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Old 11-07-2008, 10:02 AM   #1
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anyone have any experience with cambiocorsa?

i really like this car, and was considering purchasing it.
anyone have any real world experience with it here ont he forum?
pros and cons?

thx
DJ

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Old 11-07-2008, 12:23 PM   #2
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prices on these have dropped a LOT... can be had for under 30k easily.... from my research, maintenance is VERY costly and VERY common... i'd look at that

its what convinced me NOT to buy one and got the box instead
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Old 11-08-2008, 02:30 AM   #3
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HI,


I ALSO LOVE THESE CARS AND WOULD CONSIDER TRADING UP WHEN THE TIME WOULD BE RIGHT!

This is what I hear about them.

Early models with 3.2 Turbo....Stay away.

Later models have a 'detuned' ferarri F360 4.2 Lt V8 engine.

Engine is FANTASTIC...Handling Sux.

But they are supercool.!!!

Good Luck
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Old 11-08-2008, 08:57 AM   #4
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To clarify here you're looking at the Maserati Coupe or Spyder with the cambiocorsa transmission right?

The block of the Masi Coupe is based on the F430 actually, not the F360. It's a superior design to the F360 as the F360 and F355 both used cam belts that required replacement every three years - which is a VERY expensive full engine out job. The F430 and Maserati Coupe engines use cam chains and require a lot less major maintenance. Also don't worry about the older 3.2L turbo - it was never brought over to the United States.

Check out www.maseratilife.com. There are a few threads talking about maintenance on these cars. The engines are pretty bullet proof and the maintenance is not nearly as costly as a Ferrari. It's actually affordable if you can do a freaking oil change yourself!

The F1 cambiocorsa transmission got terrible reviews by Car and Driver in two articles in 2002/2003. In automatic mod is shifts like ****************. Evidently it's great for track driving, but how often do you really do that? I would STRONGLY recommend the standard manual transmission. If the cambiocorsa transmission should fail you're looking at a HUGE repair cost. If the engine should fail though you can actually find low mileage units from wreckers for $5K to $7K (similar to the Boxster). So if you keep it simple with a standard transmission, standard shocks (not the Skyhook setup), and change your fluids yourself or through an independent repair shop, you could keep maintenance costs down to similar to the Boxster. I haven't seen reports of excessive maintenance being required. People just get screwed by paying $105/hr and for 10 hrs of work to get fluids changed! So a simple maintenance at the dealer can cost $1,000 for labor alone. Seems just foolish to me.

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Old 11-08-2008, 10:02 AM   #5
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I've driven one. The ride is much less refined than I had expected. I like it, but it's not sprung for long drives. The transmission sucks. I hate manumatics anyway and this thing was pretty jerky. It only had about 10k on it and the transmission had already been replaced once. The wheels were so low profile that they got bent out of round and had to be replaced from just driving the car on public roads. After numerous problems with the second transmission, the owner traded it for a new Jag.

I will say, the interior is gorgeous, as is the exterior. The seats are really supportive and it has a perfectly sized (small and thick) steering wheel. The back seats are a joke. The 400 hp is definitely there. Acceleration is great fun, but it would be 100x better with a real manual transmission.

I'd say that if you think the Boxster is expensive of temperamental, you'd be in for a miserable experience in owning a Maser. Personally, If I was going to own an expensive Italian car with only two seats, I would not bother with anything but a Ferrari.

Last edited by blue2000s; 11-08-2008 at 10:08 AM.
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Old 11-08-2008, 01:48 PM   #6
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thx for the replys guys...
first of all, Ferrari is out of the picture for few more years at least, so im not even looking at that.
id like to get one with actual shifter, not that little puny thing and floppy pedals on the wheel

id have to go drive one
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Old 11-08-2008, 02:03 PM   #7
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Good luck finding one to test drive. Maserati only made them from 2002 - 2007, so you won't find one new at the dealer. Still living in Chicago you've got a good bet of finding a used one to test drive somewhere. Report back on your impressions!!!

