2002 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa? Opinion Please

[chris heath]

Have an opportunity to pick one of these up. Anyone have an opinion on these cars? I personally have never driven, or even seen one in person. Thank you for all your feedback

P.S it would be for the wife to drive to work. Maybe 20 miles a day.

[LouieLaguna]

Hey,

One of our other cars is a 06 Gransport.
You need to check out maseratilife dot com
I have no interest in that site other than being a member.
Good: Incredible value...great cars. They are not prone to any real maladies as one one expect from anything Italian. Many use them as DDs with no issues. They are more than a Honda to keep up but, less than a MB (really)
Lots of cool aftermarket stuff that brings out the cars inner Ferrari. Oh, and yes....there are common parts and characteristics. For example, our 06 GS..has many of the same major engine parts as a F430.

Bad: The big issues on the CCs are clutches. You need to find someone (probably a dealer) to check the life left on the clutch. Again, go to the other forum..this is a very very common conversation. The generation car you are looking at is pre-06..so, that means that there are a few oddities that were eventually sorted. I would buy the car (they are now dirt cheap) provided:
1) I had a reliable local indi mechanic. (which I do)
2) Checked out via a PPI.

IF you can afford it...the 05-06 Gransports were the best of the breed. Interestingly enough, these cars are holding in the high 40s-low 50s for nice cars.

We love our GS and wont replace it with anything. It is our DD.

[chris heath]

thank you for the feedback. The dealer selling it says the clutch was just replaced, but it only has 16,000 miles. Is this normal?

[Tracktimeplz]

Originally Posted by chris heath

thank you for the feedback. The dealer selling it says the clutch was just replaced, but it only has 16,000 miles. Is this normal?

Yes, the f1 clutch needs to be done every 15k if I remember correctly.


I was VERY close to buying one of these myself, in the end, big cars just arent my thing.


They sound incredibly sexy, get an X pipe FIRST THING

[azmurciev12]

if you do a lot of city driving, i don't think the wife would like the tranny as it isn't smooth like a regular auto tranny. that's my biggest complaint about this car. i think the gransport is more refined and a much beautiful car. if it weren't the GS, i'd pass on it.

[MikeinAlexandria]

I have driven one of these. Very cool ride! A quite unique. I didn't much like the transmission, but it did work much better in manual mode. I think the car is better with a real manual, but, handling, acceleration and braking are top notch.

[chris heath]

so since i am new to these cars i am getting the impression it can be an automatic or you have the option to use the paddles to shift? also does running it auto help the clutch life? anyone have any idea or had to replace the clutch in one of these?

[wantanelise]

The cambio is and was bashed pretty hard in terms of feel, performance, comfort, etc. I think it has potential to drive some people nuts and not bother others in the least. Just try it out... I'm just saying some owner's and most all mag's had issues with the cambio trans. I think it's permanent paddle shift, no full auto. Not sure though.

[chris heath]

here are a few pictures from the dealer. Thank you everyone for your input. please keep it coming.

[...m...]

Originally Posted by chris heath

Have an opportunity to pick one of these up. Anyone have an opinion on these cars?

...in the back of my mind, i'd always be reminded that if i'd only waited a few years longer, i could have bought a granturismo instead...

[Minnis]

There are a couple threads about this same question.
I kept mine six months due to the maintenance costs versus what you get. This is when they were still exspensive, now there in the 20k's- do a nationwide autotrader search, there was about a dozen. The clutches last between 5-30k miles depending on how much reversing up a hill you do. Plus the fuse could burn out on the clutch pump and it will continue to pump after the car is parked causing the pump to burn up. By the dealer either two repair is close to $5k or if you do it yourself then you still have to have the computer recalibrated by the dealer to the new clutch thickness or it will wear at the old thickness causing it to burn through another clutch.
Maseratilife is a good place to find answers.
The motor is sweet though and back when they were newer some people actually got excited to see one, I mean on a higher level than I get with the Lotus. I mean thats if they could tell it apart from an Eclipse. I personally really enjoyed my car but it was too problamatic. I didn't have dash lights most of the time and it creaked worse tham my Elise- well almost. Watch out for the rear bushings because you have to replace the wishbones and thats not cheap. Enjoy!

[Minnis]

If you want one get an 03 or newer and get a stick unless its a Gransport. Those are the more problem free cars.

[LouieLaguna]

the pump can be rebuilt....cars are old enough now that there are many non-dealer solutions to the usual issues.
The CC trans is NOT an auto. Drive the car in sport (if it has it) all the time. Car shifts faster...less clutch wear.
If it really does have a new clutch you should be set.
DO A PPI...have a real Ferrari/ Maser mechanic check it out.

As others have said...if you can swing it...get a GS. They are more or less sorted and bullet proof.

[chris heath]

thank you for the input. I never even considered buying a car like this until i saw the price they were now. I will look at the GS and see if i can swing that int he budget vs. this one.

[AdamT]

Absolutely beautiful cars with outstanding engines, and I was *THIS* close to buying one until I started reading horror stories about clutch replacements over at the Maserati board. There's just no way to justify shelling our thousands upon thousands of dollars for clutch replacements after 5-8,000 miles as some guys had been forced to do. I foolishly then passed on an opportunity to instead get into a 6-speed variant, which are quite rare and much more fun to drive. I really am not a big fan of the paddles in the Maser. They are almost as bad as the Audi S4 paddles, which set the benchmark for sloppy, unresponsive paddle shifting.

In the end, I went a completely different direction and went with the far more practical and much more powerful Merc E55 AMG. Absolutely love it, but she ain't the beauty that the Maserati is. I still drool whenever I see one. Love the Quattroporte as well.

[chris heath]

would this one be better?

2003 Maserati Spyder GT

it has the shifter on the floor vs. the hand pedals.

[ACE51]

they are nice cars but completely different then lotuses and a clutch costs almost 20% of their market value. is it worth it?

[chris heath]

someone said the 03 or newer were better and the shifter on the floor was better. Does the 03 model i just posted have the same clutch problems?

How does an Austin martin compare? or does anyone have another car that is in the same price range as the maserati, but they would recommend?

[Minnis]

That 03 is a manual or "stick" transmission like in the Lotus. The Aston Martin's are not quite as cheap usually and you would be looking for a 97-98 which from what I remember had a Ford Thunderbird transmission- much cheaper to replace.

[chris heath]

is the stick a better option that the hand paddles on the maserati? I really have my heart set on one so i would like to get the right one, but dont want to get hosed. the most important part is that its a convertible. Thats what the wife wants. You know how that goes. she letting me get the car so i at least have to have that for her