[Schumacher]

I have been using my 308 GTSi as a daily driver for 8 weeks now. My Porsche should be back this week and I am debating whether I should keep it or not.

All advice will be greatly appreciated.

In my mind I have the following positives and negatives regarding selling the Porsche and keeping the Ferrari as my daily car:

Positives

1. I get to drive a Ferrari every day
2. We put my petrol, tyres, insurance and a contribution to maintenance for my daily car (currently the Porsche) through the business.
3. I mainly do highway driving although congestion is a problem from time to time.
4. I will have less cash tied up in cars than before
5. My overall maintenance bill will be far cheaper than having both cars.
6. By driving the Ferrari more regularly it should run better.

Negatives

1. Driving a Ferrari every day may be like waiting for a time bomb to explode?
2. Having the Porsche as well offers two very distinct driving experiences.
3. Driving the Ferrari every day may take some of the exxcitement away from it.
4. I do 40km per day - that will equate to +-15,000 km per annum - the car currently has 108,000km on the odometer - this may affect its value.

I would like to add that I have no ntention of selling the Ferrari though.

I look forward to your responses.

Kind regards

Michael

 

[Andrew]

If you had an F430 I would say keep driving it everyday. For the 308 I would say keep it but lower the usage. Why you ask? 20,000+ F430s, no so special. Your 308 however could be considered the last model before major production numbers started to happen. In fact the 308 is starting to appreciate and if you keep your car in pristine condition you'll have a nice collectors car in 10 years. Of course keep driving it regularly, just not daily. Just my 2 cents.

 

[archiegibbs]

If you can afford to keep both, do it. For all the reasons you stated in your negatives. A Porsche & a Ferrari is most peoples dream garage, it's certainly mine and what I'm hoping to do later this year when I get round to selling my Audi.

 

[Schumacher]

My 308 is not near concourse standard - it is just a good honest example with no oil leaks and generally mechanically very good. It has certain small cosmetic problems such as a bit of rust at the bottom of the driver's door and several stone chips on the front.

My last 308 was flawless from a body perspective and I was always worried about parking that car where it could be dinged. I really feel much more comfortable using this one. I will over time sort out the small problems, but I have always considered the 308 GTSi the most lowly of the 2 seater 3X8 range.

Do you really think that there is any substantial collector value there?

I also do not intend to sell the car - I got a really good deal on it and plan on keeping it.

 

[Magnum6464]

Well first off, if value of the car is something that bothers you, sell it.

If not, stop worrying about the value of the car and go back to the basics, do you like driving everyday in it??? If yes, then do it…

Get out of from the static mentality that seems to go with these cars like what will others say when they see the high mileage? What will it be worth? Who cares, you bought something to enjoy it and it’s suppose to make you happy, then make yourself happy…

Damn, if you bothered by being stuck on the side of the road, well that’s another story, but my view is if I would be able to drive a Ferrari everyday, I would be more than willing to take a chance on having it break down, at least everyday would be filled with joy or in my case bliss. I would rather be broken down in a Ferrari than a Honda. Another thing is, you already have over a 100K on you car, it means it’s pretty much bullet proof by now. So it’s just replacing broken parts due to wear and tear and not due to lack of driving because stuff has become brittle.

No offence but you drive a Porsche and a Ferrari, don’t cry with a full stomach. Be happy your alive everyday to take advantage of it.


~

 

[Schumacher]

It's not that I'm complaining in any way but it's that I am feeling that the 308 is more robust than I imagined (despite owing one on and off for three years now).

I am not at all worried about depreciation and I paid such a good price that I will not have a problem with keeping value.

I am really tending towards using it as a daily driver!

 

[Magnum6464]

I am feeling that the 308 is more robust than I imagined (despite owing one on and off for three years now).

What do you mean by more robust? Like harder to drive, needs more attention/effort than driving in a Porsche??? I’m not sure I quite understand…


~

 

[Boxer]

Very interesting. I am in a similar situation and have been using my 75 308 GTB as a daily driver for the past week while the 911 has been off getting serviced. It also sounds like our 308's are in similar condition. Mine is definitely not concours and has 83,000 km on the odometer. Mechanically it is in great condition and I would not hesitate to take it on a 1000 km trip tomorrow. That having been said, I do not have any plans to use it as a fully time daily driver but will continue to use it once or twice a week for the commute (roughly 50 Km). I do not have a real solid rationale reason why I will not switch to the 308 full time. On a cost basis, consumables are consumables and are used up on a mileage basis so I do not see much in terms of saving by switching to one car from two. Only real saving would be having to do one less annual service and paying insurance on one less car (as I run a fleet policy this is not a huge amount anyway). For lack of any better reasons: having the two provides for more interesting driving experiences through the unique characters of the two cars, realistically there are places that I would take the Porsche and not the 308 (ironically the Porsche is worth twice as much), and having the Porsche means that I do not have to worry about the weather or traffic. Then again, it might just be the fear that if I drive the 308 everyday it will loose some of that "specialness" and excitment that dropping into the drivers seat always has.

 

[Schumacher]

Sorry for the delayed desponse but I didn't log in at home last night.

By robust I mean it feels far stronger and resilient than I imagined. A friend of mine's father who used a 308 GT4 as a daily driver (and who has owned a 365BB, 365 GTB4 daytona, several 308s and a Testarossa) advised me when I was looking at a 308 that the 308 is far tougher than one would think. I am only realising this now.

The heaviness of the clutch, the relatively poor ventilation (remember I am in Africa where the winter temperature is 23 degrees at midday!), the quirky warm-up procedures etc. are no problem for me. I like these idiosynchrasies in the way I like wearing my Omega Speedmaster that has to be manually wound daily!

All-in-all the 308 has been a great companion as a daily driver. She is being washed as I type this and will be nice and clean for the weekend.

On another front, it is the Sefac (Southern Equitorial Ferrrari Automobili Club) annual concourse next week. My friend's GTO is now ready after a 6 month restoration and should look fantastic. I will take some pics and post them.

Regards

 

[Maranellohouse]

Oh how I dream of using my 308 everyday. If you can afford to do it, go for it, your only here once.

:stickpoke Use the 308 as much as you can and the Porsche if the 308 needs a rest.