What Car Do You Want, But Would Ruin You Financially?

One of the great things about being a car enthusiast is having the ability to recognize a car for being a good or terrible buy. But that can also be the curse of this enthusiast life as well. This job requires us to look at cars all day, and because this is Jalopnik, we also continue to look at them after hours. It also means we’re constantly tempted by purchasing cars we know better than to buy—the allure of a cheap fun or cheap performance car can be just too strong to ignore.

Take this 2008 Maserati Quattroporte with 59,000 miles listed for just $13,950. Brand new, these things loaded could easily surpass six figures. Today’s Dollar Tree price is tempting, especially as this is an Italian luxury sport sedan with a 4.2-liter Ferrari-sourced V8 producing 396 horsepower under the hood. But numerous things can and will go wrong with this gen of Quattroporte. Scouring the owner forums will tell you all you need to know: Don’t do it. One Maserati forum member summed up a used Quattroporte best:

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