maser gt vs m3 vs 996coupe

Get the Maser!
I liked it over the 996 Turbo...
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13429&highlight=x50

I think that the Maser is clearly a more enjoyable car than the 996 or 996 Turbo.

The choice is not so clear cut between the Maser and the M3...the M3 is much cheaper to own, and more pratical to drive and park (this is important!) anywhere you want. The Maser is a much more special and enjoyable weekend car.

My 2 cents...

- Jon

 

You can get a brand new M3 coupe for $50K-$55K. It will cost you $0 in maintenance for 3 years and you will love it. It is an awesome car. I owned two Porsche's (911's)prior to my M3 and liked them all - but I think the M3 is probably my favorite for a daily. I have the M3 cab - the coupe is a shade faster - lighter - and easily as fast as a 911 or faster. Plus you can get SMG if that tickles your fancy.

I think the Maserati's got better sorted - after 03. Some suspension upgrades. Definitely cambio upgrades - but you can get them applied to an 02. If you search the archives, you will get valuable info.

I will be coming up to replacing my M3 soon and may go Maser - but will get an 04 if I go that route - I may wait for the new M5, to see if I can get over the Bangle'ized trunk.

 

It all depends on what you are looking for. Go for the M3 or Porsche if you want to be one of the "nicely dressed sheep" Go for the Maserati if you want to stand out.

 

The M3 would make the best daily driver if an only car, the other two would make great fun and occasional use cars.

 

Go for the Maserati, I Traded 02 M3 SMG Coup for 04 Spyder GT and have no regrets. I did like the M3 but wanted to go back to a convertible and thought Z4 was ugly and underpowered and my teenage daughter kept telling me the M3 Convert was a chick car, I did not agree with her but somehow it stuck in my head. I am having more fun with the Maserati than I ever thought was possible

 

I would go for the M3 convert. You have the warranty and a huge dealer 5 min from your house.

 

Just FYI. Yesterday was customer appreciation day up at TWS outside of Houston, and it was pouring. During the driver's meeting, the instructors, who are not connected to FOH, were commenting that the traction control in the Maser is the best that they have ever driving in the wet. They said that they did everything they could to beat it during one wet track day, and no dice. Keep in mind that they were talking about control in the wet from a go fast perspective.

Conversely, they said it worked too well in the dry. It would actually slow them down too much.

They also said that any dewhead can be a hero in a 360 in the dry. But in the wet, it is a different world.

Dr "Drying off" Tax

 

I would take the maser GT then the 996 and finally the M3. The maser is such a pretty car. And it would have to be manual.

 

I agree about the wet driving capabilities of Maserati. The day I picked up my Spyder ( April 1) we got a record setting 7 inches of rain in the Boston area. I was nervous as my 2 hour drive home put me on some very rain soaked roads and the car handled incredibly well. I find unless I put in Sport mode and shut off MSP the car does correct its self to early to have any fun. But with Sport on and MSP off you can have one very sick ride and get car to do all sorts of fun things.

 

Scott - I may do that, I need to drive the Maser soon. I take exception to the M3 cab - being called a chick car , but it does look too close to a regular 325 or a 330 cab (probably the only knock I have on the car). However, I am more understated and actually am Ok with no-one knowing what it is and letting the car impress ME.

Z4 - no way for me either.

Also the Maser's are depreciating like rocks and there are great deals to be had. There are no deals on M3's and they hold their value much better. And the Maser has the uniqueness and sound factor won - against the 996 and the M3 - especially with a Tubi.

I will say the M3 will be hard to beat - as I really like it.

 

I'll add another favorable comment on drivability of the Maser in the rain. The car is heavy, wide and pretty low to the ground. This makes for a well-planted feel in all sorts of bad weather.

I even drive it in the snow, and given the proper snow shoes, the car does quite well...

 

The M3 is a great car and I did have a lot of fun with it. But I never liked the sound of the exhaust was way to tinny and even tried two aftermaket exhaust and they did not help. Plus I had the SMG and while it was a nice feature I missed the clutch. I think my daughter called it a chick car as many of her girlfriends had 3 series convertibles, none being an M though. The Maserati with Tubi exhaust is an amazing sounding machine. I figure in a couple years BMW will either have a M version roadster or V8 M3, I would have no problem going back to BMW in the future if that happens