newbie GS owner.

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
Hi Guys.
Well.. I took the plunge and after lots of negotiation I have bought a G/S.
I wanted to ask all you seasoned and experienced owners what advice you would pass on.
Are there any parts you always carry in the boot ? Spare fuses , relays etc.
How do I do a battery reset ?
Do I really need a spare wheel kit ?... seems a lot of money tbh.
General maintenance ?
Thanks

K
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
haha thx catman.. We do not have AA over here in Gibraltar... Araq gruas is prob the best Spanish version.. Petrol is cheaper tho .. :)
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,541
:)

Seriously I tend to have a few fuses, spare F1 relay, maybe some oil and a can of selant, torch and a mutitool.

That's about it really

C
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
that's great.... appreciate the help..... cant wait to get out in it...we have some great roads over here around Ronda area.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Welcome Keith

They are pretty bullet proof TBH, if it does fail, chances are you won't be able to fix it anyway, so good recovery is a must.

Battery reset, open the boot, remove the right hand cover and look towards the front and above the battery, there is a black knob that you twist to isolate the battery. Leave off for 20 mins and switch back on, reset done. Remember not to shut the boot or close the doors as the class won't drop.

We are all at Ace Cafe tomorrow, on a forum doo, take the day off and come join us, you will learn loads from all the members attending.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Keith, can you not duplicate your thread in other forums, keep it all on one please mate....carry on.
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
Hi Conaero, would love to meet all u guys.. Unfortunately I live in Gibraltar, if I leave now I should be with u by Friday..:)... May sort out a Le Man trip next year.. I cant this year as I am on hols in Portugal....I will be attending the Classic racing weekend in Portimao at the autodromo Algarve in October which is great especially if they have Historic F1 cars racing.. (I also have a thing for GT40's but cant afford one ...yet)
thx
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
sorry about the duplicate... thought I had put the first in a place where it would not be seen... message understood..:)... my bad
 

Steve GS

Member
Messages
1,526
Welcome to the madnes great choice of car imho. I'm still new at this so can't offer much advice apart from drive her lots and enjoy.some pictures please.
 

Maser Sod

Member
Messages
1,962
Carry a spanner set. The main problems I had in my years of GranSport ownership were gremlins caused by loose battery terminals.
 

gingeh721

Junior Member
Messages
247
As the other guys have said, petrol, AA membership and an F1 relay. A small savings of 1000-1500 / or credit card in case of failures is a very good idea as things get very expensive when they go wrong.

I also have AA parts and labour which has proved to be invaluable and has saved me money on 3 occasions.

Congratulations on your purchase. Enjoy!
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
thx gingeh.... I expect that "oh no" sinking feeling at some point...parts and labour are expensive over here..
The local Official Maser garage is in Marbella and they laugh as soon as your car limps in...oh no what have i let myself in for!!..... lol... nah wanted one for ages..
I so wish we could get AA parts and labour.....
 

gingeh721

Junior Member
Messages
247
thx gingeh.... I expect that "oh no" sinking feeling at some point...parts and labour are expensive over here..
The local Official Maser garage is in Marbella and they laugh as soon as your car limps in...oh no what have i let myself in for!!..... lol... nah wanted one for ages..
I so wish we could get AA parts and labour.....

No worries.

To be honest mate, I've done 20k miles in less than a year in mine. I've been on a tour around GB. Up and down the country a lot, up the whole of Wales and back a few times, France to the end of brittany and back, used as a daily driver like any other car. (till I recently bought a runabout).

On the whole my car has been pretty reliable. I have however changed:

the MAF sensor, had a 4 year service (I changed 4 lambdas too), two sets of front tyres, two sets of rear tyres, an outside temp sensor for the wing mirror, two washer jets, cooling fan relay (failure), a battery, a crank sensor, 4 new air vents (peeling chrome), new track rod ends and gaiters (it had one split gaiter but I changed the lot to keep it tight), an F1 pump (failure) F1 clutch braided hose (failure), loose F1 control unit bolt causing full F1 fluid loss, and my cats (failure). so I gutted the primary cats and replaced the secondaries with 200cell and an unsilenced X pipe. I'm also awaiting 4 brake discs from the group buy.

Considering I've had the car exactly 1 year the list looks pretty epic and the cost has been pretty epic too. The main cost by far is fuel believe it or not. I have literally spent thousands on fuel!!! But, I did buy the car to enjoy and that's what I have done. I didn't buy a Maserati to keep under a cover in a garage and only use once or twice a month.

I am a mechanic and I am also pretty OCD so I like things tick-aty-boo. These are however very expensive cars to maintain and unless you are a car freak most would stay clear. I hope your car gives you lots of good times and you have trouble free motoring. If you do use it though, all cars get niggles. These cars just cost the earth when the bigger things go wrong but they are pretty much the same as any other car. Use the forum and read as many old posts as possible. It will give you the knowledge to keep running your car without being bankrupt and you'll look like a millionaire in the process. ha ha. That's unless you are one already? ;-)
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
Defo not a millionaire... But one day Rodney ... One day!! :)
Picked up the car today... Love it...
Thx for the lowdown so far on your ownership ..it's much appreciated.