New to the Forum

welcome!

Search is your friend here. There are MANY threads about guys over 6ft owning a 308.

As far as reliabilty..its all relative to maintenance. If the car is maintained properly..it will be good to you. If not.. forget it. It will each your wallet alive.


Its my opinion (and I may be alone here..but I dont think so) that driving any ferrari, including a 308 is about the overal experience. The sound, the feel of the seats, the shift gate.. all of this makes driving the car sooo worth it. Its not the fastest ar you will ever drive.. but Id rather drive my 308 than any ther car Ive had. (and Ive had 911 turbos, 928s , an NSX and a lotus to name a few)

I think they handle like an old car myself. No power steering is not much fun in tight areas like parking garages and such. You can certiainly find "better" handling cars.. but the experience itself will change you forever.

 

I agree. The 360 is certianly a beautiful car.

To b able to afford one, (even a 308) you should set aside about $40 to $50k for initial purchase price (depending on what you find and decide to buy), and sorting it out ( almost ALL need sorting one way or another

Ive heard that the major service on a 308 is around 5k if not done already. And From whats Ive been seeing , 308 and 328 pricing is starting to trend up a little.

 

I agree, SEARCH probably covers everything you would ever want to know, use it all the time. Driving any Ferrari is amazing, the noise, the feel, total emotional overload which in my case has not left after eight years...long may it contine too. Good luck in your search!

 

Most 308 owners own other cars as well. Not a good choice unless you can afford a first car to get you to and from your job, haul groceries and dry cleaning etc : ) The 308, as old as it is, does not make a daily driver, which you will need if you are serious about making money... Face it - would you by a 1978 Ford as your dependable daily driver?

 

Welcome to www.timingbeltchat.com.

I see you already have three posts, its about time you started a new thread on timing belts don't you think?

 

You're bad, real bad.

When are you going to bring back that funny looking red neck guy as your avator?

-F

 

You know, you're a lot nicer to the 12 cyl guys when they ask. When we do you beat our ass

 

Welcome. You should definitely sit in one (and, optimally, drive one...) before making any decisions. There's a bit of the classic Italian driving position, where your arms are straighter than usual and the pedals are close. Also, the footwell is narrow and the pedals splayed right -- makes small feet and desirable option. It takes more time to warm up properly than a 'normal' car, making it a bad car for quick errands but a great one for canyon carving and open-road drives.

Headroom is tight, but I think we have some 6'+ owners here who can tell you better. If you like driving with the seat reclined, that helps.

I can't comment on the 308, but my 328 has been reliable. However, I have spent a few thousand on servicing and updating old fuel and coolant lines. Problem is they are all old cars, and have a lot of old car things go wrong. The good news it the engine/gearbox seem robust if you treat them right.

The car is tremendous fun to drive, but keep in mind the smaller wheels/tires and 1960s-origin chassis/suspension. It just won't run with anything like a Lotus Elise or a modern Ferrari. The styling may be timeless, but the underpinnings aren't. However it is nicely balanced, the sounds are unbeatable, and IMO the cockpit is all of what a sports car should be; it has decent torque and at 230bhp or so for the Quattrovalvole versions ('83-'85) enough power to be fun but not enough that you can't use most of what the car's got on real roads. (A 360 really needs a track -- it vastly exceeds what you'd be willing to try on public roads.)

A good book to pick up is Keith Bluemel's Original Ferrari V8 (on amazon.com). Kind of a dry read, but it will take you through everything from the early carb'ed 308s to the last of the 328s and describe the differences in a rather clinical way.

Ferrari 308s may seem affordable, but in truth you'd want to hold back a good reserve of cash for expensive items that need attention. You could spend the better part of $2K getting your clutch replaced, for example, and a major service (due every 3 years) will run $3K-$4K depending on who does it and what else needs doing at the time.

Good luck - they are stunning cars, all of them.

 

Being a non-owner, I went through a search for a my first Ferrari about a year ago, but I'd say what Bullfighter said above is the BEST advice. Drive one.

I'm short, and I drove a 308GT4, 328 and 308QV, and fit great in all 3 but best in the 308QV. I can tell you though that the experience of driving one is worth it.

The costs are a different subject, plenty of info here, just use search or wait for more responses.

I'd suggest going to a local dealer (Ferrari dealer or high end dealer, not a turn-and-burn shop) and looking at them, maybe sit in one. If you start hanging out there, then they'll know you when you get more serious about buying and let you drive one. There are other threads about test drives and the biggest thing you have to overcome is "looky loos", people that oogle at the cars, but aren't serious (I guess I now fit into that category, since I went with a different car, decided against my first Fcar, for now . . .).

James in Denver