Ok guys I'm considering a fcar move. He are my four choices......................... A. keep the 308 QV I have (love it, but would like something with more power and more modern, considered a Porsche but can't leave the red cars.) B. Move into a 328, (most logical choice sense it will cost the least to move into, BUT since I already have a QV are they going to be too much alike for me to see any real differences (power and what not) C. Go with a 348, more modern in and out, and way more power, but does the increase in mait, and being not as reliable out way the advantage gained. D. Go with a Testarossa, I like the thoughts of a TR best, BUT the maint cost scare me, but more than that I use my car mostly for an around the town cruiser and feel the TR will be to much of a "event/hassel" for my kind of driveing. Plus I'm only 5'6 and I feel that the TR swallows me when inside. Heck I have to stretch to reach the pedals in the 308 !! The original plan was to move into a 355 this year, but I bought I boat with some of my ferrari money, so now I only have about a 15,000-20,000 budget for moving into something else. Thougts ???????
a) Keep the 308, spend the 15K having Mark supercharge it b) Keep the 308, buy a 365GT4 2+2/400GT to get a feel for the 12s. If you like, sell it and the 308 and get a TR c) Keep the 308, spend the 15K on driving courses I don't think you're going to be able to really feel the difference between a QV and a 3.2
I only have room for one car. I have a one car garage and we already have three cars I don't like the TR's JUST for the 12 cyc I LOVE the looks, best looking car ever made, IMHO. I just really want more power and more modern.
John, I saw a TR in Myrtle Beach this weekend. The 308/328 series are sexy. TR's are just wicked; man, what a car. I've heard they're heavy to drive in town but fantastic on the open road. I look forward to reading your outcome. Dane
yeah there's just something about a TR, in person it can be sitting next to a 355 and 360 and you just keep staring at the TR, or at least I do
i think the tr will be a car that makes you stand tall! it is tough to compare a tr to a 08/28...it is so much car. find a really well kept car and stop wishing for a 12!
I agree that you probably won't notice enough difference between a 308 QV and a 328 to warrant the switch. I'd recommend the TR if you can afford it, and if your garage can accommodate its big rear end!
They are just GORGEOUS from any angle ! (pics from Naples Motors) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Get a TR.... you'll have one really well balanced machine in the 308 and one "just stupid fast" machine in the TR. TRs are really just about as low as I think they're gonna go also. Try for a euro model if available. They sound wicked!
John- Brent on this board had the same decision. He had a 308 for a while & wanted to upgrade. He bought my 328. Didn't take more than a year or so before he got the itch to switch. He initially wanted a TR & he came over to my house & drove mine for a while & decided he definitely needed one. After having one fail a PPI, he changed his mind a little bit & decided he would rather have a 348 & have some money left over for repairs, etc. He ending up buying another F-Chatters 348 and is very happy with it. I think if you go for the 328, you will end up being a bit dissapointed. They are just too similar of cars..... Brent jokes that after he bought mine, a guy he knew asked him if he had his 308 painted blue. I absolutely love the TR - I have no regrets. I am 5'8" and feel like the car was made for me inside. It is much roomier than the 308/328 and has a very comfortable driving position for my frame (I guess I'm small like an Italian). The TR is a bigger car, but is still easy to drive around - I take it out several times a week - Just making sure I park a bit away from others. The maintenance won't be that much more over a 348 to sway your decision. Go for the 12! I'm sure you would be happy with a 348 also, but you would feel the biggest change in driving style and performance (torque!) in a TR. Make sure to drive one & see if you are comfortable in it - You will love it!
