Are High Miles or Low Miles Better on a 328?

You might get lucky buying a low-mileage Ferrari -- it might turn out to have been driven regularly by a dishonest enthusiast instead of having rotted in some honest poseur's garage!

If I were in the market for a used sports car (not just a Ferrari), I would have to see some proof of at least 3-4K miles per year, fairly evenly distributed. Plus, of course, proof of timely maintenance and a satisfactory PPI.

Less than 2K miles per year? Forget it!

 

I've mentioned before that my car is nearly at 90k and it runs like a top. This is anecdotal, of course. The car was maintained by F o SF and Al Burtoni for the first 80k and it showed (visibly) and in the PPI. Look at obvious things. The guy who buys cheap tires probably saved elsewhere too. You want the car that people loved. That to me usually means miles. I'm told the cars should be driven at least 30 minutes twice a month. Figure that's at least 50 miles and month or 600 miles a year. Throw in one decent long trip every six months or so and your closer to a thousand. That's a minimum to me. So, an 86 328 I'd want to see 20,000 miles. Where you start deducting value for high miles is up to you.

 

Really, who gives a sh*t how many miles are on the car? It's just a number on a (not too) accurate guage that can easily be disconnected or otherwise tampered with. Plus, if market forces dictate that you are able to pick up a car with "high" miles for less money than the exact same car with less miles, so much the better. Pick the BEST car in terms of what you want (GTB/GTS, color, year, price, service history, paperwork, etc.) that has also been maintained correctly, runs perfectly and passes a thorough PPI. When I was looking for mine, I looked at a car that, when I first approached it, I had no idea how many miles it had covered. I walked around it a couple of times, looking very carefully at its cosmetic condition; I looked under the front spoiler, at the engine compartment, all the wheels and tires, door jambs, the battery/spare tire area - everything. This car looked great and I guessed it had somewhere between 15-20,000 miles on it. When I came to the interior (which also looked fantastic) I noticed the car had almost 89,000 miles on it! I then reviewed the car's paperwork and, in addition to normal wear and tear items, for the last 10 years the car had been maintained with complete fluids every year and had had two major services (true majors with everything done) within the last 10 years - including one done about a week before. It ran and drove perfectly. I was very impressed with the car and left thinking I would probably make an offer. After thinking about it, I called the owner that evening to schedule a PPI and he said the car had sold (as in gone).

The point is that it was a perfectly maintained car that looked as if it had about a quarter of the miles it really did and was being offered at very attractive price. Obviously, provided it would have passed a PPI, I would have made an offer. I also looked at a couple of cars with indicated mileage between 5-20,000 that I would not have touched with a ten foot pole.

I ended up with an '89 GTS (one of the last) with about 42,000 miles that was in similar condition to the higher mileage car described above - and paid a fair amount more for it.

People put too much emphasis on low mileage -- silly in most cases and ridiculous for a car with the 328's intrinsic "goodness." As you're intelligent enough to be in search of a 328, you will be rewarded with plenty of good cars from which to choose. Try to form an opinion before you know what the odometer says.

 

A genuine, low-mileage car can be the right move if you're not planning to pile on the miles yourself. By all means, if you're going to put on 5000-10,000 miles a year, it's a waste of money to pay a premium for a low mileage car.

BUT:

Very often a low mileage car is a sign that the owner has been very selective about how/where that car was driven. In my case, I run up the miles on my Jeep when it comes to parking downtown, driving on our chronically under-construction freeways, running short errands that don't let the engine get properly warmed up, etc. My weekend sports cars have always got the fair weather miles, on the best roads, not the stop-and-go grind or the quick trips to Home Depot.

Also, very simply, a lot more buyers like low-mileage cars. It hurts to think about selling when you're buying a Ferrari, but there are a lot more people out there (like me, specifically) who think a 25,000 mile 328 is something to consider and a 70,000 mile 328 is going to require a wealthy fanatic as its next owner. Remember, $40K can get you into a pretty nice new car with a warranty. For many people, this is relevant. For people on this board, it's probably less relevant.

Don't talk yourself out of buying a low-mileage car because it's more expensive. Yes, a car that's sat around for 10 years is going to need seals and possibly other maintenance. But I've had no problems with cars that I've put 1000-2000 miles a year on, because I overmaintain (bleed brakes, drive regularly, change fluids based on the calendar, etc.).

If money were no object, I'd bet most of us would rather have a 15,000 mile 328 in our garage than a 70,000-mile car. A true enthusiast will appreciate either car, but most of us wanted a new Ferrari in 1988. Something closer to new is always going to appeal to more people.

