Thoughts on a 83 308 in Campbell CA ( for sale )

I own an 83 308.....as well I have owned a couple of vintage Ferrari's. A very well known vintage Ferrari broker told me many years ago, if you think you spent too much money.......just wait for a while.

 

A very impressive example for the money. It looks like it doesn't need much, ask when the last belt change was. If it needs belts, take 5K off the price. It's a really beautiful car.

 

Campbell is 10 minutes from my house.

Kai

 

The pictures are taken at Grand Prix in Campbell. Juan runs the shop and is very highly regarded. If it has been serviced by him and he gives it a clean bill of health I'd be very confident it is a good car.

The mileage is high for the price maybe, but it also has tools and records and that's worth something.

Go look at it. Pictures don't tell the story.

This is 2 miles from my house. I might swing by just to look and say hi to Juan.

 

Wow! Very nice.

It being a "bird in the hand" is worth something too. Buying an antique Ferrari is not like buying other more common cars where there are dozens of other candidates waiting on the next lot down the street. Depends how much you enjoy "the hunt."

On that note, an important point for a California buyer is that it is registered in California and passes California SMOG. That's a biggie. It demonstrates that all the necessary equipment and systems are working.

There are a few minor abnormalities I notice on an otherwise strong car. The document pouch should be fabric with the horse logos on it, not leather. Likewise, the tools don't look quite right, but I am no expert on these minor things. I can't spot anything on the car itself that looks abnormal. The wheels look like 16" Cromadoras which were an option in 1983: nice to have. Porsche used the same size 16" tires on their 911s and thanks to the ubiquity of 911s, 16" tire options stay available for 308s.

There is a remarkable number of ways to fix things wrong on these cars. Finding a well conserved example is really valuable. As you know, the 308 went through a long period where prices were substantially suppressed compared to other desirable less-rare vintage sports cars. Nobody knows why. The price suppression has caused a lot of maintenance neglect and klugey repair.

It really is worthwhile going over the car with someone who knows what to look for. They can point out the trouble spots.

As for the price, I have no comment.

 

You are right.

Didn't look at the picture closely enough.

Indeed, Juan is a master mechanic. He has taken care of my car since 2007.

I agree with everything Brian said.

Kai

 

Looks beautiful from the pix. Are miles really high? It is 33 years old, and it's a good sign that it has been used and maintained. The biggest pita stuff can come from neglect.

Also, books & pouch can be a pain. It's a hunt, but you take your time sourcing them. I've bought cars with them and without. Some people really don't care about them. I guess people love the cars, and like to keep them as a reminder.

Get a PDI.

Enjoy!

 

I just acquired an 83' gts in October, with 55k miles, CA smog, and generally a very nice example for a fair amount less. It was a private sale, versus a dealer for the car you referenced. The dash cover scares me a little, I would definitely look under there and make sure the dash is not torn. At some point the miles will not matter, but condition is always important. Good luck!

 

If this is a car that you will want to get judged at a FCA event in the future I recommend reviewing the judging guidelines prior to checking out the car so that you're more familiar with things to look for. You can find them in the Ferrari Club of America website.
Having the tool kit and manual is great. It should also have a jack and belt/bulb kit, and two other books to go along with the manual. Lots of forum posts about these, and they're pricy to procure which might help with negotiation if they're missing. From the pictures this looks like a beautiful car. Best of luck!

 

Looks cleaner than I would expect for the advertised mileage . . .

 

looks nice from photo's, but take a look under that dash cover.... it might be immaculate or a big mess.

 

Just some observation from the pictures. The interior is too nice to be original on a 90k miles car with no obvious signs of wear and tear. But look at the central tunnel in photo #7, the foremost part has a different shade compare with other leather trims including the seats. The seat belt buckles see to be from early 2V or carb cars. QVs should have a different style, right?

The driver door in photo #9 appears to have a different hue of red with rear quarter panel.

Painted plenum.

The manual pouch is not correct as previously said and it appears without the warranty book as well, one of the most important thing in the manual pouch!

The tool kit is a mix of everything. Pouch is very late QV/328 one; screwdrivers are ok for the early QV; wrenches appear to be "Everest" from their shape but can be others ("Gedore"?), correct one should be "Polytools"; pliers should be red sheathed one with silver plated head, this one looks like "Kravm" or "Ferrari" which is for late QVs; spark plug wrench appears to be early Tommy bar type but I guess it's a close clone and not the real deal; window crank is hard to say, I'm betting it's a repro as well judging from the mix of all these tools.

Someone should really take a closer look at the car.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Did the Campbell car ever sell? (What did you decide?)

 

You can't spend too much.... U can only spend it too soon!

 

Visited the car to check it out. The paint looks really good, a possible respray, no swirls. Another thing I noticed was on the front windshield trim on the passenger side it was not anodized black like all the other trim pieces. Interior looks brand new. I did not look under the dashboard shag carpet, was more interested in checking out the paint.

 

I swung by Juan's shop last weekend but he was closed. That ratty GT4 was parked out front as always but the GTS must have been locked up inside.

Whatever is wrong with the dashboard will be cheaper to fix than bad paint.