Maintenance costs for 308/328?

Have you tried looking if this question has been asked before ?

My best guess is its asked and answered often

 

Its been said before....$1-2K annual for miscellaneous stuff.

$4-5K for belts, bearings ever 3 to 5 years. (PLEASE don't ask how often you change the belts). Ferrari says 3. If done by a reputable F-car tech, many agree you can stretch a bit to 5 years. So, 3 to 5 years to amortize the cost of a belt service.

With 2000 to 3000 miles annually, it usually averages about $1/mile all together.

Just buy the BEST example you can find, with records, and maintenance....then you will approximate these averages for 30 year old cars. Buy a deferred maintenance car... ya never know.

Check Ferrari Ads for FChatter cars first.

 

I agree with JF308.

My advice is Search your area for a reputable non-dealer technician shop. Ask what they charge for a major service and a yearly full fluid change. The fluid change can be a DIY and so can the major (if your willing).

1.Ask questions; thats why were here.
2.The members here are a wealth of information; priceless.
3.The "search " function has its rewards too. (see 1.)

GOOD LUCK

 

If you do the work yourself it's much lower. In 1 year of ownership i've probably spent $1100 on parts and $0 labor including belts and bearings.

S

 

Not bad, once you get the time deteriorated and deferred maintenance items that show up in most old cars taken care of. I guess the secret is to find a car being sold by an ultra meticulous owner, but in the 308/328 world, that's not so easy to do.

Mine's now costing $1500-$2000/yr to keep going, including insurance and gas.

 

I've had my 1988.5 328 for almost 5 years now. It was completely up to date and fully serviced when I bought it.

I've spent $550 to replace the tires, $450 to replace a ruptured coolant hose (including the price of a 40 mile tow). $100 x 4 for annual oil changes, $150 x 2 for bi-annual brake fluid and coolant changes, and $6 for a new radiator cap. So I guess that's $1706 for repairs and mainenance over 4.5 years and 3500 miles of driving.

This fall will be 5 years and I anticipate spending about $3500 for timing belts/bearings/fluids/etc. service.

So that's about $5,200 over 5 years or $1,040/year for repairs and maintenance. WAY less than my out-of-warranty 5-series BMW costs me every year!

Of course if you buy a needy car plan on spending a lot more.

 

It really is your choice and depends on the route that you want to take. Do you want to pay a premium for a car that has been well maintained and potentially wont cost that much in maintenance costs moving forward, or are you looking for a lower priced example with a significant level of deferred service that you can get corrected over an extended period of time?

Either way, you can throw 10's of thousands at it in a blink of an eye. I went the lower price upfront path and have paid a significant amount of money getting the car sorted out, however, I knew that going in. After purchasing the car I immediately had a major service performed, then a loose cam bolt required another belt service, then a bad lower cam belt bearing required an engine out service with belts, rebuilt the calipers, rebuilt the carbs, new exhaust, rebuilt suspension, new distributor, refinished the wheels, the list goes on and on. It really depends upon what you want and ultimately what end product are you after.

Good luck with the search.

 

Buy one like this.....and you won't be sorry. Well maintained examples are out there. Just don't get smitten with the bargain basement, fire sale F-Cars....they are never inexpensive in the long run.

For Sale in Ferrari Ads.
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=7124
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So far this year 1 oil change with filter - less than $100

Last year - new wheels and tires $1600
oil change and filter - less than $100
hose replacements and coolant - $400

Year before last - major service $3800 at an indi - only because I was too lazy to do it myself - the last time I did it myself it was less that $1000

 

i agree with this statement:

With 2000 to 3000 miles annually, it usually averages about $1/mile all together.

i have owned my 78 euro carb 308 gts for over 12 years and put a lot of miles on it, and about a buck a mile (including gas), is about right for everything - including insurance, tags etc..

 

I dont have a 308 but did shop around for one for a while. What I found is that you will never come out in "better shape" buying a needy car than you will buying a top-condition, well sorted car. This goes for any exotic/sports car. The reason is that once you get going you wont stop with just the essentials - you'll end up technically restoring the car which always costs way more than planned.

I have a Lotus Turbo Esprit, which is similar in buy costs and maintainance requirements to the older 308's and I paid a premium for a really good example. The running costs for my car are basically nothing except routine fluids and filters in over 10K miles of driving.

Ive shopped a lot for these kinds of cars. Dont think you are gonna rescue one...its a noble cause and if you have the know how and the cash then great but most 308 buyers/shoppers like me dont have unlimited resources so getting the best car possible upfront is paramount to a good experience.

 

I was thinking about saying not to flame about failing to search before making a post like this because I have been curious if the $1/mile still holds. Couldn't with inflation right?

Sounds like for some it does.

Probably has a lot to do with what condition the car is in when you buy it.

