Next car=Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa? | FerrariChat

Next car=Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa?

Discussion in 'Maserati' started by dm_n_stuff, Feb 22, 2004.

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  1. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    #1 dm_n_stuff, Feb 22, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Ok, so I drop by Algar to peek at my Dino, in month 4 of a long term repair, and I stop to talk cars with the owner.

    He pitches me on the Maserati Spyder or Coupe, and I have to say, they are beautiful cars. I'm going to pitch him back for an extended test drive next weekend.

    I've heard/read some noise that the paddle shift is rough to get working right. Others said the stick shift was balky and hard to shift smoothly. While a test drive will certainly help to answer my questions, what have you heard, experienced with the new Maseratis.

    Maybe as an aside, if you were spending +- $100K on a NEW CAR, what would you look at? Back seat optional, convertible optional, but has to be an everyday car.

    Here's the Spyder in question.

    Thanks,

    Dave
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. Jordan Ross

    Jordan Ross Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2003
    601
    Austin
    Porsche turbo! What are they now, $115k? Plus, they even have a back seat! Kinda...
    Those seem easy enough to drive to be a daily car, if you can deal with the speeding tickets :)

    Although, I have to say that Maser Spyder in that pic looks mighty tasty.
     
  3. Jason

    Jason Karting

    Dec 1, 2001
    127
    Check out the back of Autoweek mag, one of the dealers is advertising $25k off new Spyders. Just keep in mind they aren't moving well so deep discounts can be had.
     
  4. KennyH

    KennyH F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Aug 13, 2001
    5,238
    NYC
    Full Name:
    Kenny
    My cousin just went through a similar situation- 100k+/- for a daily driver sports car with a back seat for his little boys and ended up focusing his search on a Porsche Turbo after driving the Maserati- he said its an amazing car but seems a bit too comfortable for a sports car, its more of a luxury sports car and he has a 528i sport for that...
     
  5. BJS

    BJS Formula Junior

    Jan 18, 2004
    287
    Central FL and SW MI
    Full Name:
    Brad Stephenson
    Dave,

    Last summer we bought a 2002 Spyder Cambiocorsa from a local 'toy shop'. We're having a ball with the car. The engine is absolutely wonderful - free-revving with gobs of torque. Not at all what I expected from Maserati. I thought the engine would be peaky.

    As with other cars, the F1 tranny does take a bit of getting used to. You'll love it on the twisties and curse it in stop-and-go traffic. Fortunately, I'm in a pretty rural area, so I'm in love 98.8% of the time! :)

    Other grumblings about the cambio focused on the unpredictable speed of shifts - sometimes they're lightning fast and other times excruciatingly slow. The other common complaint is the sounds the tranny makes as you slow down to a stop. Lots of clicks and soft knocks.

    I've heard both issues are addressed in software upgrades implemented in mid-2003 model year. Earlier cars like mine can have the upgrades applied. One drawback to the upgrade is that the throttle blip on downshifts has reportedly been almost eliminated - if true, that would be extremely disappointing.

    As you may have surmised, I've not brought my Spyder in to have the upgrade performed. The 'problems' simply aren't that aggravating to me.

    Regarding the manual shift cars (GT's), I've heard they're balky when cold, just like the Ferrari boxes. One dealer (it may have been a post on FChat) thought the lack of flywheel effect may be dropping RPMs so quickly that customers who shifted slowly complained about balky operation even when warm. YMMV.

    A coincidence: our car was a demo from Algars!

    FWIW, I was attracted to the car precisely because it doesn't appeal to the masses. It draws looks and a small crowd whenever we go out simply because there aren't very many on the road and the Maserati name retained its luster despite the QP problems.

    Let me know what you think after driving it!

    Brad
     
  6. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Gotta tell you, in person it looks even better, my photo does not do it justice. I already have a 911, so I think the turbo is out. Also, the turbo has insurance issues that my agent assures me the Maserati does not.

    Finally, if deep discounting is true, then this becomes more like an $80K car, not $100, which makes it 40K cheaper than the turbo.

