Hello, I'm new.

I'd hate to see a Ferrari go to a life of drag racing.

 

+1

If you want 1/4 mile times, stick with American Muscle...

(and as a new member, it helps if you fill out your profile)

 

Welcome!

Owning and maintaining a Ferrari will definitely cost more than the Corvette.

The price of parts alone can be exorbitant.

Since I'm tired now, I suggest you do a search....there's much information to be had on FerrariChat.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can get by on the cheap!

Again, welcome to our world.

And don't think of a Ferrari as a drag racer; that's not what they're made for.

 

Welcome to FChat. I'd have to agree with the previous post - if you plan on dropping the clutch doing burnouts in a Ferrari you'll need an ample budget for parts. In fact, if you drag race your Testarossa you could blow out your $15,000 differential.

You might check out sponsor Ricambi America (sponsors link up top) for some ideas of prices, but they can be eye-watering.

The 308/328 can be serviced at the $3K you mentioned, every 3 years, because the engine can remain in the car for the timing belt service. For the 348 and TR, the engine must be removed. Figure $4K+ for a 348 major (at an independent). I'm not a TR guy, but $6K+ seems about where you would start for a major/engine-out on the 12.

I would say there's little comparison between Corvettes and Ferraris, other than two seats, and rear-wheel drive. One's an iron front-engined muscle car, others are mid-engined, high-revving exotics. The Corvette benefits (and suffers) from the GM parts bin and mass production. Ferraris benefit (and suffer) from a lot of limited run parts and hand-assembly/finishing. In a sense they live at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how cars are made and engineered.

If you want good quarter mile times now, you probably want a 360 Modena. A 308 was quite good in its day, but 30 years later it's a 30-year old car.

If you want an exotic, and can forego the Ferrari mystique, the Lotus Elise would be an amazing track car for $30K (lightly used).

 

Welcome aboard. The first thing you will be asked is to fill out the Public Profile. Yes, there are many great Ferraris under $100,000 and yes maintenance is expensive. The 308s and 328s are really not that bad and if you have any automotive skills then you can work on them yourself. The more expensive ones will be more costly to maintain and require much more skill and experience to wrench on yourself. I couldn't help but feel that you maybe missing the "Spirit" of Ferrari. It is a thoroughbred exotic built for high speed, endurance, and finesse with an impeccable racing history. It is not a dragster and was never intended to be. If you are mostly interested in times between telephone poles then maybe you ought to look at a Z06. Ferraris are fast but IMO are above the drag scene.

 

Then a 308 QV might be right up your alley.

You'll get good take-off by bringing up the Rs and dropping the clutch; but don't do it on a regular basis.

If you do break the gearbox or engine, figure on a major expense!

Remember, these car are made for high-speed maneuverability, not out-of-the-shoot, heart pounding acceleration!

 

It's a fine reason. Ferraris are a visual and driving experience far different than regular production cars (including my ex-Porsche, which was nice in its own right).

Just go into this knowing you're going back 13+ years to get a 348, and read up in the 348/355 forum here about the cars' special needs. It has been discussed extensively. It takes patience, mechanical respect for the car and a bit of cash to own an old Ferrari (or a new one, come to think of it...)

 

Let me give you my perspective from a Testarossa owner's viewpoint. First of all, the TR is a 30 year old car and there will be lots of cars that can out perform it (yes, even a Civic)...

http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/22838_1989_honda_civic_si/

... but I now understand your reference to the 1/4 mile time a little better. It was not to show intent, but to measure relative performance.

From an emotional perspective, I have had nothing but thrills every time I get behind the wheel of my TR. At close to 400 hp it certainly has 'get up and go'. There are many cars that turn better 1/4 miles (the TR will do low 13's) but the top end speed of over 180mph separates it from the pretenders. I added HyperFlow cats and XOST performance exhaust for a little boost in hp, but more importantly for a significant improvement in sound. And, in my opinion, the styling of this Ferrari is one of the all time classics.

