Found a nice 328?

Hi Gang,

I've been out of the Ferrari circle for a few years and am ready to get back in now that I am giving my daily driver Mini to my 16 year old daughter. I was looking at 355s but came across a 328 in my neighborhood and gave it a quick look over today. My previous car was a 328 so I am not a newbie, just a little rusty on details. The sticky buyer's guides were a bit old so I was hoping for some feedback on 2010 prices. So the good news, the car has no damage history, no rust, good panel alignment, original paint in good condition and all the bits and pieces seem to be there. UFI oil filter, tools, books, records from new and low mileage of about 28k and the 30k service was done at 25k miles. The bad news, 1/2 the tools are missing, only the owners manual is there for books, low mileage of about 28k and the 30k service was 10 years ago, the car has been sitting for 8 months (under a factory cover in a garage), and the battery is dead. The seller is asking a price appropriate for a running car with current service. I need to know how much to deduct from his asking price to cover these deficencies assuming it runs and drives ok with a new battery. Any ideas about how much the going rate is for a 30k service from a dealer and to replace the tool roll and books? Oh and yes I will make the deal contingent on passing a PPI. Thanks for your insights.

Robin

 

Welcome aboard... just don't jump back in too fast. There are a LOT of cars out there
for sale right now - no need to grab the first one. If the Major hasn't been done in 10
years, you can well imagine that a lot of other routine maintenance has also been
ignored. The mileage doesn't sound bad, but the lack of belt service does. Don't worry
too much about tools or books... the tools are useless toys and only matter for Concours
shows. The books are available online. It's the MECHANICALS that matter, and this
car sounds suspect to me. The seller shouldn't be asking "running car with current service"
prices for a car that's been so neglected.

Good luck in your quest,

Jedi

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. Nice to be back. Not ready to dive in blindly on this 328 but I don't want to miss out on what could be a good deal. As I mentioned there are service records from new that bear further review. It seems that the car was accumulating miles at an appropriate rate and being regularly serviced until a few years ago when it began sitting unused alot. I sold my 328 a few years back with 50k miles on it and did most of the service on it myself. I just don't have the time to do that now so will have to hire it out regardless which car I get. I had to track down lots of missing pieces for my previous 328 and that was harder than working on it.

Robin

 

In one's list of importances and in assessing the condition of items, I'm curious why you place any value on the tools and owner's manual? We all have different values but those two never occurred to me as the least bit important compared with paint condition or engine compression, or 16" wheels for example.

Since you've been gone, sales of the 328 would seem to blend in with 308 and no longer carry a 10k+ premium. I've seen several 328s sell for less than what looked to be equal condition 308s in the last year. And perhaps the better 308s are just cream rising to the top in a sea of too many red cars looking to be turned into house payments.

 

Paul,

Thanks for the input. In my initial post I didn't mention all the things that are right with this car as it would have made the post even longer. It was just a quick list of issues. It's always nice to have all the things a car is delivered with as new especially as Jedi pointed out for a concours situation. I am just trying to get back up to speed with what it will cost as a minimum to get this car back on the road. That will allow me to make an offer contingent on a PPI. Any major mechanical issues uncovered then can be negotiated or be perhaps a deal breaker.

Robin