Personally I think it's worth checking out. With the back seats and trunk it's actually somewhat practical, and for an exotic it's somewhat affordable. If you want the prestige of owning a fine Italian machine, than it's really not a bad choice. I'm actually strongly considering one to replace my old daily driver. I don't think it's an even replacement for the Boxster. The Boxster is most definitely a sports car, while the Maserati Coupe/Spyder is not, it's a grand tourer. So I'll be keeping my Boxster for weekends, as I use it now. But the Maserati might work for me as a DD, especially as I actually enjoy working on cars and have a second car to drive when I am inevitably doing some work on the Maserati. I just have to be lucky and not run into major and very expensive repairs. I'm also considering the Audi TT, Infiniti G35, and RX-8 as those are also more practical 2+2 sporty cars. Unfortunately the Jaguar XK8 and 911 do not have practical (for my pre-teen daughters) rear seats.

Kirk
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Old 11-08-2008, 03:24 PM   #8
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honestly i dont care for backseats at all...i have nothing/noone to carry there...and for summer i ridy my bike, so i need somethign to drive daily, but dont want to 'downgrade', and honestly boxster is not doing anythign special for me anymore
i use it as winter car hahaha, and scraping everything daily haha
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Old 11-08-2008, 05:13 PM   #9
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If you're looking to use the Maserati as a daily driver, then either be prepared to work on it yourself or have deep pockets. I'm only considering it because I would do the work myself. Parts are not cheap though - $1,600 heavily discounted price for the clutch and throw out bearing for a manual. Rotors and pads are pricey too. The F1 transmission gets even pricier ($1,300 for the F1 pump). Fortunately these cars don't seem to need big repairs too frequently. Here's the best advice on costs I found on Maserati Life:
"Cost of ownership depends on your willingness to open the hood and crawl under the car yourself, just like a ferrari. You either have got to pay to play, or know what you're doing. If you don't want to do either, then this car (or any exotic) isn't for you.

Cost will depend on many things, mainly related to driving style. Drive hard and fast? Be prepared to buy tires often. Want the flappy paddle gearbox? Be prepared to replace the clutch and or pump to the tune of a couple K every 15-20,000mi. Want to abuse the car? Be prepared to fix any host of things that will break on ANY abused car, except add a couple of 0's. As a note, the 6 speed manual goes through clutches less quick than the CC, and also doesnt have an F1 pump to replace.

Every type of car, from any make out there will have a few horror stories, chevy or ferrari. When buying one of these, you should do your due diligance, investigate the car thoroughly before purchasing, and go with the logical decision. Not emotional. An example- i felt that i higher mileage car would be better sorted than a low mileage garage queen. I went, found a good example, took a chance, and 10000 miles (and 7 months) later, she performs beautifully. I had to fix the reverse switch, the A/C control knob, and change the oil."
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Old 11-08-2008, 05:29 PM   #10
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well, unless its impossible for me to do, then i would have to take it to a shop, otherwise, just like this porsche, i do everything myself...how much is an oil change at the porsche dealer? yeah, im not paying that, same with everything else, like doing pads and rotors and shifters and so forth, i do everything myself.
the only time that i took any of my 10 cars i owned to a shop was to replace the transmission on a bmw, thats all...
i did a suspension swap on the porsche myself, shofter install, oil, pads, rotos, brake fluids, lights...blav bla, and then mod list gets bigger and bigger with my other cars that had cheaper parts to get (ls1 mods)...

so all in all im not scared to do anything that anyone else can do (as long as it doesn't require an expensive piece of machinery that cant be replaced by something that i would have in the garage)
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Old 11-08-2008, 07:20 PM   #11
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Trust me i was soooo close to buying a 06 grandsport.. only get one of you have warranty, and if you dont get a warranty save about 20grand for repairs, i guarantee u will need it
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Old 11-08-2008, 08:19 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blkboxster
Trust me i was soooo close to buying a 06 grandsport.. only get one of you have warranty, and if you dont get a warranty save about 20grand for repairs, i guarantee u will need it
20 grand of repairs?
what do u expect to break? and y would it break?
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Old 11-09-2008, 06:01 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djomlas
20 grand of repairs?
what do u expect to break? and y would it break?

everything lol, my bro-in law has already spent about 16k in repairs in his 2003 coupe, ill try to get a detailed write up of what services were done and what was replaced..
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Old 11-09-2008, 08:17 AM   #14
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Again, go to www.maseratilife.com and do a search for "cost of ownership". You'll find several posts addressing this issue.

