The offer of the day.....

This looks a very nice series II car, as can be seen from the door handles, the instruments with black plastic surroundings, the late bolt-on Borranis w/four nuts, and the headrests.
She must be from 1970 and seems to have been restored, both internally and outside. The wood looks very nice, the leather too. the carpets seem to be new, since that piping was not used at all by Maserati. Mechanically one cannot tell.

This looks like one of the nicer cars out there. Worthwhile checking, particularly if she has power steering (a very valuable option on the 4,2l cars).

At first glance, the only obvious flaws seem to be:
the S1 exhaust pipes,
the emergency button on the lhs dash,
the missing Maserati script on the glove box,
the non-original gearshift knob,
the missing head on the choke lever,
the front bumper looking a bit deranged on the sides,
the wipers in strange position,
the floor in the boot?
the door lever missing on the RHS door
the door lever positioned wrongly (?) on the LHS door
the missing Vignale signs and flags on either side, low rear panels.

All things that can easily be cured.

 

Thanks for those replies. You all are more forth coming than the dealer. I asked him for some history on the car, esp. the restoration, and he really didn't say much:
"The interior did have a refreshment, so it looks like new, but in detail you can see it is older."

He does not seem to be as enthusiastic and professional as his web site suggests. Unfortunately, I just can't hop on a plane and fly 6k miles to check it out. Too bad it's not stateside.

 

If you really want a Mexico, here is my suggestion:

get in touch with Maserati Clubs around the world, they always know their cars and some member may be interested to sell his car but hasn't advertised it yet. Cars from Club members are almost always taken good care and you'll get them at a better price than from a dealer.

also, you can ask for a PPI to be taken on your behalf, so you'll have a pretty good idea what you are buying.

I know its a lot of work, but when buying a Maserati, it is worth it.

 

Blue...that's a good suggestion.
What is PPI? no doubt, an inspection of some sort...
Cheers

 

Pre Purchase Inspection.

This can be performed by:

- a local dealer
- the technical adviser of the local Maserati club
- someone who knows what he is talking about (I think Walter offers services like that)

In Germany, you can also ask them to get a certificate from DEKRA, which is the certificate for road worthiness, the equivalent of an MOT in the UK. It doesn't say much, other than that the car is safe to be driven.

Of course taking advise from a weird guy (that would me) across the internet may not be a great idea, so you've been warned

 

Good advice (especially the part in bold). I know this is going to be hard because your juices are already flow for this car but be patient as finding someone who can do a good job of this won't be easy. Learn as much as you can about these cars (Maserati GTs) before hand. Good hunting. It's unlikely that the car you end up with will ever be as perfect as you'd like.

 

Truer words were never spoken.

 

Weird guy...
Yes, your advice comes to me from out of thin air, so to speak, but so does most everything these days, but thanks for that warning.
Your advice is solid, as is with the other folks that chimed in.
I have purchased 2 other classic cars over the internet in the past few years with good success, and in both cases I found private parties in those locations that were happy to inspect the cars for a reasonably small fee. Also, I imported 12 grey market cars from Germany to the USA back in 1985-86, so it's not too difficult for me to imagine importing a car from Europe. However, it's still good to be reminded of the pitfalls that lurk with any purchase.
As to the point that "It's unlikely that the car you end up with will ever be as perfect as you'd like", I think that is usually the nature of owning classic cars. The one that I currently own is 95% perfect, but that last 5% is frustratingly illusive. But yes, purchasing a car with some compromising features/items can always be addressed.
To me, this Mexico has a stunning appeal with the color combo, and, from the photos, it looks to be in very good condition. It's a little disappointing that the dealer has not tried to correct some of the small items that were listed by vignalespider, and advertising this Mexico as a 1964 model shows a lack of attention to detail. This does not mean that the car is not worthy of consideration, it just makes me a little more cautious.

 

Well Bobby old boy I need to disagree with you here.
I bought my 1st 3500 in Oct 2010 sight unseen from an add in Hemming's online, some crappy photos and a shop owner telling me it looked like a "pretty good car"
It turned out to be a spectacular original estate find or barn find. So nice it has been accepted at Pebble this year in the preservation class. I also drove it on the 1,000 mile NW Classic Car Rally last July with no problems at all.

