The Maserati Ghibli may not be a great car, but could the price drop from new on today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe clean-titled 2015 mean it can still be a great deal?
I’m not sure what was the harsher reality to wake up to last Friday—the fact that the Tesla Cybertruck wasn’t actually a massive chain-yank, or that we were ending the week with a 1989 Geo Tracker cute-ute that had been converted into a street/strip dragster.
Both held their own macabre horror but while we didn’t have any say in the visual assault offered by Elon’s latest automotive vaporware, we could potentially affect the outcome of that one-trick pony Geo. That was accomplished via the comments and the vote for the trucklet’s $18,500 price. Neither of those was particularly kind, with the vote ending up in a massive 83 percent Crack Pipe loss. I think a few of you were still a little cranky about the Cybertruck, which may have had an influence too.
Today’s is the start of the Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., and one thing we all might be thankful for is the stupendous depreciation suffered by modern-day Maserati’s cars. Just like the leaves fall from the trees this time of year, so too do values of the very recent editions from the venerable Italian brand. I think that’s a good thing since it opens up a whole new audience to Maserati’s unique blend of perceived luxury and infuriating idiosyncrasies.
The Ghibli, of course, is a repurposed name, having appeared on one of Maser’s most lust-worthy sports cars back in the late ‘60s, and the once again on a ‘90s Biturbo derivative. That latter car had the unique distinction of offering the highest output per litre of displacement of any car or truck on the market at the time. That was about the only thing that people remember about the second Ghibli—well, maybe that and the fact that, unlike its older namesake, it looked about as sexy as a linty navel.
The third, and as yet latest car to carry the Ghibli name was introduced at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show and rides on the corporate M156 platform. That also underpins the current Quattroporte and the Levante crossover. Designed to offer either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, the platform was intended for mass-production as part of Maserati’s plan to achieve 50K in annual sales and eventually that most elusive goal of all, profitability.
It’s hard to say whether the glut of used Ghiblis on the market will help Maser sell new cars, especially since driving a new Ghibli off the lot seemingly drops about a quarter of its purchase price out the boot. Every ensuing year lops off a sizable chunk as well until you get to the point of cars like this 2015 Ghibli which despite having a clean title and not all that many miles is valued by its owner at a mere fraction of its original selling cost.
A bit about that clean title. That’s kind of a big deal here as there are a lot—and I mean A BUTT-LOAD—of recent Ghiblis on the market with rebuilt/salvage titles. I feel a lot of sympathy for folks trying to sell those cars since the market is so unfavorable for the model in general that clean title cars like this one can be had for just a couple grand more than what’s being asked for the bad title cars. Also, what is it with Ghibli’s and insurance write-offs?
I will reiterate that this one has a clean title. The car itself, however, has actually been rebuilt. Well, it has a newish engine at least. The seller claims that a Maserati service tech screwed up an oil change, and that resulted in its fresh Texas tea pouring out and the original engine going tits-up.
The seller says Maserati replaced the mill with a new one and that now has 9,500 of the car’s 41,000 miles under its belt. That engine, by the way, is a 404 horsepower twin-turbo 2979cc V6 engineered by Ferrari, and remarkably cast by Chrysler in Kokomo, Indiana and shipped to Modena for assembly. These engines do make lovely sounds when you dip a toe into them.
Behind the music lies a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic and this car sports only rear-wheel drive.
It also offers up some pretty stately dress. The black-on-black color scheme may not be as engaging or interesting as other combos, but it will fit into pretty much any situation. The bodywork looks unmarred in the pictures, and the interior, while not up to par for a $70K-plus car does seem to be just fine for one with its current asking. It’s modernities? Well, that’s another story.
It’s true, these cars do not offer feature parity with competitors from companies like BMW and Audi, nor are they any cheaper to maintain because of that. They do look sexy as hell and have that Maserati name on the boot lid and both of those factors count for something.
The most important question for us is whether they count all the way up to $23,995. That’s the asking and I think it’s important to reiterate that this car’s out-the-door price when new just four years ago was likely in the $70K range. As Hicks in Aliens would say, that’s an express elevator to hell, going down.
But is it a bad deal? There are numerous pros and cons about these cars in general, and the new, still under warranty engine in this one is a compelling factor. You still have to weigh what this car will be worth next year. And the year after that. At $23,995, is it a good deal to get on board as it sits? Or, would it make sense to buy… just about anything else?
You decide!
Phoenix, AZ Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Fuzzbusterbrown for the hookup!
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