Possible first Ferrari?

Warning, post got a little long!

Hey all, new member here but have been enjoying reading some of the threads posted here and have been pointed here by many as one of the best communities around for Ferrari knowledge.

Anyway, I have long wanted to buy a Ferrari, a fan since childhood. Somehow the 360 and newer cars just don't do it for me though. Nothing against them, I think I'm probably just stuck in the past. Stuck on the sort of cars that adorned my bedroom walls when I was a kid, you know? I fell in love with the F355 when it launched, but I don't know that I'm quite ready for that car what with the frequent engine-out requirements. Before that car though, the 3x8 series was, and for me probably always will be, the perfect icon of the wonderful cars produced in Italy.

Recently, one came up for sale close by where I work. I've been to see it a couple of times and even have a green light from my wife (always important ha ha). However, I don't think it is worth near what he is asking for it. I'd love some opinions from the vast experience of the members here if you don't mind. I realize pin pointing a value of a car like this is difficult at best though.

The car in question is a 1980 308 GTSi. Black on black. Approx 53,000 miles on the odometer. Has been sitting in storage indoors for several years. About a year ago he had someone "go through the fuel system" to get it running again. Apparently it starts right up and runs reasonably well as of a few weeks ago. The owner lives an hour or so away from where the car is stored. My understanding is that he has a friend storing it at his body shop. The body shop friend has been encouraging the sale of this car because the owner doesn't use it anymore (though apparently loves the car) and he needs the space back for his business. Recently, the moved the car to a storage container where it currently sits. Here are the details I have been able to get through conversing with the owner via the friend who stores it:

-odometer broke around 49,000 miles a few years ago and he replaced it and has since put the current mileage on the car. No way to verify this of course.
-no records of any kind available with this car
- missing some carpet (see pics)
-No tool kit or owners manual, but there is a jack in the trunk. No idea if it is original
- rear trunk vinyl zipper cover is missing
- not sure why the gear shift lever seems shorter and has a nut on it?
- Pain is not perfect but is in reasonable condition. Has been resprayed
- awful rear luggage rack left mounting holes in the deck lid
- Rust in the drivers door rear (the famous spot), but couldnt see any on passenger door
- interior seems to be missing some minor trim pieces like on the passenger door card
- AC non functional
- Windows supposedly work but very slowly
- leather is dirty but actually appears to be in really good condition overall. Very little wear on the drivers bolster and the only cracking I could see was around the center console gauges in front of the shift lever.

I personally have not yet heard this car run, but they said with some notice they are willing to pull it out of the storage container to test drive. Here are some pics from the ad and some I grabbed while i was there

I'm not looking to make a concours winner out of her, I just want to enjoy driving this car and probably restore the look to something presentable for a Ferrari. From reading the Hagerty website guidlines for conditions, I think this is a condition #4 car "fair" but I have no expertise on such matters. He's asking $49,900 but that seems to me (and Hagerty) about twice its current value. Wouldn't a $50k car be a very clean car all around? Thoughts? Stay away even if he lowers price? Would love some opinions. Thanks guys!


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More pics, taken by me. The first post were all from the ad. Anyone notice the brake light and turn signal were reversed when whoever sprayed it put it back together?

 

Not worth even remotely close to $50K. I'm not sure it's worth $25k in that condition. Too much neglect and missing parts. I'd pass on this car.

 

Run away

 

Just run away.

 

If you’ve got $50k you can get a pretty decent one, keep looking. If you’re looking for a cheap fix-er-upper common wisdom is they don’t exist, you’ll end up spending more in the end.

 

1000% agree. I just bought an 85 QV in great driver condition with 65K miles and enjoyable from day 1 for under 50K. If your wife has given the green light to 50K for a Ferrari, you should have no trouble finding a much, much better candidate. Put a WTB in the classifieds. Check this grid on BAT...it shows a lot of sales under 50K. You can click on the dots to see them.

https://bringatrailer.com/ferrari/308/

The old saying "buy the best car you can afford" is always the best advice with classic cars. With a Ferrari it's mandatory. Otherwise you could easily find yourself spending 25K + just getting things sorted....with no guarantee of return, or even getting it back on the road.

 

Please don't buy this 308 for $50K.

I wouldn't even offer him $20K.

Very little upside to a neglected FCar unless you've super handy, and have deep pockets for parts
(and WANT a project)

 

As the rest of have said, DONT DO IT, find something better for your buck

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I really appreciate it. I should clarify, I would not have given anywhere near his asking price. In fact I suggested to him that they’d need to let it go for closer to the hagerty valuation to get a buyer (which was like $27k ish) and he said he wouldn’t take a “low ball” offer like that. I told him he was probably not going to sell it then. And he replied, “well he doesn’t need to sell it, he can sit on it for years if he needs to.” So i guess they just don’t get it.

