Looking at possibly buying a late 80's GTS. | FerrariChat
Buy

Looking at possibly buying a late 80's GTS.

Discussion in 'Canada' started by Ferrari Rookie, Aug 10, 2005.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Ferrari Rookie

    Ferrari Rookie Rookie

    Aug 10, 2005
    30
    #1 Ferrari Rookie, Aug 10, 2005
    Hello everyone, I am new here and have a couple of questions I am hoping you can help me with:

    Has anyone had any experience bring cars older than 15 years old in from Canada? Can you explain your experience and give me advice.

    With a car that old how many times a year would I expect to have problems, how much would repairs and service run a year?

    What should I expect to pay for a 328 GTS say about 1989, with 40,000 kms?

    When there is a problem, are parts a problem? Is Ferrari delearship the only place to get repaired? How long would I expect it to be in the shop?

    You can now see how many prior owners there are in a car. If the car is 18 years old, how many owners do you believe would be reasonable with raising red flags?

    Is there any other Canadian sites then autotrader.ca to look for Ferrari's. Where are the best sites in the US?

    When is the best time of year to buy one?

    Is there any well know GTS problems?

    Any other advice you could give me would be great?
     
  2. groth99

    groth99 Rookie

    Feb 21, 2005
    34
    #2 groth99, Aug 10, 2005
    You can find prices on here, it is in calgary.

    www.zrauto.com

    and I will give you another link in a second.
     
  3. groth99

    groth99 Rookie

    Feb 21, 2005
    34
    #3 groth99, Aug 10, 2005
    Heres the big 328 thread. The people in there would know lots because most are owners of 328s.

    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70059

    and I cannot find the link right now, maby others can help you. But I have seen a checklist that you can use when buying your used ferrari. It goes through everything.
     
  4. tjacoby

    tjacoby F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,857
    Vancouver Canada
    Full Name:
    tj
    #4 tjacoby, Aug 10, 2005
    Hey FerrariRookie, welcome aboard!

    What city are you in? There's a few great independent mechanics around here as well. Some of them are active users of Fchat - addicted like the rest of us. There's also some good (I know, an oxymoron) sales guys in Canada on board, who'd also be helpful.

    There's been quite a bit of discussion about the pitfalls of importing US cars into Canada, with the biggest downside being on the back-end, harder to sell, and lower resale (imo).

    IF you buy a GOOD one, drive it regularly, and look after it properly I believe you'll be fine, with 1 or less problems per year. The downside is that problem could be expensive, and routine maintenance is also fairly pricey. Remember - it's not a Honda, you're looking after the 328 to last forever, so a different maintenance schedule.

    take a look at the thread in this section where the 328 goes 20,000 km's across the country and back! I don't think my '92 Honda would do that.

    I wouldn't be as concerned about the # of owners, as who maintained it, and how fastiduous were they with the maintenance schedule. No paper records means it can't be counted on as being done. My 348 had 3 PO's and is a '94, for comparison.

    Best time for prices is end of summer, fall time-frame - but less inventory. Most inventory seems to appear spring with higher prices. but the really strong cars disappear fast whenever they show-up. The ones with good reputation for solid maintenance, no accidents, no stories, and very clean. I picked mine up in February. Fcars are a zero sum game, there are no steals - just deferred risk and costs. If you're paying someone to fix it better to pay more for a "no-stories" car up front imo.

    My biggest piece of advice is to find a mechanic you feel comfortable with and trust - and take his advice. In some ways he controls your retirement plan! There seems to be mixed experiences with the dealers in Canada, some people have great experiences with them, others not so great.
     

Share This Page