Anybody have anything to say about a 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS qv ?
57,000 miles, all belts at 51,000. FSH (Ferrari).
I'm considering buying it.
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Mark (Nuts)
As an official moderator will it be your HJ company car?
(I see there's a vacancy, make mine an Aston).
Thought Cohonest John would have you in a Mondeo.
Stu.
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Totally out of my league Mark, so no experience here :(
Sounds expensive to run...do Ferrari do a diesel?
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Dave,
My thoughts turned to the availability of a TD hatchback...and can you get a towbar fitted.
Seriously though It'll be a brilliant experience if you get it Mark. Aren't you a bit tall for the 308 though, remember Magnum!
David W
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Don't think so, it seemed quite comfortable.
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I will drive this as my normal car, so it will get 10-15,000 miles a year on it, hence the logic of buying an older one which has suffered most of the depreciation.
And the car is certainly pretty with a solid history, so this is probably the one I'll get.
It will even take a child seat, so the Family is happy
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"10-15,000 miles a year on it"
MK IV Supra import - look for one which has low mileage and no "improvements". £219 for full service at local Toyota agency.
Allow for a decent set of tyres - Mytyres do P zeros.
And a rustproofing.
If you don't need the performance I gather the non-turbo is reasonably economical.
Not as posh as a Ferrari, perhaps, but you'll always get there - its a Toyota!
Perhaps I'm prejudiced - HJ?
Tomo
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Still waiting for the money, though........
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Mark
One of my son's work colleagues has just sold his 308, having run it for a couple of years. His was higher mileage but if you want further details of his experience of the model I can get them for you. Apparently, many routine maintenance tasks involve dropping the engine. These include spark plug changes to the front bank of cylinders.
Ian Cook
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I 'show' my Triumph 2500 just once a year, for an organisation that I'm involved with. Last summer a Ferrari was put next to me and, surprisingly, the owner seemed very interested in the Triumph. After looking it all over he asked how much it cost to maintain and I told him, quite honestly, "about £150 a year for the past four or five years, plus petrol of course". (No road tax, MOT at £30, insurance at £65, servicing at £30, then there's the wax-wash and polish!)
He said that he only uses the Ferrari for shows and doesn't do any other motoring in it since he prefers to cycle everywhere! Even so, he said it still costs him £8000 a year to maintain! He mentioned the need for frequent timing belt changes and said that on his model (can't remember the number) it was an engine-out job.
I didn't offer to swap cars with him, though I think he might liked to have done so. ;-)
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I've been thinking(!). It might be that the £8000 per annum for maintaining the Ferrari included fuel. If the owner reads this, perhaps he would tell us. Or if he's at this year's show next month, I will ask him for a breakdown (of the cost, not the car, you fool).
Near us last year was a steam roller which the owner said cost him £500 a year on average. Now if Mark was to have one of those as his everyday vehicle he would help smooth our fenland roads when visiting David W!
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Miles per cwt?
Boiler maintenance and insurance?
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Ian,
Further details would be good. Thank you.
M.
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Comments on the following from a US Ferrari website ??
Question:
How often does everyone service their car? Do you follow the schedule in the owner's manual?
Answer:
1. Cam belts - 30K miles for Ferrari, 50-60K for production cars. Reason? Ferrari's see very high RPM and during these jaunts, the belts actually stretch, which can crack the internal construction. I'd replace them every 5 years regardless of milage. Also, if the car sits for a long time 9+ months, I'd consider replacing the cam belts before blasting the car around.
2. Engine Oil - Depends on the engine. If the car smokes a little (as some early 308's are prone to do), I'd change the filter more often (every 2.5K). Since I know everyone here is using SYNTHETIC OIL, you can extend you oil changes as long as you replace the filters. I go 5-7K miles on Amzoil, with 2 additional filter changes. As far as time goes, the only thing oil will collect over time is moisture. The first time the oil exceeds 212F, the moisture will boil out. However, if I left a car to sit for over a year, an oil change would be trivial trouble compared to the other "restart" problems.
3. Transmission oil - Using SYNTHETIC transmission oil, I change every 20-30K. No time limit.
4. Brake fluid - Change yearly, regardless of miles. As others have noted, the fluid is "hygroscopic" meaning it takes on water, even in a sealed brake system. The last thing you want is rust in the caliper bores.
5. Coolant - With normal coolant, I change yearly. This is due to the fact that the rust inhibitors that are mixed in with the coolant begin to break down over time. Aluminum *does* rust, its just not brown. With extended life coolant, I'd say 3 years. Make sure any coolant you choose for your Ferrari is PHOSPHATE-FREE. Phosphate can pit the aluminum castings, I know, my water pump housing had the be reworked because of it. Even if you think your house water is OK, its probably not. Distilled water is very cheap (0.90 USD per gallon) & it's good insurance to use it. I've seen 308 heads that were nearly 50% clogged due to calcium build up. It doesn't just affect flow it affects the thermal transfer from the metal to the water drastically.
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This is interesting too........
www.expensivecar.com/ofsm.htm
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Mark
I mentioned a book I had lost in an earlier Ferrari thread. It has surfaced now and has some tips on buying Ferraris--ie little things to watch for--as well as covering DIY maintenance which is understandably limited but at least helps you understand how the carbs, distributor etc work.
The book is Ferrari Guide to Performance by Allen S Bishop and published in 1987 by Motorbooks International of Wisconsin. ISBN number is 0-87938-230-9. Its a softback A5 book. Bishop was then running a specialist Ferrari workshop in California.
You are welcome to this copy which I can mail wherever if required.
David
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David,
I sent you an e-mail.
Thank you.
Mark.
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