Thinking of a Ferrari 348 ts

[Monte Cristo]

Now that is a beautiful looking Ferrari Hope it all works out for you

[Psmith]

The 'piccolo Testarossa' looks great, if a little dated, but I wouldn't go earlier than a 355

If nothing else, the 348's clutch (& steering) is too heavy imho

Whichever you buy, good luck and keep a good 'service & repair fund' at the ready

[bayerische]

Steering is heavy, but only when the car is stationary. Clutch is easier than the Z4 M's.

[Rsvrider]

I can see the allure to the 348. I remember a saying: "a drive is a drive in a car, the daily drive is an event with a Ferrari.
About the hard downshift from 2nd to 1st, you are not supposed to do that until the car is driven up to operating temperature. Then the synchromesh gets the lubrication and proper viscosity to allow the shift. When I bought mine the sale rep was very cler about that and about staring from 2nd gear (no clutch slip) until the car reached said temp.
I don't have the 348 Challenge Stradale any,ore bc of the cost involved with the timing chain (every 15 k miles or so). Do I miss it? YES! I even miss my first: 308 GTB. But if you can swing the maintenance cost I say go for it.....but not this one.
Never buy a repainted Ferrari. Ask your friend to locate one for you. My favorite color that I would recommend is cano de fuzil exterior with saddle interior.
Congrats in becoming a Tifosi!!!!

[bayerische]

OK, so the repainted Ferrari is a no-go?

How come, I mean it looks so super fresh painted.

[capote]

Wow, stunning car

[airchitect]

While i am a huge Ferrari fan, I scream NO on the 348. This generation of car came at a point in time of very low quality and performance from Ferrari that wasnt really even rectified until the 360 came out. A 348 is unreliable, very expensive to service (think a Rolex at every oil change), and is not a good performer. This car is the reason the NSX was such a gigantic hit. It came out for a third the money, and blew the 348s doors off by every performance standard, didnt fall apart, and was less costly to own. At this point in time a Camaro could keep up with a 348 for Petes sake. Not trying to be a parade pisser but if you're going to by a Ferrari you want to by the right Ferrari. Good luck! :-)

[tudorlex]

Repainted. Wait for another one to come along.

[Ristretto]

Originally Posted by airchitect

While i am a huge Ferrari fan, I scream NO on the 348. This generation of car came at a point in time of very low quality and performance from Ferrari that wasnt really even rectified until the 360 came out. A 348 is unreliable, very expensive to service (think a Rolex at every oil change), and is not a good performer. This car is the reason the NSX was such a gigantic hit. It came out for a third the money, and blew the 348s doors off by every performance standard, didnt fall apart, and was less costly to own. At this point in time a Camaro could keep up with a 348 for Petes sake. Not trying to be a parade pisser but if you're going to by a Ferrari you want to by the right Ferrari. Good luck! :-)

You mean 355, the 360 isn't much faster than the 355 and uglier in my eyes

[Psmith]

Originally Posted by bayerische

Steering is heavy, but only when the car is stationary. Clutch is easier than the Z4 M's.

Mine was an early tb (years ago back in the UK) and I found the clutch hard work, although everything came to life nicely once warmed up and at speed

These days I prefer no clutch pedal at all!

[conrail]

Thats awesome - what a classic. Seems to be in great shape too. Why not go for it!?

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by conrail

Thats awesome - what a classic. Seems to be in great shape too. Why not go for it!?

Because some of you guys tell me not to buy a painted car...

[mtrunner]

Beautiful car but like others I would be very concerned about the repaint. Also be prepared to shell out a ton of money for maintenance.

[conrail]

Originally Posted by bayerische

Because some of you guys tell me not to buy a painted car...

Depends on the quality of the repaint. Can you take it to some expert to check out how well it was done? If done well, shouldn't be a problem. If it was a Maaco job I'd be concerned.

[bayerische]

It looks perfect to me.

I've taken a 355 into consideration... But the availability of Ferraris are pretty slim in Finland, so a 1997, 75K kilometers on the odometer, looks awesome! But. BIG but. It's gun metal grey or something similar...

Might be a pain to resell.

[bayerische]

Good thing is that on either car the law gives me an automatic 6month guarantee.

[Ristretto]

Originally Posted by bayerische

It looks perfect to me.

I've taken a 355 into consideration... But the availability of Ferraris are pretty slim in Finland, so a 1997, 75K kilometers on the odometer, looks awesome! But. BIG but. It's gun metal grey or something similar...

Might be a pain to resell.

Even better to many reds out there, red is such a cliche anyways.

Post pics of the car

[Tom R]

Older Ferraris (as in pre-355) just aren't geared for every day driving, especially around town, and just aren't as useable as, say, an old Porsche (nor are they as well built or solid, generally)
Maybe I'm biased as I drive a 1969 911 daily, but it hasn't missed a beat in 2 years, servicing is a doddle and reasonable.

The 355, however, as many have said, is truly a useable classic that yo can drive every single day, will be reliable, comfortable and easily maintained.

Have you considered an import? I guess it depends on what taxes you'd have to factor in, but you can now pick up a low mileage (c.40k), mint condition, full history 355 here in the UK now for under £35k!
That's a well-specced 3 Series BMW kind of money, for a genuine, every day super car!

Here's just one example (in a nice, classy "Le Mans Blue"): http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi.../200?logcode=p

The risk is minimal as Ferrari's, by virtue of the people who own them from new, are generally always well maintained and serviced regularly.

Import has got to be worth a look?

[Swearengen]

Beautiful looking car

Why not a Porsche, many of those were built in Uusikaupunki

Much less of a financial worry with a Porsche

[Tom R]

Originally Posted by Swearengen

Beautiful looking car

Why not a Porsche, many of those were built in Uusikaupunki

Much less of a financial worry with a Porsche

yup!

[IMG][/IMG]

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by Swearengen

Beautiful looking car

Why not a Porsche, many of those were built in Uusikaupunki

Much less of a financial worry with a Porsche

Only the last Boxter was built there I think.

[bayerische]

Imports are pretty much out of the question... They end up just as expensive as the ones here in Finland due to import taxes... EU is great, free economic zone... Right.

[nejo]

Is it expensive for you to import a car from Sweden ? Cause there's quite a few 355s on blocket.se

Edit: Already answered

[bayerische]

OK, pics link copied from the dealer.

[Beek]

I'll keep this nice and short. If you really want a Ferrari get that 355. Much nicer than the 348 IMHO. Better color too.

[mtrunner]

I have to say the 355 is a much nicer looking car.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by mtrunner

I have to say the 355 is a much nicer looking car.

Agree....but just thinking about the costs to maintain a Ferrari would have me running in the other direction!

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Agree....but just thinking about the costs to maintain a Ferrari would have me running in the other direction!

Me too! The maintenance is scary.

[warren G.]

Originally Posted by mtrunner

I have to say the 355 is a much nicer looking car.

I agree..

[iLLGT2]

Honestly... There is a lot of allure with older exotics in general, a special feel and aura indeed... I however, just can't deal with lack of reliability, headaches and hassles although I would love a bunch of vintage car's/exotics lol

I would keep the Z4M unless you are willing to pay some hefty repair bills and maintenance figures. A ton of my friends have had them all, 308/348/355 to modern ferraris, countach, testarossa diablo etc... Most of the time, there was always something happening and they were mint story free cars.. You just never know

I think you'll grow tired of it quite honestly, but wish you the best of luck.

I love the Italians, but my true love resides with the Germans.. I'm an M car guy and Porsche/GT car guy at heart :)