how did you find and buy your car(s)

In 2007 I began seriously looking for an '89 328 GTS; it was the ONLY model 3x8 I was interested in. I did the usual internet searches for companies/sites that dealt with such cars as well as private listings. I perused many cars on the internet. In Aug, 2008 I finally saw one located in Las Vegas that looked promising - had 24k miles, maintenance records from new - originally purchased in San Francisco and for sale by its 2nd owner. Turned out my daughter lived in Vegas at the time and, since she's totally anal, I asked her to take a look at it.

She did, called me a few days later and said, "Dad, it looks like a brand new car!" So I flew to Vegas from Maryland and looked at the car the next day. The shop had just changed the cam belts and installed new tires - Goodyear F1's - I drove it and bought it on the spot. Two days later I drove it back to Kent Island MD - 2700 miles in two and a half days. It was then my daily driver for its first 8 years with me and has gone across the US twice more since its Vegas-MD drive.

I've carried 8ft 2x4's from Home Depot and several Xmas trees in it (try that with a GTB!), as well as doing the usual grocery/hardware store runs. It has been totally reliable, unlike any of my wife's several new Mercedes during the same time period!!!

 

Back in 1985, I was driving my tired company Ford Cortina along the Egham by-pass here in the UK, when it overheated. I crawled in the Maranello (UK Ferrari Consessionaires) forecourt, and with some trepidation asked to phone the recovery service. (no mobiles then!) The staff couldn’t have been nicer and after many cups of coffee and biscuits, I left and jokingly said, pointing to a 308 GTB- “I’ll buy one of those when I can afford it!”

Life got in the way with children, houses, and work. Many years passed, and we finally and naively thought we had outsourced/divested ourselves of children. Not so; there was always a need more pressing than an “extra” car. Though I had bought a MGB Roadster (aka LBC?) to keep me “out of the way”.

In 2022, I attended the opening of our elder daughter’s first cinema and was introduced to a man who I discovered was an independent Ferrari dealer. It looked promising but then the other daughter divested herself of her husband, (no great loss!).

Finally in autumn 2023 I called in at Rardley Motors to see if I could actually get in and out of a 308...yes, just! My wife said one car had to go (her BMW cabriolet), but somehow, it’s moved into storage!

January 2024, I collected my new toy- a 308 GTB QV (Euro spec). Driving it home round the M25, (London Orbital Freeway) people slowed down to look as they went passed - one even video’d us! It was very shiny and red, of course!

In the first year we covered over 4000 miles. We did more in the first 6 months that was done the previous 6 years. Inevitably “waking up” some components proved troublesome. Interior lights aren’t really necessary, until you’re in an unlit underground car park. The brakes started to pull to the left, - great for exiting motorway slip-roads, not so good for general use. After a trip to Bath, we continued to Wales in biblical rain-and with only one headlight. On arrival I discovered the carpets were absolutely sodden. On the journey home the indicators failed.... Headlight was an easy fix, the indicators needed the hazard switch changing and the dehumidifier ran for 3 days inside the car. The workshop was needed to seal up the front!

So, does it live up to expectations? Yes, with a few caveats! Both cars and I have moved on since 1985, but not necessarily in the same direction! The drive is definitely “analogue”: there’s no power steering but it seldom needs it. The clutch is heavy and needs to be fully depressed; traffic jams can be tiring. It’s pretty noisy; the engine is 12” behind your ears, and they never bothered with sound insulation so road noise can be intrusive. The cabin gets quite warm: engine behind the cabin and the air that’s passed through the radiator exits straight on to the screen! It does have air-conditioning which though not up to modern “climate control” standards help keep us cool. The driving position is challenging for anyone tall, but once you’ve spent that much, you’re definitely going to fit! A spacer for the steering wheel means I can at least reach it: a modified head rest enables me to see out of the windscreen. There’s plenty of luggage space and we’ve had customised luggage made up to match the interior

It handles like a go-kart and somehow the perception of noise changes when you wind it up to 6k!

