[chase308]

Sunday night while walking down Newbury Street in Boston I caught a glimpse of the red siren I unwhittingly had longed for; though I had only seen a few times in passing, in movies, or in the brief moments before you completely awaken each morning: I knew. It was deeper than a simple passing fancy, even though never had I been up close, never in person, never with in a distance that I could taste the perfume of burnt clutch in the back of my throat.

Not wanting to be obvious, I stayed on my side of the street, not wanting to appear overly eager, nor overly interested. I focused the attention of the left side of my brain on the red glow that could be detected in teh corner of my eye. Fantastic...

Suddenly, the urge came that I could not suppress; I was drawn out into the street. My entranced state was only shaken by the rumble of a belt driven Harley brushing me back with a breeze of speed...

Regaining my composure, I traversed the street and acquired a firm footing on her side walk. Now only a few dozen yards away, I could see it clearly if not for the sweat forming on the bredth of my brow now seeping into the corners of my eyes blurring my vision almost like tears.

I was walking, closer and closer, almost there. I gently inched the back of my hand towards it as I drew up along side, like passing a woman in a cafe, or crowded bar- Hoping to get her notice and recognition... I felt the smooth surface speak to me almost as if it was covered in braile- three... five.... five.... The buttery red paint spoke to me faintly and then growled out immediately; the rumble of 8 metalic little men growled at me and imediately skirted her away...

OK- now back to reality -

I haven't seen her since. But like all good men consider- perhaps I can date her sister!

So now I'm shoping for something I could possibly afford (can we all say 308?). At 24 years old, If I can get my foot in the door now, certainly later on I can then trade up to the genuine article.

Basically I'm looking for real advice on how to acquire a higher milage cheap Ferrari (if one really exists). I have a decent job, but I'm only a year into my career, thus money isn't exactly falling out of my pockets. After rent and social expenses (a guys got to have his libations, correct?) I have a marginal surplus of cash available-

Any ideas? Thoughts? Experiences? Recomendations?

 

[Boxer]

This is a tough call. Before you leap into ownership, make sure you have enough money to keep the car in good running condition. The catch 22 is that any cheap 308 you find will probably need major investments to bring it up to par so you either invest in a good car up front, or end up spending a ton to restore it. In my experience, I have never found a cheap/bargain Ferrari.

 

[chase308]

True- I hear what you are saying.

I however am very mechanical, and am a Lift short of having a complete garage. I actually would enjoy the fixer-uper, the problem is from what I can tell, is that there are few ferrari's in this class. I can't do major body work, or engine replacements due to the high costs of such parts,a nd or lack of skill, but a car needs basic repair needs and lots of TLC is really something I'd long for. My father and I spend hours working together on his cars- its just come to the point where I need my own.

 

[Andrew]

Looking for the great priced 308 will take some time but don't give up and have patients. It could take 6 months to find. However, as boxer points out the low price will mean you have to do some work on it. Having said that, if you are very mechanical you'll have no problems doing it yourself and the 308 is a solid car. I would look at the Tech section for stuff on the 308. Last point, I recommend getting the later QVi model. It has 4 valves/cylinder and is fuel injected. The weber carbed models are great but tweaking the webers can be tiresome.

 

[4kids3fish]

Chase, you've got it bad, buddy! Just as well the seductress moved off or you may have found yourself compromised - making all the wrong moves too soon and being left spurned in the gutter. As it is, she saw you but chose to play hard to get - this is going to be a protracted, flirtateous courtship but you are still looking good!

Higher-mileage cars that have been well looked after ARE around and would be the best value for someone in your situtation. Most F-car buyers only want low mileage, so the odd high-mile car gets pretty significantly discounted. Just be patient and something good will come around eventually.

 

[Boxer]

If you are a good judge of condition and have the time, you can sometimes find good buys at auction.

 

[chase308]

where to look?

So i've heard mention of auctions as a location to look- Where else is there to look for a hi-mileage ferrari? I've looked on all the obvious locations online; Yahoo, autotrader, cars.com, etc. but haven't had luck (granted its been about 3 weeks). Reallyany other recomendations would be helpful.

Is there any use posting a "wanted" advertisement elsewhere?

 

[4kids3fish]

3 weeks - it's taken me nearly a year already to find the right car!

My suggestion is to beware of auctions unless you can get the time to really check the car out (which rules out e-bay). A higher mileage car definitely needs to be inspected by a Ferrari service mechanic & this will give you a good picture of what needs to be done, plus a good bargaining tool to get the right price.

Either private or dealer-traded cars will come around, but it may take a few months to get the right one. Just look at everything you can along the way - that way you will know the right car when you see it. I thought of Wanted ads as a means of flushi9ng-out cars that weren't on the market, but they do weaken your bargaining position (it says you are obviously desperate for one). Good luck.

 

[senna21]

So, when are we going to see ( ) this new car of yours!!!!!

