From sinner to saint - first F car . . . . ?

The challenge wheels REALLY look sweet on that Mondial. I think it really modernizes the look. Best wheels i've seen on a Mondi yet!

I will tell you that the Mondial and GT4 are very different animals. The GT4 is more raw and involving where the Mondial is more civilized in their road manners. The GT4 is a carbed car where the Mondi is an injected motor. The rear seats are more usable in the Mondi where the GT4's are good for small kids or a couple duffel bags.
My best advice is to drive a good example of both and the differences will become very apparent. That said, I think either would be a good choice for a 1st Ferrari.

JIM

 

Very nice looking car. Make sure they put some air in that left rear before taking it for a test drive.

 

That is one sweet t. (It is a t isn't it?)

Maintenance can be a little pricey but we have found that if you drive it regularly very little goes wrong. In other words your most important maintenance cost is fuel. Having said that, make sure you have a good cash reserve at purchase (at least $5,000). The problem is that everything from the suspension to the ignition uses a computer (ECU), and they are expensive.

The front seat is very comfortable for me where a 308 is tight.
The power ABS brakes are fantastic!
The power assist steering is just right and you can park it without grunting.
The balance is perfect.
The hydraulic clutch is light.
The dry sump engine practically sits on the ground, giving a very low CG.
Really, it is in another league as the other cars you mentioned as well as the earlier Mondials. Think of it as a baby 355 with a back seat and a bullet proof motor.

Dave

 

+1 !

It's amazing how a nice pair of shoes (ok, 2 pair) changes the whole look of an outfit. Stunning!

Regarding the original post, what is your budget? That would help narrow down possibilites.

 

At entry level, you also have the 348. But I think the 308 GTS is a bit more car for similar money, and less expensive to keep on the road.

If you're under $50K and want a really driveable car, with manageable maintenance costs and great resale, my recommendation is to look for a 308 QV in some color other than red. IMHO, 308s look best in black or blu sera (dark blue) anyway, and you'll avoid the Magnum comments. On the down side, you'll see 50 red ones for every non-red 308.

If you can stretch a bit beyond $50K, the 328 is even better. But as posted above don't spend your last discretionary dime on the purchase, because stuff happens, and these cars are 20+ years old.

 

So you'd rate the 328 as a step up from the 308s? Noticeably better in what respects?
Have wondered about relative desirability through the 3x8 range.
A $65K budget would be better used to buy a good 328 than a better specimen of an earlier car like a glass 308 maybe?
Would you say the later 308 is always better than an equivalent standard earlier year?
Quite a few sportscar lines seem to get it right in the early cars then go astray later in the line. Often a later year may be slightly slower or less nimble as change is not always for the better. Have Ferrari avoided that in their 3x8 cars?
Sorry for all the questions but the experience and opinion of the regulars here is a great help in not winding up with the wrong choice.

 

Yes, the 328 is a very noticeable step up, although the 308 QVs are fine cars. The most significant upgrades are to the engine (more power, a bit more durable -- revised camshafts and piston heads), improved ignition (Microplex) components, as well as electronics generally (better fuse block, for example, and power windows and a/c that actually work), and the steering rack from the 288 GTO which is fantastic. The 328 is a lighter car -- those 308 rubber 5 mph bumpers on U.S.-spec cars weigh about 100 lbs each, stuck out at the nose and tail of the car like a couple of dumbbells -- so a 328 is a bit more nimble as well. Based on my and others' experience, I'd also say that the 328 was Ferrari's best-made car, a notch better than the 308 QV and far better than the 348/355. Too soon to know on the 360.

(As an aside, when the FOC has driving events in San Diego, I tend to see the usual new cars from the 360/F430 generation, one or two F355s, and the only older cars that really get driven tend to be several 328s that live around here. They are fairly tough machines relative to other Ferraris.)

The fibreglass 308s command a premium over the steel ones, so if a nice one comes along you might want that for its collector value. All other things being equal, it will likely be a fussier car to maintain than a 328 -- Ferrari took a decade to debug the 308 and come out with the 328 -- but with only 712 made, versus 7,000+ 328s, it is scarcer.

Ferrari had devil of a time with emissions control, so the '78-'83 cars wouldn't be my first choice. My opinion is that the '87-'88 328 was the last of the computer-free Ferraris, and the ones where the few flaws/recalls had already been addressed. But, any of the '84 through '89 3x8s are pretty good (assuming they've had caring owners).

If you want a 308 to drive at a good price, I'd recommend the '84-'85 308 GTS QV as the most dependable of the 308 run -- also, rustproofing started in Jan '84. I think they're underpriced right now, with relatively few good ones that haven't been ruined with aftermarket bits (the curse of being the "entry-level" Ferrari for many years...) One of the finalists, when I was shopping, was a really stunning black-over-red '85 308 GTS QV with deep spoiler, and if I had bought it I'd bet I would have kept it long term. It's the kind of car that makes you melt on the spot.

 

The Mondi t looks great with the wheels but keep in mind as a reference the 18 inch challenge wheels are the same size as the 360 wheels which I had on my 89 Mondi that rubbed. I can see from the photo that the wheels overhang the wheel wells which will surely rub once loaded with yourself and a passanger. In 89 the body was tweaked and the flared wheel wells from older models was smoothed out making it very difficult to fit 18s. I actually had the wells rolled to produce more room to fit but to no avail it still rubbed not as often but it still did. I just swaped out the 18" 360's to 17 inch 348 rims that make the clearences and actually perfom better on the car. (When I bought the car the originals were already gone so I had no choice)

Also be prepared to have cash on hand to handle the maintainence costs if there is any question to its history. I bought a car that had a good but I still put $27,000 into it after I had to repace the tranny becasue of a time bomb within it after 1000 miles of enjoyment. Also rebuilt starter, alternator, full major, new clutch with all the new mods, new exhaust Stebro, track cats and other minor things. Pre Inspection is critical but it can not foresee any major issues to come be careful buy right and enjoy.

 

Listen to Bullfighter, he knows what he is talking about.

A few other comments.

The Mondial is a nice car and has some little backseats for the kids, which is a plus for many. Four seaters don't command as high a premium, so they are cheaper. The Mondial is a lot better looking in person than pictures. Trust me!

If you seriously care about fuel economy as you joked (?) in your first post, don't buy a Ferrari!

Birdman

 

Bullfighter,
Thanks for the detailed response.
Its to Ferrari's everlasting credit that they didn't stick the Aus market with those hideous bumpers, unlike British Leyland and the appalling later MG-Bs.
We missed out on the GTB bodies sadly. However, considering the small numbers involved they seem to have put together a nice spec for Oz, similar but not identical to the UK cars.
Our '85 QV's have the clock and oil temp gauges returned to the dashboard, with the console forward of the gate reshaped like the earlier carb cars. This seems to be for '85 alone to meet the '85ADR rules change. Quite a change for what can only have been a small number of cars in the last year pre 328. A bit of a trap really, as it would be easy to assume an '85 to be a chopped interior if you didn't know. Our 3x8 market is a tad muddied by the number of private import ,mainly GTB, cars too.
Educating oneself to 'discerning buyer' status is a challenge but not unenjoyable and with F-chat regulars' help I hope to get there.

 

I had a later MGB, and it was a sad little car with the clown bumpers, jacked-up ride height (handled like a van) and fire-prone with the anemic single Zenith-Stromberg carb brilliantly fixed directly over the cat. I credit that car with turning me on to Italian sports cars instead of British ones.