Buying my first Ferrari, need advice.

i just bought a 79' 308 2 weeks ago. my first ferrari. and so far from what i can see and what i have read in to the 308's and 328's are good buys. if you buy a carbed car you can do alot of the work yourself and i guess once you get into the fuel injected cars it gets a bit more dicey. the market for a nice example 308 is in the high 20's to mid 30's. if you work a dealer over you can get one for the mid 20's. i guess the best thing i can say is do research,research, and more research. do your homework and figure out what you are comfortable with spending on parts and service. and no matter what you buy you will be happy with it. how could you not be? its a ferrari.
here is what 26 grand got us.

Thrill, its best to find a 400i that's already in the U.S. It'll more than likely have the D.O.T./E.P.A. paperwork to ASSIST in registering the car. You must familiarize yourself with your local or state laws concerning these grey-market cars. Most areas have emissions-testing exemptions based on vehicle age (which I'm not 100% sure if the 400 would qualify. Most exemptions are for cars 25 years old and older. Again, check your area for more info).

Your choice of a fuel injected car will make life much easier for you. They're naturally more efficient and pollute less than a carb car, but considering its a near-five liter V-12, its still dumping loads of HC into the air... Installing temporary catalytic converters is one way to pass (albeit not too legal if its temporary...). Its best to sort this out with the vehicle seller and a mechanic.

Although this is way before my time of ownership, my own 308 GT4 was serviced and offered for sale at Foreign Cars! Of course I can't comment on their work as this happened back in 1981-83, but from what I've heard from other Ferrari owners, they are a good place.

Yes, the easiest choice is the 308/328/Mondial. All are smog legal, there are plenty of them out there so they're reasonable in price. And they're easy to own and service. No real difference in service cost between the V-8 and V-12. The V-8's require more service, but its less costly per, the V-12's require less service, but more expensive per. A rough guide to ENGINE REBUILD COSTS: $1000/cylinder - and that's if nothing is broken. ROUTINE SERVICE (filters, fluids, adjustments, etc...): $600-$1000 total. Again, these are just examples, it all depends on the car you're looking at...