Maserati is considered to be a rare and luxurious make of car, but which of their vehicles is the most reliable?
Reportedly, Maserati’s best-seller is also their most reliable car. The Maserati GranTurismo was released in 2007 and has since sold almost six thousand units. It’s rated as the highest in terms of reliability, but Maserati as a whole doesn’t rank very highly in these stakes.
Read on to learn more about Maserati and the reliability of their cars.
Move Along, Maserati
There are few countries that have produced more vehicle manufacturers than Italy. The European nation has been home to more brands than you can shake a stick at.
These include Ferrari, Lamborghini, Fiat, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, and of course, Maserati. The only country that might surpass Italy in the car manufacturing stakes is Germany.
Although, there are fewer companies still who can boast the same legacy as Maserati. The Italian manufacturer opened its doors way back in 1914, having been founded by a group of brothers.
It was in the 1920s that the group decided to begin producing their own branded vehicles. They had a vision of powerful and agile vehicles, race-winners, and collector’s items.
They had a considerably strong start but ultimately sold the company to another family in the late 1930s. There were leaps and bounds in innovation and the organization remained focused on motorsports engineering.
In fact, in 1939 and 1940, Maserati claimed the victory spot in the Indianapolis 500, a legendary race. As of 2020, they were still the only Italian motor manufacturer to do so.
Eventually, the racing ambitions dried up, and they turned to produce road vehicles instead. Their first was revealed in 1957, the 3500 GT, and was a substantial success for the company.
They followed a similar path to many other manufacturers. The company changed hands a few times, they faced austerity throughout the seventies and bounced back at the turn of the millennium.
Their lineup was improved and modernized as the twenty-first century persisted, and they became a real contender in the luxury car market. They started brushing up against companies like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
Impressive But Unreliable
Overall, the Maserati offerings are substantial and considerably high-end. Their cars are built around powerful, well-tuned engines, and their interiors are sumptuous.
However, they’re reportedly terrible when it comes to reliability. In fact, reliabilityindex.com puts Maserati in fortieth place on their table of reliability.
On this particular table, that’s as low as a manufacturer can possibly go. They’re beaten by almost every make of car in the world in terms of reliability.
However, the Reliability Index explains that their ratings are a result of considering all factors of a repair. This includes the cost of parts, frequency of failures, and the cost of labor.
While it’s their most reliable model, the Maserati GranTurismo doesn’t fare too well on this index. It achieves a score of just 748, which is a mere twenty-six points higher than the brand average.
It’s estimated that the average repair for the GranTurismo is around fifteen-hundred dollars. Statistically, the components most likely to break on a GranTurismo reside in the axle and suspension systems.
Although a brand new Maserati GranTurismo might look incredible, it’s what’s under the hood that counts. They might be built with the finest materials and latest technology, but they’re not likely to last.
It’s a bit of a sticking point when you consider the initial cost of owning one; a GranTurismo starts at around one-hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
Capable Competitors
While Maserati sits at the bottom of the reliability index, its competitors are much more comfortable. However, owing to how expensive it is to repair these vehicles, they aren’t able to rank very highly on the index.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW actually sit side by side, in the thirtieth and thirty-first slots, respectively. However, their average reliability ratings are in the low- to mid-170s, many times more reliable than the Maserati brand.
It’s the Japanese manufacturers that top the index with ease. The top spots are reserved for Honda, Suzuki, Toyota, and Mazda.
They’re cheaply-built but very sturdy and reliable, and their mass production means there are many spare parts available.
So, perhaps it’s better to spend a few thousand dollars on a sensible and practical Toyota than it is to spend a hundred thousand dollars on an unreliable Maserati.