As far as my interests, this one caught my eye because it was local and easy to go see, but I only felt i could afford it because i knew there was no way he’d get $50k for it. I thought maybe that would put it more reachable for me (really, I could call a green light for like $30k or so). So the way I worded that was a little misleading. I wouldn’t mind a little bit of a project, I’m handy, I’ve rebuilt a transmission and done top end work, etc, but I’m not a pro. Sounds like unless this one goes for $15k I better keep looking. If it did go for that, I’d be willing to put the time in to it. As you’ve all suggested, I’d end up spending more in the end, but being able to restore a Ferrari appeals to my bucket list goals.

Thanks for the advice! I’ll be sure and check the resources that were suggested. Thanks again.

 

He will, at that price. Probably until BHCC pays him $17K and relists it for $35K a week later as a "clean, driver-grade car."

 

Looks more like a parts car that has already started to be disassembled !!

 

Beat me too it. Run away FAST.

Let me give you some perspective - I have a 1984 308QV that I purchased 5 years ago for under $30K. It has 24K miles and is in excellent shape - previous owner is another F-Chatter and he took great care of the car. My car was probably worth $45K at the time, but whatever value could be placed on it, it was / is INFINITELY better shape than what you are posting above.

I'm saying this as advice - not to be a jerk or make you feel bad. $50K might not get you a cherry 308, but it should get you a decent driver.

 

I have known this car all the way back to new. Bob Clark (co-founder of BMW of Murray) was the original owner. Brian Walton had it next. He painted the car in Imron (a heavy duty hard wearing paint) unplugged the speedometer and drove it "at least 100,000mi." Walton sold the car in 89' to a guy who was a gun show promoter (I forget his name) It would resurface like a bad penny every so often in the late 90's...
This car is a monument to deferred maintenance. I wouldn't touch it with a 50 foot cattle prod.

 

But this car is unique, it has a roof rack in the back engine lid.

 

Hey yeah, I've been wondering about BHCC. Whats with those guys? They have a non-running 308 QV for like $37k . . . That seems way off too!

 

Oh my! Well that is insightful indeed! Thanks! Does the name Kip Prestwich mean anything in this chain of history? The guy storing the car kept referring to the owner as "Kip" and said he was an executive or something for all the Costa Vida's in these parts. Sounds like this particular car has been rode hard and hung up wet. Thanks again for the info. Glad you recognized it.

 

yeah that was . . . amazing Hard to fathom why someone did that to the lines of this car. Blasphemy.

 

If you are looking for a 308, it pays to buy THE BEST. I recently did a complete restoration of a Euro "vetroresina" example. In today's market I don't think you could get the car for free + restore it properly and come out ahead. And that was for the highest valued of "street" 308s. It is a TON of work (think 1,000's of hours) to make an "average" car immaculate.

See here: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/76-308gtb-vetroresina-19377-restoration.480619/page-8#post-145880634

 

Start here: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/76-308gtb-vetroresina-19377-restoration.480619/

 

I just hope BHCC never stops shooting cars on that cracked concrete slab. It's a dead giveaway for cars you should runaway from

 

Yep, I shuddered when I saw that. I think that one item fairly sums up the horrors that poor 308 has seen!

 

Bryan, I can understand your thoughts on this, it was only a few years ago when I began to seriously contemplate getting my first Ferrari and I had similar ideas. The bottom line is that there are very few, if any, owners of “fixer-upper” 308’s that are willing to actually accept what the true value of their car is and let it go for that amount. Secondly, even if you find the owner who will sell it to you for that price and you are capable of doing all the fixing up yourself a decently sorted example is going to (presently) fall into the $60-80k range in the end regardless of how you get there. It’s noble to bring a neglected car back to status but unless doing that very thing is part of why you want to get into it in the first place you’re better off just paying it all in a lump sum for one that is already in that state.

So if your budget is $30k I think you’re unfortunately about five or six years too late. Of course, being that I bought one a couple of years ago pretty much guarantees that prices will plateau or maybe even drop a bit so maybe just start saving...

 

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. I feel like you do indeed understand where I'm at with my thoughts on this. Pennies for a rainy day they say! In the mean time, this forum has already educated me substantially about these cars, so I'll keep reading while the search continues. Cheers!

 

Michael, I just read through that entire thread and I am speechless. The quality of your work is like nothing I've ever seen. Amazing job on that car. Though amazing hardly expresses it properly. Thanks again for the advice. Since we are in the same area, I thought it a shame to see Steve Harris bought up by Garff, but I hear that some of the same folks still work there. I still have yet to stop by since the change.