2016 Maserati Ghibli With Only 5K Miles

I'll pass...It's a good buy to be sure, just not for me...

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/report/maserati/ghibli/2016?gclid=CjwKCAiA0svwBRBhEiwAHqKjFvrZlVEmmMTd86TL94anUO4cXUymja6bnDCbCDKiE4fgW_EH_fKBihoCj6QQAvD_BwE

...." The brakes went bad after 13 month.$720.00 later I was back on the road. Had an oil change. $1,630.00 and they had the car all day. Then the car needed a tune up which wasn't covered under warranty. However, to keep the warranty valid I had to perform the suggested tune up. $4,840.00.."...

Pretty much says it all....

A few years ago, I had a client I helped get a Mercedes S550. The car needed brakes and the dealer wanted $800. I sent them to my mechanic and he wasn't able to do it, because he needed the Mercedes Brake tool to release the caliper, so he could do the brake job. He said the cost of the tool was more than the brake job, so he passed.

I have a S350 4Matic, just had the oil changed.
but for some reason, my wife (the reason why I bought the Mercedes in the first place, it was either that or a Volvo). Is She could break a steel ball if given to her.

3 weeks ago, she broke the hood emblem off, and $107.00 later, I put a new one on.

then Saturday, she broke the fuel door off, again $120.00 later,... Where the new fuel door should come in next week to put it on.

anyways, last week Monday I just had the 80,000 mile check up with a oil change, that was $600.00.

on my Porsche 911, my last oil change I had done (late 90’s) before I started doing it myself was $125.00.

the saying was, if you have to ask what it’ll cost, that tells the shop, you can’t afford it.

which I believe was started by the car dealer themselves.

there is one point I’m finally getting across, when I started doing the work myself, my Porsche mechanic had a Porsche come in where the engine was blown, I had some disposable income and was going to buy that car just for the parts. The tires were brand new.

A few years ago, I had a 996. I can't say that I drove the car at legal speed very often. The guy I bought it from did some nice upgrades. H&R coil overs all around, short throw shifter, 20 mm rear spacers, Fabspeed exhaust, Fabspeed cold air intake, APR chip and 285 rear tires.

After two tickets in my Boxster, I parked both Porsches until I was eligible for traffic school again. My better half said that I should sell the cars, since they were just sitting and not being used. I made a deal with her. I told her that I'd drive the 996 for a week and if I could behave, I'd keep it. After one week of driving her, I realized that I couldn't, so I agreed to sell my baby. I took her for one last trip through a really neat four lane road - and of course I drove like an idiot and called my friend to give him the good news (he wanted my car since I bought it).

I told him you have to warm up the motor, before you push her hard. It's not a Corvette!!! About 7-8K miles later, he called to ask me about the rear tires. I had just purchased some Pirelli P-Zero's right before I sold him the car. He burned out the tires - bald! That car would spin the tires down across the intersection and down the street. I'm guessing 325 hp or so and with a 6 speed, you could get the rear end loose very easily. A month or so later, he called me with some bad news. He found oil in the water and water in the oil. I'm thinking it was either a cracked head or bad head gasket - not letting the motor warm up before jumping on it! Porsche told him the motor couldn't be re-built and they would replace it with a factory fresh one from Germany to the tune of $15K. He dumped some Blue Devil in, cycled a couple oil and coolant changes, then filled her up and sold her to Carmax.

Here's a picture of her in 2009 or so in Slate Metallic! It's one of the few cars I've owned that I really miss.

Nice,...

I know what your saying,... I came within a heartbeat of getting my 12 point for my license to be pulled for the first few years after I got it. Nothing real bad, it’s just I was the one getting pulled out of the pack of cars for speeding, just because of the car I was driving.

Now the last time I got pulled over driving it, it was more from the law enforcement officer was a 911 fanatic, and he was more curious about it then the violation... which was just a warning.

Only had one picture on hand, heres mine I took about 3-4 years ago, it’s an ‘86.

came within a heartbeat of selling about 15 years ago, I’m glad I didn’t.

Cool car! Targa's are hot right now. Good color, Iris Blue! Fuchs and air cooled!

Man, that's a really nice looking 911. Good thing you kept her!

I was told it’s sky blue.

I just installed new carpets, that Targa leaks like a sieve. My next project is replacing the leather seat covers. I always hated working on cars, but I do enjoy it when the work's done.

