Ferrari 348's

[Schumi]

Anyone ever own one?

I'm thinking about making some PLD's (poor life decisions) involving a Ferrari. I always liked the 348. Looking for something I could drive often- not a garage queen. Something that can make it through traffic and fit into my narrow garage (no Testarossa)

Is there a community of DIY's with these cars? Or an honest place in LA that does good service?

Just looking to find someone who's owned a 348 personally to speak of them. I know I should try f-chat but I'd like to see about everyone here first (I know I won't get any BS)

[slodave]

[ckissick]

There's a 348 for sale on Ferrari Chat. It had a full engine-out engine overhaul with a new clutch and flywheel. At 17,000 miles. That scares me.

[porsche4life]

Have you taken a hit to the head?

[Rick Lee]

Well, I have some seat time in one. My 993 is just as fast and I can fix anything it can throw at me, though it's never had a mechanical problem in 77k miles. The same can't be said for any 348 in the world.

[island911]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Have you taken a hit to the head?

but just think of how much credit he can build, if he finances it.

[enzo1]

[porsche4life]

If you can afford it.... Its probably one of those things that will take owning to get out of your system....

[asterix031]

Knowing a few people from the Ferrari world, here is the best bit of advice I can offer for anyone considering owning a Ferrari as part of their bucket list, and not a permanent feature to become someone's future inheritance...

As soon as you drive it home, advertise it for sale. Hopefully it will sell before you need to spend the 30-60% of purchase price just keeping it start-able the first year of ownership (fixing all the thing the previous owner avoided due to selling it). Thats the average cost for a second-hand Ferrari I'm told - it does get far worse. Keep in mind that this was positive-biased advice from die-hard Ferrari owners.

(edit - this was the advice I was given when I was contemplating a 308GTB as my pld)

[imcarthur]

I was on a run with one several years ago & he had to pop the engine cover to cool the engine during breaks. I have heard that they are prone to overheating.

Ian

[slow&rusty]

You live once...do it! Don't live the "shoulda..woulda..coulda life"
Yasin

[MarKoBrow]

I used to own a Ferrari 328 and the Ferrari 348 and I currently have a Ferrari 360 Modena If I could offer you any advice it would be to buy a Ferrari 360 with the manual transmission and enjoy the car, The 308 based cars including the 328, 348 and the 355 have extremely sensitive maintenance schedules. The 360 however has a redesigned engine that "works" without all the finicky Ferrari issues and if you are savvy enough you can manage a few repairs on the 360 yourself. All dealer and specialist repairs or regular service are going to be costly so be prepared.

Join FerrariChat.com now there are allot of 348 and 355 owners on that site.

Good luck on whatever you decide

[sc_rufctr]

I'd do it... Why not?

It's only money and you can always sell it if it becomes too painful.

How long have we got anyway?

[notfarnow]

McLovin has some experience with Ferraris and spoke about them a few months ago:
ferrari 456GT

Someone in that thread also said that the 328 was the last of the DIY friendly Ferraris (as ar as Ferraris go, anyway). There is a local fellah with a 328 and he told me the same thing, the 328 isn't as quick or mdern feeling as a 348, but much easier to troubleshoot & work on.

Funny, last night I almost posted about Testarossas... I just can't get over the prices. Plenty of great cars for 50K, and if you hunt around there seem to be some nice ones for <40k. Seems pretty extraordinary for the Ferrari flagship of the 80's. Equivalent Countaches seem to be 2x the price... I know they are more "exotic" but the Testarossa seems so much more driveable. Why are 512bb's worth 2x a Testarossa? Am I missing something?

And while we're on the topic of Ferraris, anyone else here perversely attracted to the "orphan" models? GT4, Mondial, 412?

[sc_rufctr]

My neighbor DIYs a Testarossa from the 80s. Ferrari red with a light tan interior.
The only thing letting it down is the condition of the wheels but he has plans to refinish them soon.

I helped him drop the engine some time ago so he could change the clutch and do a major service. (he has a lift in his garage)
It wasn't hard at all. Similar to my 911 but the engine and gearbox are heavier obviously.

The fittings and fasteners are all top quality stuff. Even the radiator hoses are durable. He changed them as a set about 8 years ago and hasn't touched them since.
The engine and trans castings look like they were hand finished at the factory. It's easy to keep them clean with a wipe of some solvent on a soft rag.

[dennis in se pa]

I was on Ferrarichat a few years ago asking a similar question. They emailed me "on the side" and talked me out of it. Too much mantenance they said.

[javadog]

Not all Ferraris are bad, contrary to some of the above posts. Skipping the 348, in favor of a 360, was good advice. The 348 was a relative low point in the veolution of the V8 cars. IF you buy one, make sure it is perfect. Then budget about $8-10K every 5 years for maintenance.

JR

[cairns]

I almost bought one years ago. Glad I didn't. The repair costs, even if you have a good indy, will crush you. I think 8-10K every five years is way too low.

The transmission won't go into gear until the fluid is warm. Most of them in the US have those stupid moving seatbelts. Their performance isn't even on a par with the average Mustang GT of today.

I wouldn't even buy a 355 and those are far more reliable, faster and easier to drive. If you must have one, go for a 360 and spare yourself a lot of pain.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

What about older 330 GTs? How user friendly are those?

[jyl]

Ask Wayne about his 308 experience.