328 GTS

If you love the 328 GTS, go that way.

 

I went from a 87 328 GTS to a 94 348 TB to a 89 328 GTB, which I intend to keep until I am dead. There is a message there. I now have a 430 as well, but it is still on probation.

Dave

 

King Tutankhamun proved that you can take it with you. So why give up the 328 then? 5,000 years from now, when an archæologist opens your tomb, his flashlight illuminates the GTB, and a colleague asks if he can see anything, he'll certainly respond, "Yes, wonderful things!"

 

I think he will say "garage queen"!

 

Get the car you like, but IMO the 328 is a much better car then the 348 in all aspects. I don't know NSXNICK, but I did see the car he has listed when it was at the dealer and it is a beautiful car. The dealer he bought it from sold mine.

 

sounds about 10-12k too expensive. you can almost get a 355 spider for that.

 

After more than 30 years of owning Italian sports cars, I can pretty positively state that reliability comes from a function of (a) regular use and (b) comprehensive service.

I've used Fiats, Alfas, and a Ferrari as daily drivers over that time. What I learned is that you'll look for a long time to find a used Italian car that doesn't have some issues. It's very rare that someone sells an Italian sports car that still works perfectly.

But if you budget for a comprehensive service after the purchase, any Italian can be brought up to daily driver reliability, provided it isn't too rusted. (Well, my rusty Alfetta GT was reliable enough -- it was just a smidge damp inside when it rained. )

I usually tell people to figure on spending a quarter of the purchase price on a service to make a used Italian car "right": but that's using "daily driver reliability" as the definition of "right".

One benefit of having the car serviced after you buy it is that you're not depending on the previous owner or mechanic. It also gives you the chance to negotiate a lower price for the basic car.

But whether you have the service after the purchase or look for one that someone else made right, you will absolutely want to have a trustworthy mechanic at hand locally. Poor service means poor reliability.

The first service may be the big one, but keeping the car reliable will depend on sticking religiously to the maintenance schedule.

It comes down to either doing large comprehensive scheduled services, or a lot of small unplanned repairs later.

And Italians really do rot faster sitting in the garage than being thrashed around on the roads.

So first find a local shop to service the car, and then go car shopping. Get it fixed up (even if it's only a loose panel, there'll be things the PO stopped noticing that will annoy you). Then drive it as often as you can.

Besides: A good local mechanic might know of a local car for sale -- maybe even one he already knows (mechanically).

 

Good choice. The guy who says you can get a 355 Spyder for the same price is correct. Thats the 355 thats coming off the 3rd lease and has 30,000 miles on it, no receipts and it's a 1995. A good, 1999, well sorted, from a reliable person/dealer is around $100,000.00 Thats the way it is. You get what you pay for with Italian cars.
Anyway, a well sorted 328 is fairly reliable. I use a local mechanic that maintains my car. When ever anything is wrong, I address it right away. If the marker light is loose and the screws are rotted, I change it. Thats the way you take care of these cars. You maintain it. You don't put things off because it goes into the next problem. No bandaids here. For a weekend car, if its well maintained, it will always be there for you. I do an oil change twice a year and have everything checked out including the battery and belts. The twice a year is, for me, is the Spring and the beginning of the Fall when I put it away for the winter. They are great weekend cars. You'll smile for many miles to come. Keep the car for three to four years and sell it for what you paid. Can't beat that!

 

When I retire, I'll have that much more time to drive my Ferrari.

 

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Very good words. My 328 was in great shape (recent platinum winner) when I bought it last Nov. ('88 with 19,000 miles, red/black) Belts were done two years prior, but not a complete major service. Spent about 12% of the purchase price on a complete major service plus some extra stuff. Could have driven it for another couple of years without the major, but wanted to start with a fresh 30,000 mile/5 years cycle and make sure there would be no big issuse. No matter how nice a car is, it's gonig to need some work to get that "daily driver reliability".