'85 308 GTSi What should I offer?

Might give you some useful info:

1985 Ferrari 308 GTSi Quattrovalvole | Bring a Trailer

Bid's at 68k as I write this.

 

That car for $68 is fully serviced- a Ferrari sitting for 10 years will likely need mechanical work in the $10-15+ range, and to do apples to apples the subject car would need leather and other cosmetic work to compare to the bring a trailer car.

 

Welcome Valention! Where are you located and where's the car at? $68k is on the low side if the car has good history and no major issues. From the pics the car looks good. If possible do a carfax just in case.

 

I would ask what they want for it before I gave number. Never be the first one to throw out a number, if possible. If they don't give you an asking price I would give a lowball offer and work from there.

 

I just got done restoring a 328 that had been sitting in a box in a garage for a long time also.
It took me a year to create my masterpiece. And a lot of $.
I can tell you what your're in for!
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Belts are easy to do on a 328 anyway. But yes I'd replace them before startIng the car.

 

now

 

IMO $68k for a car that has been sitting for 10 years and needs service/pump/belts and extra (??) is a little high. You can find sorted/serviced cars for that number of fairly close (more) that will save you time and $ in the long run.

Recall that 85's can have the chronic overheating issue which is sometimes difficult to sort.

Good luck in the hunt

 

I think you're spot on at $40K

Even a tiny bit high. I'd set aside $10K for sorting with the potential for some creeping unknowns. Buy at $37,500 if you can. I just turned down a similar one (non red) at $45K. Just needed to much to merit paying more than $35-37K


(Full disclaimer: not on board at all with the current market flood, and my belief is realistic cars are selling at realistic prices, not speculative prices)

 

It's not so much what you pay for the car...It's what you have to spend on it to put it back to the condition you want it to be.
It's usually cheaper in the long run to buy a turn key ready to go car & get in and enjoy it.

 

Hoses, fluids(water, bleed brakes, gear-oil, engine oil+filter), filters, s-plugs, replace fuel, all very easy and little $

cam belts, cam seals, o-rings, cam cover gaskets, shift-shaft seals + gearbox sump gasket, tyres etc a little more $. but not a worry, car will be very drive-able and reliable !

water pump easy to recondition, thermostat easy to replace.

enjoy ! : )

 

I think you guys saying $40k or less are nuts. The market has moved on from such low prices, especially for a lower miles late-year GTS QV. The asking prices on most GTS QVs are about double that. OP: you can offer whatever you want, but you're not getting this car for $40k.

 

Don't forget to check for the other items that make a meaningful difference, such as:

A) Are the original owner's books with the car?
B) are the Jack and tool kits there, too?
C) Can the leather seats be saved?

If all those check out, it makes it a much better deal. We are talking thousands of dollars for the above.

There are many great threads on Fchat that will guide you on those topics.

Good luck!

 

Yes. Not going to happen for $45k. Sorry, but that's reality.

 

Tuesday my 328 gts will be up for sale on this website
I bought it from the original owner.

 

I think your pricing is about 2 years behind the current market. 308 values were flatlined, steady, for almost 10 years, then about 3 years ago started climbing. Your description of what this car needs really is a fixer-upper, catching up on deferred maintenance and the once in 30 years maintenance (fuel hoses, coolant/heater hoses, caliper rebuilds etc). As I highlighted from your comments above, the car would have been $40K 2 years ago, but likely will be $60K now if the body is straight and solid, no rust, engine compression is good.

Check out www.hagerty.com for their valuation tool to get an idea of their condition levels and the pricing over the last few years. Some say Hagerty values are lagging the market by 6 months...

 

if the seller would take $40-$45K, your math and improvements make sense..jump on it. If they have bids already up in the 60's, might be hard to get them to come around to your numbers, but worth a try.

One good thing about getting a car that needs work is seeing the work done with your own eyes and knowing its correct vs relying on a folder full of paper.

 

I wouldn't buy this as my first Ferrari. It's going to take some time to get the car sorted and who knows what issues lurk behind a car sitting for 10 years. You can very easily spend $20-25k on a car that's been sitting after going through the engine, suspension, etc. Are there any compression issues, does top end need to be rebuilt, what about clutch or transmission, A/C? The list goes on.

My advice would be to find something fully sorted and leave this one for someone else.

If you're deadset on this car, I don't think your $40-45k is not too far off given the level of uncertainty and dollars needed.

 

A car that has been sitting for 10 years is going to need a lot more than you are considering this would be a great project for seasoned veteran but to buy as your first Fcar , I think it will be more of a nightmare than you can anticipate. With just the basic items you mentioned. Service brakes suspension fuel system you're going to have 20-25k invested then you need to budget for another 10-15k for the unseen because there will be plenty you will need to address once things start cooming apart. Be sure to get compression #s before purchasing, the 308 engine isn't a 7-8k rebuild any more. Your PPI told you a good bit but you need to know more, have someone who knows 308s inside and out do a very thorough inspection. I've done several cars that have turned into major projects once they started to come apart. I'm not trying to discourage you just do your homework and go in prepared.

Wade

 

I just bought my first Ferrari three weeks ago, also an '85 308 GTS QV. I suggest for value you watch the Bring-a-Trailer auction (per Mike996's post) that ends in two days, if you can wait. It seems to have a lot of admiring comments/followers so its sales price may be indicative of the current market. Personally I would take $40-50k off that sales price to get to a ball park for yours. Mine sat for 10 years or so and prior owner had a specialist shop do over $20k to get it back on the road; in addition to the major belt service you will likely need a lot of work on the fuel, brake and perhaps electrical systems. The other $20-30k would be for miscellaneous (missing items, down-payment for future interior work, etc.) or for problems with emissions equipment (cat, air pump, etc.) or A/C. Good luck!

 

Aside from the money, are you prepared to devote the TIME necessary that the previous two posts have indicated is likely to be required?