Are 3X8 Prices REALLY Going Up? Value vs Price

Let's not leave out Marcello Gandini at Bertone who designed the first 308s....

 

Heya Steve,

I went through the same many-year buildup as you did... starting my research in 2011 when they were cheap, then they jumped up in value quite a bit and the plan had to change. Felt like I was always chasing an ever-rising $ level that I'd not ever meet. So great when the day finally arrived though.

On the AC ... can't see where you're from, but I used to think the same when I first got mine. Who needs AC? Take the top off! In fact, that top is never going back on! Then that weekend trip brought some unexpected rain. And that other time that it was 105F in the shade, and I had to drive the car 80 miles with the top on (because raw sunlight screaming down would have been even worse.) Then the desire for cold AC hits home. The QV is cool as hell, but the weather can sometimes just be as hot as hell too.

But above all - congrats on the car. Hope you're enjoying ownership as much as I do.

 

The 246 Dino was unloved for much of its life,rusting away in some dark garages. Now see where they are.

The 308 will follow on with that tradition,eventually, then we can all talk about the good old days when you could pick up a good 308 for well under $100K ,already started with the Vetro, being followed next by the Carb /QV's.

 

3X8 are definitely on the rise because I’m selling mine for $200,000 right now

 

wow, didn't know that about the shifting, cool. Although that scenario probably works great on a track. in suburbia I would have love not to have to get use to a whole new shifting pattern. BUT think about all the fun I will have learning.

yeah I know it was Leonardo Fioravanti from Pininfarina's (its on the side of the car haha) who did the actual design. Ezno was involved in the design and did give Leonardo Fioravanti his ideas & input. Sadly that is something that will never happen again.

and yes steering is not that bad without power steering but it would be nice.

GOD I LOVE THIS CAR

by the way im still learning and believe I have a LONG way to go. seems like a lot of the guys in here really know there stuff about the 308 & Ferrari. now that I FINILLY (only took 50 years) own one I hope to gain a ton more knowledge about my 308 & the workings of Ferrari.

saw a F430 not to long ago and it really peaked my interest. now all I need is the 308 to hit 6 figures and who knows. hahaha but not anytime soon. give it like 8 10 years

 

hey Mikeuason is that what you are getting for it or is that what you have it listed at. what makes your worth that much? im ignorant when it comes to the 308 upper level pricing? I've seen one listed for $125k and as much as $256K but when I read the details on those I can't figure out what makes them worth that much????

 

Hey Thorn

first congrats to you also. yeah that was my exact scenario. it seemed like just when I was about to pull the trigger I would start looking and sure enough the priced jumped by 10K. and I would have to put the whole thing on hole and start squrraling more money away. I think what most people don't realize is its not just the purchase. its the price for the car, the sales tax when you reg. it in NY (where I live), and even though all the sellers tell you their car is perfect and needs nothing. we all know the real truth. cars of this are and performance will need some work when you first buy them. mine needed brakes, oil change, all 4 tires (his were dry rotted), I changed all gasket & seals, and I still need to do a few more repairs. all total once the dust settles I will probably be into it for about and additional 15K including the sales tax.

So its really difficult to fine one that makes sense to invest all that cash. but yeah I will never forget the day I showed up to pick up my 308 from a friend that looked it over before taking position. it was kind of surreal, when I first saw it I didn't want to even touch it. I've always been someone that always looked but never touched, so when you do that for 50 years your mind is programed to NEVER TOUCH A MAN'S FERRARI, out of respect, and because its not yours to tough. so when the day came for me to pick up mine it took me a little bit to actually put my hands on it. hahaha

so I take it since you mentioned 105 temps I have to assume your are in the S. west, AZ maybe? I love AZ and will be retiring there in about 8 years. so in LI NY A/C is not as critical, but I'm sure once I get to AZ I will need to lock down the A/C in the car. my issue with the top on is I'm 6'2 and over 3 bills. so getting in and out is a challenge for me, but with the top off its very easy. lets not forget the bottom of the seat in that car is just under 6 inches off the ground.

 

I’m with Thorn on the AC. Me it’s top out 90% of the time but there are times you NEED AC.
Example being years ago when I owned an 83 308 I was on the way home from a road trip to my Dads.
it was a hot, very humid summer day and it started to rain so the top was in. The rain let up a bit but the heat was still there and the humidity really kicked up.
My AC worked a teeny tiny bit and I tried every vent angle, adjustment on the console etc to no avail. It was an absolute cooker in that cockpit.
So yeah.....now on my all black 328 working AC is a must!

 

You will come to love these things. It is called The Stockholm Syndrome.

 

For the first year, my hands smelt like the first owner's cologne after I drove my car. I guess the stuff was soaked into the steering wheel. Kinda weird.

Just do like Johnny Cash with his 308: https://youtu.be/CrHEmaxqDuo?t=3m25s

I measure it as 9" on my car, but that is still extremely low.