 

Have had mine for 8.5 yrs. Mileage driven 12725 (got 37648 in the odo).
Spent $28957.51 total (2 majors included, new clutch, A/c compressor, etc). So, that's about $3407/year, 1500miles/year, and $2.27/mile.



Above is copied from a previous post of mine. That also includes a tubi exhaust and everything... but registration, gas, and insurance not included. Dealer-serviced BTW.
The car has been good to me, but it's 22 years old. Something is bound to break...

Ron

 

It depends on your level of mechanical knowledge, how willing you are to do the work, how much deferred maintenance is needed, how matriculate you are, and how much you will drive the car. After a year and a half I keep finding things to repair or replace, and am doing the work myself. But have also put 6,500 miles on the car, the 6,500 miles before that took 12 years. I estimate I have put $1,500 to $2,000 in to maintenance, repairs and upgrades, but at some point the cost should level out at a lower amount.

Thanks for starting the thread. Its always good to get a fresh prospective.

 

I haven't run the actual numbers on mine, but just checking sporadically I suspect your numbers are just a little low for dealer service.
With some years high(majors) & some years low (Oil changes) and with some driving (4K/yr ish) I still think it averages $3-4K/yr

 

i would advise you to buy a 328,,,the latest year that you can find...i have an 89 GTS...i have done my 30 k services almost right on schedule.,...you do not have to do the valves every 15 k,,,they rarely get out of adjustment...my last 30 k service was done for 3500 dollars total...as far as oil changes..i buy my own oil and filters,,and i take it to a guy that i know who owns a jiffy lube,,,they drain the oil and i change the filter and add the new oil,,,no problem.....i have have logged 68,000 miles on my 328,,,outside of the 30k s ..i have had to change an inner and outer wheel bearing,,,the shift shaft seal...both half shaft boots and seals....a tie rod end.and one of the top rubber engine strut bushings..the engine cover struts..,,the vinal zippered trunk cover...and when i first bought the car,,,,i had to change the fuel metering unit... and lastly,.,the fan temp switch and various oil and cooling hoses,.thats not much for a 12 year period,,,thats because i bought a 328 that was in excellent condition..and was cared for by the previous owners,,,,the 328 is the best V8 Ferrari has ever built,,,bar the F430...the later the model..the better the car,,,all things being equal...the 88.5 and the 89 s have all the updates...im telling you....that my car runs as good or better than it did with 20k miles...the motors are bullitproof....and the build quality is excellent,except for the seats,,,they suck,.,.period...find a 328 you like,,,check the service history.,..and get a PPI,,,you will love this car..and it wont break your bank........i did it ..and im nowwhere near the income of most of the fellows on this site,,,Brett..oh yeh,,my clutch lasted 60k miles,,,Ferrari clutches are kind of weak,,when it comes to getting all the power to the ground quickly...so i replaced mine with a kevlar unit ., and it works much better than the factory unit and its just as streetable.....i know., because i drive my car.(not like a granny either lol !!).i dont trailer it to shows...1st to 2nd gear burnouts easily with the kevlar disc...
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I don't disagree at all, but my numbers are pretty close to your estimate. This year, I need new tires and have minor issues to be addressed, so that will increase my annualized cost within your ballpark.

 

Buy the best one you can that is for sure. It depends on the age and condition and how well you want to keep the car up. Cars will need new tires, brake jobs, suspension bushings and shocks, exhaust, interior work, repaint, carbs rebuilt, major engine service's, water pumps, ac compressor's, etc. etc. I would say 3-5K per year to keep it in top condition. It may be that some years you spend much less and some much more. I added up the other night and I have spent almost 40K since 2002 (although you could say that some of that was elective) and started with a good car. Old cars are expensive to restore. A newer car or already restored car is the way to go.

 

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Agree with the elective part. Some expenses we can do away with. Like the Tubi, a new clutch just because I wanted it, Pirelli instead of other tires, etc.

 

where you live

 

For those who like to calculate ownership costs by the mile, I think there is a pretty sure-fire why to reduce the cost per mile: Drive the car more!

Maybe I'll prove myself wrong (since I'm at the beginning of my Ferrari experience), but it seems that most annual maintenance is necessary by time before it is by mileage. Unless something breaks, aren't the annual expenses pretty similar whether you drive 500 miles a year or 4,000 miles a year? If so, driving more would reduce the cost per mile until you drive enough to need an additional service every year.

$3,000/year @ 1,000 miles/year = $3/mile
$3,000/year @ 3,500 miles/year = $0.85/mile

Of course this doesn't take fuel or tires into account, but those are things that cost more when you drive more for any vehicle, not just a Ferrari.

I guess I'm about to learn something about maintenance costs, because my 308 is in the shop for a major right now!