My rant for My search

Searching for the "right" 328 is certainly Fun. And learning from all of you is tied with the first statement, hands down.

The most troubling part of searching is, examining pics. Lets face it, pics "are" worth a thousand words. I mean I very well can't fly all over the U.S. to get a close up look at these cars. Yes, I know, many of you would be glad to visit the potential purchase. I'm grateful for that. I will exercise that privilege too.

But it so hard to make a decision and not be disappointed. For example, I visited a car in Penn, by the pictures looked like a real "looker". When I arrived to the dealer it was the most disappointing, pathetic looking 328 I have seen. Which lead me to believe I can't trust a picture, at least not a low resolution pic taken from a distance.

What have some of you done to combat the low res, poorly photographed, distant pics. Distant I mean even a few feet.
Did you ask seller to shoot more? Did you ask for a video? What did you do?

Where do you draw the line with respect to ext/int condition? Is a drivers seat that needs dying a big deal or a wear on a bolster? Cracks are to me, or should they?
What were your standards? I'm curious, share them, please.
And your approach to poor pics, etc.

 

double post?

 

Buy from a reputable seller?

Or get a PPI done?

Always ask for detailed pictures, if they're selling a $50k Ferrari, they can get a $200 camera.

 

LOL, yes your so right. I have always favored the reputable dealers. Thanks for the reply.

PPI . No doubt.

 

Pictures can hide a lot, but before I bought mine I requested high-res photos from under the car (when it was on a lift), and of all the common wear points around the top/interior. I wanted current (not archive) photos of telltale points -- suspension bushings, engine seals underneath, etc. A good dealer will take these photos if you're seriously interested. It's harder to make a bad car look nice underneath, and relatively easy to take a buffing wheel to an average car to shine it up.

The worst are photo sets that use tricks like showing the passenger seat and not the driver's side bolster, or photos taken in a dark garage (can you at least back the car up 20 feet!!?) If you ask "does the bumper have any damage?" and get a high res photo and a response over the phone that it does not, the seller knows that you're a thorough buyer and ultimately he either has a good car or knows he doesn't want to invite you over. On a couple of occasions I could tell the seller was getting less eager to have me come over and inspect the car.

That said, when I got mine I spent some money fixing minor issues that weren't caught in the photos or the inspection on mine. Minor stuff, but it added up to four figures, and I bought from a reputable dealer. I would say limit your search to reputable sellers, request very high-resolution photos and then make the trip.

FWIW, I flew out to a dealer last year to look at an '86 that was mechanically tight, and photographed nicely, but had many minor scrapes, dings and chips, as well as minor dash damage and leather trim issues. By the time you take care of all that minor stuff, you've spent too much. I ended up buying an '87 10 months later with lower mileage, and in much better condition, and in a more popular color, for the same price.

 

Thanks Bullfighter !! I'll take note of that as well.

It seems that if I find a Concours car, that maybe its worth the extra $$ too, vs spending more $$$ to get it where I want.

 

If you're serious about a clean 328, try John Sliman at Ferrari of Central Florida. He's real fast and good at finding cars and all of his cars are always top notch. You pay more but you get your money's worth.

407-667-4300 is his #

 

Thanks MVP, I'll call. Thanks!!

 

I called a dealer the other day and started inquring about getting a ppi done on a 348, and they said, "what's that mean"

I passed on the car

 

i bought a really sweet 1989 328gts with only 3000 miles on it from 'motorcars international', in st. louis...what they did was really cool...the head of sales, carl, took a long (at least 10-15 minute) highly detailed and fully narrated video...it showed every detail of the car including the undercarriage...also, they delivered the car to 'miller motors' here in greenwich to be checked out before sale and waited three hours for the mechanics to do a thorough job...my only liability was transportation costs if i rejected the car and sent it back...i paid more for the car than normal market, but the premium was well worth the service and peace of mind...i recommend them very highly...

 

QUOTE=PerryJ]I called a dealer the other day and started inquring about getting a ppi done on a 348, and they said, "what's that mean"

I passed on the car [/QUOTE]


Thats hysterical. Great Move.

I have been in contact with them too. They are great people!! I only "wish" that my purchase be made there. Quality people!!

 

Do both. Thants what I did. Bought mine locally so didn't need any pictures, but if I had to travel (more than 6 hrs by car or fly) I would want a lot of high def. pictures to make sure the trip/expense was worth it.

 

certainly going out on a limb not seeing first hand, of course, if money is no object....

