Anyone here actually work on a 308/328 themselves?

[JeffYoung]

Just wondering if it is like my Lotus and you can do a fair amount of the work yourself, or if every step says "use special tool zx798DF to prise off....". Or if the manual doesn't have the five secret steps that only the guys who have taken 10 of them apart know.

Considering a 328, possibly a 348, in the distant (say 2-3 years) future.

[danhay]

I do much of the work on my 1975 208 GT4. I've found it to be easy to work on, with plenty of room in the engine bay, and no special tools required for most DIY jobs.

However, mine's a fairly basic one, without all the extra electronics and plumbing associated with fuel injection.

P.S. The longitudinal layout of the 348 makes a lot of jobs more time consuming.

[nevpugh308]

I do all the work on my car, with the exception of the stuff that's a bit scary, or too difficult ... e.g. tappets (shims), cambelts (expensive if you get it wrong !), clutch (special tool).

I tried synching the carbs once, did an "average" job of it, but the professionals did a so much better job at it than I did, so I leave it to them now.

[PatHeald]

I'm considering graduating from a Turbo Esprit to a 328 and also wonder about servicing.

I had a good root around a 328 the other day and was pretty impressed with accessibility compared to the cam belt and vee belts on the Esprit.

Has anyone out there moved from an Esprit to a Ferrari?

I must say that I'm tempted, but find the prospect of spending an extra £20,000 hard to justify when my Esprit reputably handles better, accelerates harder and steers more sharply than a 328.

The 328 seems to be more nicely made, looks much prettier and has a V8 with no turbo lag, but is it really £20,000 better than the contemporary Lotus?

I really want a Ferrari, but worry that I'll be disappointed if it is not comprehensively better than my old Esprit.

Cheers

Pat

[danhay]

When you're talking about 2 cars which are pretty exotic compared to ordinary cars, the measurable differences will be small. The main difference will be the character of the car. The Ferrari will sound much better, and you may well prefer the feel of it in terms of the weight of controls and power delivery? The Esprit may well have the handling to match though?

If you're in doubt, I'd suggest you try and find a sympathetic dealer that will give you a test drive...it would help if it's a car you would potentially buy.

I fell in love with mine after about the 2nd gearchange
...and it just got better from there on as I discovered the depths of it's appeal.

[308gt4]

Pat,

I'm about to buy a 328 and one of the main reasons is due to the reliability of the thing and never heard a bad word about them.

My 308 cost about $5K/year to keep in good condition mainly because I was bringing it up to spec due to lack of maintenance by the previous owner.

I think a 0-100mph in 14.4 secs is not bad and the handling (on good tyres!!) is unbelievable.

I have driven a few 328s and they are just the easiest car to drive flatout

I have also been told by a couple of the Ferrari mechanics I know that they cost half the money I spent on the GT4 to maintain properly.

As for working on them, once you learn the little tricks that each job seems to have they are dead easy to work on but I'm told by 348 owners that they will either be brilliant or disasters no matter how they were maintained (I personally love the looks of the 348 but have seen the bills from a mates 348 he used on a regular basis which scares me off)

The only thing you will hate about owning a Ferrari is the fact you waited so long