[barbuckle]

Just had a 5 year (70Km) service on the 2002 CC coupe.
Was surprised (shocked!) to have to replace rear suspension "lower arms".
Story from dealer is that these are "prone to wear" and although only the bushes need replacing they are only available from Maserati as complete lower suspension arms.

Also told it took several hours to align suspension as the lower arms were recently redesigned and were being "difficult" (hope you techies are all keeping up with this!)

Suffice to say that this annual service bill was, er , a bit bigger than expected?

Anyone else vouch for the dealer story here?
(mileage is 42.5K miles which I realise is a bit more than most "polishers" have been doing!)

 

[GrndLkNatv]

I have 50k on mine....

And have not had the rear suspension replaced nor suggested that I have it replaced... Anyone else?

 

[Troesma]

Just had a 5 year (70Km) service on the 2002 CC coupe.
Was surprised (shocked!) to have to replace rear suspension "lower arms".
Story from dealer is that these are "prone to wear" and although only the bushes need replacing they are only available from Maserati as complete lower suspension arms.

Also told it took several hours to align suspension as the lower arms were recently redesigned and were being "difficult" (hope you techies are all keeping up with this!)

Suffice to say that this annual service bill was, er , a bit bigger than expected?

Anyone else vouch for the dealer story here?
(mileage is 42.5K miles which I realise is a bit more than most "polishers" have been doing!)

Just a quick Q: is your dealer Graypaul in Edinburgh?

 

[300zxtt]

Yes this correct.
Just had the rear arms done on my 2002 4200 at 24000 miles. This is an age thing rather than mileage, the bushes perish. As you say you can't buy just the bushes, just the whole expensive arms.

The rear wheel alignment has to be reset with shims which is a big /specialist job (can take several hours)

I think all 4200s will need this doing sooner or later as they get older.

 

[demoe]

So what was the cost

in both Us and UK?

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Pretty Interesting....

I had the car up on the lift last night and saw those rubber bushings.. I am sure it was easier and cheaper to manufacture the arms this way but way more expensive for the customer to replace.... My bushings look good at this time but I can see that in a year or two, I will probably be doing the same thing, getting them replaced..... So anyone here know the price??

 

[Fred]

It looks like the bushings are replaceable.

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=3&Mo=494&A=1&B=28045&S=

 

[300zxtt]

I had the car up on the lift last night and saw those rubber bushings.. I am sure it was easier and cheaper to manufacture the arms this way but way more expensive for the customer to replace.... My bushings look good at this time but I can see that in a year or two, I will probably be doing the same thing, getting them replaced..... So anyone here know the price??

UK price is around £1000 fitted.
You will get a light knocking noise on rough/bumpy roads when they are on the way out.

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Replaceable Bushings...

So they are replaceable... It's probably easier for the dealer to replace the entire swingarm plus they can charge you more for it... I will doing the bushings only when the time comes, I don't mind spending the time and doing it right... Today's mechanics are exchange artists, not real mechanics...

 

[barbuckle]

Just a quick Q: is your dealer Graypaul in Edinburgh?

Yes correct- (who else is there around here?)

And the cost - £1100, each arm assembly costs approx £370 - but the left and right are different prices.

(oh yes- and they had the car in the shop for two weeks - which makes their hourly rate quite reasonable?!?)

 

[Alex]

Is this just for the euro model?
Is this a non-skyhook issue?
I know 2002 and 2003 have diff suspension set up could this be a model yr 02 issue?

 

[Steeldream]

Just had a 5 year (70Km) service on the 2002 CC coupe.
Was surprised (shocked!) to have to replace rear suspension "lower arms".
Story from dealer is that these are "prone to wear" and although only the bushes need replacing they are only available from Maserati as complete lower suspension arms.

Anyone else vouch for the dealer story here?
(mileage is 42.5K miles which I realise is a bit more than most "polishers" have been doing!)

Not saying it's impossible but I"ve got 50k + on my 2002 Spyder with no sign of problem from the rear - did have a bad front shock, indicated by skyhook idiot light, requiring replacement of both (they don't recommend replacing just one side) @ 51k. They had to ship them over from Italy so it took a couple of weeks and $3k to fix.

 

[Troesma]

Yes correct- (who else is there around here?)

And the cost - £1100, each arm assembly costs approx £370 - but the left and right are different prices.

(oh yes- and they had the car in the shop for two weeks - which makes their hourly rate quite reasonable?!?)

You must be fu***ng joking. They just replaced the bushes on mine last year? How's that it needs replacement of the ENTIRE arm?

 

[GrndLkNatv]

That's why we are here....

To keep us from getting humped by the dealers..... When I was a boat mechanic I couldn't live with some of the stuff the owners would try to pull... It was amazing!!!

 

[The Head]

I think if this shows up down the road in my CC I will just have some urethane bushings or spherical bearings made...they last longer

 

[barbuckle]

You must be fu***ng joking. They just replaced the bushes on mine last year? How's that it needs replacement of the ENTIRE arm?

Indeed!
Dealer's "story" is Maserati do not supply individual parts of the arm assembly - so it's all or nothing (or go elsewhere - if anyone know a good independent in Central Scotland let me know)

 

[maserati of minneapolis]

From what I can tell from the parts diagrams you can order the bushings separate from the arms. Now, I didn't go so far as to actually try to order them, but according to the layouts you can get them separately. It's entirely possible that the bushings alone were back-ordered or no longer available seperately or something silly too. You still have to align when finished, and it's still a time-consuming job.

 

[Troesma]

From what I can tell from the parts diagrams you can order the bushings separate from the arms. Now, I didn't go so far as to actually try to order them, but according to the layouts you can get them separately. It's entirely possible that the bushings alone were back-ordered or no longer available seperately or something silly too. You still have to align when finished, and it's still a time-consuming job.

That you can order them separately, you can. Agree that aligning the damn thing is a bitch, but you can replace the rubber bushes. And I don't see that by replacing the entire arm you are free from doing any alignment (just thinking of a possible justification...)

I do even think there is someone who does special stainless bushes which are wear-free; do remember there was a spec for the Maser... need to dig into old stuff, but now it comes to mind.

 

[Troesma]

if anyone know a good independent in Central Scotland

See, that's what happens by living so damn north

Why not try Bill McGrath or Autoshield in Manchester? (agree not round the corner, but closer to the border...) They have a collect service.

 

[Colossus]

I have just had the same done to mine at the 18,750 mile service and was told that they need to replace the whole lower arm. As it was still under warranty I didn't make a fuss, but it does seem ridiculous that the whole lower arm is replaced when all that is worn is the rubber bushings. Mine has only done 19,000 miles but is an '03 model which would support the fact that this is more of an age issue rather than mileage one.

Car is now out of warranty and wondered if anyone has any good recommendations of good UK based third party warranty companies, am starting to have sleepless nights!

Carl