Trying to make a decision (condition v. mileage)

I would lean towards the lower mile car.

I'm kind of surprised there isn't more of a price disparity. It seems almost everyone is hung up on mileage, where as minor touch-up work is almost inevitable for a thirty-five year old car that's been driven.

Welcome aboard!

 

Both are received wisdom. The first is a collector/garage queen/investor's response. The second is a mechanic/shop response. Neither are necessarily valid. Someone collecting a car doesn't want to see miles. Someone happy with a wrench but without good paint skills & facilities doesn't want to see paint issues.

But a great car could well be one with less than perfect paint and high miles but in good mechanical order because it's been driven and looked after.

 

Do the solid records verify the mileage of car one? If the mileage can be proven it is worth about $1 more per mile not used, minus a good paint job and any other differences. The lower mileage premium will come back to you when you sell and may mean fewer mechanical costs while you own it.

 

i double this - through my search as well I could easily find loads of cars that seemed to have very low mileage just to understand they had 100k more than they say. Most of the odometres only have 5 digits and loads of cars have 100k more than they say they have. This is particularly important for engine rebuilds, etc.

 

I've known several owners that painted the noses of their cars periodically because they were driven and they didn't like rock chips, so not necessarily a big deal. But for me if you can see the color difference, that is a car I don't want to look at every day. I'd look over the records again, and weighing everything I might lean toward the car that's been driven consistently over the last 2 to 3 years. Reliable cars tend to continue to be reliable.

 

Two considerations: How long do you want to keep it, and how intensely do you want to maintain it? Generally-speaking, lower mileage translates to higher resale price. HOWEVER, don't be fooled by some of these "time capsule" cars that come up with low documented miles. Rubber hoses and seals have a finite useful life, regardless of mileage. My mechanic even showed me someone's metal bearings that started to structurally crack from sitting still for 25 years. *Assuming it has been properly maintained,* then a higher-mileage car may be in better mechanical fitness than lower, as running it keeps things well lubed, etc.

I looked at about 40-50 cars before buying mine, and the ones that had been driven generally were in better running shape than the garage queens, though the pampered cars looked a bit better. Just realize that, if you pull the trigger on the low mileage one, you may find that you need to do the same maintenance/hose & seal replacement as the high-mileage version.

I'm sure you know this already if you're a longtime lurker, but whichever one you choose, get an expert Ferrari tech to do a PPI first. I'll take a quality PPI any day over documentation.

 

I would tend to "condition" over "mileage." Condition (with a PPI and records) is much harder to fake than mileage (even with records). Some of the lower mileage cars I've seen advertised really had me wondering about the accuracy of the odometer and records. Maybe use the higher mileage as some bargaining leverage, should you decide that's the car you want. You say that you plan to drive the car, so your purchase is not a potential investment. How many miles do you plan to drive the car? I understand that you must consider future resale and want to minimize your driving costs so, for maintenance, condition is probably of more concern than mileage (and I don't agree on the $1 per mile depreceation cited in a earlier post). You will have maintenance costs regardless of your choice. If you drive the car, the value of either car will decrease but, I suggest, treat your Ferrari time as you might consider a vacation: once it's over, no one gives your money back.

OK, that was my rationale in considering a higher mileage honest 328. Your experience might differ, as they say. Good luck. You won't regret owning a 308/328.
Jon

 

What is wrong with 55,000 miles?

Mine had 57,000 when I brought it home in 1997. I'm closing in on 120,000 now

 

Mine had 67K miles when I bought it,
Chosed it over the 40K miles 308

 

What are you buying it for? Collector/investment? Drive and enjoy?
I just bought a 328 with 73k miles on it. Fantastic condition and mechanically checked out in ppi. All maintenance up to date. I want to drive it and watch others slave at the concourso. I'll drive home while they load trailers. I went for condition.

 

Do you know that the front bonnet was repainted or are you speculating because it looks different. A lot of the early cars had parts painted in different lots so a bonnet would be put on a car that was painted at a different time. There are many instances of the subtle differences in color. It's virtually undetectable under sunlight and then if you get the same car under various artificial lightning it looks like a completely different color.

 

I saw a QV for sale in SF a few years ago that appeared to be just like you described. Very clean and the paint looked original outside in the sunlight but inside the shop it looked like the drivers door and rear engine cover were a little darker red. No overspray or tape lines, same paint texture too.

Just curious, how much are the cars you are considering. Also, did you see the smoking deal on the Euro QV just listed in the classified section? The Euros are nice drivers.

 

83 car with 6 digit odometer? I though the change took place later? 55k means regularly driven and it has full history right? I would think in the future the cars having full history would be the investors choice as they are much rarer than a good conditioned car. You can always rebuild the car to a pristine state.

 

The 55K car must surely have had the nose resprayed if it does not have lots of stone chips.

Presumably the interior on the 25K car is better. If not, it would indicate non-genuine mileage. Interiors are difficult and expensive to refurb. That would swing it for me along with resale value.

Interior is the reason I never agree with the "dont buy time capsule cars" brigade. All of the items which degrade with garage-time are relatively easy to replace.

 

Seriously? I'd say restoring an engine that's sat unused for years is a far more involved task than restoring a tired interior. I suppose it depends on your skill set and what might need replacing, but imo looking at this objectively and assuming you are getting specialists to do the work, mechanical restoration with parts & labour can very quickly outpace an interior refurb.

 

Not much will need doing to a stored engine provided it has been stored in the dry. Resurrecting a stored car does not require "restoration".

 

I would consider the service records, what has been replaced over the years. These are old cars and anything rubber is going to break down. Have the bushings, hoses, or other items be replaced on one car but not the other? Shocks refurbished? Steering rack rebuilt (not a big deal)?

I would also lean toward good paint as painting is costly. The interior can easily be renovated at a relatively low cost.

Lastly, if you are going to put many miles on it, then I would opt for the higher mileage car.

 

I'm lurking from the Mondial section, but between the two I'd probably go with the higher mileage car that's been regularly driven. 55k isn't real that high, certainly not for a 33 year old car. My '83 qv had 61k miles when I bought it last year.

On the other hand, you could choose to buy the lower mileage car and try and have the parts that don't match resprayed. Non-matching paint would drive me nuts and bum me out every time I looked at the car, but that's just me.

Good luck!

 

As you can see, there are different views on this, so you'll probably have to pick which factor *you* worry about most.

One hint I got from my dad, decades ago and about cars in general, is to look at the rubber pedal covers.
A "low mileage" car with very worn pedals is lying to you.

If you're buying as an investment: Don't. The prices may not have topped out, but cars are not generally a reliable investment.

A low miles car with some issues is a garage queen.
You'll be afraid to put miles on it, and you'll be afraid to drive it any distance without worrying about a break-down.

Keep in mind the mileage thresholds. I've heard that some mills may need bottom end bearings around 100K miles.
But you won't even get the 55K car to that point for a long time.
(After all, it took 33 years to get the first 55K.)

I bought my 328 with 40K on the clock, and the paint wasn't perfect.
It's not a top price car. But I don't worry about driving it and parking it where I go.
I've had it for 17 years and counting. It's for me, not for my accountant.

 

I have a 328 that has 55K miles. It has a slight oil fuzz under the dizzy. The carpet needs refreshing. The nose has been repainted as is the engine lid because the first owner put a car phone antenna in it. The air filter housing is the correct wrinkle paint without any stenciled Ferrari. It is connected to a home made air inlet hose because the original disintegrated. I have inexpensive copper spark plugs, custom made ignition wires, and do not use any SRI hoses.

It fires every time, I drive it everywhere, and leave it everywhere. I will put 100K miles on it before I die.