308 buyers advice needed.

Great choice in the 308 ferrari. There have been many many threads in regards to the 308/328 cars. Try the search and you should find some very recent and helpful info on the topic. Good luck

 

There is a 308 Buyer's Guide in "Forza" (magazine) #25, I believe. It's available as a back-issue (several years old now), so pick up a current copy at your local Barnes & Noble and order the back issue from the page that lists them towards the back.

Also, there is gobs upon gobs of good information in the archives here on Ferrari Chat. Try using different word combinations in the search feature, and I'm sure you'll turn up lots of good information.

For a $30k budget, I would look at cars in the $27k-$28k range, and then keep $2k in a "Ferrari Fund" for the various repairs, updates, etc. you'll want (or might have!) to do soon after you buy the car. Also, prepare to budget ~$500 (or so) for a Pre-Purchase Inspection. In that price range, you'll be able to get just about any year 308 you want (except maybe one of the early fiberglass-bodied cars) with some miles on it. Early carb'd 308s often change hands in the 20's, and even the later QV cars, with mileage, have traded hands in the low-20's (22k, to be exact, for a car with just over 80k miles). In short, it's very easily doable in your budget.

Welcome, and happy searching!

 

Welcome plymouth! You might fill out your profile so we know what region you're in, etc.

Definitely do a search here, but the first major decision is carb'ed ('76-'79) or injected (through 85).

One site that seems to be strong for 308's is Peter Sweeney's Forza (www.forza.weblobby.com). I haven't bought there, but you can check the New England area board and he seems to get a lot of positive comments. Also, he seems to find the kind of driver-level cars you might be interested in.

 

Plymouth, you say "move up to a ferrari" - have to say, I have a lot of respect for the Porsche engineering in the variety of porsches I have had, and still have, in addition to my ferrari. In fact, after having worked extensively on both, I'd rather work on my 911 than my ferrari as the 911 comes apart and bolts back together in a much more logical manner in every respect making the experience of working on your own car more satisfying IMHO. The 911 just seems bullet proof to me whereas the ferrari (3.2 mondial) is delicate and sometimes very difficult to work on.

I think you'll find that ferrari's of the 70's vintage feel and are built a little more like a specialty/low production car with the typical associated quirks. Step-wise, a little more like a lotus or kit car than the porsche, to be honest. Where the ferrari wins hands down is styling and grace and, of course, being just a little more exotic and unique.

For that budget, as reco'd elsewhere, save a little money for ferrari-level maintenance and parts costs - not double the corresponding porsche costs, but not far off that either. You might want to check out a 3.2 mondial (cab or coupe) as it's also a wonderful ferrari machine with space for the kiddies in the back. Good luck and enjoy!

 

Be patient with your search, it took me over 6-months to find my car.

 

Same old advice:
"Buy the best available car for the money you're willing to spend"
I was looking for a 308GTS QV when a near perfect carbed 308GTB became available. In hindsight and the fact I'm getting to be a lazy old fart I should have held out for a no fuss injected model. Carbs don't like extreme cold nor extreme heat while the later injected models are less fussy. I drive mine year round as I believe in the "use it or lose it" philosophy. So I would guess the question is if you were going to buy another Porsche would you prefer a carbed model with character or a civilized one with fuel injection.
just my .02
Bill
ps my pristine 32k 77GTB will be a 40k car by the time I replace 14" wheels/tires, shocks, 28 year old hoses & exhaust, delaminating windscreen, 30k service, etc.

 

Carbs LOVE extreme cold air (once you get them started). You get noticable more HP the colder it is. But carbs can be really fussy as you say so for a non DIY guy, FI is better.

Ken

 

I have a 78 308 and love it. In hindsight, I would think that a fuel injected car exhibits fewer "quirks" having to do with the fuel system, but not having owned and injected car, maybe I don't know sh*$. I was also going to add that I drove my car in about 100 degree weather and it didn't seem to have any problems.

 

I have an '83 308 QV car for sale. Black on black. PM me if interested. I'm in Chicago area.