    Guess I'm just going to have to drive it and see.

    Any thoughts about a BMW 6 series as an alternative?
     
  7. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    I may be in need of an old fart sports car. As 50 approaches, a little comfort might not be a bad thing. Although, the stop and go traffic handling with the paddles does concern me a little.
     
  8. Carnut

    Carnut F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2003
    3,797
    Gladwyne PA
    Full Name:
    Morrie
    I bought a 03 paddle shift coupe from Algar last August, and I must admit I like it alot more than I though I would. I put straight pipe on and the sound is amazing. I think it is a great GT car, my wife likes it best out of all our cars, as it has in her words luxury and power. I would compare it more to a DB7/9 than to a 996tt. Algar is going to be racing with the Maserati GT, I'm hoping they learn some new tricks about the car.
     
  9. scott61

    scott61 F1 Rookie

    Feb 11, 2004
    2,606
    North of Boston
    That Blu Mediterraneo sure is a great color, I have an Azzurro Argentina Spyder GT on order and I tried to switch to the Blu Mediterraneo color, but car was to far into production. Maserati needs better brochures for helping you order. Their web site really does not show the true colors. While I was at dealership trying to decide color I noticed a Ferrari in Azzurro California and though it looked great and after going nuts trying to keep my Carbon Black M3 looking clean decided to go with a lighter color. I was able to get a little over 10 grand off of list which was a nice after not being able to get anything off on my previous cars
     
  10. Jordan Ross

    Jordan Ross Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2003
    601
    Austin
    Well if the cars are discounted as much as Im hearing then theres nothing in the world to make me choose the Turbo over the Maser, I mean c'mon, $25k OFF A NEW SPIDER?? Damn, that is insane! :) An Italian sportscar with a F1 gearbox and an open top for only (I guess) $67k? Wow...that is a deal.
    Id go for the coupe, Ive heard that the spider dont have a stiff enough chassis and suffer from cowl shake, but then again I could live with that...

    Go for either, it would be very fun...
     
  11. Jason

    Jason Karting

    Dec 1, 2001
    127
    Clarification about Autoweek. I looked at the ad again, and they are new cars in the ad I mentioned but they're 2003 MY. I don't know what kind of deals are on '04's, but they still should be discounting.
     
  12. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
    10,676
    Worldwide
    Full Name:
    Steven
    test drove both the Spyder and Coupe' the first year they were available. The Coupe' was very nice, but the body flexing on the Spyder was horrendous!!! Have heard Maserati made changes to resolve some of this in later year models, so i suggest avoiding the first year Spyders unless you like cowl/shake.

    Enjoy the Drive,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  13. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Did the test drives today. Spyder then coupe. Liked the coupe over the spyder, but, dang, I could not get the paddle shift to go smootly, up or down. Neither could the sales guy. In either Sport of full auto mode.


    The paddle shifter in sport mode seemed to be the best solution, but, it was impossible to get right. Long delays between upshifts at middle acceleration, it seemed only to work well when driven VERY HARD. Driven hard, with a full throttle to the shift points, it ran better, and very quick, but that's no good as an around town mode.

    Don't know if it's a learning curve issue or not, certainly is to an extent, but, it was rough.

    Although the flex is not bad on the Spyder, at least not that I noticed. Sales guy mentioned that Maserati had made numerous improvements to the car to fix it.

    Also a little put off by the collapse in price of these as used cars. 2 year old cars going for about $50K at the auctions, maybe $60K at the dealers, that's a pretty big hit to take over two years.

    Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board.
     
