Maserati Coupe: Used Car Reminder
Posted by Doug DeMuro in Used Car Reminder on | 4 comments
The Infiniti G37 is a great car. It’s attractive, it’s luxurious, it’s sporty, it’s loaded, and it’s quick. Being Japanese, it’s also bought exclusively by people who are risk averse. I don’t recommend risk aversion, because it will lead you to make poor decisions like investing when you could instead buy a wallaby.
For those who share my viewpoint, I present to you the 2001-2005 Maserati Coupe, which is basically the wallaby of cars: none of your friends have it, but they all want to play with it. And how can you blame them? It has more power (385 horses) than the G and it’s cheaper, which is the same winning combination that leads toothless, beer-bellied South Carolinians to build drag-tuned Camaros that run tens.
But unlike such Camaros – or their rotund drivers – the Maserati also boasts world-famous Italian craftsmanship, which means handsome styling and a tremendous engine note. Ah, I know what you’re thinking. What if CambioCorsa fails? Isn’t that like $12,000? My answer is simple: how the hell should I know? I’m not a Maserati mechanic. But yes, it probably is.
CambioCorsa, for those who aren’t in the know, is the Maserati’s automatic transmission, which was apparently created to bring back the feeling you got when, at 15 years old, you drove a stick shift for the first time. That means after years spent overcoming lurchy starts, jerky shifts and terrifying rolls backward on steep hills, 2003’s most cutting-edge sports cars brought it all back. Only now, when you inevitably break it, the same money can either fix it or buy the 2013 Nissan Versa you’ll get as a loaner from your local Ferrari dealer.
Of course, CambioCorsa isn’t the Maser’s only flaw. There’s also the complex Skyhook suspension, which fails so often you’d swear it was designed by Land Rover; the radio, which was probably launched to help bring Mussolini to the people (and with the same clarity); and the navigation system, which can only be used by its designer, who was probably blind.
So why would you want it? Because it’s a modern Maserati for $30k. And because sometimes, when everyone else has a golden retriever, you want a wallaby instead
4 Responses to “ “Maserati Coupe: Used Car Reminder”
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It’s not THAT modern.
Even the (old) Quattroporte is unlike today’s cars.
And would I rather have one over a G37? No.
All the problems mentioned are true, and true to a fault. You know what fixes it all? A third pedal. And while we’re changing things might as well chop the top too and get the Spyder. Just as good looking (was asked if I was driving a Ferrari), manual transmission, and better exposure to that noise that will give you a James May-esque fizzy feeling.
I’ve driven both and can say without a doubt the Maser is my choice.
Completely agree. Even the stick ones, sadly, have that damn Skyhook suspension, which is tremendously costly to fix. Skyhook was optional, but most cars got the option.
To me, the Spider is actually BETTER looking. The car has some awkwardness in the coupe’s longer wheelbase.