ok...so let's say that once the car is sorted the engine doesn't have to come out for belt changes. there are some shonky mechanics around...there's even a website somewhere....so I'd want to have a good squiz at everything when I first get the car and make sure it's right. however, after that, I'll say again, it is NOT necessary to pull the engine out to do the belt change....and it's clearly an option ferrari is happy with. Pulling the engine is a huge job...pulling the tank is not.
Well, in saying that, I guess it is NOT necessary to pull the engine out at all to change the cam belts then is it? A new 348/355 owner may not have any interest in having a good squiz at everything and may take the cheaper engine in option to change the cam belts.
A guy like yourself,would do all your own mechanical work? Guess you have your own workshop,hoist,dyno ect.
I'm not going there. Can into a lot of trouble for bagging companies on the net but I'm sure you can work it out if you consider I'm in Adelaide.
BINGO!!! Exactly what I was thinking or even a 996 Twin Turbo - problem is that none of those cars gives me the sort of blood rush to the groin area like a Ferrari.
Don't worry about mileage on 308s, I do over 12000k most years; driving is the best way of keeping everything moving and flexible. Also they are basic mechanical cars, everything is basically 'fixable' unlike the modern electronic cars. If you're mechanical you can do most of the reular service stuff yourself. It IS important to watch the timing belts, but this is not the huge deal some people make of it. Clutch fails on the 308 (mine's been ther 8 years) it can be fixed just like a Toyota (albeit some difference in parts prices!) but if the 360 electronics chuck a hissy fit you're up for new electronics which don't start at anything less than four figures... Having said that, I waited years to get a 308 because that was what I dreamed of since I was a kid - if you really want the 360 just wait 12 months, bank the interest on your $130k and you'll get what you want with some bucks to bank for the maintenance. Good luck whichever way you go!
Wasn't at the time... 4.30pm Christmas eve, pouring rain, car full of food and pressies for next day and suddenly dies at the shop exit... RACQ said alternator failure so towed to workshop, $50 cab fare back to Coolum to borrow a car to get to Bris (not a single hire car available on the coast at that time) - turns out just 4.5 yr old battery has carked it...
It's a bummer when batteries just die like that with no warning.. nothing you can ever do to prepare or pre-empt. We stayed at Gold Coast and *bucketed* down Christmas Day..
you're all getting away from the topic. 308's are usually good for around 100klm to 120klm then it's usually an engine rebuild. So if you buy a 308 really make sure how many k's the cars done. You don't want to finish up buying a car that's done lots of k's and then find that it needs an engine rebuild. Also ask how long the car has been sitting around because 308's have sodium filled valves and they don't like sitting around for long periods of time. Or better yet get a 308 that has had stainless steel valves fitted. (and as for aircon and his "engine in , engine out " stuff. I prefer to have my 355's engine OUT, but done by a NOT good, but GREAT mechanic. But here's the real thing...............buy a car that you're going to have a "love affair with". Don't buy a ferrari just because it's cheap to maintain. (there really no such thing as a cheap to maintain Ferrari because you could just be unlucky enough to buy a dog and not know it at the time. A secondhand car is "a secondhand car" So buy the model that you "LOVE" and forget about all the other craaap.
if procrastination is the order of the day - go out and buy a nice V12 Jag. I'm sure BlackJag would agree.
well you've always had a very in depth knowledge of all things mechanical, so whatever you say is gospel as far as I'm concerned. NOT
I would recommend Poyta looks at a Mondial T. 348 engine, good performance, great handling, a bit more room in the interior, bigger boot, nicer on long trips. I know of one that is in excellent condition going for $80k. Not as common as the 348 as there were not many T's that came to aussie. I wonder how long it will take for the usual abuse re a mondial?
