308 GT4 - at what point whould I walk away

I know many may find this at odds with common sense but, when I look at a Ferrari and most I am just looking at. I think I can tell allot about the car by little details. I once agin feel that if these little details are there then the previous owner cared for the car and stuff like that goes along way. Simple things like, correct oil filter, correct windshield wiper blades, correct air box nuts, correct steering wheel. Even just the detail of the interior, and engine bay will tell you a great deal about how the car was treated and taken care of. Does it have; tools, jack kit, owners pouch. If the PO had a garage he may have not made up receipts for work he did. FWIW I have every receipt on my car which is about 12 inches thick by now...... evey nut, bolt part replaced, tons of extra parts all books, brochures etc. When I croak my hope is that all go with the car to some lucky new caretaker....

I think the GT4 is the best Ferrari in the world for me and many others. can you post some pics??????? That said most want early cars because of less smog stuff...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

These threads make me wish I hadn't done the logical thing and walked away from a project GT4 way back when. I'll add one someday.

 

Strewth lots of replies, thank you.

I'm not a spanner man but have got a good local indy nearby so I would frequent his premises quite a bit.

Calling a Ferrari practical is probably stretching things somewhat but it's positively capacious compared with the Caterham and I'm guessing the rear seats are as big as those in a period 911 which is will be fine for my son.

Anyway back to the test drive. Started from cold, no smoke, nice noise, nothing noticeably clattering more than expected, gearbox was reluctant to engage 1st when cold but once warmed up seemed fine despite my ham fisted attempts to navigate the dog leg box. Being quite tall and long in the back I felt like was sitting on rather than in which made the side mirror next to useless but overall vision was good. Again because of my size the top of the seat was only coming up to my shoulders and while I had good headroom I wonder how comfortable this would be on a long run. The car sits on what I believe are the original 14 inch wheels and tyres and was surprisingly comfortable over our potholed roads here in the UK. Overall it was fun to drive, not scary quick like the TVR or Caterham but still inspired confidence to throw to drive in a more sporting manner.

 

So.... ? How'd it go?

 

You may want to change those original tyres. May feel comfortable but I wouldn't put my life on the line.

Figure about $5 - 600 for good H rated. V rated, which is the original spec $2000 I believe is what the XWX's are going for.

 

Hi

I have a silver 1980 GT4 and live not far from you in Chatham Kent.

I bought my car 5 years ago, love it to death, and fully intend to keep it for ever.

I also have an Elan S3 and find the Ferrari just as engaging on the road, but in a muscular (rather than dainty) way.

I have never owned a Ferrari before,and still have only ever driven one other.

If you want some comparison (my car is in vgc) PM me and you can come over.

Regards

David

 

A quick update:

The test drive went well as detailed a few posts above. There was nothing to indicate any problems - I lifted my hands off the steering wheel to see if it steered straight, checked whether it pulled either side under braking, any odd noises, smoke etc and everything seemed fine.

When I first met the vendor he suggested not to get an inspection from garages selling Ferrari's as they may have ulterior motives in as much they would want to sell me their cars and diss this one which was fair enough and anyway I had someone lined up to do the inspection who concentrated on servicing anyway so I didn't think anymore about it.

Anyway following a prompt from John Watts (thank John) I contacted another specialist who had viewed this same car for one of his clients. Interesting he remembered the car from when he worked for one of the better known Ferrari garages. Apparently the car had been involved in a reasonably major front end shunt which the then owner was repairing himself. Had I inspected the car closer apparently some of the panel gaps at the front give the game away.

When I asked the vendor why he hadn't mentioned this he said he was told it was only a minor issue that necessitated a new wing. Now the exact extent of the damage may be subjective, but if it was me I would want show photgraphic evidence that repairs had been done in the most professional manner.

So the upshot is we have a relatively cheap Ferrari (Sticker price is £15k but I believe final ebay bid was circa £12k which had been accepted but the buyer dropped out) that has no documentation, has had little or no use over the past 7 years and has had a front end shunt with no evidence of how it was repaired. Needless to say I have quite hurriedly walked away.

So the morals of the tale - post full details of the car on here to see if anyone can shed light on it's history, definitely opt for PPI and most importantly remember there is probably a good reason why it was a cheap Ferrari

Thanks once again to everyone who has contributed to this thread. My search will continue.

 

Good luck with your hunt, Steve. In relation to cars that have been shunted, chances are that in over 30 years there has been a shunt or two to most examples. The issue is how they were repaired. Remember that these cars were hand built when new and panels were often manipulated to fit. If you buy a replacement panel from that same era, chances are that it will need some "coaxing" to line up nicely. And don't forget that today we have sophisticated laser chassis alignment and if a car is laser aligned during a shunt repair, chances are it will be in better alignment than when it left Maranello back in the 1970s.

 

I would weigh in with the same opinion..these are tube frame chassis (as a race frame of the day) and can take a really big wallop before bending.

Grahame's post is almost word for word what an insurance adjuster tells me on mine these days...

Maybe a good opportunity if it was superficial damage. It takes a LOT to kill these mid 70s cars.....
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Good post.

True, they're all so old now, and weren't rustproofed, and have been bargain basement 'Ferraris' for a long time, so you can plan to spend more than it's worth to get a car put right. They made thousands, but old Italian cars rusted almost from delivery (even the "rustproofed" 308s of 1984 and later have rust at this point).