Bullfighter gave some reasonable numbers on maintenance (although the 6k figure for the engine out service is low for the TR if you have it done at a dealer).

My TR is what would be considered a high mileage F-car at over 60,000 miles, but has had significant work done over the past year or so, including new transmission/differential, clutch, 30k service, etc. There are several threads on this topic that can be found by searching the forums (a good skill to practice before asking questions or posting new threads). It runs great now. And yes, the heads do turn when they see you.

If you are considering a TR, be sure to know the condition/history of the vehicle before jumping in. A PPI (pre-purchase inspection) is worth every penny.

Twelve cylinders baby...

Welcome to f-chat!

 

A Honda Civic with a turbo or supercharger will blow away any of those Ferraris. So will a stock Mustang and lots of other cars. Anyone who knows anything about Ferraris knows that they aren't made to be 1/4 mile drag cars.

If you want a Ferrari and don't want to get blown away by piece of crap Hondas, then you need to step up to the big leagues and buy a F40, F430, 599 or an Enzo.

...and BTW, Ferrari has a great history (All you seem to know of is Magnum PI). Some people actually buy the older models because of the history behind the car, not how fast it will run in the 1/4 mile.

 

I hope you got more skillz than this guy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcQLj8z2JdY

 

Listening to you, I get the sense that a Ferrari is not a car for you. First of all you have given no price range, except that you saw a 308 for 30K. You have made mention that high dollar maintenance is not for you. There is a huge difference in both the purchase price and the maintenance from a 308 to a TR. So I guess my question is, What can you spend or want to spend on this car purchase? If you don't want to get beat in a street race you will have to be in a 360 at least and you will still get beat alot. There is alot of powerful competition out there right now. Alot of those are also modified with an additional 100 to 200 horsepower for what it would cost you to put chip, headers and exhaust on a Ferrari!(No bashing plz, this was a very general remark).
This may sting a little but IMO if you want the Ferrari look and the power and reliabilty of an LS1, then a very nice 35k to 50K Replicar might be a good place for you to look. the purist here are cringing right now, but I think a replicar would be a good compromise to give you both of want you want. Good luck and enjoy whatever you choose.

 

You came here to this site full of Ferrari owners and enthusiasts to ask what we think of your plan, so step back from your preconceived ideas and try to understand what people are saying.

If after that you still want to go ahead and buy a Ferrari based on quarter mile numbers, by all means, go right ahead . . . So here goes my 2 cents-worth:


IMHO, the driving experience of a Ferrari has always been about 2 main things:

- Carrying as much speed as possible through corners (achieved with balanced handling and light weight, among other things)

and,

- Extracting as much power as possible from a relatively small engine (achieved by fine tuning the breathing, designing the engine for high RPMs and using light weight components, among other things)

Straight line performance has always taken a backseat to those 2 objectives.

In addition to the driving experience, and apart from prestige-related reasons, people also buy Ferraris because of the company’s long racing heritage and (especially with vintage cars), because of the passion with which Enzo Ferrari pursued his dream of building cars.

Buying a Ferrari is a serious commitment and unless you like the car for what it is (not what you want it to be), your ownership experience will be a disappointment.

 

Owning a Ferrari is about an experience....the look, the sound, the feel, the history, the friendship with fellow Ferrari owners....... A run of the mill mustang may beat you stoplight to stoplight but it is a mass produced car that just isn't special or interesting..... Those in the "know" know it is about more than stoplight racing.....even for the guy who owns an Enzo that will go 0-60 in 3 seconds....

 

As a 1991 ZR 1 owner I know these guys don't appreciate the oddity of the zr1 corvette. The uniqueness of the 350ci DOHC 23v 375HP is standard fare for the ferrari crowd (well the cubic inches is not) but the car is more expensive to maintain than you run of the mill vette. mind you I agree that the ferrari is the peak of auto perfection. And the cost of such makes for a different type of owner. But the work on an older ferrari is usally done by your mechanics while we are most times left to work on the zr1 ourselves. My Chevy dealer refuses to touch mine as they don't have a qualified tech.