We both agree that we stop after 1 ½ hours: it’s comfy but once you’re ensconced, there’s not much room to move about. After 4 ½ hours we both just want to stop. So overnight stays are in order. However not wanting the car to be too visible requires country house hotels and dinner......

Whilst people are not exactly lining the streets waiting for us to drive past, we get lots of enthusiastic waves and thumbs up from all age groups. Also a fist pumping action that I was told meant I was supposed to rev the engine.... I do suspect this enthusiasm is for the car; not the driver.

Whilst it’s not used for the grocery run, we take it out as often as weather /destination permits. I always intended to drive it: when I can no longer get in it, it goes back to the same dealer it came from for someone else to enjoy.
Meantime we love it!

 

Mine was simple. On my 38th birthday I walked into Bob Sharp Ferrari and said, "I want to buy a Ferrari". The day after Memorial Day I picked it up. Interestingly,when I bought my F355 in 2013 it was delivered on Memorial Day. So my 308 just turned 40 years in my possession and my 355 12 years.

 

When I was 38 years old I could barely get a loan on a Chrysler K car, not much chance of buying a Ferrari!!!

 

Anyone else find their Ferrari on craigslist? I did! I keep a number of searches open on my account, just to see what interesting old cars show up in my region, with no serious intent to buy anything. One day in 2016, a 1985 308 QV GTS showed up and was about an hour from my home. I was suspicious it may be one of those fraudulent listings of someone else's car, but it was certainly worth a phone call, right? Turns out this young man bought it opportunistically from a friend of a friend, spent much money to make it roadworthy (it had been sitting for years), but then realized an S2000 was a more appropriate collectible for his generation. He was planning to take it to auction but first tried craigslist. Two or three people like me had spotted it. I found its grigio/rosso combination stunning, spoke at length with the shop that did the work (basically a PPE), and a deal was made. Couldn't be happier... it's a 30k mile original, regular platino winner, and the most reliable car in my (small) collection.

 

Great thread! This is the same conversation we all have at meetups that are always so enjoyable. Everyone seems to have a unique story.

For me, it goes back to "The Cannonball Run". As a 10yo kid watching that movie, the Countach and 308 immediately hooked me on exotic cars. I said to myself, I will have one of those some day. As a teenager, posters of 308, 328, Countach, 930 turbo, Vector W2, and others plastered my walls. Of course, Farrah Fawcett too. Exotic cars were always on my mind from then on, but it was the 308/328 which stole my heart. Mechanical works of art.

40 years later, for my 50th, it was time. My mind was made up on an '89 328 GTS (even though I can't stand the wheels). I scoured the interwebs for a couple of years and finally found on consignment, in The Hamptons an example that checked all of my boxes. I told my wife, I need to fly to NYC to see this car. Eyes rolling, "You need to 'see' it?" "Well, if it's the right one..." The next day I flew up to NYC to inspect, drive, and well... buy the car. (Only the 2nd time I had ever driven a Ferrari.) Two weeks later, my stunning 19k mile, August '89 328 arrived to my house. The saying, "don't ever meet your heroes" doesn't apply with this car. It's been the absolute joy I expected, quirks and all.

 

Early 2002 I had the cash in hand (A$80k which was the going rate at the time, from what I could gather) after 20 years of dreaming... had to be a carbed GTS - didn't care about colour or stuff like tools/books etc just a solid "driver's" car. My first call was to the local dealer whose only question was "I suppose you want a red one?" Nothing available and he never rang me back. I missed out on one being sold in my state even though I answered the ad at 7am on a Saturday morning! After a few months I was getting frustrated, not actually knowing how few of these cars there actually are in Australia (probably less than 50 going by doubling FCA records).
Finally someone reminded me of an old style magazine and sure enough there was ONE 308 for sale - in a small rural town, 1000km from my place, going cheap and 'needing work'
No one in their right mind would consider it... except there were a few weird connections that called to me: the car had been brought in by a used-car dealer who had a business importing older Porsche from Hong Kong (where I'd lived for a number of years and where older cars are heavily discouraged by huge insurance tariffs imposed); plus the dealer was based in Dubbo - home for many years of the FIAT club rallies (I've been a FIAT member since my first car)! He outlined a litany of things that needed doing; I spoke to the Italian mechanic who'd been looking after my Fiats for 25 years and we agreed to ship the car to my city and, if my mechanic refused it the deal would be off.
There was a huge amount of work to be done, but my mechanic was confident that the cash I would have after the sale would be enough to get the car to what I wanted - never a concours or 'investment' but a solid driver's car... After we left the inspection and I said to Johnny, "So what do you reckon?" his reply was "Well, you'll never be able to drive it with the roof off..." "Huh?", I replied. "All the boys will be trying to jump in if you stop at the lights!" came the answer!
And so it came to be (after about 6 months of work) and after 23 years including track days, motorkhanas, hill climbs, tarmac rallies and probably around 60,000 miles (speedo has been replaced more times than I've had breakfast) I'm still in love with the car. I describe it as an 'orphan' and I'm it's loving foster mum. Turns out - it WAS meant to be!

