In the seemingly never ending saga to pick a P1 replacement, I drove the Ferrari 328GTS on the weekend. Miles more character and predictable handling than the 348 I looked at, so the 348 is out. Ok, it's ageing a bit now but a great fun car and still quick by todays standards. I'd better not grow a moustache though with that car shape ;)

I have the sensible options to test drive on friday - boxster then S2000, but the heart is now set on the old Ferrari. I'd be interested in anyone else who has ended up thinking on the same lines (I've already ruled out the 993 and NSX as after driving the cons outweigh the pros for what I'm personally looking for in the next motor...)

IMO a better looker than the 348 anyway, good call.

BTW, Apparently the servicing bills are considerably smaller to, as the spaceframe nature of the tubular chassis makes access a lot better than the later monocoque bodies on the 348/355.

Looked at early left hooker 355's 18 months ago but was put off by horror stories of running costs and the fact you can't leave them anyway. I love 328's, its the Magnum thing I'm sure! ( 348's are just crap IMHO ) so much character as you say but getting old now, and won't deliver the dynamic thrills you will have been used to with Scooby. I ended up getting a Boxster, a few mods have made it look and sound much more like the great car that it is and its been utterly superb. Totally bomb proof and just superb to drive everywhere, whether you want to blast round a track, potter down the shops or are unfortunate to get stuck on a long motorway run. The MY02 model is still winning awards and the MY03 version is supposed to be better still.... there is so much more to a sportscar than 0-60 times.

My wife's Dad runs a '89 328GTS. Brilliant car, not as quick as the MY01 JDM STI, but plenty fast and loads more character. Accel-wise I'd say its about the same as an unmodified 220hp (GC8) Scoob.

Love the way the unassisted steering feels. It just loads up on you in the corners, and with each throttle movement you can feel the steering weighting/unweighting slightly. Us who drive power assisted steering cars will never be able to get this feel.

Sound's real great too! Love the roar as you open her up slowly from half to full throttle. Too bad he doesn't want to fit Tubi's, despite my repeated promptings! (A neighbour up the next road from his house has a Modial with Tubi's. Awesome, I must say.)

As for reliabilty, he's had the car since Jan '99. As usual, there were a few small minor electrical niggles. Power windows won't move etc, which he traced to a bad relay. The fuel pump lines also sprang a minor leak around the connectors, which was quite easily fixed by renewing that short hose run.

Servicing wasn't entirely unreasonable as well. He had a minor bodywork prang when a pickup reversed into him - when the car was at the dealers being fixed, they changed the cambelts FOC.

When/if he upgrades to a 12-cyl, I will seriously consider buying his 328. My only reservation is that its a GTS - the GTB has so much more clean lines. Its not a difficult car to live with daily, as long as the family has another car for "emergencies". Can't expect a 13 yr old italian car to be more reliable than a new Japanese one now, can we?


[Edited by RT - 6/27/2002 5:47:25 AM]

Chopper, what were the con's (for yourself) of the NSX and 993?

With the roof on, it looks like a GTB (save for a tiny seam line), but you also have the choice of top-off driving. Just watch out for rear-buttress cracks.

Chopper, Forza288 has a 328 GTS in stock now for £32,000.
Saw it last night and it looks nice!

328 GTS

http://www.forza288.com/cars/images/122-2277_IMG.jpg

[Edited by RichB - 6/27/2002 10:02:31 AM]

Thanks for pointing that out richB, I may have to have a trip down to your friend's garage soon.

RT - my thinking on the NSX and 993:

I test drove an early black type R NSX. It had a silly bodykit on which I didn't care much for. That aside, I was surprised how slow it was ie lack of torque. I guess I was expecting more from the car. The steering was a little uninformative on feedback and the clutch biting point was very high (maybe that was just this car though). I did however love the noise it made. I looked at a few more since but didn’t drive any, as all the ones I’ve looked at have been quite tatty for the money.

The 993 is a very nice car – I do like the lines and stance of the car. However, getting into it made me think of 1950s beetles. The interior was dated when they first came out, and although I realise this is a Porsche quirk, it didn’t feel at all special to sit in - 1st black mark. I drove a turbo 4 lhd – it had one hell of a punch in the back in every gear(!) but didn’t excite me on a 10 min drive like the P1 did – I was forever conscious that a naughty right foot in this car would just get me in trouble within weeks either with the law or a ditch. The car is simply too fast for London roads and needs big, continental roads to stretch it’s legs – therefore just not the right car for me. So I looked at the C2 version – liked that a lot but don’t want lhd or an 80000+ mile car so my budget of 30k will not get me a good example. I know the 328 is slightly more than my budget ie around 32k but I would feel I was buying into something a bit special and unique to justify it, unlike an 80000 mile 993. I have a colleague who has a 308 and 328. He just loves them and every drive is still terrific fun he says…

I’m no longer chasing ultimate performance – I think a car should excite you in anticipation of driving it, look good, sound good, not scare you silly with dodgy handling (ala 348) and be a good, fun drive at both slow and fast speeds. Not asking for much eh!!

"I’m no longer chasing ultimate performance – I think a car should excite you in anticipation of driving it, look good, sound good,..."

Can't argue with this. Prob why I've chosen to get another Scoob over an Evo7. The latter just doesn't feel "special" enough. Not questioning its abilities (just like we don't question that the 993 is an excellent machine), it just doesn't have the charisma.

The 308/328 series will always be remembered as the 80's Ferrari. It was a very long production run, from '77 (?) to '89. Am sure Magnum PI helped it along. For those of us who grew up in that era, it will be special.

I would have to agree, btu if you go back even further the cars start to get very aggressive looking in a way I prefer, eg the nose on the 308.

If you are mega rich you could even consider a 288, which was the blatant precursor to the F40, in fact some of the modified 288 GTOs are indistinguishable from a distance from the F40, with only slight mods to the rear window, spoiler, and the front pop up lights being half the way up the bonnet.

Would beinterested to know how much testarossas are going for these days.

Apart from the quirky dog leg first, the car is incredible, road presence only matched by a countach (with wing of course) and a sound track superceded only by the 355.

Quote
'I’m no longer chasing ultimate performance – I think a car should excite you in anticipation of driving it, look good, sound good, not scare you silly with dodgy handling (ala 348) and be a good, fun drive at both slow and fast speeds'

This is why when my MkI Golf GTi is finished, the scoob will be going!

Chopper just get the 328 bought! Worry about it later, you only live once:D

Why not go for the wild card and get a Diablo? If you're looking in the £30k region, i've seen them in that range. And you can't get more special/attention grabbing/thrilling to drive than a Diablo. Just food for thought.

Doesn't float my boat as a london car - I'd never get across Hammersmith Bridge in that! I'd get stuck!

I did have a mate who bought an old 92 diablo a couple of years ago. 1 lady owner (who had curbed all 4 alloys really badly). It was a mess, it really was. Still, that engine note. :) :) :)