Gentlemen and Ladies, I am a visitor from the 246 Dino and 512BBi sections, and am now looking at a 1977 308 GTB. Don't know much about this model or its value. The car is black with new leather maroon interior. It is in good condition. Not original. New paint, etc. The engine has been out with new valves and "combustion chamber damage repaired," approximatel 10 years ago with 5,000 - 10,000 miles since then. Clutch, pressure plate, etc. has been done recently. The belts were supposed to have been done recently, although when grabbing the easily accessible rear belt to check tension it was wet with oil. There is a shimmy on braking above 50 mph. Not excessive, but there. Steel body, GTB, 1977....what is a fair value for a good car,,, a mediocre car..., etc. I have read the sticky on what to look for when purchasing a 308, and reviewed many threads in this section. Any additional help is greatly appreciated, with particular emphasis on value. Thanks in advance. Jim S.
I would ask where the belts were replaced, then go there and ask to talk with the mechanic who did the work, and find out why those belts have oil on them, as well as getting service history on the car. New leather interior would cost around $5,500 and up. Since the car has new paint, run a magnet around the body - especially the bottom of doors and side panels. The shimmy could be an alignment, bent wheel, or something else. Ask the mechanic about that, too. Fair values are not easy to state because of the market swing, and true condition of the car. I would take it to a mechanic who was never previously associated with the car, and get a PPI done. As for 308 value, the good news is that they are not going down in value. Check out the 308 GTB Registry to see if it is registered -> http://www.r-design.net/308/
It sounds like the car is nearby for you so it may be easier to do some of the evaluation for yourself. If it matters on originality then have the current owner list the car onto the owner section of the Ferrari website. When it is registered you will have the build date and original exterior , interior leather and carpet color available. For your own inspection of the car's condition operate every individual item - headlights, wipers, washers, interior lights, all the instrument lights, and on and on to know what exactly does and does not function as it should. Even if you are not ever foing to show it expecting a platinum class evaluate it against that standard. Does it have all the books, tool rolls? Is the history since new already known? This needs to go into your evaluation too. Is the car US spec or a grey market import? If it is a real US 1977 steel then it is a highly desirable combination of pre-cat with the the early (better) cams. Value. The reality is that prices can be all over the map. If you are looking at a platinum capable car with all the services in order then the price may, deservidly, be strong. If it is a normal car with milesw above 50K something and has needs, had a color change and other assorted issues then the prices is going to be negotiable. It will come down to how bad they want/need to sell it. Without the above answers throwing out numbers is hard to give. Jeff
I agree with Jeff above that prices are all over the place. They were creeping up before the housing/economic collapse, but in the past 9 months there have been some fire sales on 308s, while others are maintaining pre-collapse prices. Add to that that a lot of people looking to buy their first 308 really don't care about having the fastest or most desirable version as much as they care about finding the best example or the best value; you don't see the big price discrepancies between early/late/carb/inject/2v/4v that were present several years ago. As you know, the value of the car is the sum of many factors including mechanical condition, cosmetic condition, color combination, completeness, service history, recent service, present needs, the owner/seller, location, and timing to name the obvious. Depending on these factors, I think there could be as much as a $10k difference in value between two 308s that initially seem nearly identical . . . but that's not to say that the better car will necessarily sell for more -- it's that screwed up right now. I'm continually amazed at just how neglected (mechanically) or improperly serviced MOST 308s (of all varieties) are, AND after all of the talk or service history and what the buyers guides say, just how many people go out and pay good money for these neglected or monkeywrenched cars. You can have two cars with equal mileage, equally nice paint and interiors; one has no service records and has been driven 500 miles in the past seven years because the owner is afraid to drive it and too cheap to service it, and the other has been gone through entirely over the past seven years through regular use and fixing things that have gotten old with age, and just by dumb luck the owner with the garage queen time bomb will sell his car on a whim for top dollar, while the person with the well-sorted car that can be driven anywhere will struggle to sell his at all. There are some great deals on some great 308s out there, and some average to bad deals on a lot of typical 308s out there. Take your time, use your knowledge and experience, and buy right. I think we are entering the period in 308s' time line where owners with nice, well-sorted examples are holding on to their cars and what's hitting the market are the ones that need work. Actually, that's been the case for a while; but what is changing now is that people who really want one are biting the bullet and buying what's available and actually spending their time, money, sweat equity, and tlc on their 308 (vs. a few years ago, when the owners of these same examples proclaimed "it's not worth putting a lot of money into because it won't be worth that when you're done" ). Well, that's my humble opinion. I've been watching all of the ads, price guides, auctions, etc. for about five years now, have purchased two 308s, and assisted in the buying and selling of several others in the past few years. - Tony K.
