1988 Maserati Biturbo Coupe - Owners experiences

[SkinnyBoy]

As the title says, I've done a search but could find nothing which is surprising IMHO!

I've got my eye on a tidy little example and am going to have a test drive in the next couple of days with the view to purchasing it. What show stoppers should I look out for?

Thanks in advance.

[larrylamb11]

Rust is the biggest one - they rust like fury, everywhere you can imagine - check it very carefully. The engines are pretty good, but check when it last had cambelt done, they also suffer from weeps from the head gasket coming up the head studs into the valve covers - that corrodes the head studs into the heads and is a PITA to get the heads off to replace the gaskets at times. Check for 'mayonnaise' in the oil filler etc. Exhaust manifolds crack and then blow under turbo pressure, again a b*tch to remove and repair. Otherwise, you are looking for power steering leaks, noisy gearbox and diff, tight rear brakes and aircon faults - all of which are fun to fix. The other thing they suffer from badly is internal fuse box failure - water gets in and wreaks havoc. Interior bits and peices need to be good (the gold clock is the favourite - check it is fitted, not all had one, I think they are battery operated too), plus the wood and leather. From memory Autos are faster than manuals (stay on boost during gearchanges) but they are all an acquired driving taste and not easy to drive quickly cross country. Nice cars, lots of fun but pricey on their weak spots. Oh, and did I mention they rust? everywhere? Hope the one you are viewing ticks your boxes.

[zahal]

Hi...Owned an E reg (1987 I think) Biturbo Spyder which was the last of the non fuel-injected cars. An absolute dog. Ignoring the roof problems which the coupe will at least avoid, all I can advise is that you are likely buying a money pit. Mine rarely worked properly and had major issues with the engine management computer/system and electrics. Wouldn't start from warm, cut out completely twice (once while driving on the motorway), broke down weekly, windows and wipers worked when they fancied it (ie rarely). Spares were not easy to come by and it was an experience that put me of Maserati for life. Perhaps mine was a one-off bad experience, but I pass it on for whatever it's worth. Good luck!

[alsaautomotive]

Owned an '88 2.5 carb coupe for over a year & ran it as my everyday car (10,000 miles+).
The key phrase is LOOKED AFTER PROPERLY with these.
Door bottoms had gone on mine & it was only 6 years old (but not an issue for me)
Fuseboxes are the other critical area as they are well known failure points & can lead one a merry dance trying to sort all kinds of random electrical issues.
They go well in a tail happy, handful kinda way!
Had new Yoko's on mine when I bought it & the rears only lasted about 2000 miles, but changed to budget Khumo's & they still had loads of life left when I sold it.
I'd have another if I could find a good one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A poorly maintained one (which sadly most now seem to be) will eat your wallet alive. Problem is basically that they are cheap cars (& have been for some considerable time) & are generally bought by people who can't or won't justify the cost of proper maintenence - see also Porsche 928!

Edited by alsaautomotive on Monday 18th May 19:48

[andy355]

having owned one many years back i would steer clear. much as i liked mine, they are too expensive to run relative to their cost of purchase. they sound nice but arent that fast and the handling is squidgy. the post 88 cars e.g. 222E or sypyder with the 2.8 litre injected engine were i believe much better. maybe consider a ghibli instead? i had no problems at all with mine or subsequent 3200 gt or 4200 spyder.

[IanA]

I have an 87 2.5 Coupe. It has had LOTS of bodywork attention but now looks superb. Mechanically check the diff & drive shafts for play. Expect it to jump out of 1st when cold. There is a knack to starting when hot. If you take the plunge check out the various websites for spares substitutions; filters, bearings, etc need not be expensive. Expect 16mpg. And look out for "that Teflon tyre moment" when the back swings round the "wrong" way!!!
Cheers
Ian

[SkinnyBoy]

thanks fellas, much appreciated. Went and had a butchers tonight after work. First impressions? Tidy. Some rust spots here and there, nothing a panel beater like myself can't fix. No appearance of accident damage either, all gaps were spot on. Window regulators seemed a bit hit and miss though. Engine fired up nicely, but is it normal for the fans to come on after about 5 minutes at idle? The exhaust sounded a tad "blowy" too.

Interior was in reasonable condition, some wearing on the console and ingress points. But on the whole livable. Checked underneath, didn't seem to be and evidence of oil leaks apart from the usual filth accumulated.

Its had 2 owners since new, last owner had it for 10 years and drove it at the weekend. I might ring him and get his side of the story.

Other than that, it looked a decent little motor. I've arranged a test drive on Saturday so I'll decide whether I'll commit to it then.

these pics are from the trader's advert:





And these are the ones I took tonight

[Skyedriver]

Thread resurrection.
Seen an ad for a 222E, stood garaged for 15 years, 35K genuine (?) miles, none starter. Could be anything from simply old fuel to ECU and a million things in between I suppose, guess there's a lot of electronic sensors etc. Guess it'll need a lot of other bits and pieces, fluid changes as well. The repair bill could add up to more than the purchase price.
I'm reasonably tech savvy but not necessarily that knowledgeable on these cars.
Wondering about getting it and having it shipped to an specialist in these, nearby to the car (Norfolk) which is about 450 miles from me. Any recommendations?
One odd thing, the seller is labelled "Private" but has a few low mileage cars to sell.....