Hi all,
I live in NL and as an Italian car enthusiast, I am looking for a while for a nice Ghibli Diesel to own. Previously, I’ve driven many company cars at my previous employer and one of them back in 2008 was an Alfa Romeo 159. Since that moment, the Italian car virus has struck me 😊. I made a promise to myself that as soon as I quit driving company cars and are able to own a private car, it must be an Italian.
So back in 2014, I bought an Alfa 159 TI and I enjoyed owning, driving and maintaining the car 7 years until the rust devil got hold of it. I knew that the subframe was prone for rusting since it was its weak spot from the factory but the rust started also around the sills and bottom edges of the back doors. I was forced to sell it for a fair price in 2021 before the rust would became worse and finally would eat up the car. A real shame for such a beautiful car and apparently the Italians are still married to rust 😊 despite that we are living in the 21st century and they don’t learn from the past.
Anyway, since my 159 TI was gone I have always wanted a Ghibli. What a stunning looking car and there is nothing like it on the road. Unfortunately back in 2021 after extensive searches, I could not find one in the color and spec that I wanted for the price I want. So since 2021 I am driving a 2nd generation CLS which is also a stunning car especially the trim it has. But still since driving it for 1,5 years now, the Ghibli has never left my mind. Especially when seeing one occasionally on the roads it always tickles my brain as soon as I see one drive by which makes me continue the search to try my luck to search for one and buy one.
Finally, I have found a very nice Ghibli Diesel (due to the amount of kilometers I make annually it needs to be a Diesel) of which I am tempted to buy. It ticks all the boxes I was looking for. It has 116.000’ish kilometers on the odo and the paperwork/maintenance is solid and always taken care of by a Maserati dealer. When doing some research about the weak points of specifically the Diesel engine, I could not find much on the internet. This can have several reasons: 1) the Diesel was not sold much 2) the Diesels never have issues 3) owners don’t write reviews/share information publicly for other drivers who are considering to buy one.
So here I am trying my luck on this forum to see if there is some useful info here about my specific questions:
- Are these Diesel engines solid (I think it has a Chrysler Diesel) and do they last a long time when making a lot of kilometers? Of course without saying, the engine needs to be well taken car of and never miss a checkup/maintenance appointment (once every year or 20.000 kilometers whatever comes first).
- What are the generic weak points of the car and specifically for the Diesels? In general regardless the car brand, the DPF could give issues when driving short distances.
- I read about some ‘small’ generic issues like:
- The leather wrapped steering wheel flaking at already low mileages due to poor quality leather used by Maserati.
- The armrest in the center console of which the doors will not open anymore due to poor quality of the metal springs used by Maserati.
- Possible early rust developing on the lower back arms.
- Some aircondition/thermostat issues.
- Possible premature wear and tear of the tires due to back wheel alignment/bad suspension design.
Does anyone have some personal experience of owning the Ghibli Diesel of the early model years (2014-2016) in the long run and doesn’t mind sharing the things to look after as in known issues of the Diesel or the Ghibli in general before buying one?
Thanks a lot 😊
