Buying guide · 2002–2007 · F136 4.2 V8 · 390 PS
Maserati Coupé 4200
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
19-page guide, A4 and phone · 3-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the Maserati Coupé 4200 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02The torque tube between engine and transaxle, and why it matters here
- 03Steel panels, composite sill covers — and where that helps and where it does not
- 04What is simply twenty years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the twelve looks likeLast Real Engines
1 · Front wishbones
Half a day · no documented labour figure · expensive part, straightforward access
The ball joint is integral with the arm, so a worn joint means buying the whole wishbone. There is no cheaper route, because the cheaper part does not exist and no specialist will pretend otherwise.
If there is play, this is a job for straight away.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 1 · The cold start · do nothing else
- 2 · The engine bay, engine off
- 3 · Round the outside · stance, wheels, discs
- 4 · Inside, ignition on · keep it short, the battery
- 5 · The read-out · at a garage, with the factory tool
- 6 · The test drive · half an hour minimum
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
A failed pre-cat can take the engine with it, and that is a week or more in the workshop. An F1 clutch is two or three days, and almost all of it is getting to it: the transaxle comes off the back of the car. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- Manual or Cambiocorsa — and if Cambiocorsa, what does the clutch read?
- Do you know that the read-out is approximate?
- Does a rotten-egg smell persist after the engine is warm?
- Has the F1 pump been dealt with?
- Is there a folder?
- Has it been lowered on the original dampers?
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 19 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 3 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More Maserati guides
Going to look at a Maserati Coupé 4200?
Take the guide and the card with you.
19-page guide, A4 and phone · 3-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included