[dontTELLmyWIFEyet]

Hi folks.
I could use some help. My current lease is up in 2 months on my saab. I have about $45 - 50K US to spend on a car. I'd love to get into a Maser. A coupe or GrandtTour... something like that. have kids. 4 of them. And a wife. We can't all fit in our saab now. All I need is to carry the 3 year old in back easily, maybe the 10 year old too. And one other passenger in front. Is the back roomy enough for this? We are all under 5'9" sitting in front.
Next issue: we have a giant driveway, but the kids have taken over what used to be a detached garage and now is a room full of loud musical instruments. Therefore the vehicle won't be garaged. My saab has been out in connecticut weather for the past 3 - 4 years and is showing no signs of wear.
My Aero with it's performance 17" tires and no AWD is a disaster in the snow. Lasat year we got a lot of it.
That was just the set up... here are the questions:
Would you guys leave a Maser out in the elements like that? How do they handle in the snow? So one told me that the blow a clutch / turbo / etc every 14 - 15k miles to the tune of $15k US. That's not so good on the "put some cash away for 4 kids going to college" budget. And if that were the case, my Peace Love + Understanding wife would take a sledgehammer first to the car... then to my unprotected skull. Are the new Masers as fickle and costly to maintain as the old ones? I here tales of $2500 tune-ups. That would be very tough on a guy trying to start his business. I'm seduced by the beauty of the thing. Oh: 18 mpg highway—really?
Any advice and perspectives would be welcome.

Thanks

 

[MaseratiBoy]

The Coupe, Spyder, or GranSport is what you would be looking into...

Amazing car. Drive it like a sports car and you will not have any problems.

Bear in mind that maintenance is that of an exotic car...

Tires every 15k-20k miles : $1.2k
Clutch every 20k miles: $3k
F1 Pump, every "once in a while, if you aren't lucky": $3k
Service: $1-2k
Gas: 8-10 mpg if you are lucky.
Random stupid Italian problems... can cost anywhere from 40 dollars to 4000 dollars... But they normally are the 40 dollar kind ;]

No outrageous $15k bills though. No turbos.

It is a relatively reasonable car, as long as you drive it like a crazy person.

 

[GCalo]

---Any advice and perspectives would be welcome. Thanks

a) get rid of the wife
b) get rid of the kids
c) definitely get rid of the SAAB
d) move to California
e) buy a SMART car and save the gas $ for the good looking women here

That's simple enough!

And then you will not have anything to tell your "wife"!

 

[Glenn Wallace]

Any car with performance tires will be a disaster in the snow.

The Aero is decent in the snow with winter tires, until you find a HILL. (had one for 5 years, upgraded to BMW 535xi wagon....w00t!)

Honestly, a Maserati is not going to be a better winter car than a Saab. If both have winter tires on, the Saab will drive more predictably, and it has the engine over the drive wheels.

I leave my Maserati outside most of the time (snow, dust etc.). No real issue, except dodging the tree sap.

Not sure about 18 MPG on the highway. My car always reports 12.7 MPG regardless of the speed I am going.

Given the spousal environment and the kids, I'm going to say maybe a Quattroporte is your best shot. (ease of loading and unloading kids)

 

[F. Yu]

>I have about $45 - 50K US to spend on a car. I'd love to get into a Maser. >A coupe or GrandtTour... something like that.

You can get into a Coupé or GranSport, not a GT for that $$.

>have kids. 4 of them. And a wife. We can't all fit in our saab now.

Uh, have you looked into getting a Suburban?

>All I need is to carry the 3 year old in back easily, maybe the 10 year old
>too. And one other passenger in front. Is the back roomy enough for this?

Yes.

>Therefore the vehicle won't be garaged. My saab has been out in
>connecticut weather for the past 3 - 4 years and is showing no signs of
>wear.

I don't have any experience with this, I live in California. I'm not sure how finicky Italian electronics will like subfreezing temperatures though.

>My Aero with it's performance 17" tires and no AWD is a disaster in the
>snow.

Well, going to a RWD car with 18-19" tires and 390-400 hp isn't going to help things if you aren't willing to put on winter tires.

>Would you guys leave a Maser out in the elements like that?

No.

>So one told me that the blow a clutch / turbo / etc every 14 - 15k miles to
>the tune of $15k US.

Modern Maseratis do not have turbos. Cambriocorsa-equipped models do go through clutches, which would run you $3-5k.

>That's not so good on the "put some cash away for 4 kids going to college"
>budget.

Then don't buy an exotic.

>Are the new Masers as fickle and costly to maintain as the old ones? I here
>tales of $2500 tune-ups. That would be very tough on a guy trying to start
>his business.

No. Major services can get up to $2500. See above answer.

>I'm seduced by the beauty of the thing.

So were we all.

>Oh: 18 mpg highway—really?

Yes. I average 16 mpg between freeway and local.

 

[TravisJ]

I have about $45 - 50K US to spend on a car. I'd love to get into a Maser. A coupe or GrandtTour... something like that.

As mentioned, the only cars in your price range will be a used Coupe or Gransport. Nearly identical cars and both are awesome machines.

