308 maintenance

Looking for 84 or 85 308. Should i buy one that has been sericed by authorized Ferarri dealer only? Is it possible for an owner to properly service the vehicle or should I avoid these cars?

 

84/85 308 QV are very well built car they are very reliable, cheap to maintain, preety easy to work on assuming you have basic mechanical knowledge, damn looks good, its a timeless design, and if you're in CA. no hastle passing smog, its as close as you can get to look like the 288 GTO, it holds its value preety well, not that far off from the 328s, and 85 is the last year of the 308 generetion.
And yes it is possible for an owner to service the car. Since you're interested in this kind of car, do your homework and/or assignment. Once you find THE car
for you, you'll never regret it. It'll give you many many years of enjoyment and excitement. Good luck and let us know when you find one.

 

realistically, how much per year should be set aside to perfom regular good service on a 84 or 85 308?

 

'Cheap to maintain' relative to most other Ferrari's. Unless you're up to doing the major service yourself, plan on $3K-$4K for that every 3 years (per Ferrari). I believe you also have items like $1500+ clutch replacements and $2000 windshield replacements in 308s. GREAT cars, but 'bargain' and 'Ferrari' don't go well together.

Also, 308s are old cars, so a lot of the things that normally go with age -- bad rubber fuel lines, coolant hoses, electrical switches -- are going to need attention on a 308.

It's very desirable to find one serviced by an authorized dealer, but there are very highly regarded independent Ferrari mechanics who can do just as well or better. In southern California, I'd put Gary Bobileff (San Diego) and Eugenio (LA) in that category. Rifledriver (Brian Crall) on this site also gets high marks and the Northern California guys can probably tell you more.

EDIT: Fill out your profile and people can refer you to someone in your area.

What you don't want is some $1K major service performed at an unknown shop, because they may have cut corners without really going through the car properly. Service records are a must-have when buying an old Ferrari. You want to know who did that major service, and what exactly was done.

For the usual fluid changes and such, it probably isn't as critical to have it serviced at a Ferrari dealer -- they are pretty simple cars. However there's a benefit to having an expert check things over if you're not mechanically savvy.

 

I tell people to compare it to a 911 without the head stud problem. If you repair the things you would on any twentysomthing year old car I find them to be very reliable. Don't let the name intimidate you they are very simple by today's standards and were not overly complex in their day. They are built very well and can take a fair amount of abuse. It took me 6 hours and $500 to change my clutch, $200 and 8 hours to change my belts, $450 and 10 hours to resurface rotors, change pads, and brake hoses.

Larry

 

i'd say the only problem you'll have with an owner-serviced car is lack of service records. there are people who want to see a service history on a car and generally owner-serviced cars don't have much of a paper trail. i could be wrong, though. otherwise, a car owned by an enthusiast who can also service the car should make for a lovingly cared for machine--and a good buy.

as for yearly maintenance, my308 has needed nothing repaired in almost 2 years. just regular fluid changes. i do mine at an authorized dealer, so i spend more than others, about $1.2K per year.

john

 

I wouldn't steer clear of owner serviced cars. I service my car. If you take the car to the shop they are going to do only the service you pay for. When the owner services the car, he is more apt to take greater care in doing the job right the first time, taking care of other little issues he notices, cleaning everything, etc.

I've had my car for over 4 years, I've probably spent around $1,500 in maintanence costs. That's doing all the work myself. Records? Well I've got all the receipts somewhere. If I were to sell the car I'd have no problem taking it somewhere for a PPI. That is the key.