Is 68,000 miles a lot?

OK, so I'm considering the fiberglass carb 308 GTB from 1976 in SoCal. The car has 68,000 miles over 28 years, which comes out to roughly 2,500 miles per year driven for the life of the car. Seems an ideal number of miles to me, but I can't shake the feeling that 68K on the odo is high. I know that the usage and maintenance of the car should count for more. But based strictly on the car's age and mileage, I'd like some opinions if this is high, low, or right. If I want to sell this car or trade for another Ferrari in 5-10 years, will buyers be interested in a 35 year old classic with 80K-90K miles?

 

3 things:

1. Depends on service history
2. Depends on service history
3. Depends on service history



Yes it will be hard to sell, but not much much more then the 3x8 you are looking at now with this much mileage.

 

If you are thinking of already selling before you even buy it. Dont buy !!

You will always get people wanting a 1980 ferrari with full history 1 owner and 10,ooo miles on the clock. Its just doesnt exist, period. Buy the car for the enjoyment over the 5 - 10 years, make certain it has service, sevice and more service attached with it, and you do the same over that period and record everything about it. You will find it easier to sell(if you need to) when you put in the add, full service history documented for 30yrs.

 

Totally Agree!

My 83 car has 64,500 miles on it FULL HISTORY. A car with 25,000 on it and no history is probably clocked! As with anything Ferrari, if in doubt get it checked by a pro. Good luck

 

I think that it's wise to consider the resale value.
That, along with checking service records and a pre-purchase inspection, can help to keep your Ferrari expenses quite low.

 

Once again, all ferraris are expensive to maintain. If thats a concern then you should not be looking at a 25 yr old car. Unless fully restored it will always have some type of issue(regardless of make or model of auto). What Im saying is, if hes worried about selling the car already, its not the car for him. Look for something else.

 

68K would be considered high...

I bought a '77 in May with 29,000. Real deal.. 2 owner car.

For the same money this guy wants. But it was steel not glass.

As you've noted, it's not high against the years. The market punishes high mileage cars come "sell" time though. Just go in with your eyes open on that issue...

The reaasuring part is the odo is still working. My PO admitted that mine had been repaired once, so the mileage to the local shop when it broke was missing...20 miles or so.....they break, sometimes...

 

LOL...When I quickly saw the thread title I thought it said Mondial T bagging!!

 

I love the color combo of said car, if it's the one I'm thinking of.

 

I would add CONDITION. I have seen 20k garage queens that had rust spots, stained carpets and body damage...basically neglected cars....but, oh yes, the miles were low! Big deal. I have also seen cars with over 60k that were very well maintained and much of the cosmetics either well kept up, or restored to "as new" condition.....

So service history and cosmetic condition, makes all the difference between a POS and a nice example.

 

If the car is in good condition physically, leaks no oil, and shifts with no problems, drives straight and doesn't make any unusual creaks, or thumps, than no. 68,000 miles is not a lot of miles. If the car has been taken care of, the miles are not a big factor. At least to me, they're not.

 

Guys,
If your buying these cars as an investment, your making a mistake. Most care are NOT and investment. Buy the car to enjoy, take care of it, and if you want to sell it some time in the future, you will relize that in the end (when bought and sold), it didn't really cost that much too own. If you think after 5-10 yrs there is a rainbow at the end, don't buy it.I watch the auctions all the time. I see cars with little or no mileage selling for what they went for new after 5-10 yrs of sitting in a garage. I can make more money by having $$ sitting in a CD at 3%!Bottom line, Enjoy the ride, and invest in other avenues.

 

First of all we're not talking about 150,000 miles here. 68K is not that many. I agree with Gary, buying a car with too much concern over the resale value takes all the fun out of it. You will constantly be worried about driving it too much, and there should be no such thing as driving a Ferrari too much. Is 68,000 miles a lot for a car of this age? Of course not. It is slightly more than many Ferraris of this age (which seems to average around 40K), but that's because they don't get driven, which is much worse. Anyone that owns a Ferrari will tell you that a well driven Ferrari is much more reliable than a garage queen.

