Has my dream of 308/328 ownership become irrelevant?

Will not mince words here. On a pure performance scale the 3x8 leaves MUCH to be desired compared to modern alternatives. Yet when behind the wheel driving the Euro 308GTS QV during fun romps here there is nothing i'd rather be doing. It is more than performance, it is also the sound, the feel, the smells...

And visually... the car aint half bad either

 

The 328 is not fast by todays standards but a 0-60 in about 5.7 seconds is really not that bad. Yes, plenty of new family sedans will beat you, but the picture is much bigger then the 1/4 mile or 0-60. If its speed/price, then wait for the new Mustang Cobra. If its something that you want to tell your granchildren, then the Ferrari is the choice. The looks, sounds, seating position etc... Its really a lot of fun. The only problem is thats its very addictive. After 6 months of owning your 1st, your already thinking about the next one and owning both. Whenever I park mine, there are always a group of people standing around looking and wishing that it was theirs!

 

Oh for Goodness sake.... Get on and buy it !!

John

 

Greg,
Go for it but look carefully. All Ferrari owners have different attitudes and opinions about Ferraris in general. There are excellent used high milage and low unused repaired prone ones. So pick carefully as you do not want to get bad experience with your first f car purchase.
Live your dream I guarantee you that it will be worth it.

 

Greg, you will buy a F. The cost is really up to you. Purchase another something else and your ultimate cost climbs.

81 Fiat Spider $5,500
87 Porsche 944 $24,000
90 325i $25,000
92 325ic $28,000
94 530i $34,000
94 318ic $22,000

90 Ferrari Mondialt....priceless

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I could not afford the $100,000 Mondialt when new but, the way I see it, I paid more than the original sticker price before realizing my dream car.

 

I don't really get what these prices mean?? Original Sticker? Certainly not current prices...

 

I read an article many years ago where Jeremy Clarkson (now in TopGear) were to spend a week with a Ferrari 348 tb. In the beginning of the article he describes why he, to that point, had never been driving a Ferrari. It was because he was terrified that by the end of the week, he wouldn't want one.
At the end of the article he really worships the car though.

I think that's why a thorough testdrive is so important.
Imagine having dreamt of a car since boyhood (I know this to be true for many people driving a Countach for the first time) and you get to drive it for the first time and the experience is just dreadful!
Maybe you don't fit, maybe you didn't realise how bumpy or noisy or crampy the car really is and just can't stand it!

If you like sportscars in general and Ferraris in particular I think your only regret will be if you never get one.

So, go get your 3x8!

/Peter

 

Greg, you mentioned in a previous post that this decision is about passion. Nuff said. IMHO provided you have the means the decision to buy an F-car is one you will never regret. Just follow the advice regarding condition etc and buy the best one you can lay hands on. We only live once...my F-cars have never failed to give me a rush during the 7 or so years I have had the privilege of having one in my garage.

Good luck

 

There's an ad for Harley Davidson that sums this up for me. It's similar to this (not quite accurate)


An old man is sitting on a porch swing, talking to his grandson

"It was a beauty, all chrome and black paint. You should have heard it rumble"

"Gee Grandad, did you really used to ride a Harley?"

"Well.......no. Your grandmother and I spent the money on aluminum siding instead"

Tagline: What stories will you tell in the future?


Life's too short to analyse toys. Go get a test drive, and if you like it go buy one. Even if you later decide it's not for you, at least you had the opportunity to own and drive a Ferrari for a while.

 

100% on the money! and very funny might I add.

 

I'm just like you. I lusted after a 308 for years and years, since I was 12. Now I have one, and there is no way I'm selling it! Sure, 20 different econoboxes can beat me to 60. BFD. What would you rather be driving, a fast econobox made by the hundreds of thousand or a beautiful hand-made Ferrari?

A Ferrari is so much more than just performance numbers. LOTS of cars are fast. No matter how fast your car is, there will always be a faster one. Who cares? A 308 is perfectly fast enough unless you are out street racing or something silly like that. A 308 is one of the most timeless, iconic and beautiful cars ever made (and I think even most non-308 owners would agree with that). Buy it, drive it, bask in the warm feeling you get when you stand in the garage and just stare at it. You will love your 308! (Beware, your wife will be jealous.)

No Ferrari purchase is made out of practicality. Buy it!

Birdman
P.S. A 1977 with carbs is SWEET!!

 

If I were in your shoes, I would be asking myself "why" I am concerned with whether or not a purchase of a car is "relevant" to someone else. Why would what I view as "relevant" be of concern to you and your purchases? Guess I'm lost on this one.