 

Warning: This Post eventually relates to the topic, but may cause drowsiness and loss of motor control on its way there. You should not operate heavy equipment, pilot commercial airliners, nor drive Ferraris quickly after reading This Post. Check with your doctor to see if This Post is right for you.

From doodling 512Ms as a 12 year-old, to racing them as slot cars, to driving a brand new 308 GT4 on my 16th birthday (which also happened to be the day I swapped my Washington State Learner’s Permit for a bonafide Driver’s License), the story behind the purchase of my first 308 was - just like the Grateful Dead song - a long, strange trip….
I don’t know how or why I became infatuated with Ferraris: I grew up in a small town and gravitated towards muscle cars - like 95% of my friends - when it came time to swap slot cars for real cars. In fact the GT4 was the first Ferrari (the first exotic car actually) I can remember seeing in my hometown.

My dad wasn’t really into sports cars; but he did appreciate interesting cars and owned an early ‘69 Pontiac GTO Judge. The GT4 was owned by a friend and he invited my dad over to look at it; which we did on our way back from the DMV where I had just acquired my first driver’s license.
Somehow, someway, my dad convinced the friend to let me - this sixteen year-old kid with his sixteen minute-old driver’s license - drive his brand new Ferrari.
Unbeknownst to both my father and his friend, I had been joyriding in my dad’s GTO for the last two years, so I wasn’t intimidated by the Ferrari and almost laughed out loud when the friend said it had a 180 cubic-inch V-8.
So what I thought was going to be strictly a ride-a-long, suddenly turned into a birthday present test drive. Naturally I did what any 16 year-old (who’d been illegally street racing for the last two years) would do: ran it up to seven grand in first, banged it into a second, and got right back on the gas. I thought the friend was literally going to have a heart attack.
He somehow managed to get out the phrase “Ohhhhhhhhhh-Kkkkkkkkkkkk, let’s take it easy….” and when I turned to acknowledge him saw that he was white as a ghost.
I remember loving the sound and the smoothness of that tiny little V-8, but what impressed me the most was the handling as that was first sports car I’d ever driven.

I was hooked.

Unfortunately, I was still a good 4+ decades away from 308 ownership, but in the meantime a series of X1/9s and Scorpions scratched my mid-engine Italian car itch, while moving to larger cities during and after college exposed me to more exotics in the wild, keeping my Ferrari dream on a low boil. In the mid-80’s, Spokane, WA saw a Ferrari store open; which I had to drive past every day on my way to school. They had a beautiful Rosso Corsa/Tan GTS QV in the showroom (possibly this guy: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-ferrari-308-gts-quattrovalvole-39/ ) and naturally I had to stop-in, have a look, and grab a brochure: which the sales guy charged me $5 for!

And that was as close as I got to Fcar ownership for the next 20ish years. But that brochure turned out to be the first piece in what became a modest collection of Ferrari memorabilia and models; many of which I still own.

Then in ‘07 I came to the realization that I wasn’t getting any younger and maybe I should get on with it if I was going to do this Ferrari-thing.
So. Found a nice ‘78 Bianco over Nero GTB on eBay and won the auction.
But didn’t make reserve.
Had a nice conversation with the owner about a final sales price and decided his ask was a bit too much above my budget.