The fact is that 308's are at the point in their life that they are cheap. Not old enough to be vintage, not new enough to be current. They can only go up in value. (All old Ferraris do eventually.) I guarantee that in 10 years 308's will be worth more than they are now, regardless of mileage (especially a fiberglass 308). A high mileage engine has nothing wrong with it except that it might need to be rebuilt. They ALL end up that way eventually (some sooner than others depending on regular maintenance).

Nonetheless, if the car has good compression and runs well, buy it. Drive it. Forget the mileage! (Keep it forever like I'm doing and you will never have to worry about selling it anyway!)

Birdman

 

Yep, the buy it and keep it forever is the only posture that makes sense....

At some point the speedo will fail anyway, and you can look both ways and toss the old one in the trash.......

Ever try Carfax on a 5 digit VIN??

*Speedy laughs hysterically*

 

A well cared for engine will roll well past 100K without rebuilding...

One of my cars had a engine expolde at 6,000 miles.....replaced under warranty. So it's ALL about how ya treat 'em......

 

Wow how were you (or whoever was driving it) treating that poor engine?

 

Ask the Canadian that was driving brand new...

He had a list of niggling stuff, I have it with the paperwork..

Then he was LATE with the 600 mile check up service, then he was LATE to do the 3000 mile service, then ......

BOOM!

All of a sudden the sticky windshield wipers and the rear hatch rattle were'nt such a big deal! LOL!

Car was later sent to a wholesale auction in California as the Owner had "tax problems". It went thru Arizona to upstate Montana where it lived a sheltered life for many years.

I'm about the fourth actual owner to drive it if you discount all the car lots and title transfers associated with that. It's happy as an Art Car now and when a kid asks to sit in it, I say "Why not?'

I let a 19 year old blond drive it the other day, and she was thrilled!

 

I guess that's my point here.

You can have 30K miles of defered maintenance, or you can have 60K miles of careful ownership. It really helps IMO to meet and size up a private owner. You can tell pretty quickly how they treated it.

In my case on the yellow car I had at least the paperwork on the two long time owners before me. The second guy had four Ferraris, all yellow, down in Florida.

That told me he was in a rut! LOL!

 

It will be interested to pursue a Heritage Certificate for the swapped engine.

Well past the "matching numbers" stage at Ferrari, the 308s just had a "range of numbers" for the components that went in.

A replacement engine going into a six month old car should still be OK, I'd think.

No one pointed this out when I bought the car, I gleaned it from the old paperwork.....

 

My dad's '78 has 68,000 on it and it looks like it's got 15,000 (full service history). My old '79 had 99,700 on it when I sold it this spring for $31,000. To hell with resale, just take care of it.

 

as one living in so cal, it is worth mentioning that ...

1st, 68k miles on a ferrari looks like 100k miles in a porsche...they dont seem to age too terribly well.

2nd, 68k miles in the ever present sun will no doubt play hard on the interior.

3rd, w/ little rain, the roads are terrible. every exposed panel gets sand blasted by the debris and dust that never washes away. 308's have many panels that are prone to that type of sand blasting...namely all panels below the belt line.

lastly...and conversely...68k miles may indicate the cars been driven well and properly serviced too.

get a good price and enjoy!

if you want a great car however, it may be best to look in the ne as they have a short driving season and often seem to be well serviced (especially the cerished ones).

 

this is a good point about the re sale issue

there is little risk or downside exposure as i doubt a 308 gtb or s that is in decent condition will ever be a 15k car. they are reat cars and are stunning to look at and make you feel great when you drive them.

but like any exotic, you should always buy the very best you can afford because it will be cheaper than restoring.

 

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions. I will check the car out, review the quality of the service records, and get the PPI. I actually would plan to keep the car a long time. It's not my style to change cars every few years. My current car I have owned since new in 1990 now with 140k miles and looks/drives great. Toyota MR2... the poor man's Ferrari. I treat it like family.

So now I want to add to the family with the genuine article. The question of resale is only important to me as a safety net to maximize my options in the future and, therefore, my comfort level in buying a 28 year old Italian exotic in the first place. I do not plan on selling the car period, but I also don't want to feel like the one left holding the bag in some Italian Ponzi scheme. I certainly don't look at this as a good investment.

Also, I will add that the miles on the odometer will not change the fact that the car will always be fiberglass, carbed, and unique factory original paint (gold/black) for 308. Technically, there is no other car exactly like it to compare the mileage.