Maserati Indy

[SFTWend]

I fondly remember making the Airfix model of the Indy with my father when I was probably about 8. So, perhaps mostly for sentimental reasons, I find myself drawn to this lovely example for sale with Bill McGrath.

https://www.mcgrathmaserati.co.uk/cars-for-sale/19...

It's the final 4.9 version, appears competitively priced, and no doubt a great example given who has maintained and is retailing it.

Has anyone ever bought a childhood dream car, of the more exotic and expensive variety, like this? Undecided whether it would be a dream come true or a money pit than never gets driven.

I suspect the Indy went through an 'unloved' period, especially in comparison to the Ghibli etc, and wonder whether purchase prices become much more attainable as demand moves more towards '80s and '90s classics.

[aeropilot]

I bet that interior retrim cost a fortune.

Looks lovely.....and if you can afford to buy it and afford to look after it and have a garage to keep it in, then just buy it.

There's enough classic Massa specialists around to help look after it, but, it something needs doing, it won't be cheap.

[Turbobanana]

aeropilot said:

There's enough classic Massa specialists around to help look after it, but, it something needs doing, it won't be cheap.

Specialists for other retired, largely forgotten and not overly successful racing drivers are also available.

[FlyVintage]

I tend to favour hybrid cars (in the old sense of the word) for reasons of sensible access to spares whilst providing the chic style of Italian design. Thus far my garage has been graced with a Pantera GT5S, Jensens of various sorts (my CV-8s only loosely fit the category obviously), Intermeccanica Indra and Torino (later renamed the Italia) and lastly an AC428. All have been projects of varying complexity that have been an immense amount of fun to complete and later drive.

However, I did once venture to a Lamborghini Jarama; a lot of fun again, but I was lucky with the expensive bits - it just as easily could have ended in tears…..

[Bob CD]

"Has anyone ever bought a childhood dream car, of the more exotic and expensive variety, like this? Undecided whether it would be a dream come true or a money pit than never gets driven."

I guess my Facel Vega obsession comes under this category. I saw an HK500 in the late fifties outside our local church in Sussex on a regular basis.I would be still be in single figures in terms of age.

In the late seventies, early eighties, I met a specialist in the marque who needed to sell a Facel and I entered into an agreement to buy the ex-Rob Walker Facel 2 which he would restore for me. It took some time to get to be restored - by another restorer by now - and in the meantime, I bought a Facellia as a set of wheels which I could use. In the early nineties, I bought a wreck of an Excellence which is still being restored.

So yes, beware your dreams as a kid; they can turn into an obsession/money pit/investment!

[aeropilot]

Bob CD said:

So yes, beware your dreams as a kid; they can turn into an obsession/money pit/investment!

I can echo that.......

[Mr Tidy]

I made that same Airfix model (not very well) longer ago than I like to remember!

I loved most "exotic" Italian cars from the 60s and 70s but I couldn't afford any of them even if I did feel brave enough to buy one.

If you do buy it I wish you well, and hope you do a Readers' Cars thread.

[Rumdoodle]

I was very interested in this era of Maserati and ultimately plumped for a contemporaneous V12 Ferrari, which was the childhood dream car and, happily, very cheap secondhand! Both are terrific value for money. They are difficult but not impossible to run. They benefit from regular use. I do about 4k miles a year in mine, which is close to the maximum permitted by my insurance policy. I store the car in the UK but hardly spend any time there, so every time I go away I send it to the workshop with a list of things to do. It's with them at least three times a year. I probably do more miles than most of their customers, so they are doing routine jobs rather than constant recommissioning and the occasional full resto. You know, like a normal car.....

Value-wise, it was a different game twenty years ago when everything was cheap. But at current prices, I just don't see the value in hybrids. They were built in such small numbers that hardly anyone worldwide knows how to maintain them or how they are supposed to run or how they were originally built. Paying more for an ISO Grifo or a De Tomaso or a Jensen with generic American V8s than for a twelve cylinder Ferrari or a Maserati with a variant of a legendary racing engine seems crazy. I tried Bristols and owned a Bitter. They are amusing, but completely different to a thoroughbred. Enzo is reputed to have said that he sells engines and throws the car in for free. With a hybrid, it's the opposite.

[theadman]

Bob CD said:

"Has anyone ever bought a childhood dream car, of the more exotic and expensive variety, like this? Undecided whether it would be a dream come true or a money pit than never gets driven."

I guess my Facel Vega obsession comes under this category. I saw an HK500 in the late fifties outside our local church in Sussex on a regular basis.I would be still be in single figures in terms of age.

In the late seventies, early eighties, I met a specialist in the marque who needed to sell a Facel and I entered into an agreement to buy the ex-Rob Walker Facel 2 which he would restore for me. It took some time to get to be restored - by another restorer by now - and in the meantime, I bought a Facellia as a set of wheels which I could use. In the early nineties, I bought a wreck of an Excellence which is still being restored.

So yes, beware your dreams as a kid; they can turn into an obsession/money pit/investment!

I can echo Bob's experience.

One of my childhood dream cars was a Facel II, so this is the mirror image of Bob's story...as I bought an HK500. It has turned out to be an obsession and a money pit. I would not bet on it being an investment in monetary terms, but it has been rewarding in other ways. I'm sure most people who are interested have seen the Readers' Cars thread, but if not, here's the link

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

SFTWend, even given the experience above, if the Maserati is a car you've always wanted and you can afford it, buy it. It's arguably the best version of the Indy and is being sold by a specialist. That's the closest to 'risk free' you're likely to get in the classic car world. Don't buy it as an investment though...as it probably won't be! But it should be a lot of fun!