In last month’s column, I described several different types of ownership paths to make sure that owning one of these cars made sense for  you. This month I’m going to focus on what you can actually get for a given lump of money.  I’m also going to start with a budget that I don’t think would break too many people’s finances, including our famous on the fence urologist.  $26,000 will buy you a fully loaded Toyota Camry or Honda Accord nowadays.  Yes, they’ve crept up that high.  I remember when they were in the mid teens, and it didn’t seem like that long ago.
 

Surely you can’t get a running and driving Ferrari for the cost of a non-descript, disposable people hauler? Well ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to tell you that not only will $26,000 buy you a real Ferrari; you’ll actually have a choice of sixteen different models for that price, so there should be something for everyone.

Granted, these are not going to be new models with warranties, but with some due diligence, you should be able to find something that won’t require you to max out you credit cards, put a second mortgage on the house or jeopardize the kid’s college funds.  And unless you are handy with a wrench or something about the design pulls at your heart strings, I recommend buying as new a model as possible in the best condition.  They are fun to sort if you have the time and the skill, but make sure you don’t get in over your head on a project car.

And now for the cars.  The cars in this price range fit in three different categories.  V8 2+2, V8 GT and V12 2+2 and they were made between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s.

V8 2+2: 308 GT4 AND THE MONDIALS

These cars really do get a bum wrap sometimes, yet they are very usable and practical cars.  The line started off with the 308 GT4 which was introduced in 1974 as a replacement for the much loved Dino 246.  There has been page after page written on why this car didn’t sell well, with either with the Bertone styling or the lack of a Ferrari badge on the series one cars as the two favorite reasons.  But at the end of the day, this really is a fun little car to drive.  Ferrari made 2826 of them, so if this wedge of a car strikes your fancy, there should be plenty of them to choose from.  Regardless of asking price, $26,000 should get you an almost concours car.  Yes, there is a 208 version running a 2.0l engine that was designed as a tax dodge car for the Italian market, but I know of only two in the USA and I’ve not seen one for sale for a long time, so I’m not counting it here.

The next car in this series is the one that usually takes the beating for being slow and a boring design, even though Ferrari sold 703 Mondial 8s in a little over two years during the early 1980s.  The slow part is easy to explain, Ferrari did have trouble trying to work out all of the challenges to let the car pass increasingly stricter emission standards and putting an air pump on it and tuning the FI system did drop the output of the 3.0l V8 to around 200 hp.  When you’re trying to move 3500 pounds of car around with that, there isn’t going to be any class leading performance.  That said this is a fun little car that still makes all of the right noises, drives like a Ferrari, looks like a Ferrari and has the same cheap early 1980s’ electronics like a Ferrari.  I have a 1982 sunroof coupe and it is a fun car to drive to the office or out for a long weekend.  Our target price should get you a mint condition coupe with about $6000 in cash in the trunk in unmarked $10s and $20s...

If you want to go a little bit faster with slightly better electronics, the Mondial QV and 3.2 Coupes come in under this price.  Go with the QV if you like the black bumper styling or the 3.2 if you like the more integrated look of the mid 1980s’ design.  Both are “better” cars than the 8, but you will be paying more to get one in your garage.  By the time they got to the 3.2, Roberto down in the electrical department had sobered up and figured out Ohm’s law.  Both trade at this price for a nice example.

The last two cars in this series that are available for this price are the QV and 3.2 Cabriolets.  There isn’t another exotic 2+2 convertible available for this amount of money and both are very fun cruising cars, but flexi-flyers on the track.  If you want a full convertible Ferrari, these are your two choices for this budget.  And yes, you can get a 3.2 for this price as I found one on the net that looked interesting, but the wife is ready to kill me for already having three Ferraris as it is. Unfortunately, the t versions running the 348 drive train are out of this price range, but offer tremendous performance and should be looked at if you really want “the best” Mondials.

V8 GRAN TURISMOS:  THE 308s

Ah the 308s.  Probably the car that was the definition of a Ferrari for those of us that grew up in the 1980s and didn’t like the look of pastel suits and Gucci loafers with no socks lifestyle that Miami Vice tried to portray.  It’s probably a good thing too, because while the Testarossas are getting cheap, you still can’t get a non-wrecked car for this price.

The 308s choices in a nut shell are two body styles and three engines.  The body choices are easy, GTB or GTS.  Drive both before you make up your mind.  The GTB is a very nicely balanced car that is very rewarding to drive on the track, the GTS will spook you the first time you go over a railroad crossing and watch a standing wave develop in the dash.  It’s not exactly that bad, but it’s close.

As for the engines, there are the carbed cars from before 1980 which really aren’t that difficult to keep running, its just that there are less mechanics out there that have really cut their teeth on getting a Weber running properly.  The 2valve injected engine is the same one that cause the Mondial 8 to be considered slow.  I hate to break it to you, but the injected 308s aren’t much faster.  The last one is the QV motor which tried to bring back some of the earlier power to these cars. The fastest of all of them were the 1976 or 1977 models.  They were light and offered a raw experience.  I’m not counting the fiberglass first model as a separate one, but you may be able to find one for this price.  Yes, the 308 fanatics will hunt them down, but there isn’t much to justify the premium that most people are asking.  What is worth looking for is a euro dry sump carbed car.  These only came with the GTBs and do not have the oil starvation issue that the US spec motor has.

The QVs are the best mechanically of the series and the carbed cars have the cleanest design.  You should be able to find a solid example of all of them for $26,000 and one that needs some work for less.  It is your choice as to what is best for you.

V12 2+2: LUXURY GRAN TURISMO

The last category of Ferraris that you can get for $26,000 are the 365/400 /412 series of V12 2+2 GTs.  These are really fabulous cars that have a blood line going back to the 250 GTE of 1960 (the Ferrari  Pace Car model used at Le Mans that year) and are more of a luxury car rather than a sports car.  The market for that type of car is smaller, so it is a buyer’s market.  The series started off with the 365 GT4 2+2 in 1972 and progressed to the 400 (carbed), 400i (injected) and ended up with the 412. The 412 was actually the first Ferrari to have ABS brakes.

These cars are GT cars, not sports cars, but if you push one hard enough, they are predictable and quite fun. I’ve tracked my 365 before and other than having to remember that it is a big heavy car, the smile is always there after a hot lap.

I never could understand the negativity associated with these cars other than the high operating and maintenance costs.  But after reading some comments about BMW and Mercedes Benz V12’s that have issues, I think the cost of ownership should be the same.  And wouldn’t you rather drive a Ferrari?  Most of the negativity comes from the automatic transmission.  If you can find one with a 5 speed (and all of the 365s came with a 5 speed), do it.  It adds another level of enjoyment to the car.  That said, the automatic isn’t bad, it just takes away some of the involvement of driving. 

One thing that you do have to look out for on these cars is the EPA and DOT releases.  All of them are gray market cars (remember the scene from Rain Man?) and while some were properly converted, there are some hack jobs out there. As always, be wary of deferred maintenance issues, these are expensive cars to bring back from the dead if you find one that has sat for a long time.

I think everyone should drive an example of these cars once, you may be pleasantly surprised.  Even with the fleet of Ferraris that I own, my 365 is still my favorite car.

In summary, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari.  So stop worrying about the rising prices of the 330 GTCs and get behind the wheel of one of these.  You don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy one of them.

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