Help!! Test drove an '85 308 today. Opinions please....

Run away. Sounds like a dog. And not for that price.

Plenty of cars out there, take your time.

 

yea , buy my 308 and ya dont have all that fancy pants fuel injection!!!

 

Well, I've driven a 328, not a 308, but the gearbox IS different in these cars. It's normal not to be able to slip it into 2nd until it's warm. The owner of the 328 I drove complimented me for showing "mechanical respect" to the car -- i.e., not forcing it into gear, and flooring the clutch so that I never ground the gears. It's an idiosyncratic design and that's just how it works. (I think the 328 had the same gearbox as the late 308's.) If you don't know about it in advance, it's annoying at first. After 20 minutes of driving, I was starting to love it.

For any of these cars, you'll need to keep the revs up to get any power at all. I don't know what your 911 was, but mine (993) in the hands of an average driver is going to have any 308/328 for lunch, and you don't have to rev it as much as I had to work the 328. These 3x8's are not fast cars compared to most other sports cars. Modern 911's are just ferociously fast and they can also be driven pretty much like normal cars.

There's probably some truth to the salesman wringing more performance out of the car. The pedals are different, the seating position's odd, the shift gate is really foreign if you're used to a German car and the Ferrari 3.0 V-8 is night and day apart from the Porsche flat six. I remember my first drive in a 911 - an '84 cabrio - and I thought it had the crappiest clutch and gearbox on the planet. And the car was pristine. But I thought any kid in a GTI could have embarassed me badly just because I felt like a fish out of water in that '84 911.

The stalling in the 308 isn't normal. Extreme dirt in the engine bay isn't normal. Actually, any fchatter would have enough pride in their car to get it detailed out once in a while, because engine grime usually hides a lot of bad news.

I think you're right to walk away from this one. But you should drive a really nice 308/328 before you make a final judgement on the cars. If someone had given you your first 911 test drive in a badly tuned, filthy car, you would have missed out on the magic of the really good 911's. Ditto for the Ferrari, I think.

Jon

 

Bill, have a Euro 308 here and while an admittedly 20 year old car may not be up to today's speed/acceleration standards, it sounds to me like the one you drove had some major problems. RUN AWAY!!!

FYI: the car here starts fine. Shifts fine in ALL gears up and down, though yes a touch notchy 2nd when cold (normal). The car here sounds great, 'pushes' you when shifting up to 2nd, 3rd, 4th... Also, a TRUE Euro will be lighter than USA equiv and have a bit more power due to various factors including power-to-weight ratio.

You never mentioned the car you drove as ever being serviced. i have a feeling they do not have complete/recent records on the car you drove. Frankly, a very good example should be around $35k, though as i said, a VERY GOOD example (runs well, recent servicing, visually good condition, service history/records, etc).

IMPORTANT: No matter how good a car may feel/look/etc, hire an independent mechanic to do a PPI on the car (about $500).

Again, sounds to me like you drove an abused, neglected car not in proper operation. For $35k hopefully the car has all sane updates including dumping the crappy stock fuse block for a custom job (see Fchat archives) and the engine should at least look something like...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Holy cr@p, I'm selling my house and moving into your engine compartment.

 

(Said in good humor) Unless you are going to add about 100HP/TQ, you'll throw off my power-to-weight ratio... plus your added weight back there will KILL the balance of my car we worked very hard to attain. So, um... must decline your kind offer of moving in to the engine compartment

 

John,
The car's AREN'T FAST. However, they shouldn't be "dog slow" either. Cold start problems are common in these cars, it can be fixed, but might be expensive. Go ahead and walk away from that one. It's going to be HARD to find one with an engine bay like Steve's. Everyone know's he's got the nicest 308 driver in the country.
Best of luck.
J

 

Just ask to have an independent mechanic look at it (NOT their shop!!!!!!!)
A refusal would be their guarantee it's a POS.

It's that easy.

Another thing, Why would they have to "tune it down" for emission reasons unless something else is wrong with the car? It DOES NOT have to be tuned down to pass a test if it's running properly, period. If you live in an area that tests, guess who will be paying to fix it if you bought it?

 

Don't walk, run.

And tell us all who the sales con man is too.......

 

I have an '85 308 QV. Even after it sat for 8 months, she started right up. Ran a little rough, so I had the injectors cleaned. Ran perfect after that. The car should not stall unless you accidentally let out the clutch in gear. The seller will likely try to put a bandaid on any issued you have with the car to get it off the lot. As soon as you buy it, problems will creep up. No need to run away from this car...just don't ever go back. There are better 308s out there. Take your time and find the right one.

 

Why is the dealer treating you like a dumb blonde with big breasts???(sorry if offend anyone ) Tuned down for emmissions? PulEEZE!!!!! If it runs like a piece of crap, looks like a piece of crap...IT MUST BE A PIECE OF CRAP!!!!
Please disregard what I say if you're looking for a diamond in the rough. If you are, this car is propabably $10k too much, depending what the PPI says. ( Do it at a trustworthy shop away from the dealer!)
Remember, you want to enjoy the car, not pay the price for someone else's negligence. There are tons of great 308s on the market at that price range. Don't get seduced because it's the first one you looked at, and you have to have now!!!
A little due diligence will prevent for your Ferrari experience from being a miserable one.

