1999 Maserati 3200 GT

Outside, inside, underneath and anywhere within earshot, this car appears to be a very well presented, maintained and cared for example of the breed.

Silver with a blue leather and suede interior, the car has been fastidiously cared for by a vendor who, by his own admission, is a bit fanatical about detail and has always taken a belt and braces approach to anything that might possibly go wrong. For example, the car comes with a boot full of spare parts and various odds and sods of trim, hose, cable, flex, nuts and bolts, paint, etc, etc.

Why? Well, as and when the vendor heard that a particular replacement part was about to become unobtainable, scarce or absurdly expensive, he sourced and bought one (or two). You know – just in case.

In our opinion, this is exactly the sort of chap from whom you’d want to buy a used Maserati.

Everything works. Everything that should have been done has been done. It drives precisely as it should. And then there’s how it sounds…..

The fine 365bhp engine is well-known for its rich and sonorous soundtrack. But this car comes with a couple of after market tail boxes courtesy of Autoshield Maserati at a cost of approximately £1,500.

Consequently, it now rasps, bellows, burbles, pops and screams like 365 angry Italian opera singers fighting with feral cats in a potting shed.

During a thunderstorm.

At a Motörhead gig.

It is, in our entirely subjective opinion, a magnificent sound.

So, aside from a very small number of minor, cosmetic issues, we think this 1999 3200 GT is in very good condition indeed and has a service and maintenance record that should inspire confidence.

Broadly speaking, the exterior is in excellent condition, and there’s an impressive shine and lustre to the paintwork and finish. The car had nearly £1,300 spent on it by a previous owner in 2008, when the wheel arches, wings and bonnet were treated for any signs of rust and resprayed where appropriate.

There are still no signs of rust, save one tiny surface spot, and just one or two very small blemishes to the paintwork.

The body panels are every bit as crisp and even as anything Good King Wenceslas might have looked out upon, and the shut lines are tight and consistent.

There is a small, spidery crack in the lens on the rear n/s ‘boomerang’ light cluster.

The original alloys are are good nick, save for a bit of kerbing on the o/s rear. The keen-eyed among you may have noticed a subtly squatter, wider stance than standard. This is thanks to 15mm and 25mm spacers fitted by the vendor to the front and rear hubs respectively. He also retrofitted stainless steel wheel bolts at the same time.

The wheels are shod in matching Goodyear asymmetrical tyres which have covered very few miles since they were fitted and have plenty of tread remaining.

Many would argue that Maserati are rather better at a classily understated interior than their Ferrari or Lamborghini counterparts. They’ve got the veneer and hide thing pretty much sorted, and this is a good example of their almost Jaguar-like prowess in this respect.

Suffice to say that the wood and leather in this example are in fine order. The leather upholstery shows only wear that’s entirely commensurate with age, with a little light creasing to the bolster on the driver’s side. The colour and condition of the leather are a reflection of the fact that the vendor sourced colour-matched leather feed and dye from a specialist and has regularly tended to the upholstery with all the care and love of a master saddler.

It’s all in very good condition, from the upholstery to the headlining, carpets, door cards, centre console and dashboard.

Everything electric works and the AC is cold. The car comes with an uprated , top-of-the-range hi-fi system (sub-woofer, better speakers, bigger amp, etc). You’ll probably enjoy this feature once you’ve grown bored of listening to the extraordinary engine note of this car. So, never then.

The boot is in good condition and, as stated, is currently filled with more spare parts than a Screwfix warehouse.

Lifting the carpets anywhere in the interior reveals – solid metal and no signs of corrosion.

The undersides of the car are solid and free of anything other than superficial rust and general road grime. The sills look good, as do the jacking points and sub-frame mounting points.

As you’ll see from the comprehensive service record and bills, anything brake or suspension related that needed attention has been attended to.

The engine bay is clean and tidy, with everything in its right and proper place. There are no obvious leaks, and all pipes, cables and hoses (many of them recently upgraded) look solid.

JCT000 - 5,943 – 4.9.2000

JCT000 – 14,646 – 11.4.2002

Graypaul – 27,463 – 29.9.2003

Pro-Tec – 42,279 (new cambelt) – 28.4.2005

Emblem Sportscars – 46,391 – 13.7.2007

Emblem Sportscars – 53,952 (new cambelt) – 25.7.2011

Autoshield – 55,500 – 1.2.2013

?? – 60,067 – 18.10.2014

?? – 60,900 (new cambelt) – 12.6.2016

?? – 62,329 (new cambelt) – 1.3.2020

There are some things you just shouldn’t buy without knowing the item’s history and having some confidence in its provenance and integrity. A secondhand parachute springs to mind. Also a homemade submarine.

A Maserati 3200 is another.

This car has vast wads of history and bills and invoices and stamps and MOTs. Everything, right down to a replacement rubber button for the key, is documented and archived.

And it’s had all the right money spent on it as and when necessary. Every cambelt change has been done bang on time, the last being in February 2020, when the tensioners were also changed. The time before, the pulleys and bearings were changed.

In recent years the car has had new a new clutch, starter motor, water pump and knock sensors. There’s simply too much to mention here – but it’s all photographed and available for your viewing pleasure in the gallery.

The car has an MOT (with no advisories) until 13.9.21 and comes with handbooks, manuals, a tracker, two sets of keys and a valet key. It also comes with a Maserati toolkit.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

And please be reassured, we’ve undertaken a full COVID-assessment and put into place strict control measure to enable us to safely facilitate a no-contact, socially distanced viewing that includes disinfection of the vehicle before and after your viewing.

However, if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

We think this is a very good example of both the model and the marque. Everything works and there are very few faults. It has the look and feel of a well cared for vehicle.

The vendor, you’ll recall, is a man who doesn’t do things by halves. He took his time when he bought this car. He saw lots of 3200 GTs, drove most of them, and did a fair bit of tutting and shaking of the head. Many were viewed. Few were considered. Only one was chosen.

This one.

And you can see why. It feels tight, agile, powerful and thoroughly sorted. Nothing rattles, groans or creaks. Everything does what it’s meant to do.

We think it’s a cracking 32000 GT and we’re confident that its next owner will, too.

And, of course, it has the added bonus (in our opinion) of sounding very much like the love child of Tom Waits and a Velociraptor.

We’re confident to offer this vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £10,500 - £13,500

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’.