Depreciation can be a wonderful thing. Almost a decade on, the Maserati Coupe GT can now be had for about a third of its original list price. Designed by Giugiaro, these coupes signaled a renaissance of the Trident brand from the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s and brought exotic Italian machinery within the reach of consumers who would have normally found themselves behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 or Jaguar XK-R. This Coupe GT for sale in North Carolina has the less complex 6 speed manual gearbox and is lightly run in with 28,000 miles.
2003 Maserati Coupe GT
Beautiful black 2003 Maserati Coupe GT with the 400HP 4.2l engine shared with the V8 Ferraris of that year. Tan leather interior with darker tan piping (additional cost option). Pleated leather headliner, Skyhook adaptive suspension, Xenon headlamps, CD, Nav, cruise, power everything. This vehicle has every option offered except the paddle shifted auto-manual (the Cambiocorsa option), and honestly the 6-speed is the transmission you want anyway. Turning the key gives you a front row seat to an Italian symphony - the 4.2l V8 sounds like nothing else on the road. The car sounds wonderful at every day RPMs, but really opens up about 4000. My other car is a '68 Mustang, and the novelty of a V8 that keeps pulling happily past 6000 RPM just never wears off. The wheels have been refinished back to factory color - the previous owner had them painted gold. The Michelin Pilot Sport tires still have plenty of tread, and the vehicle handles like a dream.
I've had the vehicle for two years and put less than 1200 miles on it. Only one major repair - the Mass Air Flow sensor went out, and was replaced at the local Maserati dealership. The oil was changed there two (at the same time) and I had them go through the vehicle looking for anything that looked out of the ordinary. It got a clean bill of health. I don't have the receipts from the previous owner, but I have the name of the dealership it was serviced at. (A state law prevents them from releasing service records to anyone other than than the person they were performed for, but if you call up (like I did) with the VIN, they'll read off the service history to you. It was serviced regularly by the owner who put most of the 20,000 miles on the vehicle, at an authorized Maserati dealership. The previous owner had information that the clutch had been replaced within the previous 2-3K miles, and I believe it. It feels solid. It recently passed North Carolina emissions with no trouble.
In the interest of full disclosure, some small quibbles. The shift boot sometimes releases from the console at the base. There's a snap-in plastic ring that holds the leather boot in place, and pressing it back in fixes it. I've thought about shimming the snaps (which are under aggressive for the job) to fix the boot there semi-permanently, but have never done it. A couple of the A/C vent plastic trim rings have a chrome-like coating which is flaking a little after 10 years. The automatic positioning of the front seats, when they are tipped forward to allow (very compact) people to sit in the back seats, don't alway work. The motors work fine - the seats are fully adjustable with the switches on the sides. But sometimes you tip the seats forward and they automatically motor forward to allow someone in the back, and sometimes they don't. I have a feeling it is the switch in the seat itself that isn't signaling the computer properly, but since it is a rarity to have someone try to squeeze into the back seat I haven't tracked it down. There are two minor dings, one in the front bumper and one in the rear. (Very shallow depth - 1/16th of an inch, perhaps?) They are both small enough not to be noticeable unless you are looking for them, and are quite fixable. They haven't detracted from my enjoyment of the vehicle so I haven't fixed them.
This is a vehicle that turns heads wherever it goes. The black over two-tone tan interior is a rare option, and fits the vehicle wonderfully. It has been garaged it's whole life and well cared for. To be honest, I never anticipated selling this vehicle. I still don't want to. But circumstances are forcing me to do so. I would really like to see this amazing vehicle go to a good home - end up with an owner who will appreciate it's beauty and capability, and take good care of it. It may sound corny, but that's my desire. If you're local, I'd be happy to let you take the car out for a spin. If you're out of town, I'm also happy to run it to the Maserati dealership where they can perform a once-over to your satisfaction (at your expense.) I'm not interested in arranging shipping for the car, but I will certainly arrange to have the car at whatever location is convenient for pickup by a carrier service you specify and handle logistics for.
It’s tempting to think that one could have a like new Maserati for the cost of a well-equipped Toyota Camry, but as with many cars on this site, these are vehicles that require more care and attention than your average grocery getter. Still, at this price point, one could conceivably purchase this machine and for a fraction of a new Maserati, still have funds left over to maintain the car without breaking the bank. I am a big fan of these coupes. While they aren’t the most flamboyant Italian design exercise, the fact that they are some of the last Maseratis to come with a third pedal has me naturally attracted to them.
-Paul
