In the Market and have a few questions

I don't think the certificate is available anymore; it used to be available at little or no charge from the Owners' Site. Really it doesn't mean anything from a market point of view.

Rosso Dino is rare, and a love-it-or-hate-it color. If you love it, great, but beware that so many people cannot get out of the red or black rut when buying an Fcar. It -will- limit your audience if you need to sell in the future. Personally I think it's a fabulous color.

If you're in OK, just send the thing down to Dallas for work. Norwood Performance or Shadetree or the guys at Ruf can handle a major just fine.

What year, mileage, etc? GTB or GTS?

 

You might want to get it inspected by a good, independent Ferrari mechanic before buying. It doesn't sound like it was serviced much.

If the belts haven't failed, go ahead and do a major service after you have bought it and you'll start ownership with a clean slate and hopefully no leaks. That way you know it was done properly, and your mechanic will know your car. Just negotiate a bit on the price given how overdue it is.

Also you should absolutely have the fuel lines checked, as old cracked fuel lines are a risk factor for engine bay fires.

I haven't seen rosso dino in person. Tillman! is right, it's not going to have the resale of red or black. But if you like it, and the price is fair, it could be a lot more interesting.

 

If it's a 78 Rosso Dino GTS in California, I bet this is a former owner: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95723

He hasn't been on in a while, but maybe an email will get a response?

 

The Ferrari Heritage Certificate is not important if you want a 3X8 to drive. My advice is to forget it. It should add zero to the sale price.

Color is important to the owner, not us. If you like it, great, if you don't that's your business. Buy what you want, what appeals to you.

Get belts and tensioners. have the valves adj, and plan on a new water pump and new hoses.

Then enjoy it!

 

3/2007: Ferrari has discontinued the Heritage Certificate and replaced it with an Original Vehicle Colours document. This contains about the same information but is easier to obtain since only the chassis and engine numbers are required. http://www.parrotbyte.com/kbc/ferrari/HeritageCertificate.htm

"Resale Red" is the nickname for rosso corsa (Ferrari red), but you'll find that others enjoy an array of colors. As for me, I have to have a red Ferrari, but I like the other colors very much, and do appreciate them.

 

This is the car that was on Ebay around two weeks ago, correct? As far as power is concerned...the 78-79 carb cars are down on power due to smog crap and mellower cams. However, as most have noted here, none of these cars, including the 328, are fast by today's standards. Have you seen the color in person?? I would highly suggest you fly out to view the car before you buy it (I'm assuming you're in TX?). I have seen the Rosso Dino color in person and it does have a decidely more 'orange flavor" than does the Ross Corsa; you might like it, you might not. But I don't think you'd want to purchase the car and then be bothered by the color. Also...get the Major done yourself or, at least, be very confident pursuant to who the current owner will be using.

Good luck!

 

The orange looks better on a Lambo--make sure that you really like the color and that the deal is a good one--
because you will definitely have a harder time selling the car when (if!) the time comes. If YOU like the color, no big deal.

I would personally try to get a great deal on the car and have all the work done ON MY WATCH and with my
money, to make sure that everything is done right. I would budget at least $10K to take care of fuel lines,
water pump, etc. who knows what else will be found.

The certificate, has many have already said, really doesn't mean much.

Good luck!!

 

I too bought a car that needed a major service. What I did was get an estimate first and had the seller deduct that cost off the price of the car. Then it went straight in and got the work done. 4k is less then what my service cost so don't cut your self short! Independent Ferrari shops are less expensive then the dealers. I was quoted everything from $12,000 - $19,000 at the dealer in both AZ and CA.

 

I was quoted everything from $12,000 - $19,000 at the dealer in both AZ and CA.


Help me! I can NOT stop laughing!

 

It seems INSANE, but it's true! Needless to say, I didn't take that route.

 

If the car has not been serviced since 1985, it will need far more than "belts and fluids". You can plan on carb rebuilds, probably new fuel lines, all kinds of leaks. The cooling system will likely need attention, new or rebuilt water pump, hoses, radiator core. The shocks could be frozen up. The steering rack could be going bad. Bushings dried out. The brake system could easily have issues. Master cylinder and brake lines probably need attention and the calipers could be hanging up. It goes on and on. Unless you can do a lot of work yourself, pencil in 10K minimum. A thorough PPI could give you a better idea of what you are facing, but even then, there are likely to be things that crop up, especially after a little bit of driving. Cars with deferred maintenance can swallow money as fast as you can dump it in. I know from unpleasant experience.

Dave

 

$75K isn't even close. $25K is probably close. Fans of the early 308s like the '76 and '77 cars (before catalytic converters came along). Among the injected cars, the 328 is the way to go.

