I know, but at that time it wasn't. The car was listed on Autoscout for over a year and was not sold. I was probably the only person serious enough to travel to the south of Italy to view the car in real life. When I did not buy it, they took it offline, fixed the problems and decided to keep the car. Untill now. It needed 5K of work at least and the price was fixed. That with the missing history made me decide not to buy it.
In recent years these cars have definitely come into their own. My wife and I went to lunch with friends, they had their 430 and we had our 328. When we walked out of the restaurant someone said, "Can I ask a question about your Ferrari?" I thought the guy was talking to my friend since his car was far newer and bright yellow compared to my subdued red and back then it was still attracting lots of kids and youtube video creator , but the guy started asking questions about the 328. I was sort of surprised. These cars used to be largely ignored at F car meets other than by other 3X8 owners. Now it goes to Fcar meets, people ask questions, and it gets unsolicited offers to purchase it.
It sounds like the car you saw, can't be too many with the same spec, milage and country. The world of 3x8 feels small! It will be interesting to follow this one. Looking at current (asking) prices in Europe it seems to be around 40k over the level.
I just cam back for Wayne Carinis' place discussing what my 85 308 GTB QV might be worth with Mike. Obviously, in this winter wonder land they call New England I didn't have the car, but numbers were impressive. Is thus a bubble? We talked about that. They have seen cars double in value and I mean million dollar cars going to 2 million dollar cars in a year. Is a correction coming? There is a sense that there has to be but when is any bodies guess. Next week, month, year? There is no clear indication but there are collectors out there selling. But they are selling to a new generation of collectors. 30 and 40 something that are buying from the collections that older guys have built over the years. There are a lot of techno nouveau riche looking for cars.
You have a unique car - literally I think it's 1 of 1. I've seen hundreds of 308/328s, but I'd certainly find yours more interesting than the run of the mill later Ferraris. After a glass 308, an '89 328 is the cat's meow.
Hi Jon, Thanks for the kind words about my car. Its definitely nice to see these cars being recognized as being great sports cars, and not being discounted by other Ferrari owners for their lack of a 12. Cheers!
I'm guessing it refers to the legion of Ferrari owners who believe that "real" Ferrari's have a 12 cylinder power plant.
Thanks. That was my first thought. but doesn't explain the behaviour of 355, 360,up to 458 owners. Best Regards Martin
Ah, but Martin ..... how may of them would now wish they could straight swap their moderns ,for an early 308 ?! ......Give it another 6 months and i think early 458's and Carb steel 308's will reach parity on price ..... how interesting will that make discussions at car and coffee type meets??! BR, Jez
Only if its a 'Speciale', for me ..... the rest are way too common, and are dropping in price , like a TV from a hotel bedroom window! No doubt they will have their day too as the ' last of the NA cars........ in about 30 years time! BR, Jez
Hi Martin, yes it was a reference to the fact that 3X8s do not have 12 cylinders. Sorry if there was some confusion. It was a very common negative statement to hear about 3X8s in the 1970s' , 80's and early 90s. I think we never really heard this statement about 355s, 360s, 430s etc...because those all made substantially more power and the performance level offered particularly by 360s and later cars was about as high as one could get regardless of the number of cylinders. In the end, most cars reach a certain age and people focus more on its beauty and being fun to drive rather than outright performance.
When the price of a Dino 246 because equivalent to the price of a new V8 Ferrari in 2007, I posed this same question to Dino owners in the 206/246 forum. Check out the poll results and responses. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/206-246/173826-swap-your-dino-new-v8-ferrari.html plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Enjoy, Keith
Seeing a nice early carbed 308 GTB is a rarity. The rest are a dime a dozen. People are waking up to the fact that they are beautiful AND rare. The 308's are about to have their day in the sun. Besides, let's say an early 308 hits $175K....what other early Ferrari Thais beautif and rare can you now get for closr to that money. Look at Dino's...
FWIW: Received a cold call today looking for a 308. A first for me. Buyer was willing to go to 150 for an exceptional car.
5 months ago I thought I might sell my platinum winning 328 GTB for $150 if they were getting that. Now I think I'll hang on for the ride.
I told him mine wasn't for sale before I asked what he was offering. Not that mine is top of market quality, but 150 wouldn't budge me. There's nothing that I could do with that money that would make me happier.
Unfortunately the rising values are squeezing out a number of hard core Tifosi in favor of speculators.
Sad but true. It happens all the time to every marque. Speculators and "checkbook" enthusiasts. I always like the owners of restored cars talking about how "they" searched high and low for parts and did a restoration resulting in the car's 100 point condition when all they did was write checks (admittedly BIG checks). I prefer a well worn lovingly cared for "driver", at least I can use it as intended instead of just talking about owning it (sorry, make that being it's "custodian").
What is remarkable to me is just how long the "enthusiast period" was for the 308. They stayed relatively cheap (well, at least in reachable prices for us common folk) for a long time.