 

I have purchased three different Ferrari's. Without a doubt, the most important thing to me was always the overall mechanical soundness of the drive train. The look of the car is of course important, but mostly to get an idea of how the owner takes care of it. If the guy is a pig and sells his car to a broker who cleans up the car cosmetically, it is sometimes hard to tell how the car was maintained. If you can talk to the mechainc who actually serviced the car. This will be very enlightening. I am going to be selling my 87 red tan 328 soon. I have referred the couple of people who have expressed interest to the Autogallery mechanic in LA. He knows the car backwards. He has no axe to grind. They can still get an additional inspection.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Stew

 

It's a good idea if possible to get pictures shot by a camera that imprints the date on the photo. That way, you won't be seeing how the car looked five years ago.

Failing that (and this is even trickier), if the license plate is in view in one of the shots, try to zoom in and see the registration date. A friend of my son's saved himself that way recently. He was looking at photos of a Mazda RX-7 he was prepared to buy, and spotted that the plate was for 1999!

 

Hmmm, very interesting about the plate. Great suggestion abou the pic date, I actually thought of that one too.

I'm searching for an 88.5 to 89.

 

John,

What I say might sting a little but let me start by saying I too was in your shoes and know EXACTLY what you are going through. Unless you're a glutton for punishment, it can be considered fun only when you look back at it as a memory. My only wish for you is that you get yourself out of that limbo you are currently in and I hope what I say helps.

You and I started looking for 328s at about the same time. I closed the deal on my '88 GTB around Thanksgiving and took delivery just before Christmas. The secret to my success was compromise.

Early on in my search, I placed an emphasis on documented service history over cosmetics. I was lucky enough to find the perfect balance between the two factors while meeting my budgetary constraints. Without paying top dollar, I bought myself an incredible "Driver" car with a fully documented service history. It also had enough going for it cosmetically that it brought home a Silver Award at last week's FCA Nationals.

The balancing point varies from person to person. What was important to me might not be a priority to you. When it comes to interior/exterior appearance and mechanical condition, only you can draw the line as far as what's acceptable to you.

Be prepared to lower your standards or loosen your grip on your wallet. Because even though the "divorce sale" $10,000 100-point '89 328 might turn up, we all can do a lot better by making own luck.

If your budget is $40,000, buy the best $40,000 dollar car you can find. But be realistic and understand that unless it's the mythical "divorce sale" car, you're not going to get a perfect car. You will however, get a car that's perfect for you!

Good luck in your search. If you think you're having fun now, just wait till you get behind the wheel of YOUR OWN Ferrari!

AP

 

I just read your post. Great Advice. I have "loosened" my grip on my wallet. I realized that the appearance of the car matters most to me. That this will bring pleasure to my senses as much as the drive. Thanks.
Incidently, I put a deposit on a car and I fly out to see it next tuesday. I hope its everything I'm told it is. 21k miles, pristine in and out. Supposedly concours quality. So I'm told.

Congratulations on your Win. Post pics of the trophy with the car!!

 

That's the spirit! I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope your flight out to see the car won't be for naught. Is it the Naples Motorsports car that you're looking at?

Getting a Silver Award at FCA Nationals was a real surprise considering the quality of the other cars in my class. Not bad for my first time. I truly felt like a guppy swimming with whales! I was happy just to have been able to participate. Taking home an award was pure icing.

Pics from the official event photographer of me receiving my award are on its way. Meanwhile, here are some quick pics I took in the garage just now.

Keep us posted with how your tire kicking expedition went.

Good luck,

AP
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OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll let you know how my day goes for the car. Thanks!!

 

I Agree!!!! MAN, what a nice plaque... Makes me wanna bust out the credit card for a respray -- pronto!

In all seriousness, congrats to you on the award, and best of luck to you, Easyrider, on your search. I too posted a "rant" thread during my search. Mine wasn't so much about condition as price.

If I remember correctly, when I was looking (for a 308), a snapshot of the available cars at the time included a $22k 308QV that was in good condition and high(er) mileage, a $50+k QV with under 10,000 miles, and in an "off-color" (but probably just a show car...not the driver I was looking for), a $109k 308 race car at Fantasy Junction (modified to 288GTO levels of performance, supposedly), and oh - a $79,000 328GTS at a local dealer.

Yet left and right, I read posts of Fchatters bringing home new babies for *really* good money. I honestly thought my head was going to explode.

Fortunately for my sanity, I gave up on the QV search and picked up a 308GT4 locally that was *exactly* what I wanted - a driver with solid service records, all books, tools, etc., and looked okay from about 6-8ft. (and OUTSTANDING in pictures), but was mechanically rock solid. Oh - and right in my price range, to boot!

You'll find one. Soon.

Best regards,

Aaron

 

nice award