What is the consensus, if any? You've found a rightous car (good motor, body and price), but its the "wrong" color. What do you do? Skip it and continue looking or paint it the right color?
...on how "wrong" the color is. To me personally, as long as it's reasonable it's ok (i.e. I would have liked a red 308 but the black one i ended up buying was the "right" car in all other respects). But I wouldn't have bought a "prune" one, just for my tastes, for example, no matter how clean. I think having the whole car repainted should not be done unless necessary to fix faded/bad paint, not just a color one doesn't like. Just my personal opinion. Good luck!
If I'd found the perfect 328 but it was an "off" color (like white) and the price reflected this I'd follow The Stones and "Paint it Black"
If the color is so important that you would have to paint it as soon as you got it, I would say hold out for the right car in the right color, unless you get the car so cheap that even after painting it the price is still reasonable. If it's a color you can live with, then go for it if the car is right in all other respects. (I wanted a black 308, bought a red one because it was the right one at the right time, and I'm happy with red too. But I would never ever have a white one unless it was so cheap I could paint it black! No offense to others, I just don't like white cars.) Birdman
When I bought my car 87 328 GTS Grigio/red I wanted the best car I could find for the money I had available. I like the color but some people advised me to buy only red/tan. There are some colors I would not have wanted such as green or yellow and maybe blue. It all comes down to personal taste. I don't like color changes. To do it right would be cost prohibitive.
When I was seaching for my 328 I had my mind set on Red (what other color is there right?) Until I got the call about the black one, black? A Black Ferrari? So I went to look at it anyhow, we drove past it in the showroom (the back door was open) and I saw this sexy black 328 sitting there, now there's a sexy black 328 in my driveway (...well at a friends house right now) I love the color, it has a nice mistique behind it. See profile for Sexy Black 328 picture =)
I personally think there aren't any "off color" Ferraris...okay maybe a few...but just a few. I'd love to have a Gray TR, Yellow GTB, Titanium 355 GTB, Pozi Blue 360...the list goes on & on. In hindsight I actually "settled" for a red/tan 308 because it was the right $, close to home and had issues I could fix and not spend a lot of $ on. My next Ferrari will be anything but Red. Look at it this way... only a small % of people can actually have a Ferrari (or want to depending on how you look at it), and those that do go mostly for Red/Tan. Buy going "off color" you become a minority within in a minotiry...it's an even more select group. This will be a bad paraphrase, but in Gone in 60 seconds Nick Cage says that if he's driving a modern Ferrari 456/550/et al.... he's a self indulgent weiner (no offense to those owners)...where as if he's drving a 65 GTB 4C he's a connisouer. By going "off color" you might fall into that connisouer category =)
Don't settle for anything when it comes to your Ferrari. I am sure the right color is closer than you might think. Good Luck
For me, there is no susch thing as bad color on a Ferrari; no matter what the color is or how you look at it, ITS STILL AND ALWAYS BE A FERRARI. Mike
As posted above, the expense of a proper color change (and loss in value) is steep. Buying a color you hate just to get a good car seems like a bad idea. But most of them are red, so if you like red/tan it should be easy to find a great 328. If you only want blu sera (great color), your odds of finding the perfect car aren't great. Go with your gut reaction. I thought I wanted a black 328, but when a nice black metallic one came on the market I knew that was the perfect color. The car's gorgeous, and if/when I sell it eventually I'm confident a buyer will like it just as much. (Until I tell him I've changed my mind and chase him away with a shotgun...)
You may be able to paint it the "right color", but to get the "right paint job" it is going to cost a fortune. I can't imagine you could find a non-red 328 and paint it, and still come out on top. By the way, what color is the car you are looking at? I was looking for a red car when I bought mine because I thought it was the color the car was supposed to be (even though I think it looks better in black.) When I found the best car for me, it happened to be black/cream, so I bought it. I am very happy with black. Now that these cars are getting older, I think the lines of the car age better in black. I would never say any thing negative about 328 styling, the car is beautiful, but I think it looks less dated in black. The other thing about a red Ferrari is it carries a certain stigma with it. I never would have known this if I didn't buy a non-red Ferrari, but at least 6 people (mostly women) said "thank god you didn't buy a red one." Almost everyone told me they were glad I didn't buy red. I was really surprised, I thought for sure most people would have been disappointed it wasn't red. Most people tell me it is a much cooler and masciliane car in black. Personally I still think red is great. If I had found a better car in red I would have bought it. Don't be scared off by a non-red car. In my opinion, when these cars are real collector items, 20+years from now. I think off colors will fetch a premium, or at least as much as red. They are rarer, and as a design ages the color that was cool when new, doesn't always look the best later. I see a lot of classic baby blue corvettes, popular then, definitely not my favorite color now!
wait for the right color, you'll be glad you did(i certainly was). mechanicals can be fixed/replaced, paint's kind of forever (unless you butcher it with a repaint, or pay big $$$ to get a proper repaint). any time you're dealing with 'goodies', be aware that if you buy what you don't want, then every time you use the toy, in the back of your mind you'll be thinking 'if I'd only waited and got what I really wanted'. These ain't necessities, they're rewards, so get exactly what you want. Patience, there'll be sumpin' come along that fits, and if you're ready to pounce, it'll be yours...
The answer probably depends a bit on what model you are looking for. If it's a popular model, then it isn't that difficult to find a good example in the color you want. If its a less available car, then it's probably better to find the right car with less emphasis on color. I spent 6 months finding a Mondial in a color (Prugna) and model (3.2 coupe) I wanted -- it wasn't that difficult to find because there are a relatively large number of Mondials on the market. When looking for 330 GT, I spent 6 months and selected the car entirely based upon condition and originality without any regard to color (it's red, which isn't my favorite, but I still like it). Regarding repainting -- most 60's ferraris have been repainted and often there are color changes -- I don't think it has much impact on resale. Repainting and color changes for 80's and later is less common and possibly reduces the value (though if it is done right and you like the new color, who cares).
