1982 308 gtsi

I wouldn't worry much about the little scratches, etc. Just polish it up and enjoy. I love those cars with one flag mirror, black A pillars, and non-black hood vents (like they are supposed to be on a 2Vi). Awsome!

(oh, and your taillights are reversed)

 

Just from the pictures, the only thing I don't care for are the metric wheels but that's just what those cars had back then. Tires are available but they are a little high and you have no choices. Your options are just use those or spring for 4 repro 16's from Rutlands. That will set you back about two large but you are still ahead overall

 

Funny, the times I have seen that I never notice it myself. But then after someone points it out it leaps out of the picture at me. That obviously means somebody removed and replaced the lights. Could have been for cleaning or could be a clue that body work as been done.

Otherwise it looks pretty unmolested and original. Seems like a good car for the money if it checks out.

 

Could not agree more with everything said here. +1

 

The problem with the tires won't be the tread, it's the age - those ancient tires have rubber that is hardened to rock, and will have traction like rocks. Performance tire rubber is good for a maximum of 4 or 5 years before it begins to harden enough to lose significant grip. Get them to 10+ years old, and the rubber hardening will have diminished the grip so much that they become treacherous. If you got caught in the rain driving on those tires, it would be like driving on ice.

I just bought an 84 308 GTS that has 16" wheels, and was equipped with 13 year old Pirellis. One of the first things I did was get rid of the ancient tires and fit new ones. I didn't want to risk having a stupid accident in my 'new' Ferrari because I tried to squeeze a few more miles from age-hardened tires.

 

Flaking paint needs to be repainted but the "flacking" paint which I am not familiar with the term but if you mean the texture is found on the lower rockers and lower lip of the front valance as I understand it as a more stone chip resistant type of paint found as OEM.

 

Looks nice enough from those pictures. The flaking paint down low is overspray. That area should be black.....not the spoiler that protrudes forward, but the lowest area where its flaking particularly bad. I would respray that spoiler again anyway. That is no big deal. I would also question the rocker area immediately beneath the door being black. Mine was body color to the turn in the rocker where the rocker faces the ground. This is a common mod to match the paint scheme of the QV cars. But it may be original. We have debated that here on the forum. The car appears to have been touched up paint wise, but probably not a full respray. I see the sealant line on the c pillar to body junction. The seat could be touched up easily with leatherique or the like.

This looks like a good driver quality car and 24k seems appropriate. There are some replica 16inch wheels in the ads for around 1400. Snag them up and the car are my initial thoughts. Whats the engine bay look like?

 

Few more small things not to get worked up over;

The windows will go up so slow that you will think something MUST be wrong. Not really. Second gear will be terribly difficult to shift into when cold. Normal. The emergency brake won't feel like you are used to in other cars. Hot air will come out from under the dash and the a/c (if it works) will seem weak.

 

Taillights are backwards, wheels are metric and tires are older than my Grandmother...

Paint and rubber look to be in pretty bad shape, but all that being said it is a driver and if you feel comfortable with the service history of the car, then hey, for 24k it can't be that bad! Go for it.

Keep about 6k back for services and things that pop up and buy the set of 16 inch rims as mentioned - so I guess that with another set of skins will be about another 3k so welcome to Ferrari ownership HAHAHA!

MB

 

Sounds like a nice driver for $24K. I agree with others on here......if all checks out, you really can't go too wrong for the price! The pics of the car looks decent. It looks pretty much all original and unmodified, which is my #1 preference when I'm looking for a car. That driver's seat is really not an issue, only a bit of color worn off which can be easily touched up.

In your last pic, you mention the little paint peeling. You can see it on the body in front of the headlight door. My suggestion would be to take a closer look and see if there's any indication of previous body work or more extensive repaint work in that area.

Please let us know how it turns out!

 

Oh.....other things I would inquire about would be if there's the original tool kit and the original jack kit included? How about the owner's manual and pouch? Service records? Also, there should be a big vinyl cover that goes behind the two seats. This is to cover the removable top when it is taken off and stored behind the seats. There are two Tenax fasteners on top of the rear "deck" by the rear window where it fastens to. I noticed it wasn't there in the picture that you had taken. Also, I assume that this car has a clean (not salvage) title history?

