Quattroporte Automatic Experience

I've heard of horrible reliability experiences with Maseratis. The Teutons have nothing to worry about.

 

Really? I have a friend who has done nearly 20 000 had km's in his Gransport, uses it everyday, on steep hills, he had a 4200 GT before that and both these cars have given no trouble at all, same goes for anothe friend who did 25 000 km's in his QP in 3 month! Also no trouble at all....

Isolated reliability issues IMHO.

 

Oh come off it. I live in German-world (in Switzerland the best selling cars are BMW, Audi and M-B) and by no means are they so perfect. What can you tell me about early E46 M3s blowing up engines due to faulty lubrication systems; how about the new V10 M5s going through gearboxes and clutches faster than you can say "Munich"; and how about the Merc E-class being voted the most unreliable executive sedan in Europe in 2003 and 2004? OK, I admit that Audis are generally rock-solid and that BMWs are wonderful cars (I drive one too) but from that to say that Maseratis are "horrible reliability experiences" deonotes your complete ignorance on the matter.

 

Find reliability data for the Quattroporte and other recent models then talk to me. I speak from direct experience with owners (friends, acquaintances, etc.) of these cars.

ANY car will have problems, but some cars have more than others. Typically, the more exclusive the car, the more the problems. This is true of the Maserati.

You are bringing up performance cars in your argument. You can't do that. The Quattroporte, for example, is only comparable to the 7-series, A8, and S-class Mercedes. All three of these, barring some known model years, are virtually bulletproof, at least relatively speaking.

 

They may be "bullet proof" as you say, but they are as interesting as a bullet-proof vest....I'll take a Versace any day.
Comparing a Maserati to a Mercedes is a foolhardy endeavor. They are different cars for different people, neither is better or worse than the other. A person must figure out which kind of car suits his/her personality and desires and then pick the appropriate vehicle. Anyone with an IQ over 80 should be able to understand this simple fact.
My Gransport needed a new tranny at 5K miles....did I care...not even a little. Would I get rid of my Gransport for a MB CL550?......never...ever. I love every minute in my Maserati, and would hate every day living with my lame ass Mercedes should I ever in a moment of weakness be dumb enough to buy one.

 

i own both an 03 bmw 760li and an 05 maserati qp. i have had both for just over two years. both cars are utilized almost daily. neither of the two have ever had any major mechanical problems.

the only problems i had with the qp was a slight rattle in the instrument binacle plastic cover, a piece of chrome trim around the window come lose, and a handbrake that needed to be adjusted. that's it.

the bmw has had several failure lights come on, that didn't appear to affect driveability and i took it in and the items were addressed.

 

I've owned an '05 QP, 04 745, and a '05 A8L and an '05 E class (i know, not a S, but close).

I also just drove the Automaitc QP a week or two ago and also have driven the Sport GT Duoselect.

We bought the qp with about 1200 miles on it as a dealer demo. After a year we had just about 10xxx miles on it. My wife used it as her daily driver. We had a couple minor issues, but nothing major. The typical dash squeak, (every qp we drove had this) minor seat issue, etc. again all items not preventing it from being driven. The car feels like an exotic and is one of the sexiest cars on the road (especially for a 4 door).

The S Class interior is Blah and boring. My wife looked at one and she loved it, i told her maybe when she was 60, but come on....

The 7 series was nice, but the one i had was not loaded up and i missed some of the additional features.

The a8 was a great car and of the S/7/A8 i preferred the a8 the most. It was a VERY solid car and drove great as well as had everything very well laid out. We only just got rid of that for a rover for winter.

back to the QP - This car in automatic WILL get the attention of others who passed on it before because it wasn't an "easy" car to drive. It is different. When you spend 6 figures on a car, most people would like it to stand out and not just be like everyone else. The car even in automatic version feels like an exotic and looks the part as well. As i've mentioned in previous posts, the new automatic is a great daily drive and if you have another "fun" car, then this is a great car. If you want the QP to be your fun car, then i'd still go for the sport GT with the DuoSelect.

In regards to quality, having owned many of the versions mentioned, I would not hesitate to continue to buy more maserati's. We still own the GS as well.

I would buy another Maserati before I'd buy another MB.

 

I test drove the QP Auto today. I was quite impressed with the way the car handled in both auto and auto-manual mode - shifting was very smooth in every situation.

I'd agree with the above poster that in "auto" mode the car was almost too docile, but when I moved it into "auto-manual" mode I found I could easily control the revs, and make the car very responsive. The car had no problems going 70MPH in 2nd gear, while pushing the 7500RPM redline.

In the end, I placed an order for an Executive Auto with the paddles. Car comes with a 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty, plus an option for an extra year (which I'll probably purchase as well).

As far as reliabilty goes, it couldn't be any worse than my 2001 Mercedes CL 500, which has more electrical gremlins than all the other cars I've ever owned put together.