[michaelkyleh]

Hi, deciding between a slightly pre-owned 2006 Quattroporte or SL55 AMG, but I can't decide which I want.

I've been told the Quattroporte has terrible reliability problems. Is that true? Also, does the clutch wear out very fast?

The car will be used mostly in NYC, so is the transmission annoying in traffic?

I'm 21, and a student, so I don't know if I will appear too nouveau riche driving the Maserati.

Thanks!

 

[RVADRCHI]

Speaking as someone who lives in Westchester and occasionally drives into Manhattan with my coupe, the car really isn;t happy with bumper to bumber traffic. She's very tempermental in that environment. On the open road or even with some lights or stop signs she's great. NYC rush hour is another story.

As for the perception concern - if you are a 21 year old student driving a maserati, a MB SL55 or any other car in that price range and class, people will bound to think certain things. I'm 36. When I was a 21 year old student I had a 1976 Chevy Chevelle junker with more holes than sheet metal. But good for you if you have the opportunity to drive a $100k car at your age and as a student to boot!

 

[M!]

Hi, deciding between a slightly pre-owned 2006 Quattroporte or SL55 AMG, but I can't decide which I want.

I've been told the Quattroporte has terrible reliability problems. Is that true? Also, does the clutch wear out very fast?

The car will be used mostly in NYC, so is the transmission annoying in traffic?

I'm 21, and a student, so I don't know if I will appear too nouveau riche driving the Maserati.

Thanks!

do you feel you are noveau riche? it's more an attitude.
i have seen 18 year old driving M5's or 997 Turbos. obviously most people will think you are using parent's money rather than your own, unless you are those smart kids who made millions already.

QP and SL55 are very different. (NA vs SC, 4 dr vs 2, 4dr vs convertible, 5 seat vs 2, Maserati vs MB)....

QP's duoselect, the QP itself, or their owners, don't really like to sit in bumper to bumper traffic anyways. the transmission itself is not annoying in traffic.

 

[michaelkyleh]

No, I don't think of myself as nouveau riche. I just think the Quattroporte is gorgeous, but I get nasty stares and smart comments from older people all the time as it is driving my parents other Mercedes'. I'm sure it will be worse with the Maserati.

Anyway, how is the automatic mode in traffic? I was told NYC is Maserati's second largest market for the Quattroporte in North America. And I always see them when I'm in the city, so I was just wondering.

 

[DeaneG]

In the city, a real automatic is a much better choice. "Automatic mode" CC operation is there so that your wife can drive the car. It's not smooth, and it wears out the clutch faster.

 

[GregD]

Hi, deciding between a slightly pre-owned 2006 Quattroporte or SL55 AMG, but I can't decide which I want.

I've been told the Quattroporte has terrible reliability problems. Is that true? Also, does the clutch wear out very fast?

The car will be used mostly in NYC, so is the transmission annoying in traffic?

I'm 21, and a student, so I don't know if I will appear too nouveau riche driving the Maserati.

Thanks!

Why not get a gransport. Do you really need a 4 door car at this point in your life?

 

[michaelkyleh]

Yea, I'm also looking at the Gransport. I saw a stunning blue one the other day.

Thanks.

 

[lazerx]

im 21 also and i live in philadelphia. I just purchased my first maserati coupe last November and am have been happy with it since. I get many looks for being so young driving a maserati, but most of them come along with compliments on the car.

 

[MaseratiBoy]

you have a PM

 

[Ericpwiseguy]

QP owner thoughts

Regarding your age its how you handel yourself nothing more,nothing less.I'm 33 an own a 2006 QP SPORT GT Black with VERO CUIO interior.

The only issue will be poeple looking and stopping to ask about your car. I get 3 people arleast a week taking a picture of my car with their cell phone.

People like to ask "What car is that"? nice ride etc...

Regarding age you got nothing on my 2 yr old who rides in the back LOL

Age wise, I bought my QP from 1 dealer out of state because the dealer I visited did not think I was a potential buyer even though I pulled up in a 2005 997 Cabrio Porsche. Your biggest deal is getting treated right where you buy the car.

 

[Dolle Dolf]

Hi, deciding between a slightly pre-owned 2006 Quattroporte or SL55 AMG, but I can't decide which I want. ...I'm 21...I don't know if I will appear too nouveau riche .....

Much too young to look nouveau riche heh heh. The nouveau riche make their own money, and unless you are an athlete or the current American Idol you have not had the time. So you will look rather old money indeed, even if only one generation old money. Whether it is in good taste to drive a car in that price range at your age only you can decide. But most 21 year olds just don't look that good in three piece suits, hand made english shoes and Hermes seven fold ties. Why not slum it and live carefree for a few years with the young and the restless of your generation, and drive a $150 Chevy Citation or a $600 Dodge Dart, wear T shirts and jeans, or GAP if you must, get a piercing or two and grow one of these silly little beards on your chin that seem to be de rigueur, and fit in, like I did when I was 34 ... eh well, perhaps not the best example


Otherwise I would second the Maser, but having lived in NYC for a few years and now only a few miles away in NJ, I would think that the Due Select would be a pain in NYC. Better off with a real auto tranny or a real manual. (Unlike American drivers seem to think a true manual works fine in city environments, just go and have a look in congested places like Paris and Amsterdam and London where most cars are mannuals).