Here's Porsche Sky Blue

Iris Blue Metallic Targa:

That’s it...Thanks,... now I know... lol

they said was a rare color... funny thing is, after I bought it, there was another Targa 911 with just like it the same color only with a whale tail driving around Green Bay.

There's a lot of these out there. I think it's a really nice color for the car. Certain colors don't look as good on a 911, but Iris Blue is a good one.

Have you tried Pelican Parts and Rennlist. Both are great Porsche sites.

Your Targa top probably has bad seals. I've never changed the seals, so I don't know what it takes. Being a Porsche, it's probably very easy to do.

Leather seat covers. When you take the leather cover off, check the foam. If it's bad, you can replace the foam - there are many places that sell new seat foam. If you're pretty handy, you can buy skins from Katzskin. You'll most likely need hog ring pliers and some galvanized hog rings - I don't think they had those plastic clip things back in 1986 (plastic that runs the full length of the bottom of the leather that you clip on to another plastic clip under the seat).

Or you may get lucky and Classic Soft Trim may have your pattern. They will come to your home and pull the seats (sometimes door panels). Then they come back in a day or so and replace the parts. What they do is take your seats (and door panels) to their local shop and remove the old material. They have pre-cut skins they install on your seat frames and door cards. The quality is pretty good and the material is very nice. I just did a 2019 Honda Accord and my cost was $945 for all four seats and door panels.

I’m a huge customer, that’s my go to place. My alternator went out back in 2015, I purchase a replacement from them.

especially the tips and ‘How To’ information they give. It helped when I put new brake pads in,... helped as in, showing me it was pretty common with no surprises.

yes the seat cover for it is next on my list, I called to send some leather swatches for color. They gave me another number to call that’s their supplier. Great customer service.

The last I checked the cost for the front leathers I think was around $1,400, but it had been 3 years ago.

yep, pretty familiar with the seats, had to pull them out when I recarpeted.

the biggest nuisance, is the Targa, like a convertible,... dust and trash everywhere, I used to clean the vents with a q-tip.

i got excited when I saw this.

one other item, I keep bending the front hood latch. I think the bonnet may be o7t of alignment. Don’t know how, maybe when I put new gas springs on it.

I put new gas shocks on my Boxster a few years ago. It worked great and there were no alignment issues. It's a different hood vs your 911, but the basic design is the same, so it shouldn't have thrown the alignment off.

How is your hood latch bending? Does it bend when you open the hood or close it? And does it bend forward, backward or side to side?

By Closing it,... I had purchased a new one from Pelican Parts, I put it on, take a couple test closings res low, work good, align me was good, the hook latch came down on the eye real good. Then I opened and closed it normally and it bent right away.

i held off replacing it, and straighten it out, and closed it by moving the latch with my finger and the. Close it quickly (pulling out my finger)

That doesn't sound good. Sounds like something is out of alignment as you said.

I'm thinking about the 911's and the one 912 I owned and I don't remember the hood latch bending. Though I never owned an 80's 911 ... in fact, I never owned a 90's 911 either. Though I'd love to get a 993! They are phenomenal to drive and are still air cooled, so they make the wonderful Porsche sound!

A few years ago, I changed the battery on my BMW 328i. I put a new battery in and someone told me that I needed to reset the battery program. He told me that the car computer keeps track of the battery age, thus reducing the field current as the battery ages.

So, my 328i had a new battery, but the car computer thought it was an older battery and controlled the alternator to produce less output.

I never had the car computer cleared. The charging system worked fine. Was there a difference in the alternator output? I'm assuming there was, but I didn't notice a difference in the performance of the car or the electrical system.

Oh yeah, BMW wanted $450 for a new battery and to clear the system. I bought a Walmart battery for $120.

These are the kind of things that drive people to electric cars....I miss the good ole days when you could swap out an engine on a Saturday with a buddy and a case of beer...

Yes! The good old days.

We swapped:

305 V-8 Chevy small block in a 1977 Monte Carlo

413 V-8 Mopar Wedge in a 1964 New Yorker

350 V-8 Pontiac motor in a 1979 Bonneville

4 Banger in a 1979 Honda Accord hatchback

4 Banger in a 1981 Honda Accord sedan

Pulled:

425 V-8 Olds in a 1967 Olds 98 (parts car)

413 V-8 Mopar Wedge in a 1964 New Yorker (parts car)

All one day jobs with a rented engine hoist (cherry picker).

