Buying my first Ferrari

308 QV, 328, or 360

 

Welcome to Ferrarichat Lorne. Is there any paticular Ferrari that you may be interested in?

 

You don't say how far the nearest service centre is. The 550 is pretty much bomb-proof but you need a dedicated service point to deal with it. 360 is also out the window if distance is a problem.

Go with the 328 - great car, much easier to work with than newer F's, and more power than the 308. Better looks too, IMHO.


Onno

 

It might be worth asking in the Canada section if there's local non-franchise service

 

Not sure how far you are, but ZR Auto does service...Zahir Rana, the owner, is a memeber of this board.

 

I think you will need to provide more info for the folks here to help...

Price range you are looking at...

Price not an issue... seems that an used F430 is the way to go.

 

So Lorne, what have you decided?

 

The classic front engine 12s are the most reliable once by far...but, they are also the most expensive to buy...a 12 is well worth it IMHO...

 

I would keep it simple at first, depending on budget, with a 328, a 308 would be good as well. You will get the Ferrari experience, but it will be very different than a 355/360/550. Good luck

 

328 or 360.

360 prices are still settling, if that matters to you. 328s seem to have stabilized. Either way, these are the two Ferraris that get mentioned most often as 'reliable' and well-built. (Doesn't mean they're Lexuses, though...)

Either way, you want a car with a service history, and bought from a reputable seller.

 

Early TR. They hardly cost ANYTHING to maintain.

ps - be sure to impress your friends with regular burn-outs...

 

Welcome to F-chat. The 328 is a reliable car and a great first car.

 

Pickup a good set of metric tools and put the phone number for Ricambi-America in your tool box. Then buy the model you like!

 

Others may chime in...

308QV - the last revision of the 308 series 1983-1985, 4 valves per cylinder, fuel injected, the "Magnum PI" car. Some small issues to deal with, but on the whole, reliable. good cars in mid-30s to mid-40s, lower budget on maintenance.

328 - supposed to be one of the most reliable older models, 1986-1989. There is one user here on FChat whos got almost 100K on his car. Modernization (so to speak) of the 308 series but a few differences in body. Larger engine, more reliable electronics, still allows for "engine in" service. run from mid 40s to upper 50s. Latest model was 89 and had ABS (and a premium).

Both the 308 and 328 come in GTS version (which is a semi-convertible, center roof lifts out like the targa in the older Porsche 911s).

360 is mentioned because its a newer model, 1999-2004. I know little about it other than its very different and much more powerful. Some have noted problems, but since its a newer car, you have less little things. very high budget for maintenance though because the engine has to come out for major services. the 360 comes in hardtop and true convertible (and race car version for race only)

Thats a good summary, but I'm sure others will pipe in.

James in Denver

 

TR is Testarossa, a larger V-12 car made in the mid 80s to the early/mid 90s. and Testarob is kidding (i think) because he had to rebuild his transmission which was super-expensive.

 

Thanks for narrowing it down mate. I would have said a nice 328, as many have already suggested, but they did not make them as Spiders (convertibles) unfortunatley. So......I would have recommend a 360 Spider as 1st, 'reliable' Ferrari Spider. Still not sure of your budget though mate. Everyone here is suggesting cars from the $40K (328) to $100K+(360) price range. So your call as to what you can afford. There are also the 348 and 355 Spiders to consider. They are just as reliable, but cost more to maintain than the 360.