Ferrari 308 GTS QV | High Mile Club
What's high mileage for an old Ferrari - 50,000? Maybe 100k? Try more than a quarter of a million...
Brand new Ferraris are better sorted than ever for many years of very happy driving. They’re ferociously exciting supercars given half a chance to demonstrate, yet no more taxing to drive slowly than an Alpine A110. They’ll do Apple CarPlay, and lift the nose, and massage your lower back at 8,000rpm. Whatever you need a Ferrari for these days, it’s going to be more than capable of the task at hand. With a four-year, unlimited mileage warranty, and the first seven years of regular servicing included, there’s every reason to get behind the wheel as much as possible.
And some people do, it should be noted. The FF in particular represented a notable change in how folk used their Ferraris, the standard DCT and four-wheel drive (as well as the four seats) making it viable family transport for very cool parents. This one has notched up 40,000 miles in its first decade, which would have been unprecedented for a V12 flagship not that long ago. This 458 Italia is about to hit 50,000 miles, and this Cali T is already past 80k, so drivers are out there.
But the UK in particular has a real affliction when it comes to miles on Ferraris. So many just don’t seem to get driven very much at all. Partly that’ll be due to how much they cost to run, of course, which goes hand-in-hand with some of the prohibitive servicing requirements of old, but residual value does appear to dominate the thinking. Which seems a bit of a shame; if ever there was an automotive experience to spend a bit of money on, it has to be owning a Ferrari.
So it means there are still 430s out there with fewer than 10,000 miles, 360s with less than 5,000 miles showing, and even delivery mileage, unregistered 550 Maranellos. Madness. Just think of everything that will have perished underneath through sitting around and need replacing, should someone want to use it properly again.
On the face of it, this 308 Quattrovalvole looks like another pampered and pristine Prancing Horse. Paintwork gleams, the interior is pert, the engine bay looks delectable. Yet this 1983 car has accrued 260,232 miles in its lifetime, making it surely the highest mileage Ferrari in existence. It’s easily the highest mileage for sale on PH, and one of the leggiest petrol cars in the classifieds full stop.
It has quite a story to tell. Some may have already clocked the steering wheel on the left-hand side; this originally lived in the USA, where 230,000 miles of its tally was driven in just six years. Heaven knows how that happened, but it's hard to believe that would have happened in the UK. Sadly there’s no history for that period of its life, though tens of thousands of dollars were spent in the quarter century from then until it was imported here in 2015.
Use had understandably been a little more sparing in the decade since, though crucially it has been driven - and serviced at recognised specialists. Then we get to the really good stuff. Because last year there was quite a significant engine problem, caused by the failure of a cambelt pulley bearing, so what was set to be an engine rebuild became a full-on restoration. Now, with £55,000 spent and just 100 miles driven, the 260,000-mile Ferrari is for sale.
It’s a fascinating prospect, with as many miles as 20 typical Ferraris put together yet with a host of brand new parts. As well as a rebuilt V8, the suspension was stripped and reassembled, the interior retrimmed, wiring redone, wheels refurbed, stereo upgraded and more. The advert suggests the amount of work is ‘dizzying’, and took a year to carry out. It’s freshly MOT’d and ready for whatever Magnum P.I. cosplay the next owner wishes to embark on.
The price? Well, think much more along the ‘freshly restored, four-valve 308 GTS’ lines than the ‘moon mileage bargain Ferrari’ ones. It’s £85k. Which makes it more than comparable cars, though they won’t have had so much recently spent. As a classic Ferrari to get in, use and enjoy as intended without anywhere near the usual concern, it looks quite tempting. Certainly no danger of mileage harming the value of this one, either…
Having looked at a few others for sale, indeed the indicators are outboard of the cluster of lights.
As for the car in question, that's some testimony to the car's past usage.
It does present remarkably well as so it should do judging by the amount of time and investment iits had spent on it.
I remember an article a while back about a track day 308 used by a driving experience company, regularly thrashed and supposedly very reliable. A lot tougher than you might expect.
For mere mortals, however, part of the man maths necessary to own a classic supercar is that its core value remains at least in the same ballpark.
