First Time Ferrari Buyer

20+ year owner of a 328 here.

Yes, the car is objectively slow these days. But being very low to the ground and all manual makes the car feel quick and engaging. 85 MPH in my 328 is riveting . 115 in my California T is literally forgotten.

However, slow means that you really have to think about your passes and options when on back roads. The closes I came to dying in a Ferrari was on a group drive, when a pickup decided to açcellerate and close up the hole I was aiming at. The car wasn't fast enough to deny him that move,and didn't have the brakes to bail out of it. Luckily the two lane road could accommodate three wide .

These cars can definitely be hot rodded. My buddy @ATSAaron has a 700HP 308. But adding power upsets the balance, so you'll need better brakes and cooling and shocks and springs and ....

The 308 and 328 cover a decade of cars and at least 6 models, with power ranging from the low 200HP to almost 300HP (and a 2 liter version as well).

The 348 is a very different beast.

If you're in the market, look at the white 328 in the classified.

 

Good luck. You're in the right place, of course, as there are countless threads here comparing models. As a 308 owner, my quick 2 cents is as follows. If considering a 328, the 308 to compare with is the very similar QV from 1982-1985. The 328 does have a performance advantage, but as you've noted both perform modestly (but remain quick!) by today's standards. The 328 has some reliability enhancements over the 308, but nothing earth shaking. The largest change IMO is moving to ABS. Both are beautiful cars, but to me the interior and exterior styling details like the ones you pointed out, also the black accents, makes the 308 more special. Side by side at a car show, my non-red QV seems to get the most attention. The 308 does not have ABS, if that is a concern for you. But ABS requires convex wheels, which to me are less attractive than the "deep dish" look of the 308 (and early non-ABS 328) wheels. As GrigioGuy says, the 348 is a completely different animal... much more performance, much more maintenance/reliability things to be aware of.

 

The 348 feels a lot more "modern" than a 308 or 328; it's (significantly) faster too, but it's so far away from current performance standards that this difference has become irrelevant.
A 348 does not have yet the same collectible status as a 308 or 328, so it will be cheaper to buy and maybe easier to use more casually.

 

"Buy the seller." I don't know where you're located but find your local Ferrari club and get hooked in with them. Some of the best cars (note, I did NOT say least expensive) are traded on a friend-of-a-friend comment and never show up on advertisements.

 

Such great advice.

 

Yes, pre purchase inspections (PPIs) are common and almost any legitimate seller will agree to one. Ask in the regional forums for suggestions for quality PPIs in your area.

 

This absolutely applies to a Ferrari! When you find an example you’re interested in create a thread asking for PPI recommendations in the area the car is located in. You’ll receive recommendations from many of the outstanding members here. Happy hunting and enjoy the search!

 

I've owned an F430 spider, a 458 spider, and now my daily is a Corvette C8 which goes 0-60 under 3 seconds. Its pretty fast for a daily that you can take to the supermarket.

I still enjoy driving the 328. And here is why. Because I can wind it up and drive like mad and not be put in jail in this car. Its certainly fast enough for city driving. Will it set your head back? No. Will it be fun to drive quickly? Yes. And it has a surprisingly comfortable ride.

Its not for big people though. If you are big, I suggest you sit in one first. Over 6'2 and 250 you might have a problem.

I'm not going to knock the 308 as I agree, the looks are more iconic and aggressive inside and out. Its more of a pure statement with more of an edge. But the 328 has more HP and more torque, a better AC system (when it works), and a lot of little refinements like windows that go up and down before winter sets in. It also has a galvanized steel body which is why rust is less of an issue with them. They run cooler in city traffic if properly maintained. They are generally a little more expensive apples to apples.

It is quirky though and you have to get used to the driving position, the lack of power seats so you're always moving he seat rack, and very little interior storage (no cup holders). But, either the 308 or 328 would be a good choice. I think it boils down to which looks do you prefer, the condition, and the price.

I do have some advice about selecting a car. When you find the right one, don't lose it for a few hundred bucks. You don't buy these every day. This isn't a contest to find the cheapest one out there. Quite often its pay me now or pay me later. And I do agree that a purchase of a 40 year old car might best have an expert give you the info a novice couldn't find.

And my last suggestion. Whatever you pay for it, put another $10 grand in a kitty for it that you'll probably be spending on it. If you don't need it, great. But if you do you'll understand you already knew something or things might need to fixed. That goes for both 308 or 328 because the cost ore repair is very similar.

 

To me, if you frame your mind in the 1980's perspective, the 328 feels like it performs very, very well. 0-60 times for a 328 are in the mid 5-second range, which was very fast in period and honestly is still pretty decent today. But 0-60 times often aren't a good indicator of how a car feels to drive. The pre-2022 Subaru BRZ goes 0-60 in 6.2 seconds, but it felt like a 9+ second 0-60 car to me when driving it. The 328 is super visceral, quiet and docile when driven modestly, and just enough rawness and noise and clicking of metal shift gates when you put your foot in it that it feels great, and engaging, and very spirited, no matter what the stopwatch says. Don't rely on performance specs -- the best thing to do is to test drive one and see how it feels for you because everybody's benchmark for driving feel and performance is different.

The 308's should not be discussed in one bucket. The QV has very good performance, as do the early carbed 308's. The first injected cars (308 GTSi and GTBi) did not have a lot of power -- it was just bad timing on emissions regulations that killed performance (along with the Mondial 8)-- and it is NOT at all easy to mod those first injected engines to get more power. Given your concern about performance, I would definitely not recommend a GTSi/GTBi -- but the QV and much earlier carbed cars would probably be very enjoyable (again, best to drive all of the models you are considering). Reliability-wise, they are all quite good. The more advanced 328 will be more plug and play for daily use, but honestly, even carbs are pretty maintenance free once they are dialed in properly.

The 348 is more complex and probably will be more expensive to maintain. Since your preference is for a 328/308 anyway, I wouldn't consider a 348 in your shoes unless you found performance really unsatisfying in the 328/308 (which I suspect is unlikely).

 

Also, if maintenance is a concern, the 308 and 328 can do a major service and belt change with the engine in place.

With the 348 switching to the longitudinal engine placement, the same job requires the engine to come out. That’s a huge increase in effort if you’re handy enough to do it yourself, and a huge increase in cost if you take it to a shop.

And it also means you lose the rear trunk space that the 308 / 328 has. It’s not huge, but it has proven to be plenty for Mrs. Rosso and I on weekend road trips.

 

The things that I was looking for, and found, with my 355 are as follows. I think they really apply to every vintage Ferrari:

1) Precise mechanical feel, especially with regards to shifting

2) Acceleration, sounds, and feel at high RPMs

3) Responsive handling with fairly high grip limits, but also a car that is entertaining when not on the limit

4) Emotional response

Note, the importance of all of these is they can all be evaluated subjectively, not objectively by comparing to other cars. If it does it for me, it does it for me, and that's all that matters. That's a pretty nerdy way of saying if the car is exciting for you to drive, then buy and enjoy it.