Whether you are thinking of buying one of the coveted pre-owned Maseratis for sale in your neighborhood, or looking for one at a dealership, you need to weigh the pros and cons. Now, I’ll admit, when I was making this list, I figured there would be substantially more cons than pros. However, it appears the opposite is true, and the benefits actually outweigh the cons.
Maseratis are appealing cars, but should only be bought for a daily driver by those who have the dollars to spare. Why? Because, they are expensive to maintain; and even if you do it yourself, the parts are foreign and pricey.
But, the good news is these cars tend to depreciate quickly, which is one of the main reasons people enjoy buying pre-owned Maseratis so much. Even so, it’s important to recognize both the reward and the risk of buying a pre-owned Maserati, even if ignoring the risk in the end is worth it.
Are They Appealing? Absolutely!
Thanks to the depreciation (we will get into that later) and the way these cars look, they are a very appealing purchase. Whether it’s a Quattroporte or a Ghibli, they have drop-dead looks and go fast. After all, they are marketed as both luxury AND performance vehicles. It would be unwise to buy one just expecting a vehicle that is performance oriented, or to buy one expecting only comfort.
Buying a pre-owned Maserati is a big investment, so it’s important to know exactly what these cars are capable of.
Maserati Quattroporte
For the Quattroporte, 2005 is one of the most popular and beloved model years out there. Why? Apart from a lot of owners praising it as one of the best years in terms of price, maintenance, performance, the 2005 Quattroporte was constructed into a more luxurious looking body.
It has your standard sports car shape, compact and high-strung, like a cat ready to pounce. It’s got that hood you see on almost every other sports car out there (with high rises over the wheels and a few character lines in the center) coupled with your luxury sedan headlights and sculpted front-end. The high rises are slightly toned down, however, to ensure that as soon as you look at it, you know this car is also concerned with comfort.
The rest of the car is tailored to blend luxury with sport sedan elements. The inside is set up with luxury in mind, and the sides and back of the vehicle have a sporty sedan feeling, in part due to the placement of the back wheels. But, when looking at it from the side, you notice how far back the windshield sits from the hood, lending the whole car an elongated presence.
Overall, it’s amazing that Maserati made the 2005 Quattroporte look as good as it does. Successfully engineering a sedan that has both luxury and sports car elements isn’t easy, and neither is making a car that looks this handsome.
Under the Hood
Here’s where you’ll really start drooling. The Maseratis all share an engine type with the famous Ferrari. Yup, the same engines that go into a Ferrari are the same designs that go into the Maseratis. For the 2005 model year, this Quattroporte received a 4.2-liter 90-degree V8 that puts out 400 horsepower and around 360 lb-ft of torque. For 2005, that’s an exceptional amount of horsepower and torque.
Plus, the engine sounds amazing as it goes from zero to 60 mph in just a shade over five seconds.
They Depreciate Quickly; Which is Good
Take that previous 2005 Quattroporte model we’re talking about for example. On the website carsforsale.com, there is a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte with only 50,535 miles for $20,000. A car that once easily cost upwards of $60,000 is now worth $20,000, and in relatively new condition. The depreciation rate of Maseratis is unique in the luxury sports car market and one of the main reasons why they are so appealing.
Even a newer Maserati will depreciate quickly, and it’s not uncommon to find one with anywhere between 60-80% off it’s original $100,000 price tag.
Some Risks
Now that I’ve talked about how good they look and how fast they can go, it’s time to assess the risks. Even if they do depreciate quickly, and you can get one for $20,000, you need to understand they are also expensive in the long run.
For example, that V8 engine in the 2005 model only gets 11 mpg city and 14 mpg highway, which means it’s a huge gas guzzler of a car. If something breaks, which is more likely than your average car because it’s a high-performance luxury sedan, chances are you won’t be able to fix it yourself. Therefore, you will be stuck trying to find someone to do the work for you. Unfortunately, this endeavor becomes even harder after realizing you can’t just take it to your run-of-the-mill corner garage to get it worked on. You need to find a specialist type shop/dealership that knows how to work on imported, foreign cars.
Plus, the labor and parts are going to be pretty costly for two reasons. The first is because it’s a high-performance vehicle, and those parts don’t come cheap, no matter what. The second reason is because it’s a foreign vehicle, which means even something like a door handle is going to be expensive.
Instead of a 2005 model, maybe the idea of grabbing a newer model for 60-80% off the price sounds appealing. Not only would it be easier to find, but there still might be a warranty on it to help cover the repair costs, right? Unfortunately, it’s not likely. The nature of the beast with these cars is their warranties wear off rather fast. Therefore, when the warranty wears off, previous owners just sell them and get the newest model.
Why do you think the 2005 model only had 50,535 miles on it? It’s because as soon as the warranty wore off, somebody sold it. Or, people might drive it for a couple thousand miles and realize they couldn’t afford the gas price or the parts.
Individually, and if you have the money for it, these risks are just irritating. But, collectively? These risks add up to something that needs to be considered.
At Most, Buy it as a Fun Car; Not Your Daily Driver
There is a way to practically ignore the risk and reap the reward of owning a Maserati, however. Simply buy it as a fun car. $20,000 for the 2005 with only 50,000 miles on it isn’t bad, especially considering what type of car this is. But, unless you can afford some significant upkeep resulting from daily use, just buy it as a weekender car. Don’t use it as a daily driver, the wear and tear will cause it to require repairs more frequently (which are expensive), and the 11 mpg city and 14 mpg highway will drain your wallet.
If you plan ahead with your financing and just buy it as a car to take to shows or out on the weekends, you can enjoy the Maserati experience to it’s fullest. Besides, $20,000 is cheaper than your average 2016 sedan on the market nowadays. So, if you are in the market for a second vehicle to take to work five minutes down the road, or just for a weekend cruiser, why not buy a Maserati?
