Your probably looking at the 'old' version of the Spyder 4200 and from working on them and having mates/family with them i would not buy one, they are great while they work but they don't work for long and some of the issues they suffer are serious i.e Loss of vehicle control serious.
Look at 2007MY's or newer (silver dash panel) for a better built car but don't expect it to be anywhere near the quality of the Honda, it will break down or develop stupid little issues even if rarely used (my old man's 07 4200 Coupe with something like 14k on the clock is in my shop right now for a serious squeal at 60mph and above for example), these will obviously be more expensive as all the serious buyers will know this fact and sellers capitalize on it. This 'new' 4200 also has some nice features not fitted to the 'old' version plus some new and improved software that makes her a real performer.
The Cambiocorsa (F1) gearbox with the new software is great especially in sport mode where the shifts are practically instant but it does require a considerable amount of maintenance when compared to the GT (Manual) gearbox and also in comparison to similar offerings from German manufacturers for example.
If the car has Skyhook suspension (electrically adjustable system) then the ride will be rock solid and thats not an exaggeration, you will feel every single chip in the road and it will not provide any give, a friend of mine was coming over a bridge (think with a small hump but not a real humpback) at slightly over the speed limit and the car lifted then slammed back into the ground putting his back out so be aware. I am informed the standard suspension is smoother but i can't comment on that having never driven such a car at speed.
Maintenance requirements are huge (short service intervals and big lists of work to do) for reasons i don't really understand, we charge the same rate as we do for MB's but some dealers charge more (would equate to over $200 per hour) for Ferrari/Maserati, like the MB you need the car to be dealer serviced for the stamp in the book and never buy one that does not have a full Maserati service history. Going back to my point on the high maintenance requirements in comparison to other brands with car's of a similar / higher performance its almost silly, a BMW M5 for example will eat the Maserati for breakfast and has a similar sort of drivetrain but obviously with a larger displacement plus two cylinders and it will look almost cheap to run and i simply cannot figure out why that is since common sense says the BMW should be more expensive.
I hope this helps you out and explains why they are so cheap, i just want to clarify however that when they are working properly or not in the dealer being serviced they are really great car's and based on driving experience alone i would highly recommend it, however taking an overall view i would say stay away.
If you do get one try and find one with Info Center because then you get a nice headunit with nav and possibly a phone (optional) that also displays the climate control system settings on-screen instead of the crappy but F/M standard single-DIN headunit.
__________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening. |