Good luck!!

 

my 78 308 had "issues" with the syncros, my 77GTB shifts fine, hot or cold. the second gear gremlins i believe come from abuse more than wear. i have a friend with a 79GTS and his cars gearbox also shifts fine when cold. i dodnt think a injected 308 should be cutting off in a corner, even if it is cold. the injection is "constant" and the system is very pressure sensitive, perhaps the fuel pump / fuel filter are going bad.

 

Sounds like a dog. Keep looking.

 

Jeff, color me blushing! Wow, thanks, but i do see things that could use improvements... low-weight aftermarket radiator from Nick, get carbon fiber rear trunk lid to lower weight and would LOVE the change the interior to all CF, have the throttle body (etc.) expanded by Kermit at Durable 1 for higher air intake and also install Durable 1's power brake one-way valve brake booster (that is here waiting to be installed)...

Also, seems she is getting more and more 'natural patina' due to rock chips and my deep front spoiler is getter trashed due to lowering the car for better handling so this coming fall will buy a new one and throw out the one on the car now (this allows me to basically 'trash around' the one on it this summer as i desire).

Don't get me wrong, i love the car, always starts, brakes stop like a son-of-a-beyotch, sound erotic when driving it... and i drive it like i stole it from someone

She AINT a garage queen by ANY stretch and last year did about 6k miles of fun driving. Days like today i drive it for about 100 miles just for fun. Again, am truly flattered and many, many thanks for the compliment.

 

I am always baffled when people say that the 3X8's are slow cars. My daily driver is an E55k that has been massaged to 510hp at the crank and that car is stupendously FAST. My other car is an 03' 996 cab with 320hp and that car is quick. My favorite car is my "new" 1977 308 GTB and this car seems to be just off the pace of the 996, no kidding. Keep the revs up, wind it close to redline and stay in a lower gear than you are accustomed to and you will be very suprised. I don't know if it is the lack of emmissions equipment, presence of carbs, older cams or tuning by Alfa of Tacoma, but she flies.

.02

David

 

I know where a MUCH nicer one is for cheaper !

 

Bill, I've seen John Perry's car. He's not been trying very hard to sell it (it's too much fun), but you might want to consider it. The person John bought it from was a mechanic at an authorized Ferrari dealership, and since then it's been maintained by the same mechanic that has worked on my 308QV for more than 10 years.

 

I don't even have it advertised now, (I only put it in CCT, I think the ad has expired) my plan is to put 8,000 miles that will make 10k miles in one year alone, whoo hoo) on it for the rest of the year then sale it

right now I'm averaging 200 miles a week !

 

While i agree during turns and twisties the 3x8 (esp w/modded suspension) is darn impressive, it is the straights and exiting corners that show the lack of sheer power (especially torque). HP looks good and all on paper, but torque wins races (or so they say). So yes, the 3x8 is an impressive car, though those looking for the ?near ultimate? Ferrari experience might be disappointed.

 

totally agree! my 77GTB is MUCH stronger than my old 78GTS, and both of my local freinds late carb GTS's. i bet a euro with dry sump and a good ignition is even better!

 

It's all relative. There are so many cars available now with 250+ hp that a 235hp 308 QV really isn't so fast in comparison. SLK's, Z4's, Boxsters, 350Z's and a bunch of other cars that are very common - at least in southern California - are faster. And anything with an AMG or M Power insignia is going to throw you back in the seat.

The car is low, and especially as a GTS the sensation of speed is probably greater than the actual 0-60 stats. Which is perfectly fine. If I had a 308 in the garage I wouldn't even look at any of those other cars.

But to get back to Husker Bill's post I don't think driveability should be nearly as bad as he experienced.

Yeah my personal trainer wasn't happy about my power to weight ratio either. In the meantime, per your advice, I'm going to date heavier girls so I can keep my 911 properly balanced when they're in the passenger seat.

Jon

 

(Said in good humor) Dude, you got it all wrong! Get a lightweight gal and have her move so her weight achieves best balance. The key to life, and driving, is balance

 

If you are buying a 308 to be fast, you have the wrong car. That said, it's certainly not a slow car, especially if you consider how well it handles with good tires. The speeds I can go around corners is scary fun! But it's no drag racer.

Anyway, an injected 308 should not stall. If it is stalling, it probably has a vacuum leak someplace. The U.S. cars have a ton of emissions crap that uses vacuum lines and any one of them can produce leak large enough to make the thing run like crap at low RPM. Doesn't take much.

It should start instantly. Our Mondial QV (same engine as the 308 QV) starts instantly, no matter how long it has been sitting, or what the temperature in the garage is. Settles into a nice idle too. A very reliable and smooth engine.

Tell the guy I'll give him $15K for it and fix it myself.

Tuned down for emissions? What a lying sack of ****!

Birdman