Caveat: Everyone likes particular Ferraris for individual reasons. My comments are not in the least to disrespect this, but just to relate my own TR experience after owning a 328 for awhile ... I was initially attracted by the added lavishness, 12-cyl, Miami Vice glamor of the TR. Got a 1989 white/tan ("Absolutely essential for serious police work," as Tubbs observed.) My first disappointment was the sound of the engine. It didn't have anything like the deep, sexy boom of the 328. It was as quiet as a Chevrolet and sounded like a sewing machine. Perhaps you get a roar out of it at higher RPMs, but I'm not a redline Mr. Gasser. I think to make it "sound like you imagine a Ferrari should sound", you'd have to add a Tubi, and that's $$$. The TR is sort of the reverse of Dr. Who's TARDIS, in that it is bigger on the outside than it is in the inside. For such a huge car, the interior is cramped. Sit in one and be sure you fit, and can still reach the steering wheel once you've got the seat adjusted. Those seat adjustments are also very weird. In addition to the two mystery levers on the side, you can move the underknee bolster around. On the positive side, TR seats are very comfortable, and in my opinion much more so than the 512TR or F512M seats. The TR has a low front spoiler, and it's fiberglass. You don't have to worry about the undernose of the 328, but with a TR forget steep driveways and worry about dips/speedbumps. You will need to become expert at approaching such things from maximum angle. (I laugh whever I see Sonny Crockett in a high-speed chase with his TR; all the streets had to be racetrack-smooth!). Hit that spoiler and it is a $$$ replacement/repair. You used to be able to buy aftermarket steel guards to install at the lower extreme of that spoiler to help protect it. Definitely a good idea if these are still around. I love taking the targa top of the 328 off on nice days/evenings. Adds to the Formula One fantasy, particularly with that voluptuous front wheelwell curve in front of the windshield. With the TR you're stuck with the top on, and the nose curves uniformly down, so there's not much to see out there. The 328 air-conditioning is primitive and sort of funny to operate, but it really works, including in superhot conditions. The A/C in my TR was subject to icing up in really hot, constant maximum use conditions, and once it iced up, it was no good and I just fried. Only thing to do was turn it off, wait for the ice to melt, then use it again for awhile. Very annoying. The 328 is a small car and fits/parks everywhere. The TR is very wide, so in parking lot spaces you're inevitably that much closer to cars on either side, if you're stuck in a crowded lot. Also on each side of the TR are those fragile strakes, right where some citizen in an SUV will slam open his/her door. There was a major trim quality improvement with the TR at 1988-1/2 - better dash leather padding/fit, easier to live with 5-bolt wheels instead of those bashemwithahammer knockoffs, etc. Unfortunately you also get racetrack seatshoulderbelts, which can decapitate you if you're not careful. The 328 line has manual belts. I am back in a 328 and much happier.
Have you considered a 456 GT. It might suit your around the town driving style, it is more modern, and, most importantly, it gives you the glorious V12. Prices are comparable to TRs. js
If you're going in that direction, and unless you're exclusively Ferrari-dedicated, comparetestdrive a Maserati Gransport and a Jaguar S-Type-R.
I think the QV and the 328 is very similar both reliability and power. Of course, the 328 is about 20 or 30 more horse power. But in reality isn't much. You will end up up grading to the 348 or 355 eventully...
I know I'll be branded a heretic for this, but the TRs do absolutely nothing for me. That big square butt is just fugly. (Sorry guys.) I also think the 308 is better looking than the 328. But if you like the look of a TR, you should love the look of the 348. It's more sexy, smaller, but has those quintissential cheese graters. It's got a lot more punch than a 328, and hey, right now 348s are getting almost as cheap as 328s. A 348 will be my next Ferrari. (But I'll have to sell the Mondial, otherwise, as my wife says, I'll be sleeping in it.) Birdman
I would think a 328 would be underwhelming....I made the jump from a 205hp 1978 308GTS to a 328 and the jump was noticeable. But after a year, I started to get a bit bored with the car. I think a 348 would be a much better move, and really not that much more money...though service costs are a bit more (but you already know that). Personally, if you want "modern", then I would wait a couple years, save some more money, and get into a 355B...prices are still falling! Dave
I think this is the best advice if you want a quantum Rambo jump from the 308. The 355 is to the 348 as the 328 is to the 308: refined, rough edges honed out, and a bit more power as cakeicing. The 348 got snarlreviews for being twitchy, particularly at high speeds, and a sort of humpy body (after the nudelady voluptuousness of the 308/328). Ferrari got all of this sorted out with the 355, except that the TS version was reportedly a little wonky. Focus on the Berlinetta or the Spyder. BTW the TR is not a dragster any more than the 308/328. With an unblown DOHC you've got to get the tach up there to get any torque, and Ferraris don't like their clutches dropped/slipped at high revs. These things are highspeed highway gobblers. If 0-60 is your thing, do a Cobra or a Viper, which will do a great job of pushing your skeleton out the back of your body.
