Great Time to Buy a Ferrari 308

[PJH308]

Welcome aboard Paul, and I'm glad you enjoy the car so many of us envy!

Thanks for the warm welcome. I consider myself very fortunate.

Do you wear a Tigers cap while driving it, or is that taking it too far?

Also- do you mind if I ask how you find the build quality?

I don't wear the Tigers cap, although I do often wear Hawaiian shirts, including my prized Jungle Bird shirt .

I get MANY Magnum related comments in the car, some more complimentary than others.

As for build quality, it's a great question. As I said earlier, it's a 30 year old hand-built Italian car. Overall, very well put together, but there are odd quirks. For example, even though my car is a GTSi, I have a GTS badge on the passenger side interior. I guess that's what was in the parts bin that day.

The reality of these cars is, they are not horrifically expensive to buy - since the downturn in the economy, nice examples can be had in the $25K - $30K range easily, plus, they don't really depreciate. A car bought today for $30K, assuming it was "well bought" and is properly maintained, will likely be worth $30K five years from now.

HOWEVER...the real cost is in the maintenance and upkeep. Figure an average of $3K - $5K per year assuming "normal" driving of 3-5,000 miles. A good rule of thumb is it's going to cost about $1/mile of driving. Annual oil change/fluid service: $500. Major service including new timing belts every 3-5 years ( depending on who you ask) $3K - $6K. Clutch: $2500.

And, if you need a new engine, well...figure $10,000 as a good starting point.

The key is to buy one that has been regularly serviced by a reputable mechanic and has records to prove it.

-Paul

[Carmen]

Next saturday the "Sachs Franken Classics" is coming thru` our town, means about 120 "Oldtimer cars" , reading the list of which cars are there, I found on no. 36: 308 GTS from 1978!!!!! Every car older than 30 years is an oldtimer, seems a bit strange to me. Anyway, can`t wait for saturday. They also have a Corvette Stingray, a Ferrari 512BB!! and some Porsches.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I love checking out the old cars at classic car shows. It's amazing some of the detail that used to go into those cars. I miss metal bumpers, and cars today have too much plastic!

[Carmen]

okay, been there - had it all!!!
I talked to the guy with the 308, he bought it 2 years ago in Italy. He said it is very easy to drive, told me I could handle without further instructions
anyway, the driver was very tall (190 cm, which is almost Tom Sellecks height and he fit in the car perfectly, so we talked about whether it is true or not they had to work on the seat for TS. We came to the result that Tom Selleck must be a "Sitting Giant"
When they had to drive on after 20 minutes break he asked my boys if they want to sit in his car!!! I`ll post photos later.

[rubber chicken]

Hi Paul, I got the P.J. O'Rourke book from a local library, and enjoyed reading about his experience with the 308GTS. Sounds like a real life experience, and you are indeed fortunate to have a 308 of your own. Have you ever considered reenacting the cross country drive? I could play the part of the boss, and you wouldn't even need to yank out the cutoff switch!

One thing I was wondering about though, what was he doing wrong when he first drove the car, and "fouled the plugs"? He never explained. For the curious, here's one paragraph where he talks about it...

I remembered that Bill Baker, Ferrari's director of public relations, had told me, "Be sure not to -------- or you'll foul the plugs." But what it was that I wasn't supposed to --------, I had no idea. So, finally, I just started it up and very tentatively, very nervously drove it out onto the Garden State Parkway, where the plugs immediately fouled. We coasted onto the berm. I got the car started again and out into traffic and it loaded up and stalled. I got it started another time and it began to misfire and choke, and I had to stick it in third and run it up over five grand just to keep the engine moving.

I was surprised that after the car was fixed / tuned up (in Greensboro, North Carolina) the only problem they had with it for the rest of the trip to Los Angeles was the "electric antenna's bezel vibrating itself off". They certainly weren't gentle with the car to say the least, and were driving well over 100mph much of the time (up to 140mph).


I was also struck by how inappropriate the 308 truly would be for Thomas Magnum, besides the obvious private investigator driving a red Ferrari angle. In one part, O'Rourke says...

