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I wouldn't buy a newer turbo Maserati. Quality and "rarity" went down when Chrysler partnership took hold.

I am looking at those Gran Turismo cars and F Type SVRs. SVR is getting into $55k-$70k range, and it is just a rocket ship. The exhaust is monstrous and car is brutally fast.

You see a lot of Quattroportes around here, driven mostly by older Italian guys who want to pretend they're connected. I always think they're Jaguars until I see the holes in the fender. A Giulia looks like a Lexus. Not sure whether the everyone has caught up to the Italians, or are the Italians out of ideas.

Kalashnikov wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 4:07 pm I wouldn't buy a newer turbo Maserati. Quality and "rarity" went down when Chrysler partnership took hold.
I am looking at those Gran Turismo cars and F Type SVRs. SVR is getting into $55k-$70k range, and it is just a rocket ship. The exhaust is monstrous and car is brutally fast.

OceanBlue2000 wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 6:44 am You see a lot of Quattroportes around here, driven mostly by older Italian guys who want to pretend they're connected. I always think they're Jaguars until I see the holes in the fender. A Giulia looks like a Lexus. Not sure whether the everyone has caught up to the Italians, or are the Italians out of ideas.

I guess for me, since I have a dealer's license, taking a risk on a car isn't that big of a deal as long as I don't overpay when I buy it. My favorite saying is "I'm not marrying it." So, if I bought that Ghibli for $13,000 and it turned into a nightmare, then I could dump the damn thing for $8,000 or $9,000 and not lose any sleep over the entire transaction. On the other hand, it's worked out well with all of the Jaguars I've bought - I've been really pleased with them, they were easy to sell and actually made a little money in the process. And Jaguar certainly isn't a brand known for reliability nor being easy to re-sell.

But, the point of having the dealer's license is to have a little fun, not to make money. If making money was the point, I'd just buy Hondas and Toyotas and flip those. Or better yet, just work a couple of more hours as a lawyer.

So, taking a flyer on a Maserati isn't out of the question. I'd prefer to hedge my bets if there's one model that's considered better than the others. So, if the Ghibli is the entry level Maserati, but also the bastard child of the brand because it's a POS, then I can stay away from it. There was a Levante at the auction a couple of months ago that was the same black over red color combo, and it caught my eye, too.

For all the gold-chain sh*t I've taken over the years for driving the '96 Corvette, it still makes me grin. For example, when I nailed the throttle this AM on the way to work and 10"-wide tires broke loose when I was already going 60+. The 996 is awesome, but it can't hold a candle to the Vette's tire-eating prowess.

Mrs. S. wasn't happy with me when I pulled out the Dana 33 and replaced it with a D44, but I would have scattered that poor 33 YEARS ago.

Well, it was last week I did the first track day of the year. I went with a buddy who also has a black 996 Turbo. And a 1973 Volvo 240 race car his son was driving. It turned into a crashfest. Out of 1 hour on track I got 12 hot laps @ 85 seconds each.

If there is any leftover turbro track debris that Frunkenstein doesn't snatch up, let me know.

I have room in the garage for one more 996 after re-working the parking situation... #thankfulForSunroofsAndChainHoists

5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 3:14 pm If there is any leftover turbro track debris that Frunkenstein doesn't snatch up, let me know.

I have room in the garage for one more 996 after re-working the parking situation... #thankfulForSunroofsAndChainHoists


Workbench.png

Is it safe to assume that the chain hoist is for extraction of the operator out the sun roof?

The curator had me park this Spyder in position. I’ll let you ponder for a minute how I got my 265 lb ass out of the driver’s seat.