YES, it can get VERY, VERY expensive to own one of these cars. Remember that for repair or maintenance work you're going to be taking it to a Ferrari dealer. So if you take it in for a regular maintenance check up you're going to pay at least $1,500. A clutch replacement is like $3,500 (on the manual, not F1 transmission). Either the Coupe/Spyder with the F1 trans or the Grand Sport (only comes with the F1 trans) are going to be more expensive because the F1 hydraulic pump goes out and costs $1,300 just in parts, plus you'll have to change the clutches and I think you need special tools to do this on the F1.

Take a look at this website that sells OEM Maserati parts at a big discount:

http://trident-parts.com/coupe--spyder.html

Looking here you can see that actually it's not too terribly expensive for parts for this car (when compared to the Porsche, not a Hyundai). So... IF you do the work yourself, then it's NOT very, very expensive to keep one of these cars running. That $1,500 service at the Ferrari dealer would be MUCH cheaper - $26 for the oil filter, $26 for spark plugs (cheaper than the Boxster), 0W40 Mobil 1 oil same as the Boxster with 10 quarts at $6.50 each. Coolant, power steering fluid, and brake fluid are all standard stuff, nothing exotic. So you could completely go through the car, flush all fluids, replace the plugs, belts, filters, etc. for maybe $250 in parts. Do that every year and the car will just keep humming along happily, as will you.

More major work, like clutch change, gets pricey because the parts are pricey. Again, that's why I would stay away from the more complex systems available - like the F1 transmission and the Skyhook suspension. R&R on the standard suspension (all shocks and springs) is like $2,000 while the Skyhook R&R is over $5,000. Keep it simple stupid. If you still really want the F1 transmission check out the Top Gear review on YouTube - they hated it, as well as the handling.

So you can buy an '04 Coupe 6MT with 25K miles for $35K. Set aside $10K and expect that every year you'll have to spend $250 in maintenance parts, $1,500 every two to three years for a new clutch and throw out bearing, $1,000 every two years or so for new tires, and $2,000 sometime in its lifetime for a complete suspension change. You could then drive it reasonably for 10 or more years.... as long as you stay out of the Ferrari dealership.... and you're lucky that nothing major breaks.

Kirk
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1986 911 Carrera Targa - 3.2L, Euro pistons, 964 cams, steel slant nose widebody
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Old 11-09-2008, 12:51 PM   #15
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so, quick Q on the clutch?
is it just pretty much ********************ty design that makes them go out that often or what? i never needed to replace a clutch on any of my cars...just curious. (talking manual, no that F1 flappy garbage)
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Old 11-09-2008, 06:02 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djomlas
so, quick Q on the clutch?
is it just pretty much ********************ty design that makes them go out that often or what? i never needed to replace a clutch on any of my cars...just curious. (talking manual, no that F1 flappy garbage)
Good question. I don't know the answer for sure, but I can guess. I don't think it's the design. I think it's more of an issue of how much power you're applying to the clutch. I think that Vipers and Ferraris eat through clutches quickly too. 385 hp on the Maserati is a substantial amount of power! You'll probably be tempted to do some hard launches, maybe smoke the tires a little. That's all extremely hard on the clutch. So if you baby it, it will obviously last longer, but that will be hard to do as the temptation to use the 385 hp to its full extent would be awfully strong.

BTW - I just test drove a Mazda RX-8 and Infiniti G-35 today. I'm pretty serious about replacing my daily driver with a 2+2 coupe. I was not impressed by the RX-8, but the G-35 was mighty nice with a really decent rear seat. I also got into the back seat of a Lexus (their sporty 2+2) and a Jaguar XK8... what a joke!

Kirk
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Old 11-09-2008, 06:51 PM   #17
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haha, nice man,
i just cant see myself driving these 'everyday' cars that u see left and right

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