You will not get your money out of it, and with a GT4 you can probably spend the purchase price over again to sort out any significant mechanical issues.

If you're looking at it as an alternative to a Porsche 911, get the Porsche (though I would recommend the 911 over the 964). If you really are smitten by the GT4, search carefully and be prepared to write some checks. You have to want the GT4.

 

Geez, Bubba, that one should just about buff out!

 

What is there not to want!!!!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That's a terrific photo - composition, stting, lighting, the works - and the car ain't bad, either!

 

+1.
There was a 288 GTO in my area that had a 100mph front shunt (both passengers walked away fine) chassis was realigned to perfection and replacement panels as new. Photos of the work formed part of its history file. Car is now worth 200K more than before shunt.

 

I would expect that most people here were they unfortunate enough to have a shunt would get an approved bodyshop to fix it at minimum and in most circumstances provide documentary evidence to support this. In this case the work was carried out by the owner, with no documentation to support be it photo's or receipts for replacement parts and in true pythonesque style described the damage as minimal needing just a front wing (which was poorly fitted with uneven panel gaps) which somewhat contradicts the ferrari specialist who inspected the car when originally shunted who described it as major front impact.

 

I found it interesting that the seller suggested not taking it to a Ferrari shop because they might have an ulterior motive. Hmmm. Or they would have the knowledge and skill to find the cars problems/issues. A general shop would know how to look for oil leaks, but they could not possibly know how much it would cost to fix those oil leaks. That's like saying take a BMW to a Honda dealer because they will be more honest. I don't buy it, he was hiding something, maybe more than we know about.

 

Now you are back in the market google GT4 for sale. There is one in Cambridgeshire up for £20k. It sounds nice. I spoke to the owner some months ago , but then went and bought a project. I am pretty sure there is a deal to be done on that car.
Good luck.

 

I just drove my GT4 for the first time in a long long time. It fired right up, idles like a watch, and ran fantastic. If I didn't have to brave all the people texting, reading the paper etc while rushing to work, I'd drive it everyday. What a terrific machine! Best of luck in your hunt.

BTW: next week will be 25 years I've owned my GT4 I was a little nervous buying it. Kind of concerned what am I getting myself into - what I got into is a totally satisfying drivers experience.

 

That Ferrari WAS cheap though at £12,000.
If it tracked straight the chassis is probably OK and I'd want to get an inspection of it to see if it's been repaired properly. It might just need the wing refitting, maybe £1,000 and then you've got a nice Ferrari for £13k.

 

In the latest FOC GB 'Ferrari News' issue there's a 308 GT4 for sale:
1976, red/cream, last owner for 12 years, 14,500 GBP o.n.o.
Call Dave: 0121 358 3615

(no affiliation).

Best, Peter

 

I came across this very old post by accident searching for something else. I bought my GT4 in 2014 for £26K. I have spent a lot of money on it but now have it insured for £75K which as it has just won a gold rosette at the FOC GB Concours is probably reasonable. Sure there are a lot of rough cars around, but they are becoming sought after and not much these days at less than £35K for a not good project one to £50k-£60K for a half decent car.

So £12k back in those days would have been a good buy. How times change.

 

Friends,

Been busy with the band and not around as much as I would like!!

Rob
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

At what point does one walk away from a 308 GT4?

That's a question I was facing five days ago. Last Sunday on the way home from care week in Monterey, my 1975 308 GT4 broke down on highway 101 shortly after crossing Golden Gate Bridge. I had it towed to a nearby shop and my wonderful wife rescued me.

The shop called me on Wednesday and let me know their findings, and it's bad. Really bad.

The shop started the car and it was running extraordinarily rough, and there was a pretty nasty rattling going on too. I experienced the same after I had pulled safely over to the shoulder. Via an endoscope, they discovered bore scoring in cylinder five and metal shavings in the engine, thus necessitating an engine out service, a complete rebuild. The estimated cost was North of $30,000. Let's be honest, we know it'll end up being a lot more than that.

Friends, I drive a GT4, not a GTO! While I can easily afford the normal maintenance required to keep it in great running condition, I certainly was not prepared for a catastrophic engine failure. I'm thinking the issue stems all the way back to the fact this car sat in a garage untouched from 1989 to 2014, and the engine was never rebuilt after it was pulled out of the garage. I was very vigilant about the maintenance, and didn't hesitate to take it in when something wasn't right. Oddly, no mechanic ever caught this even though I brought it in for excessive blue smoke.

So now I was facing the what the **** do I do scenario. The thought of selling it and walking away certainly entered my mind. But the reality is that I love this car too much. It's special to me. Very special.

This car represents to me things that it will never represent to anyone else. This is a car I pursued for 35 years, this is a car I've been obsessed with since I was a teenager. I accomplished a dream that most people never will—especially most people from my financial background. This car may as well be a living, breathing family member in my eyes. You don't walk away from family because they're going through hard times.

I've chosen not to walk away, yet right now I can't afford that hefty repair bill. So, my car will sit in my garage until I can actually get it fixed, which I estimate will fall between one and two years from now before I can have the work started, and that work will be another six to eight months to complete. I anticipate this being roughly a three year process. While that really sucks, it would suck even more to lose the car entirely.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Man that sucks. Was hoping it was something minor. I rebuilt my engine for a lot less than that but based on your location that may be the going rate.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

I’m very sorry to hear that, Chris. That’s so disappointing.