Is The 2014 Maserati Ghibli the Worst Car Ever?

I always try to keep my eyes open for potentially good deals on used luxury vehicles.

It’s fun to take advantage of the depreciation on high-end models and feel like you can be part of the elite 1% that can afford the height of luxury.

Understanding Depreciation

It’s not as simple as just waltzing into a dealership and picking up a used luxury ride for cheap.

There’s a little more to it than that. Namely, you have to understand what impacts a car’s depreciation curve.

“Wear and Tear” as it’s often referred to is the entire basis for depreciating automobiles. Much like in factory machines cars wear out naturally over time.

This wear is exacerbated by poor maintenance and hygiene.

Another factor is the cost to own the vehicle itself. That means the cost of certain repairs likely to arise after certain milestones in the cars life and the cost of just general maintenance.

The 2014 Maserati Ghibli RWD.

I recently found one of these for sale in my area on the site Cargurus for a measly $36,488. Less than an Audi A4.

This particular Ghibli was at a dealership I wouldn’t buy a Schwinn from, but boasted a pretty standard used luxury ad.

The standards include low mileage (36,000 to be exact), one owner, and no accidents.

Seems like a pretty amazing deal, right? I must admit, the car looks amazing.

Well, not quite.

See the Ghibli wasn’t exactly an amazing car to begin with. It was an entry-level Maserati design to give an alternative to the German standards in the sport-sedan segment.

This model was notorious for a low quality, Chrysler-esc interior, and a jarring ride. Literally, the infotainment system was pulled directly from a Dodge Challenger. There’s nothing like sharing parts in your Maserati with an economy American vehicle.

It’s base, Ferrari built, twin-turbo V6 put out 345 hp and might sound exotic when you tell your friends, but the 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds will leave plenty of people snickering.

What Performance?

Suppose you opted for an “S Performance” version of the Ghibli. You would have a respectable 404 hp under the hood, but a $100,000 price tag to go with it. And for what, a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds?

The 2013 Audi S4 did 0-60 in 4.4 seconds with 333 hp. Oh, and it maxed out at $60,000 before dealership incentives. You could practically buy an Audi S4 and a used Ghibli for the price of a new Ghibli S Performance.

The Ghibli was an attempt by Fiat Chrysler to capture the sport-sedan segment using the same formula it employed with the Challenger, but with a target audience that has a summer home in Nantucket.

And all those thoughts bring us back to this Maserati. Was it a good deal?

Not even close.

If you spend 40 seconds googling used Ghibli’s you would know this.

In fact, Kelley Blue Book estimates a fair dealership price for a 2014 Ghibli with the same options as this one listed to be $31,613. Almost $5,000 less than this listing.

What’s more is that there are several examples of similarly optioned Ghiblis on Cargurus and Autotrader that are marked around $30,000.

Price Is Not Everything

Now what if this car was fairly priced, would it be a good buy? Probably not, but I would have to see it first. Are there better options in that segment for the same price? Of course, but sometimes buying a car isn’t always about pure logic.

A used Ghibli would be a pretty unique alternative to the German sport-sedans and might even fool the parking lot attendants at work into letting you park in the Executive spots. That alone is worth 30K.

Many people might be asking who would buy this car and that’s a fantastic question.

Dealerships like this prey on uneducated buyers that are easily drawn into a purchase that isn’t best for them, usually because they have less than good credit.

The truth is that they would likely not even have to target a buyer. Someone will likely show up to this dealership specifically for this car. Who would do such a dumb thing?

Well, there’s an entire group of buyers out there that have terrible credit scores. For this reason exactly.

Sometimes The Buyer Sucks

The type of buyer that shows up to buy this wants to be seen in a Maserati but should be buying a 2003 Ford Taurus. The dealership just has to list the car at $36,000 and wait for someone who has a need to impress people to come in and buy it.

Okay, honestly, I can’t say that for sure, but what I can say for sure is that whoever buys this car is likely not going to be someone who should actually be driving a Maserati.

The reason I know this is because the type of people who can afford Maserati’s buy them from Maserati dealerships. And they usually pick out the color leather they want also.

But this car will no doubt turn heads and the buyer that grabs it is looking for this and likely couldn’t qualify to buy a similarly priced vehicle at a larger lot.

Again, sometimes buying a car isn’t entirely logical. I can’t say for sure who would buy this, but I have my suspicions that I’m pretty close.

What I do know for sure is that at the end of the day whoever does buy this ends up with a car that they are immediately upside down on, with a limited service network and a cost of ownership that will include parts that belong on a Dodge, but have the price tag of those that are on a Ferrari.

And that’s why this car is this week’s worst buy and you should avoid it. Want to find an awesome sedan? Check our post: Top 5 Luxury AWD Sedans.