2009 Maserati QUATTROPORTE V8 AUTO

First supplied on 1 Sep 2009 by Dick Lovett’s Cardiff dealership, this Maserati Quattroporte is from the latter years of the fifth generation’s production run. The facelift in 2008 introduced a vertically slatted grille, new headlights and restyled front and rear bumpers as well as changes to the sills, mirrors and infotainment system. It also mated the 4.2-litre V8 with a ZF 6-speed auto ‘box to develop 395bhp, 339lb.ft and a 0-62mph time of 5.6s. Top speed was cited at around 168mph.

Finished in the favourable combination of silver bodywork with black leather interior, the vendor bought the car back in September last year as a weekend in-betweener whilst another car was on order. Although he thoroughly enjoyed having it, he was smitten by the lovely gold 300SL we sold recently and for reasons of garage space, the QP had to go.

The car comes with two keys, the original owner’s manuals and the personalised registration “R1 PYO” - great if you happen to run a self-service fruit farm but otherwise still distinctive and likely to cost £500 - £1,000 if you fancy something similar.

The bodywork appears straight and true and is finished in metallic Grigio Touring paint which, whilst not perfect, is very tidy looking overall. There are only a couple of tiny imperfections that we could find; a slight bubbling in the black paint at the base of the nearside B pillar, a very light scuff on the nearside sill and a small area of bodywork missing paint between the rear bumper and the nearside tail light.

The Quattroporte has a pleasingly long side-profile shape with muscular rear quarters and the distinctive triple ovoid vents between the front wheel arch and the front door. This space is often referred to by designers as the “premium gap” and as you can see it’s a pretty big one on this Maserati.

Fitted with the optional 20” 7-spoke light alloy wheels there is some kerb damage to the outer edge of three out of four rims but otherwise they present well and set off nicely the red painted brake calipers behind. Whilst the front wheels are shod with capable Grenlander sports tyres, there are brand new Pirelli PZero Sport tyres on the driven rears.

You don’t have to take our word for how good this QP V looks, why not arrange a personal inspection at our HQ near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure at the moment, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please use the ‘Contact Seller’ option and we can arrange a WhatsApp call or shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like to concentrate on.

Arguably the most practical interior colour option, the inside of this QP is smothered in Nero (black) leather picked out with contrasting silver-grey stitching. What isn’t leather is Piano Black trim or otherwise an item of functional equipment.

Trimmed with rear passengers as much in mind as the driver, the whole interior feels a very special place to be. All the seats are very comfortable, electrically controlled and appear in good condition with the distinctive Maserati Trident embossed into the headrests in the front and back.

The carpets and other trim are in good order although the carpeting is coming away from the bottom of the dash in a couple of places. Generally though there is nothing of great significance to worry about with the inside of the car.

We understand that everything is working inside, from the electrics and air conditioning to the Bose multimedia system, but haven’t been able to do a full test.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay presents well with the Ferrari-made V8 sitting well back and down into the bulkhead for better weight distribution. Most of what is visible is the air intake housing but the blue crackle-finish cam covers can just be seen alongside. All ancillaries look to be in good order as you’d expect for a modern car with a solid service history. The sound deadening liner on the bonnet is intact and the lid itself along with hinges and catches appear corrosion free.

Underneath the car, the floor pans appear to have good underseal coverage and whilst there are no reported structural issues, most of the structures and mechanicals under the car exhibit some surface corrosion as you might expect.

Inside the boot - which is surprisingly compact for a large saloon - all carpets and linings appear in very good order. As well as the brand new battery in a side compartment, there is a tyre inflation canister in lieu of a spare wheel and also the car’s original plates should the new owner wish to reinstate the standard registration number. Boot lid, hinges and catches are all free of rust.

The car’s full MOT history can be seen online and although there have been a few failures these have mostly been down to things such as misaligned headlamps or worn tyres - certainly nothing of structural concern. We’ve just taken the car for an MOT which it passed with just an advisory to monitor the track rod end ball joints. The current test certificate is therefore valid until May 2021.

There is a service booklet with a full set of stamps covering service intervals of around 12,000 miles carried out at Maserati/Ferrari main dealers Dick Lovett and Graypaul until 65,000 miles. Thereafter, servicing has been done by Pentagon Alfa and marque specialists Giallo Cars in Kent.

Giallo Cars have also carried out a number of repair and maintenance tasks over the last 2-3 years including nearly £2,000 of work just a year ago. Check out the invoices and other documentation in the gallery which shows how well this car has been serviced and maintained.

In the vendor’s short ownership, he has had the nose cone, wing tops and other areas professionally resprayed to take care of stone chips and in just the last few weeks has replaced two of the tyres with brand new Pirelli PZeros and fitted a new Varta battery.

We are looking after this Maserati Quattroporte during the auction and we’ve taken the opportunity to drive it - not least for the MOT - and we are pleased to report that it performs pretty much as it should - it’s got great pick-up, especially in the mid-range. It feels like a sports car, steers like a sports car and certainly sounds like a sports car with its pleasingly raspy quad tail pipes - it’s just that unlike a sports car it has room for four adults. We do wonder if the car might benefit from a four-wheel alignment check, just to ensure everything is set just so…….

With average asking prices for fifth gen Quattroportes holding steady in the low to mid teens, we believe that this slightly higher than average mileage car will fetch somewhere between £10,000 and £12,000 - which I’m sure you’ll agree is an awful lot of car for not a lot of money.

For those wanting a sporty, all-round thoroughbred combining a real “grin-factor” with the relative practicality of four seats, this Quattroporte offers great value and a more exotic alternative to the usual suspects from Germany.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle.