First Ferrari: 308GTSi or 355 GTS?

Recommend in test driving both. One may not feel a 'right', ie headroom in the 308/328 is limited, especially for taller people. With the 308 you have belt changes that can be done while the engine stays in the car... I believe with the 355 it's and engine out service. Replacement parts may be easier on the 355. As you said, more HP on the 355 but the 3x8 has good power to enjoy, especially on windy roads.

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That's a really open ended question. We all have experience with 308s. To an outsider the 308 might just be one kind of car, but to us there are dramatic differences between the GTS and GTB. There are big differences between carbureted cars and injected cars. Big difference between the two valve and quattrovavole cars. Big difference between the Euro cars and US cars. And even among those classes there are sub-classes based on cams, cats, smog equipment, wheel size..... You need to be a lot more specific to get an opinion. Buy the best you can. It's very rare that a cheap Ferrari is actually a good deal.

For long trips the 308 is a bad choice compared to anything modern. It has no safety features at all, it's loud, AC isn't great when it's hot, gas mileage is generally poor. Probably there's no radio, let along something like navigation. If there is a radio probably you can't hear it over the engine and wind noise. I wear ear plugs if I'm driving on the freeway or for more than 30 minutes.

I love it.

 

Test drive them both and I think the answer may become clearer! I’ll guess one will just feel more ‘right’.

308 likely cheaper to run but either car could give you a nasty bill if something goes wrong. Buy the best you can afford always the best advice!

Good luck with your search, you’ll love either one

 

lots of input but ii think the main one not mentionned is operating ease. Esspecally if you are not that strong, take heavy steering and clutch in a 308 into account.

 

I have both (308GTB,355 Spyder manual). Love them both. Brian above is spot-on with his assessment, but I've driven mine from NNJ to Canada a couple times. No problems.
308 is easier and cheaper to maintain, but the sound of the 355 is wonderful.
My petite wife (at 5'1") can't drive the 308 due to the pedal offset and the length of leg needed. But she loves the 355.
As always, a PPI is necessary unless you have deep pockets.

 

I would buy a 328 , its the best production Ferrari ever made, get a feel for what a Ferrari really means when it comes to the driving experience. The 355 is a great car, as long as its been sorted, buy a 328 first and then go for the 355 . 308 s are priced as much as or even more than a 328, the 328 is a far superior car , its got more power , and its mechanically more sound . The 89 , if you can,is the last iteration of the 3x8 run, and its the best year. My 89 has 104,000 miles, and will go to 200K without a problem. Good luck

Thank you

 

My take on the 308 GTB/S vs the 328 GTB/S,

One is a 'SPORTS CAR,'

The other a 'BOULEVARD CRUSIER.'

[You can hate me now, it's OK. ]



BUT, I tell you to look no further than the REAL, Original, Shelby Mustangs as a striking comparison.

The '65-'68 Shelbys were 'SPORTS Cars' - LOUD, UNCOMFY, very SMELLY, and Minimalistic. EVERYTHING a 'SPORTS Car' is SUPPOSED to BE. The car just flat-out didn't look or act like it liked to be driven SLOW.

The '69 and '70 Shelbys were, on the other hand, 'Boulevard Crusiers,' much more 'REFINED,' more Advanced in many ways, but losing a chunk of the 'SPORTS Car' 'feel' or 'mystic' along the way. They no longer wanted to rip your arm off and beat you to death with it. It is a Car that looks Great and 'at home,' in modern traffic and those speeds.

308s - BAD Boy's Car.

328s - REFINED Gentlemen's Car.



That's my €0.02 take on it.





[I was 'on a budget,' so that is what steered me toward the GTSi, the looks of the carbed GTS, and a few of the 'refinements' (Read: FI) over dealing with carbs (maintenance and headaches) found on the later 328, kind of the 'valley between the mountains'].

 

That's a very wise thing to do. Nobody can advise you on the reliability and maintenance aspect of these cars better than the guys who work on them for a living. Ask them how much the 5-year major service costs on the 308/328 vs the engine-out major on a 355. The 355 will be AT LEAST twice as much, and more likely 3-4 times as much.

From a maintenance perspective, the cars that frighten me most are the flat-12 cars (Testarossa and anything with '512' in the name) and the F355.

By the way, the 360 can be had for less than an equivalent F355, is faster, and far less expensive to maintain. Ask your shop about that one too.

 

Realizing that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I think the 308/328 series wins handily. And I don't like the engine out business for a belt change nor its cost. It also significantly increases the chances of not having everything quite right when reassembled.

 

I am also searching to buy my first Ferrari. 308 QV is the first option, but the 328 is tempting me a lot. It’s the 308 but a little better. I dislike the 308 US bumpers, make the cars look silly.

The F355 is considered on the list of best Ferraris ever. Sound amazing. And you separates from the old designs. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/98625/ferrari-f355-best-ferraris-ever

I think I want a 328, but there’s a very tempting 308qv out there

 

The F355, when in good working order, may be one of the best Ferraris ever, but they can cost a fortune to keep in good working order. Ask a Ferrari tech how much they'll charge you for the 5-year major service.