A nice driver car can be had for $25-$30k. I classify this type of car as an all original car with no major restoration to any particular system but the car is still workable in in the current state. A nice car is essentially the same as the above only some or many of the major components in the car have been restored recently to as new or better state. Drivetrain rebuild, suspension rebuild, respray, etc. These cars make at least $35k+. And if you want an example of a pinnacle 308GTB, then look at Newman's yellow 308 he just restored from the ground up. This car is magnificent and is everything a 308 should be. If you can find one like this, plan on $75k+.
Everything Newman does is top notch...His is what we all strive for. I know him from the BBi section. Thanks everyone for the info. I have driven the car, and it does drive nicely, save for the slight shimmy upon braking, the non-working radio, and the revs staying high when shifting. I've restored enough F-Cars to know what to do...my main interest is to seek relative value, and lvFerrariPilot's last post helps a great deal. Thanks. Jim S.
Unless you just don't want anything else, I'd suggest you at least investigate a 308QV; better yet, a 328GTB. Prices on these have all come down, and the technology & comfort is really quite a bit better. That said, before I got my 328GTB, I had a '79 308GTB(Rubino/Tobacco), and it was a fun car. Carbs sound neat, but overall, there's no comparison between it and the newer stuff.
Wow James thanks! Value aside because I dont know what its worth without seeing it, I guess what you plan to do with the car and what your expectations are is most important moreso than the market value. Sounds to me like a typical 308 that is probably missing some parts here and there, shoddy repairs in the past, etc. The repaired head bothers me, could be great, might be a MacGyver job too that you get to correct later down the road. A 308 properly restored with ferrari only parts is as much to do as a 246 dino and many items are NLA anyway. I would look for the best one I could find and pay up front rather than the entire time you own it after buying a bargain driver 308. If you fall into the cheap 308 trap and then fall for the car deciding to lovingly refresh it, you will be upside down in it very fast. As you know, a great car from the beginning will hold its value if not go up, especially a great carbed 308GTB which is very hard to come by today. P.S. mine is for sale, wink wink....
This car is an absolute blast to drive (needs more balls but a blast none the less). The post resto drive totally changed my level of respect for the model. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Paul - as I expected...flawless. Beautiful example. I am looking and doing the homework for my brother. I have sent this link on to him. I may p.m. you. Jim S.
Sounds like it dropped a valve, and you have a warped front brake rotor......LOL! As others are saying there's too many variables to generalize on $$$, but if it has original interior trim (for the most part, as leather seats wear fast) and the engine is still relatively unmolested, than it's probably a 'keeper'.. Look for rust in lower front fenders and doors, they don't drain....if you pop the hood look in the rain drain channel at the very front, there's two weep holes thru body plates pop welded together. If it's clean here, it's probably pretty solid. You find a lot of pigs in lipstick in the low 20's, but I don't think solid cars are going for less than mid to high 20's......today...."after the crash". There just are not very many cars here trading hands.... What's the VIN?
What's the overall "claimed/indicated" mileage??? Oil on the timing belts hints of "maybe expensive" problems, cam drive bearings, heavy lifting like that...still, as the tone of mine and TonyK's posts reads, on these cars you leave the garage in search of thrills and adventure, in the "anything can happen today" frame of mind.... *post random babe pic here* Image Unavailable, Please Login
