'02-'03 Coupe fun to drive?

I had a '03 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa and it was one of the worse experiences of my life. The gearbox is beyond terrible. (I also own a 355 Ferrari). I don't know about the Coupe GT if it is a better car or what, but I would stay far away from a Cambiocorsa. I bought mine new for $70k back in 2003 with 100 miles on it and MSRP was just over a $100k and I felt it was a great deal. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

 

I own a 2002 Coupe Cambio Corsa, I can't drive it enough! I have blown the doors off of Dodge Charger SRT-8's Vettes' any Mustang, BMW M3, M5 and one M6 along with a host of others who have no clue that a Ferrari 4200 cc engine is under the hood... My car handles on rails, in sport mode and after lowering the suspension 10 turns up front and 15 turns in the rear, it handles as good as my previous M3 and it will kill it in acceleration. I would check out ************.com and get more opinions but I can say that most Maserati Coupe owners love their cars and the other guy who posted here is one in a million... I have 51250 miles on mine, haven't had any trouble at all and I not only drive it to work, I also hot rod it and have taken it for long cruises in the mountains here in Colorado and it's very comfortable, very reliable, have put less money in it this year than my Toyota 4 Runner, and there's nothing quite like driving it up Berthoud pass, nothing on the road can touch you...

 

I do not own one, so take my words how you wish.

From what I have been told, the Coupes are very fine GT cars. That is, they are great daily drivers yet can be tracked fairly well. Granted they aren't going to be as great as a Ferrari on the track, but it will hold its own against other GT cars. It is a car you can drive to the track, race, and drive home and expect no problems. IMO, you can't beat that.

 

i absolutely loved my 04. I have owned many many other cars... and this one is still special to me. It gets tons and tons of looks... which i was supprised by. People from all ages come up to you and compliment on how stunning of a car it is... again, another suprise... i expect it in my other cars... but not in the maser... As far as drving it... i had the cambio corsa and after driving the 6 speed i preffered the cambio. The shift linkge on the 6 speed is a little long and wonky for me. Back to the driving experaicne. It is great fun... the motorrevs endlessly and seemlessly. It handles pretty good... but i do recomend the skyhook suspension or if you get a standard supsension you will want to change the springs out. The ride is excellent but moving over bigger dips in the freeway at 80-90mph willleave the suspension wallowing like a cadillac on a standard suspension car. Also, this is one of the best cars I have ever driven for drifting. The car goes sooooo sideways and is incredibly controllable all to the tune of that melodeious Ferrari derrived V8. Again, I loved mine... it was a great gt car. The only let down of the whole experiance was the slightly soft suspension other than that... i highly recomend this car... Just try to pay somewhere near NADA Low value for a super clean car... and for resale stick to silver... red... but best would be black. The goofier the color combo the more difficult to sell... and these are hard cars to sell...

I apologize in adance for any typos... I don't have my contacts in and can't find my glasses... LOL...

 

I'm not saying the car is not a nice styling car. Personally, it was one of my favorite cars I have ever own because of its styling. I also don't agree I'm not "one in a million", because even dealerships say it is a bad gearbox. That's why they depreciate so much. I have just bought a 07 Q-Porte Automatic and there is a very big difference with both gearboxes even when using the paddles. I also own a Ferrari 355 F1, and it doesn't make the gearbox seem any better compared to a 02-03 Coupe. Watch the video of Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the 2002 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa and you'll see I'm not one in a million.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJTkcqXvg4

 

I had similar experiences but 180 degrees reversed from yours. I popped my F1 cherry on a 2001 F360 test drive. I loved the downshifts but the upshifts were as bad as anything I ever heard or read about semi-automated gearboxes. Later in time, I was reluctantly talked into test driving a new ('05) Maser CC. The gearbox shifting characteristics were so much better than that F360...well, I still own that Maser.

It is well known that Clarkson hates flappy paddles, for balance, here is a Top Gear review of the GranSport by the Hamster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mo4ZhNNNwM

Strangely enough, Clarkson didn't have issues with the same - albeit upgraded version - flappy paddle gearbox in the Quattroporte:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zwm_7hhxbA

FYI - you may already know this - one of the first applications of the ZF (torque converter) Manu-matic used in your QP Automatica was the 2001/2002 BMW 7-series.

 

I've got a carbon black '05 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa, and if you keep the sport mode on, it shifts very fast. In fact, I was reluctant about buying the F1 gearbox, as I've always been a stick and clutch guy. However, I've been presently surprised with how much fun the F1 gearbox is and can't see going back to a stick shift ever again. As for styling, people come up all the time and tell me what a great looking car it is. I've also got a tubi exhaust, and while a little obnoxious, it does sound incredible, and I find myself riding around with the windows cracked open just to listen to that Ferrari derived V8 music more times than not.

And, while I haven't tracked it, yet, it rev's like an electric engine. . .effortlessly, and pulls like a freight train. For the money, it can't be beat.

 

I am also looking at one as a daily driver.

How reliable are they?

Any other issues or annoyances?

 

Maserati's are really fun to drive.