 

My $.02:

I had a 308 and have a 355, my experience has been when paying a shop for the major/belt service both cars cost me essentially the same.

The 360 has the same motor as the 355, so there's minimal if any performance difference.

The 355 is the last of the small, go-kart Ferrari's, with enough modern amenities to make driving it quite a bit of fun. I love the popup headlights. Over the 18 years or so I had a 308 (1984 GTS QV), towards the end I got tired of the underwhelming performance and uncomfortable drive - there's essentially no a/c, the cabin gets hot, and while I loved the steering feel, the overall ride became tiring. I find the 355 more comfortable, a much more dynamic ride, enough power to keep things very interesting, and that sound.

The 355 interior has more plastic, which the finish gets tacky and the pieces get brittle. The 308 is more old school and the interior has more leather and older style metal levers to operate controls.

The 355 has a number of ECUs, the later 308s only have the ignition boxes. As parts dry up, there's no aftermarket substitute part for lets say a 355's A/C ECU. In a 308 you can always go with aftermarket ignition systems.

If I were to start over, I'd have still bought the 308 first, but would have moved to a 355 years earlier.

None of this matters though. You owe it to yourself to test drive both, and not just one of each model. Drive a few different 308s/328s across their 15 year build range as there were essentially 5 versions - carbed, injected, 83 QV, later QV and the 328, each having their own personalities and you may prefer 1 over another. There were 2 evolutions of the 355 - 1995s and then 1996-1999; the differences are less between the 2 versions.

Good luck!

 

I was in the same boat but decided against the 355 due to maintenance costs plus overall appeal and looks of the 308/328. Much more classic looking than the 355 IMO. I would have purchased a 308 QV (Euro) had one been available but nothing that fit the bill was around during my search. I purchased a 1988 328 GTS. I preferred not to go with the ABS brakes and the fact that Enzo was still alive during my cars build meant something special to me as well. As someone mentioned earlier, there are many slight differences in many of the 308/328 cars so do your research and see which fits you better. Buy the best you can afford. A sorted out car is more expensive to purchase but less expensive to maintain.

Good luck with your decision and please share when you get your new Ferrari!

 

Good afternoon MV!

I searched my first and possibly only Ferrari between April and July this year, and I ended up with a 208 GTB with carburetors, which I really love!

For some time I've been split, sort of like you, between 308/328 and 348. At some point I thought that the 348 was the best choice because it was more modern, had more power, and was more affordable, so I nearly bought one. But then I went to the official service in my town and was told that a belt change was in the range of 4-5.000 € - to be done no longer thatn every 5 years. In the shop - a sort of service wonderland with some 30 cars between 308, 328, GTB Turbo, Testarossa, 512 BB, 550, and so on - there was a F355 with the engine out for the belt service (F355 and 348 are quite similar and both require the engine out - the only 2 models in the 8 cylinder Ferrari history) and the view of all those hanging harnesses, plugs and tubes sort of scared me. I still have this image in my eyes. So, even if the workshop manager reassured me that the 348 TB is a simple and reliable car, in the end I went away from it and chose the 208, where the service can be done with some 600 € and the engine in. I fully trust those who say to have owned both 308/328 and 348/F355 and having spent the same amount of money, but I can't really figure out how.

Luckily, beyond these economic factors, I found to like my car more than any other in the world for her design and driving experience too, so for me she was the perfect match.

So, as most have already said, you have to test drive as many as you can - which is really fun - and then decide which ones you can afford to maintain and if you can really drive them comfortably on long weekend trips, as you wish. Especially because the 208/308/328 are very physical and require a lot of effort on the clutch and the steering wheel - which during my spirited drives I hold very string with both hands. I personally I love it, and would quite enjoy making long trips, but any time I get off I feel as I've been to the gym.

So it's up to you, but if maintenance is a concern and the F355 would feel to expensive then a 360 might be the next option: not as sexy than a 308 imho, but at least as good as a F355 under any point of view and belt service with the engine in.

Let us know! All the best,

Nic

 

Very big congrats Nic
Let’s see some pictures of your new Ferrari

 

Never seen the 68 GT350 lumped in the same group with the 65s. Every year the model evolved a little more towards comfort.

68s though weren’t even Shelby American and had a pretty pathetic motor compared the previous 3 years.

 

True.

But for people who don't know Shelbys well, I opted for the comparison I did. The early ones look too much like standard Mustangs of the day to the untrained eye. Wanted something way obvious.


I like the '67 and '68.

Almost bought a friend's '67 in Excellent Shape the day I graduated college for $8K. Black w/White Stripes.

Beautiful car.

I still kick myself over that one.

 

Try calling Ralph Mastromonaco at Monaco Prestige.

 

Thank you, and thank you for getting in touch again with me!
This is the picture, and my first thread about it is titled "How to become the happiest person in the world" in the non model-specific section of the forum!
All the best,
Nic

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