I'm sad to part with this beauty but am looking to send this excellent, low-mileage Coupe to a new owner that can hopefully enjoy it more than I can. 2004 Coupé; Grigio Touring over navy blue leather; 7100 miles. Options include Skyhook, Vintage Pack, xenon headlights, heated seats (driver's side memory), CD changer, and optional stitched full-leather headliner. Accompanied by original manuals, toolkit, two blue keys, a fitted Cover King car cover, clean Carfax report, and clean Texas title. The Carfax report shows no accidents or other damage and lists prior ownership in NY and IA.
The car has covered ~7100 miles since new. I purchased it in March 2021, at which point it had clocked just shy of 5200 miles. Upon purchasing the vehicle, I drove it to Denver, CO, where I had the car thoroughly inspected and serviced by Bill Evenden at Maranello Motorworks. Service included replacement of the accessory belt and spark plugs as well as an oil change and coolant and brake fluid flush. At the time of service the car had approximately 5900 miles and clutch life of approximately 50%. Since that time it's only covered an additional ~1200 gentle miles.
The car starts, runs, and performs flawlessly. Contrary to the sentiments of many on this site, I find the Cambiocorsa gearbox to be a delight. Clutch life was noted at the time of service as being ~50%. I cannot claim to know how the car was driven before; in any event I understand that clutch degradation in these cars is as much a function of time as hard use. Since my purchase, I’ve driven it exclusively in its intended manual mode, and in accordance with all of the guidance I’ve read on this site. I detect no clutch slippage, and shifts are crisp and quick—in particular with Sport mode activated. The spec is, in my opinion, perfect for the car—the silky Grigio Touring paint accentuates Giugiaro’s subtle curves without screaming for attention. The Blu Navy interior is early-00’s bliss, and seemingly rare. The beautifully stitched (and sag-free!) leather headliner is the icing on the cake. Just a very unique combination, part of what drew me to this car in the first place.
The car’s flaws are few, and typical of a car of this vintage. The paint shines like brand new, with only a few very minor blemishes. There is a small scrape on the front bumper, a small hairline crack in the paint near the passenger-side fog lamp (small and only faintly visible), and a small scratch on the passenger-side wing mirror. There are some extremely light/superficial scratches on the passenger rear quarter panel—so faint that I hesitate to mention them, but for the sake of completeness—which do not show up in photos, and are really only perceptible at the right angle and in the right light. It almost seems like the sort of scratches you might get by reversing past a bush/tree, and I’m confident that some elbow grease or very minor paint correction would handle them. There is a small scratch on the driver’s side of the rear bumper. All of these (and nearly 200 photos in total) are documented in the BaT listing I posted (with a reserve; it failed) a few weeks back; feel free to check the gallery there.
The car appears otherwise like new. Inside, in spite of its low mileage, there are the inevitable sticky buttons. The buttons in the center stack—presumably the most labor-intensive—have been refinished. However the air vents in and atop the dash, the steering column collar and the door locks are beginning to exhibit some trademark stickiness. The two rear air vents are the stickiest—thankfully, no one ever uses them. There is an extremely small tear in the dash leather, to the left of the steering wheel and visible in the gallery.
With just over 7100 miles on the odometer, it’s natural to wonder why I’m selling the car. The simple reason is that I don’t feel like I have the time or the wherewithal to properly steward this car, or the knowledge to tinker with it myself the way so many members of this forum can. Having recently moved into a home with a carport (i.e. no enclosed/climate controlled garage), I am wary of the toll that time and Texas heat will take on the car. Rest assured that it is covered and shaded at all times (a custom-fitted Cover King cover will be included with the sale), but a car in this condition deserves a proper garage. What’s more, the car’s excellent condition actually has the perverse effect of discouraging me from driving it. I stretch its legs occasionally but am otherwise too cognizant of the car’s condition to drive it more regularly. As a casual enthusiast—not a real gearhead—my sincere hope is that the buyer will have a deeper understanding and perhaps more patience to deal with its quirks.
The car has covered ~7100 miles since new. I purchased it in March 2021, at which point it had clocked just shy of 5200 miles. Upon purchasing the vehicle, I drove it to Denver, CO, where I had the car thoroughly inspected and serviced by Bill Evenden at Maranello Motorworks. Service included replacement of the accessory belt and spark plugs as well as an oil change and coolant and brake fluid flush. At the time of service the car had approximately 5900 miles and clutch life of approximately 50%. Since that time it's only covered an additional ~1200 gentle miles.
The car starts, runs, and performs flawlessly. Contrary to the sentiments of many on this site, I find the Cambiocorsa gearbox to be a delight. Clutch life was noted at the time of service as being ~50%. I cannot claim to know how the car was driven before; in any event I understand that clutch degradation in these cars is as much a function of time as hard use. Since my purchase, I’ve driven it exclusively in its intended manual mode, and in accordance with all of the guidance I’ve read on this site. I detect no clutch slippage, and shifts are crisp and quick—in particular with Sport mode activated. The spec is, in my opinion, perfect for the car—the silky Grigio Touring paint accentuates Giugiaro’s subtle curves without screaming for attention. The Blu Navy interior is early-00’s bliss, and seemingly rare. The beautifully stitched (and sag-free!) leather headliner is the icing on the cake. Just a very unique combination, part of what drew me to this car in the first place.
The car’s flaws are few, and typical of a car of this vintage. The paint shines like brand new, with only a few very minor blemishes. There is a small scrape on the front bumper, a small hairline crack in the paint near the passenger-side fog lamp (small and only faintly visible), and a small scratch on the passenger-side wing mirror. There are some extremely light/superficial scratches on the passenger rear quarter panel—so faint that I hesitate to mention them, but for the sake of completeness—which do not show up in photos, and are really only perceptible at the right angle and in the right light. It almost seems like the sort of scratches you might get by reversing past a bush/tree, and I’m confident that some elbow grease or very minor paint correction would handle them. There is a small scratch on the driver’s side of the rear bumper. All of these (and nearly 200 photos in total) are documented in the BaT listing I posted (with a reserve; it failed) a few weeks back; feel free to check the gallery there.
The car appears otherwise like new. Inside, in spite of its low mileage, there are the inevitable sticky buttons. The buttons in the center stack—presumably the most labor-intensive—have been refinished. However the air vents in and atop the dash, the steering column collar and the door locks are beginning to exhibit some trademark stickiness. The two rear air vents are the stickiest—thankfully, no one ever uses them. There is an extremely small tear in the dash leather, to the left of the steering wheel and visible in the gallery.
With just over 7100 miles on the odometer, it’s natural to wonder why I’m selling the car. The simple reason is that I don’t feel like I have the time or the wherewithal to properly steward this car, or the knowledge to tinker with it myself the way so many members of this forum can. Having recently moved into a home with a carport (i.e. no enclosed/climate controlled garage), I am wary of the toll that time and Texas heat will take on the car. Rest assured that it is covered and shaded at all times (a custom-fitted Cover King cover will be included with the sale), but a car in this condition deserves a proper garage. What’s more, the car’s excellent condition actually has the perverse effect of discouraging me from driving it. I stretch its legs occasionally but am otherwise too cognizant of the car’s condition to drive it more regularly. As a casual enthusiast—not a real gearhead—my sincere hope is that the buyer will have a deeper understanding and perhaps more patience to deal with its quirks.