A 260,000 mile LHD 308 is a rather hard thing to value, and when a 30,000 miler is only a few thousand pounds more, you’d have to at least question the rationale in buying the high miler.
- yes, lights at the back are wrongly mounted, see picture of one of my previous cars where they should be
- car is a mix of US en EU version with US side marker lights and EU shock absorbers. Steering wheel is not original. did not check the other pictures in the original add but does indicate that car is composed of different 'hybrid' elements.
- the first 308 GTS QV I bought from dealer in Germany (Eberlein) had more than 100,000km on the clock and I drove it straight from the garage to my home in Belgium (5 hour drive) without a hitch. Just a few raindrops sipping through the side window glass due to old rubbers.
- maintenance is still doable without special tools or computers so saves on garage costs
- you can tell this is a 1983 model by the black surround on the front windshield, in 1984 and 1985 (last build years) they were painted body colour.
Unfortunately, the old days of finding good original ones for around 40,000 EUR are gone, the same as I bought 10 years ago are now double if you can find them. Hopefully, in the future, prices will drop a bit but that could still be a long time.
In short, definitely a good car to drive often and with regular maintenance surely dependable.
F
- yes, lights at the back are wrongly mounted, see picture of one of my previous cars where they should be
- car is a mix of US en EU version with US side marker lights and EU shock absorbers. Steering wheel is not original. did not check the other pictures in the original add but does indicate that car is composed of different 'hybrid' elements.
- the first 308 GTS QV I bought from dealer in Germany (Eberlein) had more than 100,000km on the clock and I drove it straight from the garage to my home in Belgium (5 hour drive) without a hitch. Just a few raindrops sipping through the side window glass due to old rubbers.
- maintenance is still doable without special tools or computers so saves on garage costs
- you can tell this is a 1983 model by the black surround on the front windshield, in 1984 and 1985 (last build years) they were painted body colour.
Unfortunately, the old days of finding good original ones for around 40,000 EUR are gone, the same as I bought 10 years ago are now double if you can find them. Hopefully, in the future, prices will drop a bit but that could still be a long time.
In short, definitely a good car to drive often and with regular maintenance surely dependable.
F
A peek at Ferrari’s official pre-owned site reveals European mainland cars actually get driven, to an extent that would make the average Pom dilettante faint.
It's probably partly due to that 'originality' mindvirus, but I believe it's largely due to road conditions in the UK today.
One simply CBA to venture out very often.
A peek at Ferrari’s official pre-owned site reveals European mainland cars actually get driven, to an extent that would make the average Pom dilettante faint.
It's probably partly due to that 'originality' mindvirus, but I believe it's largely due to road conditions in the UK today.
One simply CBA to venture out very often.
of course in the USA there are big distances to get, a few thousand km is 'normal' for some and if doing so frequently, the miles go fast up, but the wear goes slow compared to a lot short distances.
but indeed as some said, do not trust the low milers to fast.
In Germany many years ago (and maybe still) it was pretty normal for sellers outside Germany that bought cars in Germany, to dial down the tacho 100.ooo km or even 200.000km...
They could get away with it (back the at least) because the German cars (most) looked still that good, even 200k km turning back the clock was hard to tell for most... because Germany is also pretty big with their long autobahn's, so kilometers ad up quickly for some.
so dialing down say 100k/km on a car just say 3-5 years old could mean say 10-20k more euro's for a car... or way more with expensive cars, so it was very hard to resist for some scam sellers.
then maybe some buyers would complain say for example, BMW engines are bad because it went with just 60k/km but it then had say 260k/km done (for example)
so some years after that they forbid turning back the clock, but hey, it does not stop scam/criminals still doing such I guess.
I tried to trade in my car and pay the (difference) rest cash, to no result, I wanted a classic because I don't drive much and then hate to pay road tax and the yearly APK/TUV/MOT must or else... at least I tried
Ferrari 308 GTi Berlinetta 06-1982 the top one for not a to bad price, because of the longer front spoiler etc., then most other 308, it looks better to me.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff