Hey Everyone, Been a long time since I've been involved here. My kids are now 13 & 5. I'm finding less and less time to do car stuff. I've had the my 308 now for 24 years. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and almost doubled the mileage of it when I bought it...now has about 121k. So I still love driving, but don't have time to do the maintenance/repairs and other upkeep. I'm looking for something FUN and that I can just pretty much get in and drive. Something more modern would be nice too. Also, something that has some collectible potential would be nice. I've narrowed it down to the following... Alfa Romeo 4C My first choice. Great fun to drive, still under warranty. I know they are new(er) and will depreciate, but I think they have good collectible potential. Lotus Elise/Exige/Evora Fun, great handling. Toyota engines...good reliability. I think most of these prices have bottomed out, thought I don't think that they will appreciate that much. Very unique. Tesla Roadster Not sure how fun they are, but I know they are quick. About as low maintenance as it gets, until the batteries need to be replaced...but battery prices continue to come down. I think these actually will have a very good collectible potential. Others that I've considered, but not too sure of... Porsche Boxster/Cayman...great drivers cars, but they are everywhere. Porsche early water cooled 911...fast, great driver, again not very unique. Maserati Cambiocorsa/Gran Sport...more of a GT, but can't argue with the Ferrari engine and F1 gearbox. Reliability and maintenance might be an issue though. Please let me know your thoughts and if you think that I've missed something that might fit my criteria. Lastly, I'm looking in the $50k range...something that would be comparable in value to the 308. Thanks, Henry
I vote for keeping the 308. If it needs to sit, let it sit. You will regret selling it later. BTW, You used the word Lotus and reliable in the same sentence structure
Go with the Alfa for newer fun driving. Go with the Tesla for dependable / reliable and handling. remember no sound! Which is like dating a supermodel wearing a chastity belt. Go for the 308 for collectable, great sound, and form with function the machine is a beautiful sculpture extention of you fun driving thumbs up inspire others to be you goodness! Hope this helps. Also concider renting one o the other cars for a weekend.
see this? https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/nothing-needs-saying-james-mays-308-video.585012/
I would try to find a Saturn Sky turbo or Pontiac Solstice GXP. Great little cars, limited numbers made, and relative cheap to buy and run. Prices on 308s are starting to firm up-- I think the dealer inventories bought in 2015 are thinning out a bit.
Here is a vid of a guy whom has owned his 308 for 30+ years and has thought about it but decided best to keep it as long as possible.
When I bought my 308 I was seriously considering a 4C but made my decision based mostly on the opposite of what you're thinking in that I wanted something I could tinker with and do work on. There are a couple of threads on fchat from 308 owners who have bought a 4C and they say it is the closest thing to what a Dino would be today if Ferrari had kept making them so I think if you want to keep the raw, uncompromising feel of your 308 the 4C is probably the best contender.
Boxster/Cayman hands down. If you want something more unique, get the Spyder, or GT4. They will be collectibles soon enough. I think to truly enjoy an old Ferrari, you have to enjoy wrenching on it.
Yeah, priorities change. Glad you've put the miles on a 308, its a rare thing. I am a little surprised that the cars on your list are similar to 308s regarding (im)practicality. If you're looking for point-and-shoot reliability, maybe the German and Japanese cars are now best. Consider the old NSXes and BMW E46s M3s. Great cars with great reliability. I took a Tesla Roadster prototype on an autocross circuit for a couple of runs about 10 (?) years ago. I may be wrong, but I expect the "logic" of modern e-cars has much improved since the roadster. I just found it plain weird to drive. It may be just that the regenerative braking was cranked up to 11. Needless to say, test drive one before buying it.
Wow! Cool! Tim is part of the San Francisco East Bay area crowd. We see him often. Cool video. Sad I missed the Hwy 1 drive he mentions.
Recommended highly by my favorite automotive journalist, Matt Farah, any of the supercharged Evora are supposed to be incredibly balanced, fast and comfortable. Might be a little above budget.
Thanks for all the suggestions/information. I've thought about keeping the 308 and just getting a fun DD, but don't think the wife would go for that. My DD is a SUV because we need something to tow our travel trailer when we go camping. BTW, a 308 sold on BAT a couple weeks ago for $93k, but then another (previous Rick Mears car) did not meet reserve at about $46k...seems like quite a spread.
What about an Aston Martin Vantage, V8 still sound amazing and a good unique car which many will respect, true British icon with probably more automotive history that Ferrari dating back to 1913 I believe. Not sure on prices states side but from £30k here in UK.
" I'm looking for something FUN and that I can just pretty much get in and drive. Something more modern would be nice too. Also, something that has some collectible potential would be nice." Best two out of three: Mazda Miata. As far as meeting number 3, anything collectable is almost automatically not going to meet the first requirement.
agree on the Maxda Miata, pity not so much on the performance side, the 308 will kill it. 2006 - 2008 Cayman S ! easy fun all around car and very affordable, keep the 308
I understand the situation but. Just go look at your 308 for a moment. Then think about all the cars listed and how they look...the 308 is just a pretty car. And kind of timeless, and now there's a TV show high lighting the car! Easy to drive, easy to maintain, sounds good, looks good, paid for! Just keep it. IMHO
..."agree on the Maxda Miata, pity not so much on the performance side, the 308 will kill it." Speaking from experience, that's not necessarily true. Mazdaspeed MX5 will blow the doors off my 308 on the twisties. It's light, well balanced, handles like a demon, and the turbo gives it a nice kick. Doubt it would ever be a collectible, but it's kind of a pretty design and it's a fun convertible on a sunny day. Don't know if I'd sell the 308 to get a Miata, but it's a neat little car to have tucked in the corner of the garage.
As I mentioned before and I still believe that there’s really no alternative for the 308 as they are completely different from all the todays new car. But if I were to replace or add a new car, I would like the Abarth Fiat Spyder.