  14. scott61

    scott61 F1 Rookie

    Feb 11, 2004
    2,606
    North of Boston
    A big part of the big drop in those two year old cars is due in large part to Maserati changing a lot of little problems on the 2002 models. I got tempted at first to go with one of the 2002 they had for sale at great savings but in the end figured I wanted the newest model available. Am hoping these models hold their price a little better. I also test drove a Coup Cambio and found the paddle shifting pretty easy, Not sure if that was due to my driving an M3 SMG for the last two years. It did have the same quirkiness to it, but you do get used to finding the best way to get the most out of it after driving a couple of weeks. We all use to say on the M3 board to not try and judge the shifting till you have put on a couple hundred miles, Your opinion definitely changes for the better as you learn the intricacies of the system. But in the end I went with the GT as for me at least, I think using a clutch is part of the experience I want.
     
  15. Carnut

    Carnut F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2003
    3,797
    Gladwyne PA
    Full Name:
    Morrie
    I need to meet you at Algar and take you for a reide in my 03 coupe shifts much better than my 360F1 ever did. Not sure why they were having a problem. Call Rick or Francis (not sure who you dealt with) they no me there, I'll be glad to meet you and take you out in my car. Even my wife can shift without a hitch.
     
  16. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Test drove with Rick, Francis supervised which cars to take.

    Since I've never driven a paddle shift car, it may have been a learning curve issue. Just don't know for sure.

    Are you going to that Car Club thing in Wayne on Sunday? Maybe you could drag out the maserati and show me how it works there.

    Otherwise, I'll probably just bug Bob and get him to donate a car to my test driving stable for an afternoon Saturday.

    Thanks,

    Dave
     
  17. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Mar 16, 2003
    5,180
    We have an '02 coupe, paddles, tubi, and love it. I drive it everywhere. IMO the trick to upshifting in medium to hard acceleration is a well timed lift as you shift - will completely smooth out the upshifts if done properly. Downshifts are fast enough in sport mode, I feel - might not work as well for the track, of course.

    My wife drives the car around in auto mode.

    There's no avoiding the depreciation issue, I guess.

    I highly recommend these underrated cars.
     
  18. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary Owner

    Oct 23, 2002
    32,118
    Full Name:
    Jim Glickenhaus
    Thats funny. I have no problems with shifting either but never lift.
    Go figure.
     
  19. Carnut

    Carnut F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2003
    3,797
    Gladwyne PA
    Full Name:
    Morrie
    Yes I am going to the car club thing on Sunday, but planning on bringing the 360 spider since the weather is top down temps. I live pretty close to Algar, I stop in alot, probably seen you there before, could be we have met already.
    My 03 has straight pipes and the sound is quite different from stock.
     
  20. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Mar 16, 2003
    5,180
    "Thats funny. I have no problems with shifting either but never lift.
    Go figure."

    Could be a software difference, perhaps you have an upgrade we don't. In our car, upshifting without a lift works fine, but feels slow and a bit too dramatic, if that makes any sense: the car lurches a bit with the shift.
     
  21. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    That's exactly what I noticed. It hesitated for more than a tick, when upshifting. So that's "normal". when I drive my standard tranny car, there's no delay on upshift like that, obviously. I found it somewhat disconcerting. The sales guy suggested lifting "slightly" on upshift when in sport mode using the paddle shift, and leaving the pedal alone in auto mode.
     
  22. ciao baby

    ciao baby Formula Junior

    Feb 15, 2004
    474
    DC<---> MB
    Full Name:
    Michael Karagiannis
    we recently traded in our 996 cab for a Blue Med spyder, it actually looks like our car in the pic, The shifter works great "no lift" wife drives it in auto mode, we could care less about depreciation since the reason to get a car like that is to enjoy life now right? Get the Maser you will be far from dissapointed.
     
  23. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    I'm actually headed there this afternoon to work the numbers out. I liked the Coupe, but the Spyder sure is pretty.

    Guess I'm going to have to noodle this one out myself.

    Thanks all for the input.
     
  24. BJS

    BJS Formula Junior

    Jan 18, 2004
    287
    Central FL and SW MI
    Full Name:
    Brad Stephenson
    Have a great time at the dealer - I hope you come home in a Maser!
     
  25. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Franklin E. Parker
    One of my partners just bought a 2004 Porsche 911TT cabriolet with the x50 package and it cost him $162K !
     

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