 

LOL

Aint that the truth my brother

 

Greg, you will buy a F. The cost is really up to you. Purchase another something else and your ultimate cost climbs.

81 Fiat Spider $5,500
87 Porsche 944 $24,000
90 325i $25,000
92 325ic $28,000
94 530i $34,000
94 318ic $22,000

90 Ferrari Mondialt....priceless

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I could not afford the $100,000 Mondialt when new but, the way I see it, I paid more than the original sticker price before realizing my dream car.

 

Well..in that event, then YES, any Ferrari is relevant! I started with a super-sluggish 1982 308GTSi and never regretted it. Bought it for $20K, spent $2K on it, drove it for 2 years, and sold it for $27K. Bought a 348, love it. You can't go wrong with a Ferrari - just put back a solid $10K "just in case" the sucker has to go to the shop for something(s) major.

 

No, its not irrelevant. Plenty of cars were able to go faster than the 308/328's did years ago, much less the ones that are being made today. There is something about the design that is timeless and really captures an era for sports cars and it is a fun little car to drive.

Being "underpowered" compared to the days were BMW's and Mercs are putting out 500+ hp just means you can flog the car on your favorite back road and still be doing the speed limit.

The best thing about them is they aren't that complicated. Parts are available and a "good" mechanic can still make it run. Unlike all of these computers that people are driving now. When they go off warranty, they're useless (all you have to do is look at BMW 750iL and 850i prices to know that people won't pay for a used computer driven car).

Go out and get a good one. Then drive the hell out of it.

 

I had that thought when I bought my 308.... plenty of cars out there that will simply walk it.....I mean it's 20 years old! Then I drove it home from South Carolina after purchase.... I was literally smiling the entire way.... The noise, the smell, the feeling of a dream realized.... dispelled any notion I may of had about "My Ferrari" being less of a car than others... remember also that you are buying a benchmark that all other sports cars have been judged by since it's introduction. Sure, some are faster, handle better, maybe less trouble to maintain... But once that flat plane crank gets up into the higher RPMs, there is no other car I'd rather be in.... whew... I need to go drive!!!!!

hope this helps

 

I guess the first question is, have you driven one? When I look at a 308, when I first seen one in R&T so many many years ago, I seen it for what it really was, a LeMans prototype GT car you could drive on the street. It has a full tube frame chassis, right up through the door sills and over the roof. Fully adjustable 4 wheel independent suspension with unequal length A arms and coil over shocks. A transmission with shafts and gears equal to a one ton truck, virtually unbreakable except through utter abuse. Drop that front trunk lid into the floor to open up the outlet behind the radiator, just like a GT car, can you see it? I dont think anyone came closer to that concept than the 308/328 in any kind of affordable car. And thats what it is, a concept. It was never designed to beat the world in anything other than finess. But it did it. Back in the day when everyone was testing it against everything else, no, it wasnt the fastest even then, but it drove so utterly wonderful that no one cared. But I never got to drive one until a few years ago, only had dusty R&T mags and other sources to re-read over and over in my endless dream that never came true. So, have you driven one? My first impression was the solidness of the entire car. That car was a GTSi, and no matter how hard of a bump we hit, the car was like solid steel riding on air, firm, yet smoothe, just so solid. I have really never drove or riden in a car that didnt flex, that you couldnt see the fenders move or see the body twist or hear it creak, something. But not a 308. I cant speak for a 350Z, but I know it has no tube frame like a 308/328. You climb into these cars and you just know, you feel, that your a part of something very special. That somewhere there were people who "built" that car, not something thats just another number. Its a Ferrari, and no matter if you like it or not, people are going to see it and know its a special car. People dont look twice at 350Z's. At least I don't. People will make total fools of themselves and make U turns to see a Ferrari. Now you got me fired up again, I gotta keep fired up and get that bastard running for spring, lol. Personally, If I was going up from my 77 GTB, I'd go straight to the 348. Again, I never have even so much as sat in one, but it has to be awfully close to being like a 355, and its bloody fast enough for just about the most hardened power junkie.

Paul Colberg
77 308 GTB

 

Greg,
F**K it! Go for it man. I too debated, then thought, "What am I waiting for?" I had two other cars, one a Pantera with gobs of power but there is NOTHING in the world like a Ferrari. Sometimes in the summer I've thought, maybe I should have gotten a pool, but you can't drive a pool!

 

LOL!

Good point!

/Peter

 

I think Greg has left to go to buy it! LOL!

When he dropped over he had the Ferrari Tshirt and the Ferrari Hat on.....all he needed was the car! Thanks guys. I think we've hooked up another one.