 

could not be happier with my '82 and if it's "the one" you will hopefully know it in your gut

 

I would pop for the "Car fax", it would be the best $20 you invest for a decision. I would not call it 100% accurate but it can uncover some facts. Lost

 

The vin can be helpful - sometimes a member here even recalls a particular car. A google and forum seach of the vin can turn up interesting info as well and Ferrari Marlet Letter can tell you if the car has ever been listed with them by it's chassis number (last 5 of the VIN)

 

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. It's now currently registered and titled in Ohio?.....and it's still carrying the Texas plates? Maybe the buyer in Indiana never registered or transferred the car into his name?

How about the current owner? Is it currently registered in his name? Where are you and the current owner/car located at? Texas? Maybe he never transferred the car into his name either? Di he purchased it from the guy in Indiana??

......Getting a little complicated here! Haha!

In either case, I would take a close look at the paperwork before you buy, and call your local DMV to make sure there won't be any title issues.

 

I can understand your concern, I'd be fearful as well. Being from California, our DMV is very strict on issues like this. It can be a real headache to obtain a title here, especially when it involves other states, and is as complicated as much as that one sounds to be! In a lot of cases, when trying to get a title in CA with a complicated out of state car, it's much easier to straighten everything out beforehand........Meaning, get another new title in yours or the previous owner's name in another state, and then do a simple transfer to California.

You're in Indiana? I'm not sure how strict your DMV is over there, but I would definitely check on this title issue before you buy. Make copies of the title and other paperwork (If the seller will let you), take it all down to the DMV and get an idea on what you will need to do to get a clear title in your name. There may be other additional fees, so you might want to negotiate that into the price as well. Or, better yet......you AND the seller go down to the DMV together with the original paperwork.

Or, if you don't want to deal with all that, negotiate a price that you would be happy with to own the car..........and just tell the seller that you will need a clear Indiana title in his name before you will hand over the $$$. Let him deal with all the DMV stuff.

Personally, title issues are the least appealing for me! I HATE dealing with paperwork and the DMV! I've done that before and boy!.......Some of the running around and B.S. you need to go through sometimes! It had better be a damn good deal or something that I REALLY want, for me to jump through those hoops! Haha!!

 

When I bought my car, one digit of the VIN was typed erroneously on the bill of sale. When I went to register the car, this set off a 3 month debacle that ended in having the previous owner send me a signed letter which overrode the bill of sale and finally cleared up the hold to grant me a title. This was after having a state trooper inspect the VIN, and a lot of other pointless paperwork and hours on hold on the phone.

I learned my lesson, always triple check paperwork and definitely make sure there won't be any trouble getting a title. If the previous owner had not been kind enough to bother with the extra paperwork several months after the sale, it could have taken years to get any title at all, and not even a "real" one at that. Not a situation you want to be in, and it really takes a lot of the initial fun out of buying a car and turns it into stress.

If in doubt, and you really want the car, perhaps speak to a lawyer, or at least proceed with extra caution. In my experience the DMV is more than worthless at actually helping people, YMMV.

 

Another thought.......I don't know how much the seller is willing to help and willing to work with you, but since you're a local buyer, it would probably be the easiest for him. If he sold it on Ebay or similar, and the new owner got sent a bunch of mumble jumble paperwork with different owners, states, and registrations.......I don't think many would let him off the "hook" to easily! If he did describe the current status of the paperwork in his auction, I think a lot of bidders would get turned off. IMO, it would be in his best interest to work with you to get a clear title, or get a clear title/registration in his own name before he sells. That's just my $0.02!

 

If you're worried about title, check out title insurance. Relatively cheap, and it can pay off a prior owners claim if something ever arises. In some states, a title insurance policy can be enough to get the DMV to issue a new title.

My real point, don't let this kill the deal if you want the car. It's worth some research and creativity -- in advance of buying -- to see if you can make it work.

Looks like a great car to me, but I'm biased. I love my '80 GTSi, and I find that it's just an unusual subset who disrespect the 2i cars. The real Ferrari guys respect and love them all, and know that the performance differences are marginal. The non-Ferrari guys don't know the difference. It's really people who have recently researched "which one to buy" who look down on them. And who cares? They are a blast to drive, sound amazing, easy to start, and achingly pretty. All for $24k! Good luck finding that combo ANYWHERE else.

 

If paperwork will take eg 20 hours to sort out, then calculate a charge your time and ask for an appropriate discount. You'll likely be surprised at how quickly the vendor then sorts it out.