Thwarted, I then re-evaluated my motivation for wanting a Ferrari: I wanted to drive fast, but I didn’t want to pay for tickets. Or insurance. So I shelved the Ferrari plans and pivoted once again: to a race car! As fast as you want to go and never a worry about tickets.
It was perfect.
But it wasn’t a Ferrari.

So another 10+ years slide by, the stock market was in a lull, and I start thinking “Hey, if my money’s just going to be skating sideways, I may as well enjoy it” and started thinking about a Ferrari again.
My other Italian cars had removable roof panels - which my wife loved - so it was always going to be a GTS.
I found a nice driver on BAT ( https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-ferrari-308-gts-quattrovalvole-10/ ) and was high bidder….this time making reserve - hallelujah - and that’s the end of the story.

Almost.

I didn’t bother to tell my wife what I was up to. When she asked why I was flying to Sacramento for the day I told her it was to add enough miles to my Alaska Air Frequent Flyer plan to qualify for 2020 benefits - which was actually true - and spend the day with a co-worker (blatant lie). What I neglected to tell her was my return flight would not be on Alaska Air, but rather Ferrari Air, Flight 308.
So picked up the car in Chico and the dealer said “You’re headed to Portland, right? You gotta take Highway 36 to the 101 and then head north.”
Here’s what greeted me as I turned into CA36:

I was in heaven, but mind you this was the end of December. While it was 60 degrees in Chico, it was a little cooler crossing the Coast Range; like below freezing cool:

This was roughly 60 miles into the trip. After deciding discretion was the better part of valor, I backtracked to I-5 and called my wife to say that “my flight had been delayed”.

After finally making it home, I parked the 308 in my wife’s spot (we live in a high-rise) knowing she’d be leaving in the morning and be surprised by her “Post-Christmas Christmas Present.”
I would have given anything to see her face when she went down to get in her car, but didn’t want to spoil the surprise.
I needn’t have worried about that because not five minutes later she was back in the apartment announcing that “Some ******* parked his Ferrari in my spot.”

And THAT is the end of the story.

Except for this post-script: please; nobody ever, ever, ever drive hundreds of miles in an unfamiliar 35 year-old Italian car for the first time far from home.
I got lucky and didn’t even know it.
Mine was a solid car; obviously well cared for with a stack of receipts for recent work, but when I went to take that first drive with my wife, the car wouldn’t start. It hadn’t given me a lick of trouble on the 600 mile trip home so I was baffled. After attempting to start it for a few minutes, I began to smell gas - obviously not good - so up went the lid and out came the work light. Turned out the fuel line to the cold start enrichment valve had come adrift and was pumping raw fuel across the top of the engine. Once reattached - and secured - the car fired right up, but obviously the story could have easily had a much different ending.

Now, as to how I came to acquire my second 308…..
- Dave

 

Orange County Craigslist. I call it a ‘Carport find’ as it was at the Sellers parents house in a carport with most of the trim removed. It had been posted on CL for a month or so with a couple of fuzzy pics in the ad. Turns out it was a little more rough than posted so was able to negotiate a better price.

 

Becoming the owner of my 1989 328 GTS was easy peasy. The car was special ordered and bought new by my next-door neighbor in 1989. I've owned the car since 2005. The same Ferrari mechanic who performed the car's first timing belt service in 1992 (back then it was recommended at 3 year intervals) also performed my car's last timing belt replacement a year and a half ago. Since new the car has not had a single mechanical or electrical issue, the only expense being for annual services and consumables.

 

My story is very long… so I recommend reading all three parts! The last part, titled How I Found 10388, is how I actually found my car, if that's all you're interested in. But, the first two parts Discovering the Dino 308 GT4 and Just Out of Reach tell the full story of how I discovered the car to begin with, how it eluded me for decades, and then finally the third part about how I found my car. Here's the links:

Discovering the Dino 308 GT4
Just Out of Reach
How I Found 10388

Enjoy!