The 2nd 3500 bought sight unseen the same way just two months ago turned out to be another calif black plate barn find put away 28 years ago with original paint, leather, carpet car that runs as smooth as can be. Both were bought well under market and both are keepers.
Both are matching numbers cars.
In both cases the cars were much better than I was expecting.
When opportunity presents itself, you need to pull the trigger quickly.
Ciao,
FGM

 

And how many times does that happen for most people?

Happy that it did though.

 

FGM...
Your hired! I'm looking for a Mexico or an Islero. Contact me when you've located another gem.
Your best friend,
Philip

 

love to hear the stories (FGM) i guess everyone here is dreaming about but i suppose most of us are not so lucky.

bought my Mexico unseen in the US last year and had it shipped over to germany in december

in the pictures and on the phone everything sounded perfect (perfect drivable condition, 2nd owner, no obvious flaws, ready to go etc...)
when the car got here the engine didnt start, water was running down the sides and when we managed to start it, it was like a smoke machine, so impossible to drive. The exhaust system was falling apart, the door got recently cheaply resprayed (still to discover whats underneath) and some fixes were done in a very bad way.

In the end i think i don´t regret my purchase - maybe i will when i realized what else is lurking beneath. BUT, i wouldnt buy a car unseen again.

Have never dealt with Brummen so have to be careful with what i say. Have only seen their cars at Techno Classica. Heard from a Mexico they sold last year which was in a similar shape (judging from the pics) which turned out to be not so good when lifted up.

Would also go with the recommendation mentioned before to check with clubs and buy a car that was taken care of in a knowledgable environment.

 

FGM indicated that he bought both cars well below market value, so that may be the situation where you take a chance with the owner's word and photos only, and buy it without inspection, in the hope of being the first one making an offer. Also, he did say the he received better cars than he was expecting, so he did luck out.
OFFtrack, I assume you paid market value so an inspection should be a part of one's due diligence. Even the folks that inspected my 2 internet purchases missed a few items that would have led me to offering about 10% less. Still worth it, but not the same as doing your own inspection.
I'd like to see photos of your Mexico, bitte.

 

to be honest i also believe to have paid below market value and that is also why i bought it without inspection. Actually this is still to find out though as there is a lot of work that needs to be done and maybe it turns out that i paid well above market value. have about 30k € to spend before i reach "market value" of a good car.

But then again, what is market value? If you think about it as an investment, i think the disappointment can be bigger than the joy.

For me, a Mexico has always been my absolute dream car for many years and this was my first real chance to get one. Even if it takes me 20 years and whatever budget to restore it,
i see it as a dream come true step by step.

Before i cause disapproval by fellow forum members i apologise for sliding off topic again.
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Thanks for posting the pics...I think I remember this car, was it located in New York, or somewhere in the NE? Was it a private seller?
Anyway, I too like this car, not my favorite color, but it does look good on your Mexico. And at least you're no longer spending your time anymore searching for your Mexico, so you can focus on improving it and enjoying the ride.

 

Yes, got it from a place near Nyc. Was a dealer i got it from. Think the car has been discussed here as well but fortunately not in this section i believe.
The colour will be changed to its original grigio milano soon but before there are other priorities that need to be settled first. Am currently collecting parts. Already found a set of borranis luckily through this forum. So its really worth it to hang out around here, not only for that matter

 

OFFtrack...
I must have read about your Mexico in that other thread.

I just found another Mexico that i had not seen before...for me, not as stunning a color combo as the blue/biege one, but a good comparison.
Are u familiar with it?

Godin Banks - Stocklist

 

Havent seen this one before. The rosso rubino looks nice but also not my favourite colour on a Mexico. There are certain issues that indicate a restoration/respray so i would ask about the history and details. The condition looks very similar to mine but i paid less than half of what they are asking for.

There are actually quite a lot of Mexicos for sale if you keep looking.
Some have been for sale for quite some time though so there might be a reason for that.

 

Oh, then you did get a good price.

 

Buy it for $1 and drop a dumpster on it.

Oh, wait...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkO8y3AxRps]Top Gear - guys meet the legendary Maserati 3500 GT - BBC - YouTube[/ame] (scroll up to 01:00 minutes)

 

Wow...

Not even a parts car, is it.

 

Hey Walter,
Do you have any info on this Mexico?
thanks