The Ferrari isn't much to bop around town in. It's necessarily stiff and uncompromising at low speeds. And you'd sooner dock a sailboat in a basement utility sink than try to parallel-park it. But turn the son of a bitch loose on the open road and it's as though you've died and gone to hot-rod heaven. True, the 308 wasn't designed, really, for American touring, where the speed limit is fifty-five and distances are measured in thousands of miles instead of hundreds of kilometers. There's nary a gear in the box where the Ferrari will do fifty-five with pleasure, and the luggage space wouldn't make a good ice bucket.

Except for the times when Magnum finds himself in a car chase, it sounds like the car could have been frustrating for him. And especially on Oahu, where I'm assuming there's hardly a suitable place to really drive the car the way it was built to be driven. Unless of course you're in a TV show and you're paying the police to close down a section of road. Otherwise it would be like keeping a tiger in a cage. What would O'Rourke's journey have been like if he didn't drive from the East Coast of the US to the West Coast, but instead only from the South Shore of Oahu to the North Shore?


Here's the last paragraph mentioning the car's future use:

But the story ends on a sad note. The movie that this incredible car traveled all that way to be in will be called Don't Eat the Yellow Snow in Hawaii, so maybe western civilization hasn't quite been perfected yet.

Little did he know what he was actually referring to, and what an icon the car would become! I also think chances are that he would later become a big fan of Magnum P.I.

[PJH308]

Hello RC,

I've never been able to figure out exactly what he's talking about with the fouled plugs either, however I'm not a mechanic. There is a fairly complex procedure to starting the older, carb'd 308s, and especially in the Northeast in winter ( they picked up the car in New Jersey in late December), not setting the choke right, running too rich, or not letting the carbs prime properly could all be issues. As much as I love the carb'd cars for the sound and originality, I specifically wanted an FI car for reliability and turn-key-go simplicity.

Your observations on the practicality of the car for Magnum are spot on. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the 308 was never really designed for use as a daily driver. In reality, Magnum would have been much better off driving the Audi most days.

Of course, had he done so, or if P.J. and Julian had wrecked the car on their joyride, I would now own one less car and have more disposable income

No plans on a cross-country drive, although a drive up the east coast from Florida to New England and back is a possibility. And, sadly, I've never had any issue with the fuel cutoff switch either.

- Paul

[Karrnut]

This is why I decideded to purchase the Mera 308 Replica. After the Doctor gave me the "Long Face" I decided I wanted to get that 308, and live my own Magnum fantasy, I knew I didn't want to spend my time waiting for a finicky throughbred to become road worthy. I went through that with a 1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, over $10,000.00 in maintenance over one year, these kind of cars are not driven enough, so many time seals dry out, items rust, and electrical systems fail. Sadly many live off the reputation they gained years ago. I have owned, restored and repaired over 98 cars in my driving lifetime, and from personal experience I came up with a saying that puts it all together:"If you can't afford it new, you can't afford it used." If you can get over the "idea" of driving a replica, buy a Mera, its the best of the 308 copies made, it was factory made on 1988 Fieros, they sold for $28,000.00 in 1988, and can be bought today for about $15,000.00. Best part you can drive it EVERY DAY, if you need parts go to your GM dealer, and as for insurance, way less. I don't know about you, but I want a car I can "drive" with the money left over I can to go to Hawaii and visit the sites. By the way..I do have the hat, the shirt and the ring.
Life's short, enjoy the ride.

[PJH308]

The Mera is a pretty good copy. They were actually sold at Pontiac dealers, and are much rarer than 308s - I saw a source that says 247 Meras were built between 1987 and 1988.

That said...sorry, but it's just not the same. I'm sure it's not a bad car, and I certainly respect your point of view, but I'd rather have a Ferrari than a Fiero.

Either way, I'm sure we both enjoy our cars and I agree 100% with your closing sentence.

Cheers!

- Paul

[Karrnut]

Some time, some where, we should meet and drive each others car, it could be fun.

[robspace54]

My car has two motors (one gas - one electric) and it's a dark gray four door, but with the sun roof open, the driver's and passenger's windows down, the sun shining, and my shades on, with the wind whipping through my hair, it ain't a 308, but it is still fun... and 49 mpg too! And with a certain tropical theme song playing in my head, I don't need a Ferrari!

Rob

[Karrnut]

Carpe Diem my friend!

[ban-1]

I'll just be able to afford to replicate it with a Fiero or Fiat X1/9.