I just spent a day driving my '02 Coupe GT to the Grand Canyon; just over one thousand miles round trip. The car performed flawlessly.
There are some simple rules to follow with Maserati ownership (as with any car) - correct maintainence is absolute in keeping the car, and
owner happy. This is my fifth Maser since 1982. (one QPIII, three Biturbos, and now the Coupe GT)

My advice FWIW, if you choose to drive the car routinely in traffic, have a heart and take it on a long highway speed run as frequently as possible.
I put about four thousand miles a year on my sports cars, at least 50% of those miles are at least 400-500 mile drives at one time.

The choice between CC or GT (6-speed stick) is a personal preference. I have noticed the GT has fewer maintenence issues than the CC. But
both configurations have their respective supporters. However the GT is a rare bird, and was my personal choice.

 

You can't say that the car depreciates so much because of the gearbox. Its a Maserati! They all depreciate like mad! Another reason why you can't say that is because the 6 speed manual cars are just as "cheap" as the F1 boxes. The new automatica will suffer a similar fate as the cambios over time. Right now the cambios are taking a hit on the qp's because they are new, and they are supposedly better (i haven't driven one so i have no idea) so naturally anything that is being superceded with something better will always be worth less! Again, its a maserati... they are plagued with terrible depreciation... much like as Aston and even most lamborghinis

 

That is true. The Quattroporte I just bought, that is on its way from Cincinnati, is a '07 Quattroporte Black/Tan Automatic Executive GT with loads of options. MSRP was $132k, and I got it for $95k. Also, the car has 80 miles! So I do agree that Maserati in general depreciates like crazy, but I will say that my experience with my 2003 Maserati CC was terrible. Just the gearbox. I LOVED THE DESIGN AND STYLING 100% THE MASERATI. I had a lot of looks with the car, but some people were annoyed with it... Because of the Tubi.

The question about this forum is, "The car fun to drive?" I will stick with what I have experienced and say it wasn't as expected and very disappointing. I don't remember the name of the person that started this forum, but I would say go test drive one and tell me what you think about it.

 

was so bad.. I mean I have done the firmware upgrades to mine, and it shifts quick, accurate, never has a problem, clutch is fine and it's just a no brainer... From what I understand the gearbox is based on the Ferrari gearbox so what all was really wrong with yours? The firmware upgrades have made the shifting quicker, etc...

 

I have had an smg car and a cambio car... i prefered the cambio car over the smg car. It took off very cleanly and shifted great. You also have to learn how to drive these f1 cars... a slight lift of the throttle while upshifting makes a huge difference in smoothness. IF you do this... you will fall in love with the gear box. The only time that the gear box sucks... and i mean it truly sucks is when the car is cold. If the car is cold... you will lurch and jerk everywhere when you are trying to go from a stop... after a min or two it will go away. It was only a problem for me a couple of times, as i always made sure that i warmed up the enigne before i left in the maser

 

I don't know if you are talking to me but I do have an F1 car (Ferrari 355 F1) and that shifts how a F1 gearbox should shift. Also, I've more research on car reviews on the 2002-03 Maserati's to see more opinions on the car and the majority of people that have driving them with the Cambiocorsa gearbox have agreed with me saying that it is not perfected. But, I have heard that people prefer the Cambiocorsa gearbox over the SMG one.

 

The cambio box was upgraded in 2004 and the 2002-2003 models can be re-flashed with the new software. I have heard very few complaints with the 2004 update.

 

I think the car is a blast to drive. Be sure to get a tubi if you want to really enjoy the sound. The stock unit is too quiet.

The shifts can be as smooth as you want them to be. If you plan on driving in auto mode at any time, maserati is not the car for you.

 

Greg. . .I'm going to second what you've said above about the cambio. It's a blast to drive. . .It just takes knowing how to do it. Remember, the car is a MANUAL, so you just feather the gas pedal, like you would with a stick and clutch pedal, and shift. Smooth as ice. Also, leaving the car in Sport mode is a must, because it makes the car shift faster.

 

I daily drove an 02 Spyder and an 06 Coupe. Both cars were solid and I put tens of thousands of miles on them and was left stranded once due to a tire blowout.

As far as how fun they are to drive, VERY FUN! They are also very comfortable, I drove mine from Florida - Oklahoma 1,400 miles in 20 hours and it was a comfortable trip the entire way.

I really wanted a Ferrari so I finally let go of the Maseratis and I really do miss them. I plan on purchasing a Maser again for daily use because the F355 isn't very comfortable.

 

Doug, did you purchase one yet?

 

It's more of a powerfull cruiser. Definetly not a track car. Handling could by all accounts get "interesting." Definetly a daily driver though. On early cars get the manual, on later models the CC was much improved, however still is not perfect. Pretty good value though. You get a real "exotic" for a price of a new M3. They tend to depriciate A LOT faster then a 911... so look for a bargain.

 

A question for the CC owners with Tubi exhausts; what is that amazing screech sound between gear shifts? I heard it once on a highway cruise behind a dealer demo (Spyder CC, 03 or 04) The sound was present on seemingly most shifts, and it was very extreme. I could live with the sound, but I imagine that lame passengers or neighbors might not lol