Possible first Ferrari?

No, this wasn’t BHCC. Had a decent 84 Porsche 911 one month and then I think it was an 82 308? in a desert brown color? Was a nice looking car . About every other month they seem to have a 308.

 

You may be were referring to that "barn find" bought by the insurance salesman at the National Corvette Museum. We gave lots of encouragement because the owner had already bought the car so there was no point in debating whether it was worth buying or not. However, after getting started, he quickly concluded that his heart was not into such a big undertaking and sold it to the BHCC.

… Then again, have you found the thread by Daniel Morales in Paraguay who is building an entire 308 piece by piece?

 

There’s a black 348 in classifieds section that I would love to have. Asking $36,000. Check it out.

 

If you do your own work, that helps a lot. Some things on a 308 are just cheap to buy. Problem it, many things are not. Wait until you price those caps and rotors. And if it has metric wheels...

 

I’m participating in this thread because just a few years ago I was in the same boat although I was prepared to spend up to $50k initially. I talked to the owner of this car that later sold for $30k on Bring a Trailer auction site. I think it may have been more of a project than the subject car here and it didn’t even have a luggage rack! I thought I could get it for under $20k but the owner wanted quite a bit over that and with the auction fees, tax and license somebody paid close to $40k for it. I then bid on another 308 at that site that had 100,000 miles on it but backed out at $36k mainly because I had never bought a car at an auction or sight unseen like that and thought to myself - WTF are you doing.!?

So I ended up buying a car locally for about $10k more than what I originally budgeted, a really nice QV that I put 10,000 miles on in my first year of ownership, one that I was able to touch, sit in, start up and drive before writing the check. If it’s any help this is not like buying a new car on a showroom floor that loses 25% of its value the minute you take possession, it’s just your money in the form of something you can gawk at, caress and drive, take care of it and you can always turn in back into cash if that’s what you want.

You have to look at it with a different mindset.

 

348's are pretty cool.

I am fully aware of their shortcomings but a friend just bought a red tan spider and I have put about 300 miles on it.

I just really liked it. The brakes felt phenomenal.

 

Doesn’t look that bad to me. Way overpriced at $50k though. Too bad about unknown mileage. Floor mats and a good wash would help immensely. Easily worth $25k, maybe quite a bit more. Parts cars are running $20k plus today. This forum is always hard on tatty 308s but they still bring money!

 

You are of course correct in that just about any 308 that is a complete car with clean and clear title that can be pushed onto a trailer will find a new victim to pay an irrational sum for it. It is a dream, and all great dreams are somewhat irrational in the first place, right?
Well, a GOOD Ferrari is just irrational enough... A BAD one (such as the car in question) is pure insanity. There are a few good ones to be had. You will be a million miles ahead buying a quality example at a market correct price. If you can't afford a nice one, you REALLY can't afford a nasty one.
I realize that many DIYers out there want to spend a little time exercising their black thumb. A good example will give you plenty of opportunities to do small but satisfying DIY maintenance projects.

 

If you are gainfully employed, the time spent earning money to save for a good car will be minuscule in comparison to the time you will spend and agony you will endure trying to bring a bad car back from oblivion.

 

I have always been a champion of a no frills driver quality 308. Bring it home, give it a good basic tune up, wash it and start driving it every day.

Even drive it in the rain to the grocery store.

But the buying price has to be right.

 

Repainted with Imron paint is not a positive. That paint was designed for commercial use on semi’s and such. Goes on very orange Peely, very chip resistant but if you do chip it it’s extremely hard to feather and it polishes like a slab of concrete.

 

It's been said countless time: there's no such thing as a cheap Ferrari.

You can pay $20K for a project that needs $30K of work, or pay $50K that needs $5K of work. The only real difference is your level of patience (and bank account).

 

If you really feel this way (meaning no "loyalty" to a particular 3×8/Mondial model) I would suggest you look closely at the 308 GT4

Fantastic car that makes all the right sounds and is only going to get more valuable

 

Run away!...
Fast


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

You're going through all of the same mind trips I did a few years back. In the beginning, from way back when I was in high school, I wanted a 246 Dino because I thought it was the most beautiful car that had ever been pounded out of a few sheets of tin (and I still do) but they always managed to remain way outside of my budget. So choice #2 was a 308 GTS but as I began to get serious they began to rapidly rise as well. I watched prices pretty much double over a four year period and thought it was going to be now or never pretty soon. I also considered the GT4 but only if it was a '75 because I'm in California and that's a significant year because everything pre-76 is smog exempt. Also considered the Mondial but never really seriously and I'm not knocking either one but I knew for a fact inside myself that if I had gotten either of those I'd always be thinking I should have gotten the car I really wanted, which was the GTS. So I held out and when it finally came down to actually seriously looking at cars I didn't really care if it was carbed or injected or what color it was or if it was a GTS or a GTB but my preference was either an early (pre-78) carbed or a QV and my least favored were late carbed or 2V injected (especially the ones with an 85 mph speedometer) but the right car at the right price and I could have gotten either one of those. I also preferred a GTS but a GTB wouldn't have been a deal breaker, I just wouldn't pay more for it simply because it was a B.

Now I'm not saying your case is exactly like mine but based on all you've said here it's possible that you are closer to getting your first Ferrari than you think. It gets into your head and you can't get rid of it. If you can hold out long enough it may pass but hanging out here isn't gonna help you with that

Good luck either way.

 

+308

Paul, you are a literary genius.