Yes, things were much different back then. I miss those days!

That brings back memories of when my friends asked for help to get their cars ready for the demolition derby at the local county fair.

I have to say one thing about the Mercedes, it’s a very comfortable car, and a pleasure to drive.

Those S Class cars drive nice. I've never owned one - a little too big for me.

I did own a couple Jaguar XJ's. The last one was a Vanden Plas with the long wheelbase. Good driving car, but not great. Good power, but not great (4.0 straight 6 was smooth). Not a lot of interior room for such a large car. And pretty heavy too. Handling was okay - not on par with my BMW 540i. But sitting in the car - the older XJ's are a nice place to sit. I'd say the best interior of any car I've owned. And it is one of the cars I miss owning.

I still have my old 2004 Mercedes C230 Compressor 2 Door Coupe in Black Opal with a 6 speed manual. Its a fun car to drive and the supercharger has a nice push off the line. Not the best handling car, but it is very comfortable. Great long distance driver. She's actually a fun car to drive and with the little 1.8 4 cyl, I get great gas mileage both city and highway. She just needs a tighter suspension. Maybe some Bilstein B6 or B8's would do the trick - slightly stiffer than stock.

In the last couple years, I got rid of a 1990 300 CE - another car I should've kept and a 1989 300 E - I was okay getting rid of the old black Benz.

I never considered myself a car enthusiast, and frankly, in my younger days, basically grown up as a ‘meat and potatoes’ type person, I never saw myself as an owner of a high performance or even a luxury type car... and because I wasn’t really a car enthusiast.

Raised on a farm, I was mechanically inclined but only worked on cars on my own to save a buck, or helped a friend out.

but sometimes that’s what the path through life takes you, you just hold on tight.

Yes I agree those XJ's probably had one the nicest interiors out there....A lot of people buy them and drop in a 454, makes a complete package...haha

Here's a nice one...

Like this....

Gorgeous car! I'm drooling!

A little over a month ago, I went to the LA Auto show. They had a drive and ride for Jaguar and Land Rover. I drove the Land Rover Evoque - thinking about a replacement for the misses - she has a 2012 RX 350 that's absolutely fine, so I'm not in a big hurry.

I didn't like the Evoque. I delivered a Velar last year and I didn't like it either. And I don't want her to have a V8 Range Rover, nor do I want to spend that much money on a car. I love the F Pace, but it's a too expensive.

The bad thing is that I don't like the look of the current body RX 350, but I do like the reliability of Lexus cars, so maybe I'll get her one of those cars. Or we can wait until the new RX comes out.

The car they did let me drive is the F Type R. 550 hp of supercharged V8!

beautiful, love the color. Engine looks to fit like a glove.

This is a beautiful 1997 XK8 with a LS1 out of a 2000 Corvette. The swap was completed using a kit from Jaguar Specialties. Their kits allow you to run any 1969 or newer Chevy V8 into multiple Jaguar models. All kits are bolt in and require no drilling or welding. This is nice feature in case you ever want to return your Jag to factory specs. The kits fit these Jag models...

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=944

Mine looked like this. It had those Grey Poupon tables in the back.

4.0L straight 6. Huge motor physically.

Now if we could just put that interior in one of the newer models...

Hundai Equus has a nice interior as well...

I thought the Equus had an innovative interior (right rear seat executive option was cool) but didn't drive too well. Hyundai did away with it and it morphed into the Genesis 90. The new 2020 Genesis 90 is suppose to have a nicer interior along with a refreshed exterior. I haven't seen it in person, but I'm not a fan of the car. The front looks showy and the back reminds me of a Lincoln.

The Hyundai car I'm impressed with is the Veloster N. You can opt for the high performance option which pushes output to 275 hp! For a little hatchback, that's a lot of power. Compare that to my Corolla iM which has 137 hp! Or a Civic Si at 205 hp, or a 2020 VW GTI with 228 hp. Not as much as a Civic Type R at 306 hp, but about $8K less too. I haven't driven the car yet, but I'm looking forward to taking a drive in one.

And there's only three Genesis dealers in Los Angeles County.

I know that Hyundai forced their dealers to build out a new, high end stand alone store for Genesis. Most of the Hyundai dealers told them to pound sand and only kept the Hyundai franchise. I think it was a good move - I rarely see Genesis cars on the road and I have only had one person call me about one and he wound up getting a Mini Countryman instead.