Therefore the vehicle won't be garaged. My saab has been out in connecticut weather for the past 3 - 4 years and is showing no signs of wear.

Leaving an Italian exotic car out in the elements may be fine but you would be hard pressed to find someone that lives in a snowy climate that would try to treat their Maserati that way.

How do they handle in the snow?

The don't handle well in snow at all. I have lived in Connecticut and currently live in a cold climate area. I wouldn't even think about trying to drive the Maser in snow. Tons of torque combined with rear wheel drive = sliding everywhere and lots of tire spin in the snow/ice.[/QUOTE]

Are the new Masers as fickle and costly to maintain as the old ones? I here tales of $2500 tune-ups.

The newer Masers ('02+) are nothing like those of the 70s and 80s. Great cars. However, is a $2,500 service bill scares you, run away fast. An sports car just isn't for you right now.

Any advice and perspectives would be welcome.

There are some Maserati owners that use their cars as daily drivers. Many of us just use them as sunny weekend fun cars.

It sounds like you need a reliable, easy to maintain AWD car. I would suggest a new BMW 335xi that comes packaged with all services for the first several years.

 

[GTkorea]

i get 7.5 miles per gallon on my GT on average.
and it costs $200 to fill the tank.

 

[SlyCy]

1)i wouldn't leave any car out in the snow or inclement weather but that's easy to say as i live in FL. having said that, maybe you can prop up a car port / covered spot on the cheap?

2)i also wouldn't drive a car like this in snow ... but for the other 10 months of the year, you will have a grin from ear to ear.

3)if your wife is the kind that would smash up the car, followed by your head with a frying pan ... then i'd first try to swap her out for something new? (ok ok...i kid i kid...)

good luck (from all angles)...

 

[Ramp]

I like being slapped by my wife !

With that said, I would not buy the Maserati in your situation as an every day/all situation car. For people like myself (kids/wife), I think the Maserati is a 3rd + car, not a second. Keep the Saab, buy an Audi/whatever for when your out and about with more than 1 kid and buy the Maserati for fun. I also would not leave the car out - you can - but garaged cars stay in better condition.

My 4yr old son and I went out and about this morning in the Maser. Now I'm heading to the beach with the wife and 2 kids. That's what the MB and Audi are for. When I go out to dinner tonight with the wife, I'm back in the Maserati.

My 2 cents

 

[moosety2008]

there is a saying...

"the only sure thing in life is that we will all die"

measured risks are ok, get a QuatroPorte, throw all the kids in it, don't worry about snow, etc.. etc.. get nice car cover, and perhapse convince your kids to move their music set, for a car which makes its own music.

and lastly enjoy life, cause it only come by once!

 

[TravisJ]

measured risks are ok, get a QuatroPorte

This would be tough. Even a first year model of the new gen Q-porte would be stretching his budget. Although, I suspect few of us actually stuck to our "budget" when buying these cars

 

[xraygun]

Buy an Audi S6. You can pick up a 2007 in your price range. V10, all wheel drive. Room for kids. Won't be struggling with car seat. An all weather car. Probably the wife won't notice it's a hot rod V-10 and you can avoid the frying pan to the head. Sounds like she would SHOOT you if you brought home an exotic Italian car with a paddle shifted manual that sucks in the snow. You can sell her on the all wheel drive for safety bit. I doubt you are going to pull off a Gransport, Coupe or Quattroporte so don't start trying and raise all the red flags and end up with a fight and a boring car! An S6 will be plenty of fun and you'll live to enjoy it!

 

[mps1156]

Buy an Audi S6. You can pick up a 2007 in your price range. V10, all wheel drive. Room for kids. Won't be struggling with car seat. An all weather car. Probably the wife won't notice it's a hot rod V-10 and you can avoid the frying pan to the head. Sounds like she would SHOOT you if you brought home an exotic Italian car with a paddle shifted manual that sucks in the snow. You can sell her on the all wheel drive for safety bit. I doubt you are going to pull off a Gransport, Coupe or Quattroporte so don't start trying and raise all the red flags and end up with a fight and a boring car! An S6 will be plenty of fun and you'll live to enjoy it!

I was thinking the same thing: The A6 is sharp, roomy and performance to boot. If I were shopping for a sedan, I'd seriously look at thr Audi, Lexus and BMW. I have a Saab 9-7x SUV and it's my daily driver and the Cambiocorsa is strictly for pleasure - great pleasure...

 

[GCalo]

After all these comments I don't think what I had suggested was so far out of line!

 

[xraygun]

But then he'd need either a criminal or divorce lawyer!

 

[Glenn Wallace]

I was thinking the same thing: The A6 is sharp, roomy and performance to boot. If I were shopping for a sedan, I'd seriously look at thr Audi, Lexus and BMW. I have a Saab 9-7x SUV and it's my daily driver and the Cambiocorsa is strictly for pleasure - great pleasure...

A6 is too small inside -- coming from a Saab, next best sedan/wagon with AWD is the BMW 535xi, which has fantastic seats, roomy back seat, and 300HP...

 

[TravisJ]

After all these comments I don't think what I had suggested was so far out of line!

I think you hit the nail on the head