 

[Pete04222]

Chase,
I looked for about 6 months and I found my car through Hemmings Motor News. The car that was for me ended up being in Pennsylvania. About 10 hours each way for me. But it was worth it.

Your posts sound a lot like me, making decent cash but not dripping with dollars, mechanically inclined, well equipped shop. I think you would be very happy with a 308, I know I am. I've had my car for 2 1/2 years know and I have about $1,000 in maintenance. Half of that was swapping over the ignition from points to electronic (which I did myself), I spent $300 to have the tires balanced, a front end alignment, and carb synchronization (by a professional) and $200 for oil changes and misc. parts.

My insurance is through American Collectors and it is $200 per year for full coverage. I think one of the restrictions is that no one under 25 can drive the car so you would not be able get the same coverage I have until your next birthday.

So that is my experiences, it has been a wholly positive one. People can't believe my car is 25 years old, they think it is new and figure I paid $60k for it. I love the car, it is great to drive and fun just to own and look at.

For my thoughts and recommendations, I didn't finance my Ferrari, I saved up the coin and bought it for cash. From what information you have given on your situation, I would recommend the same. If you own the car outright and a repair comes up it isn't as bad as having a repair come up and still having to make the car payment. If you have the cash now, great! If you don't, that's cool because it gives you time to look and if you turn 25 during that time it will be that much easier to get cheaper insurance.

I paid $23.5 for my car but when I brought it to Maine I had to pay $1,200 sales tax, that and registration it came to just about $25k so figure on at least that in the bank when you are ready to start test driving.

 

[Pete04222]

OK Chase,
Now I'm just being a jerk and giving you something to drool over.
Here's what I managed to get for less then $25. Keep looking, they are out there!

 

[4kids3fish]

Pete I can't believe you went & did that to Chase! You're a wicked wicked man :green: .

Charles, I still ain't got there yet - the owner is abroad & selling via consignment, so all the negotiations have to go back & forward & take forever. I'm told the deal should be done Monday.
Sticking points are
(1) Tyres - the car need 2 new rears to get legal but they are TRX (ugh!) & currently unavailable from Michelin; and
(2) Some mech needs to be done - who does it & who pays what
More news when things start happening.

 

[senna21]

Chase, I'll second Pete's advice on having the cash to buy the car outright. Debt isn't something you want hanging over your head. By saving up for the car you'll be able to have interest work for you over the few years that you're doing it. So you actually wind up spending less of your money on a 20K car. By financing the car interest is working against you. You'll wind up paying more for a 20K car.

 

[Boxer]

Chase, I completely agree with Pete's advice. Pay cash and be patient. One other place to look for ads is The Ferrari Market Letter. Also Motorsnippets has a very good auction report section which will give you a good idea on how much different models are going for over the last several year. Good luck.

 

[chase308]

Geez why so much responsible advice!

I know i should save up then purchase and stay away from the financing... Why do you guys have to tell me what I don't want to hear!

I'm almost looking at this purchase as an investment though- What F-models are appreciateing in value? most? all? some? none?

if i could finance this with low low rate, could there be a ROI?

 

[4kids3fish]

After your last ppst you might not want to hear this, but ...

Very few of the "common" Ferraris would actually be appreciating in value. I have checked the Ferrari Market Letter once or twice (sorry don't have link details at moment) & generally only the "collectables" are consistently going up.

There would be some exceptions, but most recent (mid 90's+) models are losing IMHO maybe 10% p.a., early 90's a bit less than this, while the early-mid 80's models are now pretty flat in value. Earlier than that there is some pickup in value happening. This is pretty typical of most auto assets, in that they drop like a brick at first but after 15-20 years have bottomed-out.

I'm sure there are some good exceptions though, mainly in the hard-to-get models.

My 2c worth! :roll:

 

[Boxer]

I have seen the same trends as 4kids3fish. Only point of difference is that the 2+2 models seem to drop even faster and lose more of their original value before bottoming out.

 

[chase308]

valuation

does anyone have a good "valuation" source? is there a good book that goes into the value of each model vs year vs condition vs mileage?

even just looking at 308's there is a wide variety of prices; anywhere from low 20's to high 40's depending on the year, condition etc.

What model's are "bottomed" out currently as far as value/price? So long as its not de-valueing, i think i'd be happy with that piece of mind.

 

[Boxer]

Suggest you take a look at the Ferrari Market Letter, qv500.com - http://www.qv500.com/indexferrari.htm and the Price Guide at http://www.classicandsportscar.com/. Hemmings also has links to model price guides. Good hunting.

 

[chase308]

thanks!

This is kindof a non-statement, but this forum really is terrific- People genuinely seem to be good people here. Its strange that even in mediums like this sometimes people are rude, inconsiderate, and thoughtless. It feels the exact opposite here.

I just want to say, thanks cuz thus far this has been a great experience!

-Chase

thanks for the tips and insight thus far- I hope to nolonger be a spectator in the near future!