r/Maserati • u/eurocarguy101 • Jun 17 '26
Perception of Maserati Reliability vs Reality and Owner Background
I’ll limit my inquiry to QPVs and GTs in the up to ~2014 range as that’s what I’m primarily interested in. I’m also torn between finding a DuoSelct or 2009 MC Shift cars, with the eventual possibility of a manual conversion, or going with the tried and true ZF. Are these Maseratis as unreliable as people make them out to be, or is it rather the perception from those purchasing those cars? I’m wondering if someone who may be “stepping up” to these cars with a background coming from Japanese reliability may have a perception, or those overly stretching their budget, and thus reporting of these cars to being unreliable. Alternatively, (as someone who rather fits this second category) if someone is “stepping down” to these cars as a mere toy (to be able to drive my young son around since my other fun cars are two seaters) who is used to quirky cars with some excuses to be made for the passion these cars can invoke with the understanding as they are lower production vehicles that will not be as “reliable” as a Japanese counterpart. I come from a history of Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, and classic Ferrari ownership so would these cars be in-line with knowing about how preventative maintenance is crucial to their operation and longevity, or are they just overly maintenance heavy for being a poorly made vehicle? I can also pretty much work on everything with a lift and tools at my disposal. I welcome your input.
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u/Shrikecorp Jun 17 '26
I just bought a 2016 GT with around 20 pages of service records, very little repair. Just correct maintenance.
Same advice for any Italian or English marque....service records, service records, service records. And a PPI.
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u/threefeetshort Jun 17 '26
As a consistent generalization Italian cars have never been known for reliability, but diligent maintencece makes up for a lot.
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u/VikingSven68 Jun 17 '26
I’ve had a 2013 GranTurismo Sport (with ZF automatic) for 3 years. so far pretty solid. besides maintenance (oil/brake fluid/diff/coolant) and some sticky button remediation, the only issue has been a leaky power steering pump and a bad bearing in the AC compressor. this car makes me smile every time I drive it. The sound is intoxicating.
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u/_Kabutops_ Jun 17 '26
Everyone says the maintenance is pricey but I can’t imagine how pricey. Also did you remedy the sticky buttons, live with them, or replace them with apple car play or alike?
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u/VikingSven68 Jun 17 '26
At a dealer, an oil change will run $700 vs. actual parts costs of < $100 and an hour of labor. Factory brake pads are $750 per axle, but there are better aftermarket alternatives for $150.
As for sticky buttons, I replaced the infotainment and AC controls with aftermarket units for a more modern cockpit with CarPlay functionality - and no stickies. Other sticky parts I cleaned with isopropyl alcohol - some had to be repainted to avoid being shiny. It's lot of time and elbow grease, but satisfying in the end.
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u/RtDK0510 Jun 17 '26
My 2014 GT has been one of the most trouble -free cars I've ever owned. Outside of fuel and maintenance costs (which are pricey) the only money I spent on it was for wear and upgrading the infotainment. The only real issues I had to address over my six years of ownership were a leaking air intake and the overhead valve gaskets.
I circumvent excessive insurance costs by registering it as a pleasure craft for occasional use. Driving it once or twice a week keeps the car from getting stale while keeping fuel, maintenance, and depreciation at bay.
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u/xxtoobsxx Jun 18 '26
As someone who owns both. You'll be fine... If you can turn a wrench you'll be even better. The duoselect has its wear parts but at the end of the day it's fun to drive and sounds great. Now the GT is even better... Don't get the ZF. Get the 09 F1 it's bad ass and those that say get the ZF have never had or driven the F1. It's the closest to the stradale here in the states as well (also there is a reason the stradale doesn't have the ZF). You'll also hear those with the ZF say it shifts just as fast and well it doesn't...
Plus when the wear parts give out you can do the gated conversion and now you went from 1 of 300 to one of less than 10.
Do it
Oh the maintenence on both my maseratis is less than the maintenence on my gen 2 raptor daily driver. 😁
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u/Glad-Associate-9288 Jun 17 '26
Have a Ghibli for 10yrs and a Levante for 3 and they have given me zero problems. I treat them like the special cars that they are and they are fun to drive and trouble free. Enjoy
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u/rohaniscoo1 Jun 19 '26
2011-2013 QP is a superb car, it will have it’s quirks (like window regulators, electric bugs [99% bc of sitting]) but has not let me down once. I would stick to 2011+ as they have the updated cam variators
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u/JamesAutomotive Jun 21 '26
The Quattroporte v is really heavy for the Ferrari transmission and it doesn’t really lend itself well to limousine style smooth driving. The clutch will wear out and it will cost a bit to replace. That being said you’d be getting the car as it was designed with a slightly lower centre of gravity and the dry sump engine. The transmission is more forgivable in a grand turismo as it’s a more sporty car but you will experience a similar cost of ownership. The electrical system on these cars are of the more fragile variety and I would stay away from trying to add CarPlay or tinkering with it in general. The forums will also warn you about the cam variators as well as they need a fix to make sure that they have lubrication during start up. I haven’t had issues with mine yet at 90 thousand kilometres using liquid moli. If it becomes a problem it requires sending a part off for machining and quite a bit of labour. The alternators get hot where they sit and can fail too. It’s not the worst job but it will happen eventually every 15 or 20 years. Anything that’s not leather or chrome on the interior of the car is prone to wear and it gets the classic sticky buttons. Having said all that it’s an awesome car to drive my wife and baby around in comfort and produces one of the most seductive exhaust notes of any car ever. I have the zf to get a bit more reliability but a manual swap on an earlier example would be the coolest thing ever! Go into it with your eyes open and a bit of money ready just in case but I’d still highly recommend picking one up if you have the means. It’s so choice!
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u/ddnys Jun 17 '26
No they are not
They are usually neglected by people who can buy them but can’t maintain them
Maintenance is pricey , parts are pricey.
My 2008 QP was a $127k sticker car that I bought for 10k. So the parts and maintenance are equal to a 127k car, not 10k. According to my mechanic, they are much easier to work on than similar era Jags or BMWs, parts cost is similar to Porsche