308 Good For Anything But Garage Art?

+1.

With my own hands, I've extensively restored (paint, body, engine, transaxle/gearbox, electrical, everything) MG, alfa, triumph, porsche, ferrari, chevy, mercedes (just to name a few) over the last 30 years and you summed it up nicely.

The 308 is a relatively complicated car for its era. So, a DIYer has to be a very good mechanic to maintain the car right, and have a good facility and set of tools too. Here's one more observation: any car where you have to remove your watch and wedding ring, and wish you had hands the size of your 5 year old son in order to get half the repair jobs done is a complicated car. Ever have to do that on a chevy or an mg?

I see a disproportionate number of "bad fixes" on ferraris, presumably because of very high parts and labor costs and owners too cheap to pay to fix it right (and/or poor DIY skills). That said, just like the porsche crowd, there's quite a bunch of skilled owners who educate themselves and make sure their car is well maintained one way or another (themselves or via a good mechanic), and that's great. Get one of their cars and you're in good shape!

 

I bought the 308 after selling my XJS. That was 11 years ago and I have put 30K on the 308. I had the XJS as my daily driver for 12 years and put 120k on it. I did need to do a valve job on one head but other then that it ran pretty good. I finally pulled the motor at 100k and did a Corvette TPI retrofit and it became a better ride. I sold the V-12 and then the car to someone in Va. I do see another Jag in my future and it will most likely be an XK-R roadster.

 

As with any big project I've made a list. I did a major service but know one fix isn't 100% and will redo it soon. I have a necessary list an important list and a want to do list. You've done other cars and know once it is done it's done. If fixed properly the systems don't tend to have odd failures. I've put several thousand miles on my Mondial in my year of ownership. It is a fun car and I enjoy sharing it with friends. I'm hoping to drive it to ca and back next summer. In my own fantasy land I hope someday to ship to Europe for a road trip.

 

A 308 can be a pain as well as any Ferrari or Lambo for that matter. Some can be a money pit and some will need almost nothing but upkeep. Too many people buy one has a cheaper purchase price and end up putting in way too much money to get it right. The main thing with any of these cars is how was it taken care of.

 

More than 10 years of ownership of this 308 GTB. Only about $600 in fixes outside of regular maintenance like belts and then a major in 2008. Should be good till 2013.
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This was my first question. 308s are old enough that they range from $10K-$20 project cars, to $30K drivers, to $50K+ immaculate examples.

Not sure what the OP bought a year ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a "bargain" that will cost another five figures to make into a "driver".

You can either cash out now or stick with it. A properly kept 308 should be a reliable car.

I agree with your disagreement.

Because these cars have been cheap to purchase for a while, by and large they aren't getting properly maintained. There's a lot of spit and glue, patch job work on a lot of them at this point.

 

Yep that's the XK-R. I'm getting near the stage in life where I enjoy a little better ride and would like to go back to a roadster (with a good AC system) and something that I can fit 2 sets of golf clubs in. Every time I take out the 308 I just love the thrill of the ride. That's the conundrum. We'll see as time goes by.

 

Good 308s are great! Good ones get even better with regular use. Kinda like British motorcycles: once sorted if used regularly they run great and they run reliably.

 

I had a crap 308... gts qv... it was a money pit that was like a black hole... totally prevented me from enjoying the car.

Now I have a 328 and its been great ( some issues ) but nothing like the 308.... however i spent much more on my 328, but more importatly I did my homework and look at a lot of cars... I have heard that some have 308's that are pretty solid... They are after all cars, and some are well cared for and others are lemons!

 

I hate to say it but you bought a dead 308 and it needs to be rebuilt. Once rebuilt properly it will run and should be bullit proof. The problem with this situatuion is it will cost you double what its worth.

 

I'd hop in my 308 and drive it anywhere. Not really long term experience with 308s but long-time gearhead with plenty of classic cars, and I know when I have a good one. I'm planning on an 800 mile round trip in a couple months and meanwhile driving it every weekend, anywhere I want. My mantra is buy from long-term owners who maintain it regularly and have the records to prove it. Do that and you can drive any car regularly without worry. Unfortunately it sounds like the OP might have one that's not worth keeping.

 

An injected 308, with blown head gaskets DOES have two strikes against it, but as others have said there "good bones" in there.

I've bought sight unseen early cars that were 2,400 miles to get home, and continued to run much longer....

So there's definately "good ones" and "bad ones"......

I vote for "finish the job" and then enjoying some time with it.
Decide after that!

 

For the OP I think we all know where you are coming from. I reckon it takes a year or two to sort all the issues with a "new" car, then if these have been done right with some help for FC folks here the car will be ok and trustworthy.

I didn't trust my car and it had issues in the beginning, but I was used to Italian cars in a previous life so the 308 didn't phase me.

Now I've nearly fixed all the issues (just a few leaks left) and so I trust the car but I know it well and carry a laminated wiring diagram in the trunk - I've not needed it.

Of course I know there are things on the horizon, but that's to look forward too.

Stick with it, but consider that if you throw the towel in you'll have done most of the work for the next owner...

Lee

ps, if you want reliable but classic then buy a Porsche. I have both and that's simply the truth, but they are worlds apart and always will be.