The mechanic is wrong about 60K miles on a timing belt. Ferrari says every three years or 36,000 miles, and most people on this board would probably tell you five years or so. Either way, the car you are looking at has been maintained on the cheap, so get your wallet ready.

I agree, I don't think $4K would even get you safely on the road. A full major service on my regularly driven, regularly serviced, everything-works 328 last year ran over $5K at an independent. The dealer quoted me $9,300.

You have to approach these older cars with an eye to being in it for the enjoyment and pride of ownership -- not out of delusions of profit or getting a "bargain". If you like rosso dino on a 308, you could have a very distinctive (albeit harder to sell) car. But Hardtop Dave's estimate of $10K+ is very realistic, IMO, and right now I can't see a '78 308 in an off color, with 43,000 miles, bringing over $35K even with services up to date. The exception would be a totally restored gem like Newman's yellow 308 described in an epic thread in this section.

If you are just starting your search, I would suggest looking at this one and a few others before making a decision.

 

Only one post here, from Cosgrove, mentioned tensioners. They are more important than belts when doing a major service. All of the bearings & pulleys on which the belts run are important as frequently what someone refers to as a "belt failure" is actually the failure of one of those other parts. If a tensioner freezes because its bearing went bad, then it will cause the belt to break. That's not belt failure. The less expensive service estimates may not be including the replacement of those mechanical parts & as this car's service history appears checkered, you'll be looking at something in the $5 - $7K range by a high quality independent shop for the complete thorough job. I use such a shop & their recommendation is 10 years/20K miles between major services that includes not only belts & hoses, but the tensioners & pulleys too. Do it right the first time & enjoy the car.

 

From my experience a fresh 'dump' of cash as soon as you buy the car is priceless in terms of peace of mind. You know EXACTLY what you have and can start enjoying the car knowing that it has been gone over so surprises are minimized. The best piece of advice I can give is buy the car (if the price and color is right for you) and then send it straight to the shop, get the work done, and enjoy. This way there is no inconvenience for you and you get a ready to use car that only cost a few extra weeks of waiting.

 

+1, +1, and +1. Get a PPI on the car, then take care of everything on the list. Get the services up to date. Then turn key and enjoy!

 

You might try looking in the classifieds in the newsletter of the Ferrari Club of America (FCA). They are on-line as well as in print. There are a number of dealers too who deal in such previously owned cars exclusively & there's bound to be one near you. I know of a guy in my area but he's not convenient for you. Another option is to make contact with someone from the FCA as there are plenty of cars sold simply through word of mouth, they never get advertised. There may be such a network in your area.

 

Vast.com is a kind of a clearing house for online adds. Check it out at:

http://www.vast.com/cars/used-for-sale-Ferrari.308/year-1977.1978/vehicle_condition-All

You can filter as you please. No doubt a number of these cars have already been sold but it's another pretty good resource to have.

It's been said and alluded to by others already but it bears repeating. If the mechanic who has been working on this car thinks it's OK to drive 60,000 miles on one set of belts, he doesn't know what the hell he is talking about! If the mechanic truly did say that, then that means EVERYTHING else related to maintenance on this car is suspect. Maybe the maintenance has been good, maybe not. A PPI is a must on this car.

Happy hunting,

-F

 

Hi Patrick, Two years ago I was sitting right where you are searching, learning and asking questions. As I posted previously on this thread, I bought a car that needed a major service. I agree with what others here are saying. If YOU have the service done by a reputable mechanic of your choosing you will know what has been done and you will have piece of mind. I have read it here and now have experienced it, you can pay now or pay along the way, but either way you’re going to pay! It sounds scary, but it really isn’t especially if you really want to get out there and have some fun.

You mention “it’s a matter of convenience” but PATIENTS is truly the virtue here. I really had to get older to be able to own a car like this. To have enough responsibility to not get ticket after ticket or wreck it and I think (for me anyway) I had to be patient in the buying process / service process as well.

I spent almost two years looking for and preparing for getting a car. I had to bulldoze the mountain behind my house, move my propane tank and gas line to the house, put in a massive retaining wall and a structure just to house the car long before the car got here. I had planned to buy a car the following spring, but all my searching brought me to Arizona (I live in California) late in the year. I purchased my car in November, brought it home and put it way till spring and then it went in for service. It was the hardest thing in the world waiting for summer to come and the car to get serviced, but now, I have a gem to play with that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been patient!

The point is, getting a service done may take more time away from “Play Time” but “Play Time” will be so much better knowing all the loose ends are handled. Oh and BTW, I dumped another $6k into mine before playing with it. DOHHH!!!

 

Personally I like a Rossa Dino 308 I had one and I didn't really appreciate it until I got a Rossa Corsa 308. My car looked red until you put it next to another Ferrari then it looked unique. My Rossa Corsa 308 QV looks pretty boring next to 5 identical cars at a Ferrari get together.