mechanical objects. {Paraphrasing} "Well, there was only one Michelangelo and he sure wasn't Swedish."

LOVE IT!!

[12 cylinders]

Wow APRILIANUT - that's quite a history there! I didn't really get hooked on cars till later in life...when I was 18. I loved cars all my life - but I never really turned a wrench or wanted to understand them in and out till I went off to college. I had an Olds Cutlass that was a patchwork of olds, pontiac, and chevy parts...no kidding! It had so many issues, and I was so poor...I just HAD to learn to fix it myself. Well that was the start of a burning passion for cars that will certainly last the rest of my life. I always owned those big GM land barges of the 70s...the bigger and heavier the better. For the fun stuff I had lots of musclecars, then I got into Vettes....as I moved up the ladder. During that phase I did a 63 Split Window restoration that was off-the-charts nice...too nice to drive in fact! After several years with that...I sold it and got the King-of-the-Hill...a ZR-1. I did some tasteful mods to that car and it was a killer, it's only real fault was it's weight. Then about 9 years ago I wanted to move up the ladder again. The only place to go was Italian. So I eventually bought a basket case Testarossa and over the course of 4 years refurbished most everything. Just being near that car elevated my heart rate! It was wonderful and yet I was scared to death something would break! Since then I've never looked back. I eventually sold that car and bought another TR...a grigio metallizato car that was just stunning in person. Just before the economy went over the falls...I sold that car thinking it was the fiscally responsible thing to do for us as a family. I longed for a 12 cylinder car and ended up buying a VW Phaeton W-12...black/tan. That machine was really incredible and way way under-rated. It had lots of power and torque, and so many gadgets that NASA would have been jealous of it. But my heart still longed for an Italian machine. So I found another TR that...if I scraped and scrounged and cashed in every favor anybody owed me...I might just be able to buy. So I sold the Phaeton - my only mode of transportation. Here I was...in the middle of a nasty Michigan winter...no car! For weeks I walked or rode a bike where ever I had to go..work...whatever...until I was in a position to buy that red TR. If my wife and I were doing something together then I would drive her car..but that was it. People would often ask if I needed a ride....but I would refuse and say that "I'm on a quest". If my car had broke down and I needed a ride that's different...this was a self-induced situation and I would not accept help or charity. I eventually got that TR and was on cloud nine again! I sorted out that car and had it looking and running great when the Quattorporte bug bit me hard. I still can't believe I let that TR go after all the trouble I went through to get it. I'm very happy with the QP so far! It's a car that can do it all. Now my problem is....I live in a town with a population of around 10,000, and I'm the only Italian car owner. I have nobody to play with that's within 100 miles of me! Everyone knows me as the "Ferrari Guy" and probably some other names I don't want to know about. I'm always happy to answer people's questions, let them sit in the car and things like that. I give rides to kids who I feel will really appreciate the experience - but I don't give rides just because some dweeb want's to be able to say they've ridden in a Ferrari or Maserati...they have to be genuine. Overall I try to be an ambassasor for Italian cars, because they are truly special. I will always have something Italian in the garage until the day I die...and maybe even afterwards!

[nick 55]

12 Cylinder, this story/explanation of your love and quest for Italian cars is inspiring. Kudos to you(and your very understanding wife) for working so hard for your passion. Many people will never understand your love for them. I am sure your buddies at work just tease you all the time(happenes for me too) and anyone in your small town that mutters anything, screw 'em.
I am a lot like you, the sound of a 12 cylinder has intoxicated me since I was a small boy who spent his youth growing up at an airport(Rolls Royce-Merlin V12 engines scream) and I have been hooked since. In fact, part of the reason I am so torn with my shopping for a new car, is the QP is a V8, where as its nearest competitor for my garage spot is a 12 cylinder S600/S65. If I was in your boat, I would have had an incredibly hard time replacing the TR with anything less than a 599(or the 612, which I prefer). I am sure you will love the QP, as I found it is a wonderful car, with tremendous lines, with fours to boot. Congrats on the purchase.

Nick

[gettemmas]

Selfishly glad you made the switch! The who's in, what kinda car is that and people thinking you a rock star will continue. Congrad... Now lets ride.

[esprits4s]

Congratulations on the QP!!

but..

You traded in a TR to a dealer rather than selling it private party???

[12 cylinders]

I gave the situation a LOT of thought before making the trade. I realize that the TR has more value than the QP. I searched for QPs within a 300 mile radius of where I live, and there were only a handful at any time for sale. I wanted a Sport-GT...which reduced the number of QPs to just 2 or 3 cars. When I would fine one that had the colors and options I wanted, I would call on it....only to learn that it had just sold. This happened several times! So I knew I'd have to act fast when a good car came along. I really didn't feel like going through all of the motions of selling the TR. I've done that twice in the past and it can be quite a hassle. As for the actual value of the TR compared to the QP....I feel they were within $5k of each other. That really isn't much difference. When I went and did the trade, I simply drove the TR in....and drove the QP out. I didn't pay any taxes or anything else out of pocket. So in reality it was a pretty fair deal. The QP had a brand new clutch installed with less than 100 miles on it....which is what I was most concerned about. So all in all....I'm happy with how things worked out. My old TR wasn't a perfect car. It has some minor issues that would need to be fixed to get it up to top shelf standards....and this will require some big bucks. The QP I have now has a paint chip or two, but other than that, no dents, no dings, new clutch, new tires, perfect interior....it's a great car. I do miss the presence of the TR though. Maybe some day I will get back into a Ferrari....but for now....I'm a Maserati Guy!

[veloce49]

Bravo, but you may need a new screen name now.