 

My first GT4 came with a number of issues. The first service cost £8k!

My second has been a lot more reasonable, about £1k per service.

As for a 928, well I've got a fair bit of history with them. There is a lot more to go wrong than a 308 and the electrics on a 928 can be a nightmare due to cooked insulation over the years. Having said that, they are a great drivers car.

 

There ain't no setch animule as a "cheap" Ferrari.

If you buy a "cheap" one, it's because it has issues.

Fixing them one at a time is expensive in the long run, because things that fail in use often take other things with them.

Italian cars are not Hondas. Japanese cars tend to be detuned at the factory, to allow them to run for a while without maintenance. (That's one reason there are so many mods for ricers --- you can get that extra performance out of those cars .... at the cost of lowering reliability.)

Italian cars are tuned to peak, so you have to maintain them religiously.

I tell people that they should budget about a quarter of the purchase price on a used Italian car for a "make it right" service.
Really, that should be a "quarter of the book price", as the cheaper ones will actually require *more* service money to make it right.

I bought a 328 with issues at a discount. I had a number of things crop up the first few months.
Then I put it in for a major service that turned into an engine-out "make it right". The cost was, sure 'nuff, right around a quarter of the purchase price.
Then I used it as my summer daily driver for three years.

I had a similar approach to Alfas --- Buy them and make them right, and then maintain them.

I used Alfas as my daily drivers for ten years ('79-'89), and didn't have all that many problems. (Mostly with the winter "beaters", and most of those in mid-winter: Alfas don't like to stay below freezing.)
With regular service, my '79 Alfa Spider (bought new), has failed on me four times in 30+ years, and only once was unable to limp home.
(And three of those failures were the fuel feed system that Alfa recalled twice on the '79 model.)

You get the reliability out of these cars that you put into them during regular service.

If you never even check your oil level or tire pressure until a warning light comes on, you should probably avoid European cars.

That's why I tell people to look around for a shop *before* you look around for a Ferrari. Without service, you're asking for an endless series of frustrations.

 

328 - Love the looks of the 308 but head said 328

Hope you get it sorted

 

I have had an 82 Alfa for almost 14 years. It has never broken down. In fact, it has been the one car in my little fleet that has always been there for me. I even had to peel a car cover off of it and use it to get to work after a really bad ice storm (that's what we get in Alabama instead of snow). It was the only one that would start for some reason.

I love it

 

My little Alfa (next to her big brother)
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My low mileage, two-previous-owner '83 GTS came with all the original receipts--not photocopies--for all service done to the date of my purchase.

Wanting to start out on fresh ground, I had a major service plus the might as well fix it stuff done by Norwood here in Dallas.

Then there was the new Tubi exhaust, odds and ends of cosmetic items, and non-essential add-ons.

The only issue I had with it was overheating in city traffic on 95F+ Texas summer days. About $2K down the road, that is now fixed.

I have about $10K more in the car than I'd like to. Buying it at the market peak in late '07 and the Tubi pretty well add up there.

 

Other than needing to get rid of teh points and replace them with something electronic, I wouldn't hesitate to get in my car and take it on a 2000 mile trip.

I never had problem after problem after problem, but that is becuase i didn't seriously defer any maintenance over the past 26 years ( yeah, the 15K mile tune up was done at 20K miles,and the 30K major was done at 40K miles), but other than that, I went through and did preventative maintenance last summer when i got the car out of long term storage, replaced ball joints and tie rod ends and all suspension bushings, CV joint boots and repacks CV joints, had the alternator rebuilt while it was out, replaced water pump with a rebuild, new belts, hoses, cooling lines, brake lines.

I should still replace the oil cooler lines, and the heater hoses, but I may just bypass the heater until the opportunity arises to fish new hoses through the rocker panel. I keep a new fuel pump and thermostat (VW Golf t-stat) in the trunk as spares.

I think the high maintenance cars that have everything go wrong with them, serially, were bought and sold by the night club crowd that didn't do anything except drive the cars.

Doug

 

I think they're the greatest cars ever built. I would add that if the car isn't sorted out, you've got more work ahead. Once you get past that point. They're pretty robust.

I use to run the Virginia City Hillclimb with the Shelby club, and the Ferrari guys would joke how more Shelby's than Ferrari's were trailered to the event

 

Nice S2, doc. Love the color.

 

i bought it with 17k miles on it and pretty much mint cosmetics ... all original.

the problem with low mileage cars is that they have not been driven and therefor have not been maintained.

its safe to say i had all the belts changed, new shocks, new accelerator cable, new bushings, new plug wires, valve adjust, new water pump, new seals, major tune, coolant channels, battery, carb work, etc etc etc ... plus more i am leaving out.

i felt it was finally sorted enough to drive from portland to seattle and back over the weekend. put 400 plus miles on it and it performed great.... i thought that this trip would shake out any loose items remaining to be sorted.

one became apparent.... while taking a corner slight;y hard (but not too hard) i heard a sound and now upon acceleration i hear a faint noise that sounds like it might be an exhaust leak and it seems like perhaps not all cylinders are firing.... fouled plug ?

dunno.

hopefully this will be the last trip to my mechanic for this car beyond normal oil changes and routine maintenance.

any ideas what the latest affliction might be ?