 

I looked around for a 308/328 ended up buying a 328. I asked a lot of questions up front on which model. It had a little over 30k on it. I was more interested in a lower mileage car, but didn't think a premium was worth paying for. The reason I was looking for a low mileage car was that is seems most of the higher mileage ones I looked at the cosmetics where not a nice.
My one biggest concern was if the car was all original and had documents. No cosmetic repairs no modifications... etc. It sat un-used for a few years, had to replace the tires, had the car thing "gone over" it's been great so far so good.
Over all, thinking about it, mileage would not have mattered to me as long as the car was taken care of (condition) as someone has already stated.

As far as mileage:
I think I've put may be a thousand miles on it. I agree you just don't want to take it up to Home Depot for a can of paint.... put it does get driven I figure I paid for it I might as well enjoy the car.

As far as investment:
I've owned a lot of different special interest autos, I never considered any of them an investment. Some did appreciated in value most didn't. I think if your buying a 308/328 thinking it's value is going to increase, I'd take my chances elsewhere with the 50K.
Oh, the ones that did appreciate wheren't from Italy.

 

I often find myself as being an exception to every rule, but here goes....

My 1986 328 GTS has approximately 145,000 miles on it and is in near-pristine condition, not only cosmetically, but mechanically. I had a compression test on the car and the mechanics were totally freaked at how good the results were. (180 and above).... not bad for that many miles. The prior owner took great care of the car and yet used it as a daily driver for many years...

I think you should consider what you want to do with the car (besides driving it of course!).... Do you want to trade up in a couple of years, or use the car until you drop dead? Once you know the answer to this you can then make a decision about miles...

Overall, I say condition beats mileage ANY day!

 

that how it is for most cars.... isn't it?
condition and mileage

 

The important thing is condition. Obviously there are issues with very high mileage as well as very low mileage cars. The problem with ALL 3x8's is, while they are relatively old, they are not quite old enough to be considered a true collectible. Once a car reaches a certain age where they're no longer just a used car, there is generally little value given to mileage showing. How many 60's (or older) cars are marketed as xxxxx miles -very few as they are marketed based on quality of the car not the mileage showing - which we all know is often bogus. Mileage is a factor to be considered but not nearly as important as some make it out to be. Buy a good car - screw the odometer - it's probably wrong anyway.

 

As always, great information here. Let me toss in my $0.02. When I searched for a 328, one of my criteria was to find a car with <15K miles. I'm a weekend driver and was only planning to put about 1500 miles per year on the car. It took me a full 6 months to find the right car... and this is pretty tough when you've got money burning a hole in your pocket and you're ready to pull the trigger on your first F-car. Take your time and BE PATIENT. Don't jump on a sub-standard car if it's not right... or because it's cheap. Believe me, you get what you pay for.

Which is a better deal? You can get a pristine 15K car which has been treated properly and well maintained for $50K. Chances are you'll have few to no problems at all... I didn't in 5 yrs. Or you can go for a harder-used, higher mileage car which costs $35K, add another $4K for the major, then start replacing clutches, water pumps, bushings, heater contols... and before you know it, you have $50K in a car still worth only $35K.

Re: speedo disconnect or inaccurate mileage, I found it very easy to identify these cars. The leather interiors in 328s show wear when used. I looked at a 12K car with worn out seats and instantly knew the mileage was BS... and this car was at a dealer. A true low mileage car should have a great, new looking interior.

We had a guy on F-Chat years ago who was a car tech. He said these cars are no different than Fords or Chevy's in that they are machines... mechanical devices. All mechanical devices wear with use. He always said if offered a car with 15K vs 35K, he'd go for the one with 15K every time. It's also quite likely that these cars have been driven pretty hard during their 16-19 year lives. As mentioned above, just make sure the history of the car shows it didn't sit in a museum (or 100% garage queen) with zero mileage.

Just another way to look at it. Have fun and good luck!

 

Unless it's a 5 minute trip, why not? I use my car for everything I can as long as it's a long enough trip to get to temperature. No point letting it sit gathering dust.

Ken

 

It's not that I don't drive the car, I selectively drive it

 

I always ending up parking next to some klutz loading plywood into his dinged up pickup.

And, if I buy something bigger than, say, a nail, a Ferrari's not going to carry it anyway. For Home Depot runs, you definitely need an F150 or maybe a Lotus. ;-)

J

 

IMO, regularly used, low original mileage with history is the one to go for.