In today’s economy, is there really an “affordable” Ferrari?

    It is a myth? Do these mythical creatures exist? Sure, on the very rare occasion you can buy a Ferrari inexpensively, but at the end of the day, that cheap Ferrari will require Ferrari level maintenance and repairs. Those services and repairs are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

    I just recently bought my 16-year-old son, Graham Enzo, a BMW. He is a fantastic kid, a skilled and patient driver and he deserves it.

    While we were doing the sales paperwork, my friend who works at the dealership casually mentioned to me, “Hey I forgot to tell you there is a Ferrari here. A black one and it looks like your car.” My car is a metallic black 308 GTS QV, S/N 51665.

    I finished up the paperwork, sign here, sign here, sign this odometer release form and the BMW belongs to us. Great!

    Now hurry up and show me the Ferrari. We walked up the hill and surrounded by mundane and boring daily driver cars, trucks and vans, was a black over black 1989 328 GTS, S/N 80889.

 

    I get very excited at the notion of “meeting” a Ferrari I’ve never met before and was surprised to see such a rare car sitting in the rain.

    I passionately collect Ferrari serial number information. What was the story of this car? What could the car tell me? How did it get here? Where did it come from and why?

    My son and I took a good long look around the car. First thing I noticed was a big dent in the front right nose panel in front of the headlight door, then I noticed the paint was faded and didn’t match the rest of the car.

    The left front headlight door was stuck open about one inch. The door edges were chipped, the wheels had curb damage, the tires were old and shot.

    The interior was tired but presentable and salvageable, the MOMO steering wheel was sun damaged, the passenger door wouldn’t close after I opened it.

    It had several dings but really nothing terrible or unfixable. You could buy this 328 GTS from the dealership in North Georgia for about $65,000.

    In today’s economy and in this active car market, it certainly does sound cheap for a last year of production 328 GTS.

    If you fixed everything this car needs, would it still be a cheap Ferrari? How far under water could we end up? Lets dive in and find out.

    On the cover of the FML issue Vol. 49 No. 18, Jim Weed’s excellent article is called “Why Service Costs so Much”. That should be foreshadowing for this article; more on this later.

    Based on the FML Asking Price Index the average asking price of a 328 GTS today is around $110,000.

    Lets say you negotiate this car down to an even $60,000, plus tax, tag and fees. Instantly, we are around $64,000 before you even drive it home.

    If you decide you want to fix all the items and have a beautiful driving 328, here is where it might get scary and eye-opening for a first time Ferrari owner.

    A major service on an 1980s V8 Ferrari will cost about $15,000 to $20,000. The 308/328, Mondial, V8 major service will include the following: all the belts, timing, water pump, A/C, alternator, fuel filter, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, plug extenders, cam cover gaskets, cam and distributor seals, air inlet rubber boot, idler pulley bearings and tensioner bearings.

    This is when you find out what “while you are in there” means. You will also most likely need a new clutch, pilot bearing, rear main seal, distributor caps and rotors, spark plug wires, thermostat and gasket, coolant reservoir cap, water pump, coolant hoses, brake rotors, brake pads, brake reservoir, brake hoses....I could go on for another five minutes.

    Add all these ancillary items and your major service suddenly becomes $25,000-$30,000.

    Does the car have electrical gremlins? If yes, break out that checkbook or credit card and please add another $10,000 for inspection, testing and repairs to the wiring harness and fuse panel.

    Those unreliable A/C and heat levers with slider levers and LED lights in the center console on a 328 are $2,000 each, IF YOU CAN FIND THEM. These are NLA, or no longer available.

    Are you going to paint the car and repair the dings and dents? This would easily cost about $20-25,000.

    A concours-quality paint job could be $30,000-$40,000. Perhaps a Maaco paint job could help you cut corners here?

    New 205/55/16 and 225/50/16 series tires will cost about $1,000-$1,500.

    If the wheels need to be repaired and repainted, that’s $250 each wheel, so another $1,000 to do all four.

    Without even trying hard, you are in this 328 GTS for around $110,000, which is almost exactly what our most recent Asking Price Index shows.

    The API is a very valuable tool that compiles data from the Ferrari Market Letter and shows market trends and tracks behavior successfully.

    After digesting the information in this article, does it make sense to restore a Ferrari? Yes and no.

    Restoring the bread and butter Ferraris is never a smart financial decision, but they are SO much fun to drive and look at. Can you put a price on happiness?

    Yes, you can. Any Ferrari will make you smile and in the long run, cheaper than a therapist!