Too lazy to read the entire thread, but here's my $.02, based on my experience. I've owned my 328 7.5 years. Put ~20k miles on it. Spent >$20k in maintenance. 2 sets of tires. I bought a new daily driver about six weeks ago, and am still in the honeymoon phase with it, and realized that I haven't driven the Ferrari in weeks. This morning I decided it was time. I opened the door and was instantly hit with the smell of old leather and wool carpets. I love that smell. It's my Ferrari smell. I turned the key, and it started. Immediately. I watched the oil pressure rise before I gave it some gas to turn off the battery light. Same procedure I've done 1000 times before. I got it in reverse, after putting it in 1st gear, the easiest method when it's cold. I skipped 2nd gear while driving my son to school, because it doesn't like 2nd until the oil is warm. All of the above was done subconciously, it's how I drive this car. Got the kid to school, drove back through the 'hood to the highway. I've done this so many times, I know when to glance down to check my oil temp to see if I can use 2nd gear, and rev beyond 4k rpms. I turned onto the frontage road that leads to the entrance ramp, and mid-turn checked the oil temp. Yup, it's warm. Cool. 1st gear, 7k rpms. 2nd gear, 7500 rpms, 3rd gear......entrance ramp and traffic. I pulled into the parking garage and set off 2 car alarms on the way to my space. Damn, I love this car. Still. It's small, it's light, it's balanced. It comes alive based on what you tell it to do, and doesn't bite too hard when you screw up. People go out of their way to talk to you about it, like the guy on the elevator this morning that saw (heard?) me pull in. I can swing something newer than my 22 year old car, but every time I drive it, I think "Why bother?". Image Unavailable, Please Login
I really agree with that. I've got a couple of cars where an easy run through the gears has me going 100MPH. Fun, but I miss the lower powered Porsches I had and my brothers 308 that let you actually use the motor. I think the 3x8 is still a great shape.
you should ask more of the 360 owners would they step back to a 328... ultimately its about you and your personality ... either way, you can go wrong. and doug328 has a point, something about the lowered power cars is exciting and fun
Nice to know I'm not the only one. Although I didn't drive it, I got a ride in a friend's 430. Nice and so powerful...But the feeling I have in my 328 is not the same...at all. So I'm happy to know that I don't have to spend mega dollars to be in driving nirvana.
IMO, this is easy to explain....it's more fun to drive a slower car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. IOW, 308s and 328s become "alive" at a more lower speed than a 360 does. Also, 308s and 328s can exercised freely with a much lower level of risk and danger (personal and legal) than is involved with pushing a 360 to its limit.
A friend of ours was selling a red / tan 328 GTS. I was not interested in it but they suggested I at least drive it before it was gone. My wife went with me on the drive. Let me be real clear, my wife IS NOT a car person (at least at that point). At the end of the drive she turns to me and says, WOW, this is what a car should be! We have to get this car! We bought the car. Need I say more?
I have had my 328 for 23 years, her looks still give me a tingle, and driving it always clears my head.
Only had mine for a year but I feel exactly the same way. A friend of mine just bought an AMG black $200K thing--very nice car and very fast but no soul. 328s are reliable and fun. Old school kick-asS sports car. I am surprised they are as cheap as they are. Buy one now, they will be $100K before too long.
I bend over and smell the fumes eminating from my 308's engine and just disregard the odd stares from my neighbors as i do so. I wouldn't do that for a 360. It's true love.
I have a 328 GTB and a F430 that I bought new and feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds. 328 dated? Of course it is. But so is a 250 GTO. 328's are the last of the really small Ferraris. Is it exciting? Not in the same way as a 430 but even after about 10 years/30K miles of ownership, driving one is a special experience. When I get near it for a drive, I still feel the anticipation. When I get in, it's like slipping on a really comfortable pair of old jeans. The car is all about grace and involvement when driven. All Ferraris are bad deals objectively in a performance for dollar analysis. If someone put a gun to my head and said "choose", I'd have to keep the 328. Dave
The 328 is a complete experience for the senses. It is artwork for the eyes, a symphony for the ears, a delightful fragrance of leather, exhaust, and oil, for the nose, and its a joy to manually steer, shift, and drive the car yourself. As for taste...I can always taste the anticipation of driving it each time I walk into the garage keys in hand, admiring at its beauty before a drive. This car just gets my heart pumping! If you have to have the quickest car on the block it might not be the car for you. But as for its driving experience there is nothing modern that feels like it, which could be a positive or negative depending on your taste in cars. While there are other Ferraris I might like to own (admittedly more of them would be vintage rather than modern), I'd never trade my 328 for them, its a keeper. Best regards, Dino
very well written responses here - hightens the anticipation of getting my 308 on the road in a few weeks even more salud
LOL, he asked the same question in the 360 forum and most of them said, or kind of suggested in a round about way, go with the 328. -F
I was out on a 200 mile run through some twisties with a dozen other Ferraris a few weeks ago. I have a 550 with essentially double the horsepower of a 328. There was a 328 on the run that kept up just fine. She was right on my tail through the tightest turns, but I blew her away any time we headed uphill or in the straights. I assume that she was working pretty hard to keep up, while I was pretty comfortable in my climate controlled cabin with power steering and seemingly unlimited torque to accellerate under any circumstance. On another similar run a while back, I was in my Mondial following a 360. I could stay with him through the turns quite easily, but whenever we hit a straight patch, he was gone. Which car you buy depends on what you want out of your driving experience. I have found that I like newer cars for two reasons: 1. They go a lot faster with lower effort. 2. They are less likely to break.
see if you get the same impassioned responses from 360 owners. Statements like "i'll never sell it". Then ask yourself why.
Furman, I read through that thread and (much to my surprise) noticed the same thing. I didn't get the sense of the same level of enthusiasm from 360 owners. A friend of mine back east sold his 328 a few years ago and has missed it ever since. He called early this week to tell me about purchasing a 360 spider. It sounded like a smoking deal to me but I'll be curious to hear his comparisons. Dave
So I went to visit the dealership over the weekend to view the cars - but I didn't make it. Seems the dealer had a 328 come in and it was sold that day. He still has the 360. I guess that answers my question.
Read every one of these posts and consider what was said. For me, it would be the 328, hands down - for all the reasons others listed: More direct control, "old school" feel, more demanding of the driver. Because of the driving experience, as well as the fact (IMO ) that the 328 is far more beautiful, there's no contest. Add 30k, not counting the higher maintenance and insurance costs of the 360, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a no-brainer. But in the end, it's your choice. All the people who said, "Drive 'em both" are spot-on. Do it. Make your own decision. Then come back on here and tell us what you chose, and why. (I promise not to flame you, regardless of your choice. They're both great cars, just in different ways.)
