Good Buy?

Turn around and run....FAST.

 

Not so fast there Marc.

Just like any car, has it been well maintained? Low mileage means very little if it has not been maintained. Unless it's an uber important car and Biturbos definitely are not.

Like most Biturbos I suspect it has not. Fixing them is not cheap and the early ones needed to be modified and then they were fine but very few were.

So, your odds here suck on this one unless you have that rare owner who really took care of the car.

Most have been through a string of idiot or cheap (typically both) owners and by the time you see them today their one hell hole of bad maintenance and "improvements".

Properly setup and taken care of they're very comfortable elegant little cars that go like hell. In stock configuration the handling is like a slightly softer BMW 320I because that's the car they copied. That being said the very strong motor is a bit too much for the suspension so it needs changing.

If you want one, find an original owner car that's in nice shape. If they've owned it this long they've probably sorted it out.

The later European cars were much improved but you're not going to find those here.

Bob S.

 

It's only $1800. Damn, maybe I should dump my 1992 accord and buy this. I mean it's a Maserati. Only problem being paying Maserati prices for a LeBaron. It's like the guys who bring 944 Porsches to the dealership to get fixed. The bill almost always is 2x or 3x the value of the car.

 

I think you're mistaking the ill conceived "Maserati TC" which was a Detomaso massaged Le Baron with the Biturbo. There's no relationship between these cars design or parts wise except that both sport a Trident. A few of the TC cars had a "Maserati" designed 4 valve percylider head bolted onto a a Chrysler 4 banger. Even that was probably designed by Cosworth who cast and did the 4 valve heads for the Biturbo line.

Bob S.

 

Trust me if you want cheap bang for the buck buy a Porsche 944S2 (not S) or a 968 coupe 6 speed (not tiptronic) I have been there, owned such Porsches from 924 to 944S2 for 10 years. Brilliant cars, never mind what the 911 Hezbollahs say. Of course you don't go to the offical dealer for service and need an independent garage who know what they are doing and don't take you to the cleaners each time: I had a great rapport with Gulf Performance in Pompano Beach between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.

Bob I agree someone could get lucky finding a good Biturbo but look at what is for sale nationwide in the US or across Europe: a handful...in total...and amongst these....case closed.

 

I disagree about Europe there are many more good ones there and a much better model selection. But here in the US it's pretty tough. Mine is very nice but then I'm the original owner and
I'd be a fool to sell it for what I probably could get. I couldn't begin to replace it with something that nice and fun. Now take a look at similar vintabe 944 Porsche and BMW's 3 series and they don't do all that well either. But you can fix them more easily that's for sure.

Thr truth is, any exotic that's not highly prized is difficult to find in nice shape. Bora's Ghiblis, Khamsins, Espadas I could keep going ... have always been difficult to find a decent one let alone really nice ones. In the last few years Ghiblis have changed and Boras somewhat as well. Looks like Khamsins are getting there too now. I wouldn't call Boras, Khamsins, Espadas or Indys highly prized as yet. Thus most people except for nuts like us are reluctant to dump in the funds.

Bob S.

 

You picked a car like this as your first car?

Bob S.

 

I also thought a $1800 Maserati was a poor choice for a first car. Chances are, unless you have deep pockets, the Maserati in question would just be a lawn ornament.

 

My first car was a 1967 QP in 1983.You buy the best car first.I was in the swedish army and got 1,7 euro a day back then.

Ciao!
Magnus