Make People Think You’re Loaded By Buying A Used Maserati Ghibli For Less Than A New Camry

Ah yes, the good old “Fake it till you make it” conundrum, which sort of applies to people who purchase luxury products at a fraction of their original MSRP.

Of course, we’re not here to judge, especially since some individuals simply appreciate the benefits of living with a very expensive car (comfort, performance, prestige), even though they couldn’t afford to buy it new – maintenance costs be damned.

So why are we talking about the Maserati Ghibli here? Well, because of common perception mostly. Take the Porsche Panamera for example. Remember this recent video in which Doug DeMuro called it a great second-hand purchase?

Sure, used first-gen Panameras and Ghiblis cost about the same nowadays, and if we had to choose, we’d definitely take the Porsche seen as how it’s bigger, sharper and most importantly, better-built, something you’ll want to take into consideration when dealing with high-maintenance used vehicles.

However, a dirt cheap Panamera means a roughly 10-year old car, whereas the Ghibli would only be half that age. Also, most people are going to assume you’re downright wealthy when they see that Trident badge – non car enthusiasts seem to think Maserati is in the same league as Aston Martin or even Bentley, when in reality, of course it isn’t.

Anyway, let’s look at a few used examples on Autotrader:

– $22,500 | 2015 Maserati Ghibli RWD with 48,113 miles
– $22,950 | 2014 Maserati Ghibli S RWD with 48,287 miles
– $23,995 | 2016 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 AWD with 42,435 miles
– $23,999 | 2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 AWD with 29,514 miles

We’re not going to go any higher than that in terms of price because it wouldn’t make much sense. All of the aforementioned cars are being sold by dealerships and are pretty loaded spec-wise.

The cheapest one is a “base” Ghibli, which means that its 3.0-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine produces 345 HP (350 PS) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque, which is still enough for you to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 5.5 seconds, with the help of an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The Ghibli S however puts down 404 HP (410 PS) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque (same engine), accelerating to 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds if you also have the carmaker’s Q4 all-wheel drive system. Rear-wheel drive S versions take an extra 0.2 seconds to hit that mark.

If we’re being practical, then buying a Maserati Ghibli over the equivalent Porsche Panamera, or S-Class/7-Series/A8 doesn’t make much sense. Heck, you’re probably better off with a CLS or an A7. But if all you’re trying to do is make it look like “you’ve made it”, that Maserati badge will actually work wonders for you.

Just make sure you get some type of dealer warranty, even if you have to pay for it, otherwise you might end up wishing that Maserati was a Mazda.