I have pined for a ferrari since the early seventies as a young boy. I remember the cars and the used car prices well. Oh I wish... But the biggest problem was maintenence. A late 60's car would be easily serviceable by me but the cost of getting in the door would be a stretch.

I don't profess knowledge of the ferrari. I personally see them as pure mechanical art. and no other car would come close to that. my ZR1 is as close as i come now. And i may jump in to a ferrari should that ole lotto come in. And who knows I have been really considering a 400i as another project for a semi daily car.

welcome to the board zr1

 

These aren't the cars for you. A Porsche 930 turbo would get you a lot closer to your goals for 308 money. mod it to 500 hp and terrorize everything on the road.

 

Back in the day I had a 5.0 mustang with about 10 grand in motor work and the best time was 11:16 at 118mph. Is there any Ferrari that can beat that time? I don't think there is. The car new was around 25 grand + 10 for the motor which was a very cheap price tag compared to the price of owning a Ferrari. My point is stick to American muscle for drag racing. I have had my 348 for a few months and I have had a few guys want to race me. I tell them sure, first one to 190 wins. Most of them don't know my car is 12 years old and that it won't do 190 so it shuts them up. And if they are still skeptical I show them the spedometer, point out that it goes to 200 and I also emphasize to them that a Ferrari is for top speed and handling not for a 1/4 mile race. I had one guy with a vette tell me that his car would blow mine away. I said that it probably would but at least mine wasn't made by a company that also makes mini van's. Boy did he get pissed. I also asked him how many time has he had people take pic's of his car while he is driving it. He didn't reply and just walked away. I love everything about my Ferrari, and wouldn't want another sports car. Except of course for the day I trade it in for a newer model.

 

I have owned both cars you are discussing, the 308 and the 348. If you are looking for something to beat the 16 year-old in his tricked-out Honda in straight-line speed, then you will need an over $100K Ferrari (maybe over $200K). If you take him to a highly technical, twisting road then your 348 will do very well, though.

I just sold a Chrysler 300c SRT8 that had a few simple mods and close to 500 HP. This car would beat my friends 360 in the straights, but forget it with corners. New Pontiac GTOs are advertised here with dealer rebates for $26K.

Since I am new here also (one year), I don't want to discourage you. I can tell you that the Ferrari is the only car that I have ever gone into the garage just to look at. The experience is completely different from the SRT, our '03 Vette (sold also), or any of the other high-end cars I have owned. People stop and take pictures of your Ferrari, and it's hard to leave the gas station without people stopping to ask questions. I have a friend with a $200K Bentley, and he can drive through town unnoticed, but my $30K 308 used to stop traffic (literally!!)

Many of us do our own work, especially on the older models. That's what makes this board such a great resource.

Spence

 

Good post. I think this says it.

 

Steve & Karen, let me know when you want to get rid of your car. I love it!

 

“Back in the day I had a 5.0 mustang with about 10 grand in motor work and the best time was 11:16 at 118mph. Is there any Ferrari that can beat that time? I don't think there is.”

The Enzo has been clocked at 10.9 and 136 MPH out of the box. With a bunch of wheel slip I still managed 13.0 at 110 MPH in my 6,100 lb. Maybach 57. The wife’s car does a 12.5 at 118 with a gentle, no clutch slip start.

I guess if somebody challenged me I could also use the phrase “OK, first one to 200 MPH wins, pink slip for pint slip.” That’ll quiet most people.

Whether driving or parked, people are always taking pictures of these cars. The 308 and 328 get the same treatment. Exotic cars are just that, exotic. They are rare and desired by all car enthusiasts. Personally I never challenge drivers to a race. It is simply unimportant to me. I own my cars for their intrinsic beauty and my own enjoyment. I often walk (kind of a hike actually) to the garage just to stare at the cars, just look them over. I love them.

Yet, they are just cars, just stuff. If I lost everything and still had my wife I would have everything I need.

Happy Holidays.

Ali Haas
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