 

Well Mike, as far as we know, Enzo was not really "involved" in the design of the 308.

According to most sources, and to Fioravanti himself in his authobiography, the 308 was designed in 1971, by Leonardo Fioravanti, as a potential successor to the "Dino 246", this concurrently with the first Berlinetta with a 12 cylinder 180° engine, called at the time the "Superberlinetta", and which was to become the BB.
When the said "Superberlinetta" project needed more attention and design hours, Fioravanti shelved the "246 successor" drawings, almost finished but not completly, and had to forget them in a drawer, because a shift in marketing strategy that probably originated from the FIAT men, saying that the next small car should challenge the Porsche 911 more directly, so have four seats: that gave us the 308GT4, which was designed at Bertone for reasons still unknown today.
As everyone on this forum know, the GT4 hit the markets at the end of 1973, and if the car was universally praised by the press in Europe, the reaction of the potential customers in the USA was rather tepid, so the car didn't sold as well as anticipated in 1974: orders were low in numbers. There were grave concerns at Maranello, as the US market made for 35% of the Ferrari sales, and the GT4 was the only car that could be sold there, as the BB couldn't be federalized.
So Enzo shifted strategy, and called Fioravanti, instructing him to design a two-seater successor to the the 246 after all, and to do it as quickly as possible. In the words of Fioravanti himself, he went back to the project onto which he had worked in 1971, and completed it. Some of the first 308 protoypes were simply built on shortened GT4 chassis; the prototypes that were tested on the italian roads during the spring of 1975 were still badged as "Dinos", not "Ferraris"; the rebadging to fully fledged "Ferraris" was to enhance the sales in the US.
It is a well known fact that the prototypes were, in some proportion that is difficult to ascertain, tested by Niki Lauda, who fine-tuned the handling from the "easily oversteering" prototypes to "light understeer" for the production model.

To sum it up: basically, Enzo's involvement with the 308 GTB was limited to the decision that he needed a two-seat succesor to the 246, and asking Fioravanti to design it. Contrary to some extreme opinions, he seemed to have had some interest indeed in his road cars, sometimes watching the tests, etc...but he was not much involved with their design and development; he directed almost all of his efforts towards racing.

Rgds

 

Hi Brian

the Johnny Cash video was pretty funny. some days I feel like that's the only option I have to get in and out. Do you want to know the worst part of my story? I took position of my 308 on November 4th 2017. On Dec 3rd 2017 I had a slip and fall at a shooting range and BROKE my kneecap in half. I could not bend my knee for 5 weeks and am still doing rehab. After only owning it for 30 days the injury kept me out of the cockpit until about the end of April. granted it was through the winter months, but starting in March NY does have a day here or there were you can take a car out with no top. meaning the salt is washed off the roads, and the weather is warm enough.

when I measured I took my measurement from the bottom of the seat pan. I will say the top sides of the seat are about that height. but either way when itn it you feel like you are sitting on the floor. I am constantly noticing when I am in it on the roads my head ONLY comes up the top of the tires on an SUV. pretty scary to think if one of the things hit me. GUYS!!! THE TOP OF AN SUV TIRE!!!! how CRAZY COOL is that???

U guys are the best, I love talking Ferraris

 

It still gives me a giggle when I'm looking UP to a Corolla or Civic.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Ever park next to a Miata. That's when you realize how small these cars are!
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

his autobio is great... a colleague and i always suspected the boxer was a more modern design. it was confirm by fioravanti in which the initial 308 was started before both the boxer and 308 gt4 but was shelved and picked up later.

 

Wow! This are great info, thank you. I know that Enzo really focus mainly on the racing division but didn’t know his limited involvement with the 308 GTB.

 

I'm reading the new Enzo Ferrari biography now, and it has more detail about the Ferrari - Fiat partnership. so it seems that in 1971 Enzo was hit with kidney problems and was out of the office for a long while ( some thinking he would not recover ) and that is when Fiat took over the actual production of road cars... prior to that Enzo was still the President and effective CEO of Ferrari in all forms ... while Fiat contributed money to modernize the plant and update the facility ... Enzo was effectively incharge... so that he directed a new 2 seater to be built seems plausible... but by 1974 he was back in health and focused on racing 100% and the Road cars were under a new Ferrari President - and Enzo was Chairman... Vittorio Ghidella was the guy in charge of road car production for Fiat - when Enzo stepped down as president.

 

Very probably Luca Del Monte's (??).
Rgds

 

I have just finished reading it (I'm on a business trip, so took it with me to read it in the plane). It won't tell you many new things, as most of what's inside was already known from a lot of different books and sources, but the merit of the book is undoubtly to have put everything together. It is very much oriented towards the man and his passion for racing, drivers, etc...; some discussions about the industrial aspects; almost nothing about the road cars.
Rgds

 

This book?


Image Unavailable, Please Login