Bye Bye 308.... | FerrariChat

Bye Bye 308....

Discussion in '308/328' started by Tspringer, Dec 19, 2003.

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  1. Tspringer

    Tspringer F1 Veteran

    Apr 11, 2002
    6,155
    Well, My '77 308GTB will be going to a new home. I have owned her for 18 months, done tons of work to it, busted my knuckles a thousands times and written WAY too many checks, driven her about 3500 miles and decided to let someone else enjoy her.

    The 308 was my first Ferrari. When I first got it, she ran pretty well, was hot inside and handled like a pig. She is leaving me with a show condition engine bay and running very strong, great AC and handling like a very hot modern car. The buyer is getting a great car, but I dont think I will really miss her.

    I have no idea how the market for 308s is, I did not advertise the car. A gentleman saw her at a local car show and followed up with me over the ensueing months. Im sure he will give her a good home!


    Terry
     
  2. BWS550

    BWS550 Wants to be a mod

    Apr 1, 2002
    8,933
    NEW JERSEY
    Full Name:
    BRUCE WELLINGTON
    TERRY

    WHAT WILL BE YOUR NEXT CAR IN YOUR GARAGE??
     
  3. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 24, 2003
    47,933
    Goodyear, AZ
    Full Name:
    PeterS
    I'll give you 18 months before you have another one. Once a Ferrari owner, always a Ferrari owner. Sometimes we just take a break from them to clean out the garage.
     
  4. Tspringer

    Tspringer F1 Veteran

    Apr 11, 2002
    6,155
    I do still have a '69 Euro Daytona..... and a '69 Porsche 911S. One of the reasons for selling is lack of garage space!

    Terry
     
  5. LSU348

    LSU348 Formula 3

    Dec 19, 2003
    1,047
    Sugar Land
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Do you mind telling us what you sold it for? I am hunting for one and every tidbit of info is gold!
     
  6. Chiaro_Slag

    Chiaro_Slag F1 Veteran

    Oct 31, 2003
    7,789
    CA
    Full Name:
    Jerry
    Why not? :-(
     
  7. Tspringer

    Tspringer F1 Veteran

    Apr 11, 2002
    6,155
    Car sold for asking price, $32,500. I was not advertising it and really didnt care if it sold or not.

    I do like the 308. It is a fantastic looking car, fun to drive and has phenomenal handling. But when walking into the garage and choosing between a hotrod 911, Daytona or 308.... the 308 comes in a far 3d. Plus, I was having to store one car away from home due to space. I also dont realy enjoy working on the 308. ITs a packaging nightmare and so much of the engineering falls into the "afterthought" catagory.

    Terry
     
  8. BigAl

    BigAl F1 Veteran

    Mar 17, 2002
    6,146
    TX
    Full Name:
    GSgt Hartman
    T, what do you mean about "after thought" engineering?
     
  9. coachi

    coachi Formula 3

    May 1, 2002
    2,108
    SC USA
    I too think the 308 is my least favorite Ferrari (among the ones I own). I wish someone will come and give me 32,500 or 30,00 for that matter and I might even take less to let her go. She is an engineering afterthought, just try to take off the AC belt to replace it...It is a major undertaking. Nothing is easy to do on any Ferrari, but the 308 is cramped...have you tried to change the rear spark plugs...busted knuckles, special tools, a veritable pain. I will stick to my 12 cylinder horses...someone can have my 308 (1979 GTS...the last carburetted model) tomorrow for all I care.
     
  10. atheyg

    atheyg Guest

    If the 308 is an enginering afterthought than so is the Dino 246 as they have the same layout.

    Try and remove a simple starter on a 4 cam Daytona and you will spend 4 days removing your whole exhaust cutting it in half and need to remove each bolt 1 flat a time and then need to raise the motor to clear the frame and still fight to get it out, that is an engineering afterthought.

    Need to change your water pump on a mid engine flat 12? better
    drop your engine, thats an engineering afterthought.


    All Ferraris are engineering or more precisely servicing afterthoughts.
     
  11. davewapinski

    davewapinski Formula Junior

    Nov 24, 2003
    276
    Does this still hold true with the newer ones - the 355, 360, and also the newer 12s?
     
  12. Horsefly

    Horsefly F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2002
    6,929
    All this brutally realistic talk about the real world problems associated with Ferrari maintainence may be just another nail in the "future Ferrari ownership" coffin for me. One of the seldom spoken realities in the collector car world is the fact that when something ceases to be enjoyable then maybe it's time to unload. When the good times equals 5 per cent and the "ownership hassle" time equals 95 per cent, what's it all for? Overly expensive OLD cars, outrageously expensive parts, overpriced insurance premiums, maintainence nightmares due to afterthought engineering, etc, all just for an occasional Sunday afternoon drive is not exactly a great return on ones investment of time, effort, and money.

    But in Ferrari's defense, changing the plugs on a '57 Chevy with headers is not exactly a walk in the park either. Or dropping the oil pan on a '79 Pontiac. (you have to remove the engine mount bolts and jack up the engine several inches in order for the oil pan to clear the front crossmember during removal.)
     
  13. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    Yeah, but Ferrari could care less about anything out of production. So any whining about 308's, 246's et all, they could care less. Okay, they may care a bit about a 550 or 355 to some degree, but they make money on new cars, not used ones (service not withstanding, which is mostly made by dealers, not the manufacturer).

    They MAY try and handle issues with a 355 or 550 since that owner may eventually be a prospective NEW Ferrari owner someday.

    Seems the cheapest Ferrari to own these days is a new 360 spider. You can drive it for a couple years, and flip it for at least what you paid for it. Your only costs are fluid changes, fuel and insurance...doesn't get any better than that! But you gotta have the money to buy one of those babies....
     
  14. David Danhof

    David Danhof Karting

    Nov 5, 2003
    55
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    David Danhof
    Terry, congrats on selling the 308. It was a great car & I am sure the new owner will enjoy all of your labor over the last year. Look like Xmas comes early for your 911 now that you can spend time on it. I'm off next week, lets get some work done on the S, Road Atlanta is soon!
     
  15. tifosi

    tifosi F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa

    Sep 5, 2001
    5,382
    texas
    Full Name:
    Tom D
    I think you did well
     
  16. Challenge

    Challenge Formula 3

    Sep 27, 2002
    1,933
    PA
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that Ferrari intentionally engineers their cars to produce maximum inconvenience for the average owner, and therefore dependence on the dealer network for service?

    Ferraris are low-volume commodities and if you read the related thread about how $$$ much F-car dealers make you can see that the profit is not in a one-time, low-margin (albeit high priced) transaction. It's clearly with the steady stream of income produced by owners of these fine looking machines being petrified that an overdue maintenance item may void a warranty or result in catastropic repair bills. Taken to the extreme--a la Enzo--this translates into $700 oil changes and $24,000 brake jobs. Despite the exotic materials (like Shell Helix is *that* f-ing different than other oils) this is still good 'ole prison-style sodomy by the Italian Mothership.

    I test drove some 308's that I was seriously considering and have talked to people in the know like Jon Kofod about buying a 348 Challenge car. But with the inevitable services that can run $5, 8,...even $20K (!) I simply can't hang. Maybe in a couple of years.

    That, my friends, is why I went with the NSX. Sure, it's not a Ferrari and you can talk about "no soul" all you want, but I didn't want to end up feeling like Terry.
     

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