308GT4 Owners Help

It was discussed in an earlier thread... Let me try to dig it up for ya'. The consensus was, if I remember correctly, that the gentleman selling the car wants pretty high money for a GT4 that's not entirely "correct."

 

Here you go:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117379

Nothing beats seeing a car in person, though, as pictures can be deceiving. If the car looks good, a thorough PPI should be in order for any car of this age.

 

I just noticed something about that car.

The rear bumper is put onto a US rear end. The cut-out has apparently been filled-in to fit the bumper. You might want to check to see how they did that. The area filled-in is pretty large.

The Euro rear end, matches the curvature of the bumper around the license plate area. On this car, you can see that the bumper lays on top. I mean, for someone who doesn't "know", it looks okay. But it "will" begin to irritate you at some point. Especially when someone points it out.

I would be very critical if they filled in the US bumper cutout with bondo, to fit that Euro bumper on there. So find out how they did it. Also, you should check the front too. It also has the cutout.

3 Pictures of mine
3 "real" Euro cars

Please forgive me if I sound critical. It's a nice car. But I want to point out what I can see, because it's better you know before you buy it, than afterwards, when you will always wonder what you might have done, if you'd had the choice.
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There were only 363 series 1 cars in the US over 30 years ago. Not collectables? I know a few people who wouldn't agree with you there.

Missing something else? Tool kit? Jack kit? Owners manual WITH the leather pouch?

You should know that this car is a long way, and a lot of $$, from being a correct car. Shift knob, trunk script, rear emblem, trunk carpet, bumpers, missing inner right door light, wrong oil cooler lines, wrong breather hoses, air filter box nuts, and on and on.

I also saw the potential bumper problem that DDriver did. I'd sure want to see how that was done and just how much bondo is in there.

Interesting that it has the correct steering wheel and horn button. Don't see that very often.
The oil pressure sender and upper oil cooler line have been replaced recently.

I'm always confused at people's thinking. You're willing to spend $21.5k on the car and another $4k in repairs? You'll be at $25.5k and still have an unknown non-factory correct car. Why don't you spend $30k and buy a correct car that has already had the service and has all the extras you'd expect?

Others have said it; I'll stress it again, unless you've got a bunch of extra money laying around GET A PPI !!!!!

You asked for opinions; there it is.

.

 

I think you're being a little harsh Dave. But that's just my opinion.

It's a nice looking car from the pics. And prices do seem to be creeping upwards.

The black 2-owner car in... Michigain? Is a nice original car. "unmolested", is what I think the ad says. But it has the picnic table bumper (like I have) and it's a long long ways away. Traveling across the country for a 20-ishK car doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Maybe that's just me.

But, this one is local for him. And a California car is always a little more desireable. (ask me how I know!)

So..... ???

20K.... 21K...23K....18K.... It's all in the ballpark. It just depends on what you want.

If he can get the belts done cheaply, then it might not be a bad deal. Especially if he keeps it a few years, has fun with it and uses it as a "driver" (pun intended ), like I will mine when it's done.

Vince,

I'd use the bumper issue as a bargaining chip. Show him the pictures and wonder, "Gee... Any idea how much that might cost to put it right? Think I could get a body shop t'do that for a few hundred bucks? Say... you wouldn't know anyone that could do that, would'ja?"

 

Again, I'm not trying to be too critical here, but, don't expect to "repair" a GT4 for $4000... You could end up spending that much in parts alone...

I did the very same thing when I bought mine. I got caught up and bought the car without a PPI, although I knew (or thought I knew) the condition and the dealer did disclose it would need work (thus the cheap price! ). I tore the engine apart and discovered the dreaded exhaust valves were bent (three of them). That was a ticking time-bomb! A good thing I caught it in time, because if one of those valves broke, bye-bye pistons, cylinder heads, cylinder liners, etc.!!! Used engines go for anything between $4-6000(est.) and that doesn't include the cost to rebuild them.

I will add, that 99% of potential buyers would have walked away from my car, but I did take the plunge, spent alot and worked alot to fix it and am now enjoying my efforts.

Note to other buyer's/lurkers reading this thread: If you are a DIY'er and prepared for alot of work and expensive parts, go for crappy cars if you just want it to be a reliable driver. For those people who don't know which end of a hammer to hold onto, stay far, far, far away from "so-so"/"needs a few things"/rusty/incorrect cars.

 

I second everything Peter just said. Better to spend more money up front for a great car instead of the same money (or more) in the long run.

 

Crap! I really didn't mean to be.
He said he didn't care about the car being "correct" refferring (1 "F" or 2? I can never remember) to the bumpers. In case he didn't know I pointed out the other non-correct items I saw.

 

Just a little thing I noticed, the heat shields are missing on the exhaust and the red light hasn't come on when the door is opened (must be able to haggle him down over those) otherwise looks really nice. Lucky person who gets it I guess.

 

Oh, I disagree completely.

Just dive-on in there! You can't go too far wrong... ....NOT!
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I absolutely LOVE the snorkel pic... Such a comic, David!

As for the bumpers, the points David made about check the bumper fill-in areas was something I discussed with Brian Harper. It must've been offline via email, though, since it's not in the previously-linked thread.

