What's it like living with a Ferrari 308? I got the full experience yesterday in just 60 minutes.
3:45 p.m.: I've gone to my garage to get something. There's the Ferrari. It looks fantastic in a way that no new, $30,000 car ever could. "Drive me," it whispers. Well, I guess I could shirk out on doing work and run an errand or two...
3:50 p.m.: I've grabbed the keys. Just a quick check of the car before I go. Hmm. There's puddle of fluid under the engine that wasn't there yesterday. Oh, and look, there's a fresh drip, too. Fantastic! I whisper a curse at the Ferrari.
4:10 p.m.: I've finished bleeding air out of the radiator, which is FX Performance's recommended on-the-cheap operation for keeping the cooling system happy. It's not all that difficult. But even though I had the garage door open, I inhaled enough '80s-era exhaust fumes to last me a year.
4:13 p.m.: The Ferrari burbles and snorts as I pull away from my house. I pass a neighbor picking up his mail. His head swivels, and his expression is of the envious, "what the?" variety.
4:13 p.m.: Shift into second gear ... oops. Nope, can't do that yet. Tranny's still cold. First to third, then.
4:22 p.m.: Dry cleaners. I've parked right in front. The owner comes out to look at the car. "Wow, this is great," he says. "There's just something about old European sports cars." He walks around to the rear. A momentary pause. "What's that smell?" That would be coolant, I tell him. Then a customer pulls up in his Tahoe. He loves the car. "Where's your Detroit Tigers hat?" he asks. Haha, funny, dude. I must have left it in the Family Truckster.
4:35 p.m.: The bagged clothes are draped over the passenger seat, no doubt getting wrinkled. But as I work the metal-gated shifter and rev the Ferrari's V8 past 5,000 rpm, I realize how this is of the coolest ways to pick up dry cleaning ever.
4:38 p.m.: A new BMW 335i pulls alongside on the left. Its passenger is giving the 308 a once-over. I'm tempted to drop a gear and get on the throttle. But then the BMW is gone in a burst of turbocharged fury. The Ferrari doesn't have a prayer of catching it.
4:45 p.m.: I've arrived back home and decide to wash the Ferrari. Afterwards, I park it back in the garage. Yep, it looks fantastic.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
desmolicious says:
12:14 PM, 04/ 3/08
Why is it still leaking fluids? Didn't the tru$ty mechanic in LA fix all those problems?
dougtheeng says:
12:41 PM, 04/ 3/08
I maintain that you should embrace the Magnum comments. Magnum rules!
hondacura4 says:
02:17 PM, 04/ 3/08
"4:38 p.m.: A new BMW 335i pulls alongside on the left. Its passenger is giving the 308 a once-over. I'm tempted to drop a gear and get on the throttle. But then the BMW is gone in a burst of turbocharged fury. The Ferrari doesn't have a prayer of catching it."
At least it wasnt a V6 Camry!
benson2175 says:
06:49 PM, 04/ 3/08
That's great. Great post.
firstwagon says:
07:00 PM, 04/ 3/08
"4:38 p.m.: A new BMW 335i pulls alongside on the left. Its passenger is giving the 308 a once-over. I'm tempted to drop a gear and get on the throttle. But then the BMW is gone in a burst of turbocharged fury. The Ferrari doesn't have a prayer of catching it."
That's the danger of comparing the past to the present.
If you were to line the 308 up against the 335's 1984 counterpart, the 325e, the Ferrari would have smoked it.
speeder31 says:
08:40 PM, 04/ 3/08
No doubt. As much as I love my vintage 3-series...lol.
mercedesfan says:
08:42 PM, 04/ 3/08
This post brought a smile to my face because it so perfectly captures the essence of owning a classic car. Every drive, regardless of how mundane it may be, is an adventure. People who are not true auto enthusiasts will never understand the allure of an old car. The cars are slow, nothing is powered or power assisted, and you have to bring along a map, but it just makes the whole experience that much better. Driving my 1968 280SE always reminds me why I love cars. Sure my SL can run laps around it, but the SE has more soul in its wiper stalk than the SL does in its entire being.
opfreak says:
08:28 PM, 04/ 4/08
^rigghhttt.
i wish we could back to a day where people liked to push the line... true explorers. fast was never fast enough, slow was yesterdays news... Now we are getting stuck in the 'good old day thinking'. ya that 1968 has more soul my but. How many people then would love to have what we have now?
40 years from now, are we going to talk about the good old days of the suit case cell phone?
VHS really was the best way to watch video, esspically with mono sound.
Ahhh, you know, all these elertronic gizmo's who cars, bring back the carb. and the crank start. The suspension system these days too fancy, can't feel connected with the road.
phhfff. if i was in 1968 and one of our modern cars showed up. i'd ditch that old stuff in a second.
This overwhelming love for the old makes you stop looking ahead, stop trying to make things better.
I know what we need: steam power cars.
mercedesfan says:
09:19 AM, 04/ 5/08
opfreak there is a difference between appreciating the past and wanting to live it again. As a mechanical engineer my entire life is centered around making things just a little bit better, just a little bit more efficient, squeezing that last little bit of performance out of a concept.
I love my modern Benzes and would not want to give up all of the features that they offer. However, my 280SE is a truly special car to me. Maybe it is just because I fully restored it myself, but I have a connection with that car that I do not have with any of my new cars. I agree with you that our society has a tendency to get too reminiscent, but I highly recommend you drive a classic car once in your life. It really is an experience you will not forget.
opfreak says:
07:16 AM, 04/ 7/08
I have no problem with people enjoy old things...
But lets not fall into the 'good old days' trap. people think of the 60s/70s as muscle car days, yet today, family sedans are quicker then the muscle back then... and dont fall apart after 3 year.
aps2 says:
04:00 PM, 04/ 8/08
I was unaware that this car still had annoying problems like leaks, etc.
A quick question:
What is Edmunds maintenance philosophy for this car?
You (Edmunds as a whole) have purchased a car with significant differed maintenance issues. You have fixed it to the edge of functionality (your comments regarding cooling system is a bit scary) and are now criticizing its functionality and reliability. Why not fix it properly, follow a reasonable preventative maintenance schedule and then really enjoy the car?
g_k says:
09:10 PM, 04/11/08
I've been enjoying the posts about the 308 and the M3, and feeling smug about my choice a little over a year ago - an '01 M roadster that (IMHO) seems to offer most of the advantages of both cars. Same engine as the M3, (with a couple of minor differences so it's 315 hp instead of 333), but the cool top-down experience. It's also (apparently) reliable, has a real (smallish) trunk, and the air conditioning works. The rear suspension is somewhat archaic, but I paid almost exactly the same price as the Ferrari, and I've convinced myself it's just as much fun.