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5,404 Posts
It's parked on my driveway tonight, and I got to drive it back from Hitchin to Poole this afternoon.
Ken
Ken
Look what I got to play with...
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
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469 Posts
Is that a Maserati Ken if so how come it's in your garage?
Mike
Mike
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5,404 Posts
Weeell,
It was at our Hitchin depot doing nothing and we needed it back at base to go out on hire and start making some money. I had to go to Hitchin today to fix their PC, so traded a Rover 75 for it.
It's a $90,000 Maserati Coupe CC - V8, 4.2L 400+bhp and it frightened the life out of me on acceleration. Not so much how fast it goes (I only took it to about 110), but how flippin quick it got there!
Ken
It was at our Hitchin depot doing nothing and we needed it back at base to go out on hire and start making some money. I had to go to Hitchin today to fix their PC, so traded a Rover 75 for it.
It's a $90,000 Maserati Coupe CC - V8, 4.2L 400+bhp and it frightened the life out of me on acceleration. Not so much how fast it goes (I only took it to about 110), but how flippin quick it got there!
Ken
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469 Posts
What sort of silly money are we talking about to hire such a beast.
Mike
Mike
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I hate to think Mike. But to put it into perspective, when an insurance company puts a client into an MX5, it costs them about £90 per day! (For some strange reason, the MX5 is considered an executive sports car...)Cornish626 said:
Ken
PS. That's Lin's car parked in front of it so that no-one can see it from the road.
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5,404 Posts
Nah, the Mazda's nice and safe where the Maserati usually is - in our lockup!
Ken
Ken
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5,404 Posts
You haven't heard the best bit yet (this is where Bedlam finally chips in with a p!$$-take...)
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It broke down. In the middle of Luton about 100 yards away from the entrance to the Vauxhall plant. :lol:
There I was merrily posing away at about 40mph, when everything died - and I mean everything!
No engine, stuck in gear, no power steering - nada! I only just managed to get it onto the grass verge before stopping altogether - in rush hour.
If you want to know what it was like, try 40mph in 4th on a busy single-lane road and just turn your ignition off.
Oh, and don't touch the gear lever or clutch pedal - this thing's got electronic shift paddles on the steering column like an F1 car.
[Kids, don't try this at home]
Called 118500 and asked for the number of a Maserati garage - any flippin' Maserati garage!
They talked me through a few fault-finding points and concluded that a fuse must have blown somewhere. (No Sh!t Sherlock?)
You wanna guess how many fuses there are in one of these things? About 70 pulled fuses and an hour later I found it...
But, guess what? Maserati don't supply spare fuses!
"That's OK Sir, pull the one for the horn and use that one."
(No, they don't label the 6 fuse box covers either.)
Anyway, at least the car started again.
But with no gears...
Ah, that's OK - I'll press the "Auto" button and use it in automatic mode...............POP!
The bl00dy fuse went again - and no more spare to use.
To cut a long story short (sorry, too late) I jury rigged a paper clip into service until I could find a service station (that didn't sell the mini spade fuses that Maserati use) and then a recovery yard at Fleet services where the mechanic gave me a couple to replace the blown ones.
Apart from that, the drive home was absolutely brillaint
They might look nice, and go like a bat outta hell, but when one fuse stops the whole shebang... What would it have been like if I'd been doing 90 on the motorway???
Give me a Mazdarati any day...
Ken
Still on a high
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It broke down. In the middle of Luton about 100 yards away from the entrance to the Vauxhall plant. :lol:
There I was merrily posing away at about 40mph, when everything died - and I mean everything!
No engine, stuck in gear, no power steering - nada! I only just managed to get it onto the grass verge before stopping altogether - in rush hour.
If you want to know what it was like, try 40mph in 4th on a busy single-lane road and just turn your ignition off.
Oh, and don't touch the gear lever or clutch pedal - this thing's got electronic shift paddles on the steering column like an F1 car.
[Kids, don't try this at home]
Called 118500 and asked for the number of a Maserati garage - any flippin' Maserati garage!
They talked me through a few fault-finding points and concluded that a fuse must have blown somewhere. (No Sh!t Sherlock?)
You wanna guess how many fuses there are in one of these things? About 70 pulled fuses and an hour later I found it...
But, guess what? Maserati don't supply spare fuses!
"That's OK Sir, pull the one for the horn and use that one."
(No, they don't label the 6 fuse box covers either.)
Anyway, at least the car started again.
But with no gears...
Ah, that's OK - I'll press the "Auto" button and use it in automatic mode...............POP!
The bl00dy fuse went again - and no more spare to use.
To cut a long story short (sorry, too late) I jury rigged a paper clip into service until I could find a service station (that didn't sell the mini spade fuses that Maserati use) and then a recovery yard at Fleet services where the mechanic gave me a couple to replace the blown ones.
Apart from that, the drive home was absolutely brillaint
They might look nice, and go like a bat outta hell, but when one fuse stops the whole shebang... What would it have been like if I'd been doing 90 on the motorway???
Give me a Mazdarati any day...
Ken
Still on a high
Joined
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5,404 Posts
Don't think I'm going to sleep much tonight with that money outside...
($90 grand - only £65 grand, Rich)
Ken
($90 grand - only £65 grand, Rich)
Ken
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2,468 Posts
Fun fun fun! I miss my old job - I drove a number of Porsches, a Ferrari 456 GT, a 360 Modena, a modified Viper GTS, a modded '87 Buick Grand National, and assorted other cars in the not quite 2 years I was there. Never that far, though - sweet! :tup:
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