Dstacy - on one hand, I can agree with David that you were being a bit harsh. On the other hand, I can COMPLETELY sympathize with where you're coming from. Someday - hopefully soon - a 100% correct GT4 will bring much better money than one which is not "correct." Things that are important to me are books, tools, jack, original wheels, steering wheel, and shiftknob. If a car has incorrect fuel lines or oil cooler lines (okay, I'll admit those *did* jump out at me in the pix), that means to me that the previous owner(s) were safety concious and were upgrading things to make the car more driveable. I think there are a scarce few individuals looking for a GT4 to make a garage queen out of. Because of their historically low price, people buy them to drive which means that they need to be road-worthy. If that means sacrificing a little bit of originality, I say so be it.

FWIW, whenever I take parts off my car to replace with new ones, I save the old (with the exception of oil filters, torn weatherstripping, etc.) in the event that I should "need" them one day again. My car is definitely not original, but aside from my ignition "issue" (which I think is a normal wear-and-tear situation), I would trust my GT4 to drive from NorCal to just about anywhere. That is mainly because of the upgrades that I and the previous owners have made to make the car either safer or more reliable.

True, a concourse judge would tear me to shreds, but it would be a real shame if 99% of buyers "passed" on my car (assuming it were for sale) because it lacked originality. I would put it up against 100% of the "truly correct" GT4s left out there, with money on the table, in a reliability test with fair certainty that I'd be driving home with more money than when I came...

 

OK OK easy fellas...

I REALLY wasn't trying to be harsh. Typing is tough because you can't inflect tone.
The ONLY point I was trying to make was to a prospective buyer of a car who saw non US bumpers and didn't notice the other things on the car that weren't correct.
Notice, by reading my posts, that I NEVER said it was a bad car or that he shouldn't buy it. I ONLY addressed originality issues.

It is a series 1 car so it has hotter cams and better braking. It'll be a screamer and a blast to drive.

So lighten up and get off my back my wife does it very well and doesn't need your encouragement. (that was humor for those of you who didn't catch it)

 

Oh.... but Da-ave....

You have such a nice back.

It's so... SO comfy!
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This one looks like a decent car. And I like the color!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferrari-308-GT4-Ferrari-308-GT4_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6212QQihZ015QQitemZ250024504093QQrdZ1

 

Hooray for truth in advertising as its listed with 115k miles on it, though looks cleaner than some models with a mere fraction of those miles!

 

Be careful with that one. It may be okay. But it was the subject (object?) of a scam a few months ago.

 

Maybe a bit of both.

When are you going to go look at the car? If it's this weekend, I may enjoy tagging along with you, if you don't mind. I kind'a wanted to look at it before, but had no real reason to.

 

Did a PPI on the REAL yellow GT4 in the e bay scam.

Definitely a scam from the ebay seller, NOT the original seller.

PM me for the scoop on it if anyone is interested.

 

Don't be scared, just be aware. Big difference.

If you hang around them long enough you'll be able to do it also. It's part of the fun; discovering little differences on cars made in the same month is pretty wild.
"Heya I gotta part shesa nota like the lasta car. Wadda you thinka?"
"How many times I tella you, she makea no difference, shes a Ferrrrrari. You puta part on ana nobody gonna know."

It is a series 1 car. She'd be a screamer. If you don't know these cars are a BLAST to drive. The sound is glorious! Nothing handles like a GT4. The 308 GTB, S, I, whatever guys will be really pissed when you out handle and out run them

Just go in with your eyes open.

Let us know what you end up doing.

 

My car is "Tweety" the yellow one in the GT4 pics. After I decided I wanted a GT4, it took me 1 1/2 years to find, including a wasted trip to Phoenix to look at a car that the owner said was "great" and I walked away from after 5 minutes. Point is that if you want a "perfect original" car, you may never find one, and if you do the owner will be perfectly justified in asking at least $35,000 for it.
But if you cannot do the work yourself it these (any) Ferraris will cost you plenty. (Actually amazing amounts of money). If you can work on cars yourself, Ferrarichat has wonderfull tutorials and coaches. In teh ened Ferraris are like most cars made of steel bolts nuts etc. However, a lot of things are more complicated and particularly harder to get to. Parts from Ferrari are rediculous. Probably so as to support Michael Schumacher.
I did a mayor service myself, belts, waterpump, radiator fix valve adjust,cost me about $300 in parts. Spent about 100 hours, including detailng the engine compartment. Think about those 100 hours at about $100 per hour at your local Luigi!! Also changed axle seals brake pads removed rust in door bottom and trunk etc etc. A lot of time, not much money. My car was repainted by two owners ago. In fact as best as I can tell, it has had a lot of owners. Any way it is now pretty good, and lots of fun to drive. I am sure will still have lots of (hopefully small) projects in he future. That is part of owning a Ferrari.

 

Man, that florida yellow/black one shows some love.....interior good, refinished wheels, tool rolls present....airbox thumbwheels!

Current auction is a scam??

I've never understood folks swapping USA vs. Euro bumpers.....I like to hit stuff, with mine........

 

Next time we go for a drive remind me to stay behind you