....now for historical infos from the archive of Maserati S.p.A. Yesterday I got the info from the Factory archive that from now on every historical information based on request cost money! Here are their rates (in Euro only!) Ciao! Walter Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can see it now ... some executive said "the historical department is costing us money and we need to either shut it down or have it make some revenue". Quickly some obedient accountant came up with this price sheet and several proposals of things that the historical department could sell (ie: their new documentations kits). The problem is whatever revenue the research services and documentation kits bring to the company will be infinitesimal to Maserati's bottom line. The true value in supporting the historical cars (us) is what it does to Maserati's brand image. Every time a Birdcage wins a vintage race or a A6G Frua spyder wins at Villa D'Este or someone sees a Ghibli parked at a restaurant the Maserati brand is enhanced and more new cars are sold. The value of supporting the older cars is to remind people about the history of the Maserati trident and it is that history that will help the factory sell new cars. Let's face it, as nice of the new cars are the Maserati name and mystic of the trident is what sells them. Today there is barely any information about the older cars on the Maserati website. They use to have the owner's manuals available but I could not even find those anymore. I wish the factory would spend their energy automating their historical department and making more information available online. There is room for fee based premium services and the documentation kits may indeed be a nice addition, but some base information (such as copies of the build sheet) should be available online and this would not cost the company anything once the information is automated. That is what forward thinking companies do, it seems Maserati is stuck doing things the old way. Okay ... I'll go back to my corner and shut up. Ivan
The thing to do now whenever anyone asks about getting more information on something for an older car or how to get a hold of Cozza/his replacement is to refer people to this "price list" and ask them what they think about this policy. Those of us with older cars that are asked to supply them for Maserati events like the Columbus day Parade in NYC should simply ask for a fee plus expenses. But show them their own price list first ... Ivan, AFAIK everything was cleansed from their website which at that time was semi decent. When I purchased my Ghibli Open Cup racer I was faced with trying to get as much information as I could in short order. I soon found out that anyone who knew anything about what they did to these cars was already gone. But Mr. Cozza was very nice to send me a standard owners manual with a few of the specification variations hand written in it. I had received a copy of the installation manual for the 2nd year Evoluzione Kit in Italian from the seller. So I also asked about that. Enrico Pederzolli (Enrico's website) was very gracious in helping me communicate with Mr. Cozza about all of this it turned out that they had no knowledge of such a document. So I ended up supplying Maserati with a copy. The point is that everyone helped each other out. No money changed hands. Maybe I should have charged them? Bob S.
I also agree that the prices are rather reasonable and considering that there was a rumour last year that the Historical Department (= Cozza) would be shut down I see it as a rather petty nuisance. Regards Wolfi
..reasonalbe costs for factory documentation, which adds REAL value to YOUR asset e.g. YOUR Maserati. I'm always amazed by wealthy Maserati owners who grumble about spending reasonable amounts money on their cars, for parts,...etc. Getting a hand written Fax. from Sig. Cozza was nice, and if you think about it,... simply amazing in todays world,...those days have passed. ~Ciao
OK, now this is my opinion. I find the rates quite reasonable. It was not possible in the last years to get copies of build-sheets, invoices etc. of a car when you were NOT the owner. When Maserati S.p.A. provides those docs for this rates I am very pleased. Also I have to admit, that the Factory archive greatly supported the work for my 300S-book. I also got all the infos I requested for my new project - without charging me one single cent. So I can`t complain. Ciao! Walter
It appears that Maserati was quite thoughtful of owners who keep the heritage alive and keep the prices for these priceless documents at such modest levels. Keeping an archive alive costs money, and there is nothing unreasonable in asking the recipient to fit the bill. Others ask a lot more for their 'research', and use information that came at cost to others. Charge it at the source and make it available to all who want to pay the price. Having build-sheets etc. completes the documentation of your prized car(s) and enhances the value when it still conforms those sheets; others may want to keep them away from prospective buyers
