5 Reasons Why is Maserati not popular
This article is about why Maserati is not as popular as its counterparts Porsche. I’m planning to buy my next Exotic car ( After having my Luxury Merceded for a few Years now). So I did a lot of Readings and Online research. This is what I found.
Why are Maseratis not as popular as Porsche cars?
Rick M says “As a dealer… whenever you sell one it seems to come back to haunt you. Reliability issues, expensive to service, the build quality on the Ghibli is shocking, weak tech, etc.
Better cars exist for the money, or for even less”
Porsche cars:
Porsche produces cars that are brilliant engineering marvels, dependable, and so versatile that their fastest supercars can be used as a daily commuter car with no problems.
Porsche’s engineering prowess and build quality rival that of Ferrari and Lamborghini. Porsche’s R&D department is active, and its vehicles are constantly tested throughout the year.
Maserati on the other hand is known to have inculcated very poor and scarce R & D, with very few developments and improvements taking place over a span of many years.
Porsche is just better than them in every aspect.
Maserati Cars:
Maserati automobiles depreciate at about the same rate as any other luxury vehicle manufacturer, with an average three-year depreciation rate of roughly 45 per cent.
One of the main reasons is that Maserati is an UNKNOWN cool brand
among many people who have no knowledge of the car industry but have enough money to buy these kinds of cars, but the main reason is not even because they want but because they believe other people want, those kinds of people just need to boost their ego, just feel other people look at them!
As Maserati is quite an Unknown cool Brand unlike the more famous Porsche, people do not want to buy Maserati thinking that no one will recognise the car like a Lombergini. or a Porsche or a Mercedes Benz.
Porsche has the most recognizable shape in the entirety of the automotive world.
Everyone knows what a Porsche 911 is, coupled with the fact that they probably have the best engineering and technology of any company, you’ve got a recipe for success.
Very often you see Porsches punching above its weight, they’re quality products, with good performances and superb engineering, any 911/Cayman is a good example, the 918 against the rest of the Holy Trinity is another.
Maserati has the issue that it is an Italian supercar brand, when you think of Italian supercars, you immediately think of Ferrari, or Lamborghini, and now Pagani to an extent.
It’s even worse that they don’t have the best record in reliability and performance (when compared to other supercars), newer cars don’t have the same character as their 50’s and 60’s models.
Another big issue is that they’re Ferrari’s sister company, they’ll always be in their shadow, unfortunately.
Maserati Ghibli: Too Average A Build
Getting a Maserati is a dream for many people because it is a status symbol unlike any other.
At $75,000, the Maserati Ghibli does not appear to be an expensive car – after all, it is a Maserati – and does entice people to buy it in order to join the exclusive Maserati owners’ league.
Regrettably, the Ghibli is rarely rated highly among midsize sedans. There’s also the matter of its unimpressive reliability rating to consider.
Simply put, the Ghibli is not what you’d expect from a Maserati, even if it is the entry-level model. The Ghibli is not what Maserati dreams are made of, with its unimpressive design and low power output.
The Maserati GranTurismo
The Maserati GranTurismo has a 4.7-liter V8 engine with a flat plane crank that growls like a T-Rex at high speeds.
However, despite its race car-like sounds and performance, the GranTurismo does not hold its value.
You pay more than $130,000 for it, and it sells for $50,000 after five years.
RELATED: The Ten Most Unreliable Muscle Cars Ever Built
Technically, you’ve just spent $80,000 in five years on a car that no one wants to buy used because it’s out of warranty. Maserati also does not prioritise dependability.
Why does Maserati get so much hate?
Sopa says ” I admit that I am not a huge Maserati follower, but, as far as I know, they sell overpriced old technology and their cars are not reliable at all.
It’s a shame because I remember how the old generation Quattroporte (the one made in the 2000s) was a beautiful sedan, and their engines sound amazing.
Their current models are also stunning.
As for the brand’s discontinuation, I don’t think it will happen.
I believe FCA will give more attention to Maserati and revitalize it, just like they did with Alfa Romeo.”
As per Dega F
“Maserati’s are a self-identifying flag that says “I have more money than knowledge of cars”.
Unreliability coupled with expensive repairs that take longer due to parts availability and you have a rather perfect storm. “
Mesarati's Reliability is Unknown!!
Maserati, like other more exotic brands tend to depreciate because the reliability is largely unknown and demand remains soft, mostly for that reason.
There are no Italian cars that are considered all that reliable, unfortunately, and they all tend to not do well when it comes to depreciation.
Expensive to maintain a Maserati
Like any luxury automobile, they become expensive to repair and keep on the road as they age.
Parts and experienced service personnel will likely only be available at a dealership.
These are not high volume cars, replacement parts are not manufactured under large scale economies.
The dealer network will have to warehouse parts for years before they move.
Somebody has to pay for this, it will be the customer in the end.
Aftermarket suppliers are simply not going to start to manufacture parts for something that has little or no value.
Think of a Chevrolet being sold in Russia. There will be so few of them, no local manufacturers would even think of manufacturing parts.
Anything necessary will have to be imported from the USA, one piece at a time.
Replacing parts is Expensive
Maserati’s lose value also because the replacement parts are very expensive, there aren’t enough sold to have a used parts market, and the tools and knowledge to repair them is largely proprietary.
So, once they get to the point that lots of maintenance or repairs are needed, they are not economically feasible to buy due to the grievous cost of repairs in labor and required tools/parts.
Outrageous service and parts costs
Stephen S says “Horrible reliability coupled with outrageous service and parts costs makes Maserati lose value crazy.
Maserati is a low production import brand. Which means parts are in short supply and expensive.
And service technicians that know how to service that makes are in short supply as well and expensive.
Oh, and the horrible reliability and quality control.
That goes for most if not all European brands in the American market.
Parts for exotic brands like Maserati tend to run about ten times or more than for say, a Toyota or a Honda.
Part of the reason is they’re not produced in enough numbers to benefit from after-market parts.
Fiat currently owns Maserati.
For almost all its history, Fiat was known for producing cheap economy cars and never had a stellar reputation when it came to reliability and quality. The Fiat 500, when it was originally produced had a 500 cc engine
Why do people buy Maserati when it’s such a low quality car?
There are 2 categories of people who buy Maserati’s.
- The Smart ones – important to get this sorted out of the way first as they know Maseratis aren’t worth it. They usually buy a 5-year-old Ghibli with an extended warranty from a dealer for the price of an Accord. I was at one point very tempted to buy one but somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to do it knowing what a rip off this car is to the consumer. Just the infotainment was impossible to operate. It will be a great car to rent for a road trip but not worth it to own in my opinion especially if it is going to be your daily driver.
The Blue Blood ones –
Now there are truly wealthy folks who don’t know better. The owner of digitallyDiv Web Agency is wealthy. These folks haven’t been in a Dodge to know the similarities between their Maserati’s, Benz or Porsche and a Dodge Caravan or Dart. They usually change cars within 3 years odd to truly have any maintenance nightmares as well with these Italian & German beasts.