Hello all of you. Greetings from Vienna-Austria. I am new on this page and i thought some guys of you which have experience with the car type 208GT4 can help me to decide to buy an 208GT4 built 1975. The car is to buy in Austria for 18.900 Euro. technical ok, but some small things on body and electrical need to make, had 119.000km running- the owner said. Can someone give me a tip for what i should look by this car before i buy. I should say- i never owned a ferrari- but i think its the dream of every child and guy. So i thought to start with that type- because its rather cheap and the other it has 4 seats. how is it with spare parts? is the price for that car good or to high? For help and given experience i am very thankful. thanks a lot from mike37 (Vienna-Austria-Europe)
Post also in the Europe section For support look at 308 & 308GT4 threads on this site as there are more of them and the advice wiill be the same Unless you plan to maintain the car yourself you might need to check if there is a local specialist who can also inspect the car before you buy it Check out www.mobile.de to see if the price is good
That was my first F car, a long time ago. It was manufactured for the Italian market to avoid high taxation. Even if quite underpowered (179 optimistic BHP), it was fun to drive. Due to low power, engine and transmission are bullet proof. Just check the compression and oil consumption. Major problem was the carburettor tuning, requiring frequent visits to the shop to borrow proper tools (I was very young and without a proper garage to work in). The rest was quite nice but hey, i am talking 20 + years ago. Parts can be tricky, mainly on the dedicated 208 components. Check in depth for rust (again, could be a big problem) and overall be sure that it is mechanically and electrically sound. Price is a bit on the high for the mileage and requires a compression check. Be very careful, you could end up spending more than the purchase price just to have a properly running car. Have a look at this link: http://cms.melyssa.it/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=57 Seems good, should look at it in person Otherwise, search www.autoscout24.it there are some available in North Italy. Ciao Eugenio
If you have your own garage, if you can do your own mechanical work and other do it yourself activities, and if the car does not have too much rust, and has been reasomnably well maintained by previuos owners, then ongoing maintenance work on the car becomes a do-able thing. You can buy most of the 308 parts online/mail order from Superformance in the UK. But if you cannot fullfill the above conditions it will become a boat, and put you in a sea of debt. Best of luck. Martin '75 308GT4
Thanks a lot guys. So i will look the car, but i think i will wait for a good 308. I have a garage fully equipted, because some years ago i worked 2 years on an 190sl. but a "star" is not a "horse".
Interestingly, the 208 GT4 is reviewed in this month's Keith Martin's Sports Car Market magazine. I thought it was funny that the smaller engine only increased the mpg by 2 or 3. Not much difference considering all the trouble car makers had to go thru for the sake of fuel savings.
Welcome to here! I think a 308GT4 would be better to find parts to maintain, and that car has a lot of km...... Not so much fuel savings Dr. Tommy, it was made for TAX savings, as the 'above 2 liter" cars paid much more...... The GT4 is a very fine car, IMO, but a 308GTB is pretty! If you need 4 seats, then buy two........that's what I did.
I believe that the 208 is just a small-bore 308, right? Most everything else should be the same. (Perhaps it is also a shorter stroke too and that could be a problem if the crank is damaged.) If the difference is just pistons and liners, those can be had from sources other than Ferrari - in a pinch. Bottom line: I wouldn't shy away from a nice 208GT4 if the price was right. rick
thanks guys. As i said it would be my first ferrari. the thinking that the car was produced for italy made me thinking about the spare parts. althogh i thoght about a 400i or a mondial. but i didnt heard much good about the mondial. possible i can get the 208GT4 cheaper as 18.900 euro, because i think its standing already long time for selling. someone has idea what type of ferrari (if possible with 4 seats -2+2) is for starting to be a ferraristi the best. best wishes to all of you. mike37
Hey Mike, my friend Rui just bought a 328GTS from England and got a great deal on it. You might check the British ads. A LHD car in rainy, wintery England might be had at a quite good price about now...
I knew that. However the story actually goes beyond there. Italy was attempting to force people into a more economical car. Bigger engines = more gas burned to go the same distance (at least in 1975) so they created an "option" the consumer could pick from. If the buyer wanted to he could avoid a tax penalty by choosing a car with a smaller, more fuel efficient engine. That was the funny part to me. Italy forced a smaller engine and Ferrari complied but the fuel savings (primary reason) was nearly zero.
I knew that. However the story actually goes beyond there. Italy was attempting to force people into a more economical car. Bigger engines = more gas burned to go the same distance (at least in 1975) so they created an "option" the consumer could pick from. If the buyer wanted to he could avoid a tax penalty by choosing a car with a smaller, more fuel efficient engine. That was the funny part to me. Italy forced a smaller engine and Ferrari complied but the fuel savings (primary reason) was nearly zero.
The real question is ...why a 208? Do you still get major tax breaks for the smaller displacement? If not you should be buying a 308 gt4. I don't know the car, obviously, but it doesn't seem to be a bargain to me and the 2.0 litres will always be worth less than the 3.0 l versions. These are performance cars. The larger the engine the better the performance. The better the performance the more desirable and valuable the car. Buy a 308gt4. It seems to me Iceman still has his for sale in England and it looks superb. You know one of the really interesting facts about the gt4 is that, in 3.0 L form, it was a serious performer in the supercar world and in fact it's performance was not superceded by any other 308 until 12 years later with introduction of the 328. Take a look at iceman's. Good luck.
For a 1st Ferrari, the GT4 might be a challenge to someone who is not really mechanical. Certain parts may not be as available. Rust is a major concern to me anyway. I'd steer him towards a 308 (GTB or GTS), the most recent model in the buyer's budget. Plus the support group for 308's is much greater. A 208GT4 is an oddity, but maybe it is too odd to be collectible. Otherwise, I'd take a 308GT4 over anything else assuming the mechanicals are fine, the body is rust free and it's not missing any parts. Get 'em now before the world finds out how limited they are.
I owned a 208 GT4 for 4 years. 95% or more of parts are identical to the 308 GT4, and I never had a problem getting parts for mine. Carbs and exhaust are smaller than the 308, and obviously the pistons are different as the reduction in capacity was achieved by sleeving down the bores rather than shortening the stroke. Also the gearing is different. I've driven quite a few 308 GT4s and always found my 208 to be a sweeter drive. The steering is lighter and there seems to be more feel. Also the engine is fizzier. Performance is disappointing, it feels fast but actually it isn't. Don't let this put you off though, it will still beat a Mondial 8! I have raced mine against a 308 GT4, and through first gear it keeps up. Hovewer, you have to change to 2nd sooner and from there on in, the 308 walks away. There's about a 2 second difference over a 1/4 mile. One great advantage I've found with 208s is that if you get one from Italy, there tends to be a lot less rust than northern european examples.
