In a fit of YOLO I (with a slightly heavy heart) said goodbye to my M5 at the weekend. It was a lovely car but didn’t really get my blood flowing at anything under 7/10ths, which was too fast for my license to be comfortable. A gorgeous colour (San Marino Blue), it will be missed.
So I decided as I am in a good place atm (and not getting any younger) I want a bit more drama and should move into my more dream car/bucket list territory. I’ve decided to move past my 911 hankering (too sensible) and go with a more emotional choice. I currently have a deposit on a late, very low mileage manual AM Vantage V8.
Always wanted an AM, particularly a Vantage, but always felt it was out of reach in a ‘sensible people don’t drive Astons’ way. The Vantage seems more GT car than sports car which suits me and obviously looks and sounds amazing. Subject to a test drive, the deal is done… or so I thought.
Ive always had a nonsensical, passionate desire to own a Maserati. I don’t really understand where this comes from, my dad (a big car nut influence in my formative years) never had one, nor held desire to. I loved the look of the early 90s Ghilbis and of course the 3200’s boomerang lights. However in later years, faced with opportunities to buy a 4200 and then a Grandsport, I (both times) talked myself into buying more sensible cars (E36 M3 & E39 M5). It was mostly down to quality fears, poor reliability and dashboard removals to replace dead AC units (a matter of when not if).
These days I feel the concerns of quality and reliability have much improved at Maser over the years and I really feel a late GrandTurismo with the ZF gearbox would be a lovely car to own/drive. I’ve always been drawn to the GT since they came out years ago; its sculptured look and incredible Ferrari-sounding V8. Being a 4 seater its more practical than the Vantage (if it was needed), but I guess that’s more of a nice to have. The practicality aspect is probably what makes it appeal to my more sensible nature and why I’ve hit this unexpected fork in the road.
I know there’s a few AM owners here, but I don’t know if there are any Maser owners. Thoughts and experiences welcome. So come on motors, which car do we think is better put together (quality-wise) and which is more likely to either breakdown leaving me stranded and/or require more trips to the garage?
Note - either purchase would be a late, low mileage, approved used example and come with an extended manufacture’s warranty. Let’s also assume both cars cost the same (or near enough) to purchase. There’s also no need to get bogged down on my finances etc. This car will be do around 2-3k miles a year, covering a mixture of town and country driving and will continue to be serviced at the respected main dealers with warranty extensions in place. Thanks
So I decided as I am in a good place atm (and not getting any younger) I want a bit more drama and should move into my more dream car/bucket list territory. I’ve decided to move past my 911 hankering (too sensible) and go with a more emotional choice. I currently have a deposit on a late, very low mileage manual AM Vantage V8.
Always wanted an AM, particularly a Vantage, but always felt it was out of reach in a ‘sensible people don’t drive Astons’ way. The Vantage seems more GT car than sports car which suits me and obviously looks and sounds amazing. Subject to a test drive, the deal is done… or so I thought.
Ive always had a nonsensical, passionate desire to own a Maserati. I don’t really understand where this comes from, my dad (a big car nut influence in my formative years) never had one, nor held desire to. I loved the look of the early 90s Ghilbis and of course the 3200’s boomerang lights. However in later years, faced with opportunities to buy a 4200 and then a Grandsport, I (both times) talked myself into buying more sensible cars (E36 M3 & E39 M5). It was mostly down to quality fears, poor reliability and dashboard removals to replace dead AC units (a matter of when not if).
These days I feel the concerns of quality and reliability have much improved at Maser over the years and I really feel a late GrandTurismo with the ZF gearbox would be a lovely car to own/drive. I’ve always been drawn to the GT since they came out years ago; its sculptured look and incredible Ferrari-sounding V8. Being a 4 seater its more practical than the Vantage (if it was needed), but I guess that’s more of a nice to have. The practicality aspect is probably what makes it appeal to my more sensible nature and why I’ve hit this unexpected fork in the road.
I know there’s a few AM owners here, but I don’t know if there are any Maser owners. Thoughts and experiences welcome. So come on motors, which car do we think is better put together (quality-wise) and which is more likely to either breakdown leaving me stranded and/or require more trips to the garage?
Note - either purchase would be a late, low mileage, approved used example and come with an extended manufacture’s warranty. Let’s also assume both cars cost the same (or near enough) to purchase. There’s also no need to get bogged down on my finances etc. This car will be do around 2-3k miles a year, covering a mixture of town and country driving and will continue to be serviced at the respected main dealers with warranty extensions in place. Thanks
