Drove the new Abarth 124 Spider a few days ago in reasonable anger and it is a very nice car. Feels like a grown up MX5, but without losing the MX5ness........
Regardless, looking forward to the 595 turning up. So close to new registration time now the deal would have to be sweetened considerably for me to take it before September
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Great thread. I'm a bit of a car man, always enjoyed them both old/new/fast/slow.
I've 2 that won't go anywhere..... a Merc 190d 2.5 auto. Bought with 60k and 25 mercedes stamps in the book. Literally like new and cosseted. just check out the interior, a lovely place to sit.
And a volvo 740, grew up in a series of volvo's my parents drove, bought this one in 2012 with 38k miles. Hasn't been out much in the last couple of years but an absolute pleasure to take for a spin in a analogue way that modern euro boxes can't match.
Love those old Mercs.
Off to Venice today in her
SL. Fantastic. 300?
Some lovely cars on this thread.
Just got this back from an unnecessarily lengthy service. It's the picture the dealer had up when I bought it, haven't done better myself yet.
And the speedo and rev counter have a horological reference that appeals to me.
Little Abarth is in the local garage today, hopefully i just need the rear brakes cleaning out. Fairly common issue with them. Otherwise its a treck to an Abarth service place for new pads and a chat.
Great little car, hates being in town but otherwise we are enjoying it.
Yes, a Maserati Spyder.
I'm sure the Bremont Jaguar tribute is very much nicer than some of the Maserati branded watches that have appeared from time to time.
I give you the Bvlgari Octo Quadri-Retro Maserati Special Edition. Actually I'm starting to like it. But I prefer the Jaeger (LeCoultre) connection.
Last edited by alfat33; 2nd September 2016 at 14:35.
Yes, I've still got it. It has just come back from a two week stay at the specialist where it has had a full service, new clutch, uprated software, hoses, the lot.
An expensive exercise but I have to say it now runs absolutely beautfully and is extremely well sorted. It's a low miler with full history, so in very good overall condition. It isn't modified, but I am actually considering doing a few things to it (even a not so subtle bodykit), but if I don't I may change it for a GranTurismo.
I tend to go for coupes (although the spider is a cracking covertible), and the one has the added benefit of genuinely usable rear seats for the kids (otherwise I wouldn't get to use it much).
Have you had yours long, and had to do much to it?
So clever my foot fell off.
About a year. It was pretty cosseted by the previous owner, not exactly low mileage but very carefully maintained. I had the dealer fit a new clutch and a few other bits as part of the deal. Overall been very good, done about 10000 miles in the first year including a trip to Le Mans with my son.
Had a bit of a nightmare problem with the roof that at one point looked like a £5k fix, then got fixed on the nth reset for free.
Definitely want to keep it. I've had lots of convertibles including a TVR Griffith but as I ease into my prime I think this has the right balance of fire, beauty and comfort.
Seeing as we are on the subject, I’ve had my Ghibli for three months now...
Previously had a couple of GT’s and wanted to try the new generation. Can’t say I’m disappointed to be honest.
It's a lovely looking car as well. Does it drive like the GT?
^^^^a diesel?
Not really comparable to be honest.
My last GT went in 2005 and was a 2000 model 3.2 petrol.
The Ghibli is a 3.0 V6 turbocharged diesel, so a different beast altogether, but still happy enough to lose its back end in sport mode.
It’s a very comfortable four door car - it’s bloody big (!) - easily carrying four adults and has all the gadgets one could ask for really.
It is still relatively rare on the road, so gets plenty of admiring glances and amazing value on contract hire.
^^^^^^Either way - no justification for dull road cars.
I'd pop the bottle away now.
We all have to be subjected to those kit cars you tell us you've bought, or motorhomes you're going to look at, but never buy, so unless you've interesting information or facts to share, I'd hang back on the responses.
You just look bitter, jealous and p@ssed.
Thanks for the insight. But, back to the subject. You have bought (sorry, rented or pcp'ed or whatever) an Italian, pseudo German diesel, barge. Not much of an achievement in my humble opinion, and certainly not a great deal of which to be jealous. The Cat is superb btw. Bit too hot here to use it at the moment. Nite, nite. But Cheers first.
Well I like your Ghibli Burnsey, and this normally very civilised thread is about members cars, regardless of what they are. Attacking a member's choice of wheels is completely unwarranted and very poor form in my opinion.
So clever my foot fell off.
I find the criticism of the "less real" porsche, masers etc quite strange. No they aren't the romantic cars that make purists go all misty eyed....... But they are a fair chunk more interesting than the alternatives..... And that's the only point that matters.
Even better if they put money in the pot to allow said manufacturer to build the sort of cars people would get misty eyed over.
Personally not a fan of the porsche cayene but it drives superbly and its done wonders for the balance sheet.
The ghibli on the other hand is a lovely thing and way way nicer than the equivalent German luxo barge Imho. We should be congratulating burnsey for his choice of daily and not having a pop because it's not a maser of old.
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It comes as no surprise that some forum members have succumbed to the charms of Maserati, unfortunately whilst I've had many of the competitors over the years unless something unexpected happens I'll probably never own one, but I salute / envy you guys that do for stepping away from the usual suspects.
Last edited by number2; 3rd September 2016 at 08:20.
Ford Mondeo diesel 2 litre, 170k on the clock. It's the 130 bhp version boyz.
Cheers. I've got a bit of a history in that respect. I've never owned a Porsche, BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc. although I've driven examples of all, often on a track, and thought some of them were great. From time to time I envy easy servicing and being able to avoid the comments of 'Maserati/TVR/Rotary-engined Mazda - aren't they really unreliable?' But I'll never change :)
As for your comments about a diesel car not being a real Maserati, I do find that genuinely puzzling. Obviously I can't see why you would come on a thread like this to criticise someone else's car. Also, if you are an enthusiast, you'll know that all cars, even the true greats, are a bit of a compromise between pragmatism and dreaming. I've driven a few Caterhams and the fact that they had pretty standard Ford and Vauxhall engines mattered not one bit, they were a lot of fun. My Spyder doesn't have a Maserati engine either, or gearbox (Burnsey's previous 3200GT had the last genuine Maserati engine in the view of many). I also know I have a GT not a racing car and the Ghibli is very much in that spirit of Maseratis as transcontinental tourers.
Could it be worth taking a bit of a broader view?
It was just late night trolling.
The poster made a specific reference to my poor taste in both cars and watches - he knows I have a Sky-Dweller, but a quick flick through his posts will show him fawning over the said watch. He's just never owned either, maybe that is the underlying problem?
In any case, let’s keep the thread on track (see what I did there) and show us more examples of what you are driving.
My winter car over the last 4 winters. Fiat panda 4x4. Fitted with a set of vredstein snowtracs 3's, it will literally not be stopped by any snow drift I've come across. Just keep squirming on past, much to the amusement of large suv drivers stranded on 22" rubber bands.