IS THIS TRUE ABOUT THE 348 MODEL ???

ChalStrad
Rookie

Joined: Jan 2004

Quote:
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Originally Posted by Badapple
Can anyone comment on the +'s & -'s of these type of 348/355's. Compared together?

Phil
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If you must have an open top car go for the spider - it is prettier and the chassis flex won't drive you crazy as somewhere you expect it.

The 355 is a truly excellent car with very few defects, the 348 is without a shadow of a doubt the worst Ferrari ever built, period. Even Luca di Montezemolo said so. Horrible chassis, disastrous gearbox, no redeaming quality. The day I traded in my 348, was one of the happiest of my "Ferrari" life!

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Do you all think this statement is true about the 348...

 

yes and no.
i did not enjoy my 348 as much as i had hoped, or as much as my 512tr.
the 348 had many small and not so small faults; the gearbox especially 2nd gear, the leaky roof, the handling at the limit, the fit and finish etc. the 355 is a much better car.

but is it twice (or more) better? no. the prices in the market act like the 348 is half the car the 355 is, and this is simply not true. but can't fight the crowd. what you can do, is find yourself a late model ('92 or younger) 348 gtb or spider (avoid ts if at all possible) that has been well maintained and sorted out by somebody who knows, and pay the low market price and laugh all the way down the highway !

imho it is the best 'starter' ferrari because it is undervalued and yet has many of the modern amenities; and if you do have trouble with it, then you are well prepared to put up with the less troublesome models that you might get later.

 

if you evaluate by cost of car to cost of performance.

there is about a $25 to $30K difference between a 348 vs a 355
and the saying still holds "you get what you pay for".

Ferrari has gone through a very nice progression from the performance of the 308 to the 360 series. In terms of performance, 348 vs 355, hands down 355.

In another sense, the 348 is a great value for the price you can get it for
and arguably better than the 355 if you factor in depreciation. the 348 is close to its bottom price while the 355 is still dropping significantly.

 

I've heard many of the same complaints with the 348, but I still love the car though! Why though, ross, should one steer clear of the 348ts? I love the look and would take a 355 GTS or 348ts over the spider versions. Do they leak worse then the spiders?

 

The 348 and 355 and very close in design. The chasiss are the same,except for the rear section for the engine cradle. No way you say? The explain why every body panel on the 355 will bolt on a 348 except for the engine lid? The 355 feels much better mostly because of the power steering and slightly different alignment specs. They did this with the 308 to the 328 models as well ,same chasiss with some improvments. The interiors are not that much different either. The door handels are of the same design,the vents are the same, they did change the center console design which in the 355 is much better,but again you could take it out of a 355 and drop it right into a 348 with out any real mods. The brakes from the 348 are a carry over item aswell.

The bashing the 348 gets is unjustified. It's the same damn car as the 355 chasiss wise. Plus with the 348 you have no valve guide problems,and the engines are very good. Yes the 348's can be a handful but this is what some of you call "soul". I personaly prefer the feel of a 348 to the 355. They feel much tighter in the suspention and the steering is nice and heavy. The 355 has too much assist for me,to be in a sports car.

The 355 is very nice with the 6 speed trans,and the shifter is much much better(no cables). And the sound of the engine with a tubie and cats removed is just as nice...if not nicer then the 355. They sound more mean I think.

Tom

 

I dont think so, especially when cost is factored in. I actually prefer the 348 to the 355. Much better driver feel, and the 348 feels more torquey down low. 355 is not worth the additional investment inmo.

 

I LOVE my 348, drives like a bear. It's great that you can get a terrificly maintained, great car for $30-50K less than a 355. The 355 does have a diferent engine, a bit more power and a underbody pan..big sh&#. its like a what Alfa did to their spider when they added different body panels ..same car more$$.

Yes the tops leak sometime, in lots of rain. (actually its not the top but the front door seal)..so does the 355 b/c its functionaly the same roof w/power, the 355's cylinders blow all over and cost $12-1600 to fix. great deal for a true sports car..

Ok you get those air scoops higher up on the rear quarter..But you all think that's cool cause you really want a 360 and haven't ponyed up another $100k beans yet (ok maybe $50k more if allen has his way).

The 348 IS what it is a baby TR, same design esthetic, same idea in a 8cly. the 355 is a MAS market car 13,000 built, ever bottled bronzed boy in town bought one.

 

Every other month, there's seems to be some "brilliant" guy out there who enjoys making comments about the drive-ability, reliability, value, and quality of the 348 vs the 355.....All of us, 348 owners, know first hand how terrible our cars behave at the limit, how underpowered they are, so "blessed" with inferior quality materials and faulty electrics compared to the superior F355 models ...Because we've been told so many times by so many people that OUR cars really suck!

So what??

We still enjoy driving them to the limit, we still get plenty of thumps-up from other drivers, still adore the way the door scoops look, we still love that engine screaming back there when we step on it, and best of all at the end of the day, we have some pocket change left over to enjoy life's other pleasures....

Thanks again for keeping those prices down so we can afford a modern exotic, crappy built Ferrari in the first place.

VK

 

I had a 1994 349 Spider and other than a few minor oil leaks, a faulty ground starp on the battery and regular maintenance I never had any problems. And I drove it on several road trips of 1,000 miles or more. I drove the car about 10k miles in about 2 years.

 

I happen to take into consideration when I purchased my first F car what I was getting into with the 348. At the time I bought my 348 Spider I could have easily afforded a good preowned example of a 355TB or GTS but it is something about the look of the 348 that dragged me to the 348 spider. I think it is personal preference and financial at that point. Lets face it, none of the F cars are cheap to keep up and each have their own little quarks. I just purchased my 2nd 348 and again something about the looks just keeps dragging me in. We should all be thankful we have that Enzo gave us such a wonderful piece of history to talk amongst ourselves with and further more enjoy to drive...

 

The stampings for the 348 chassis and the stamptings for the F355 chassis are the same. However, the welding process was changed such that the F355 chassis is some 30% stiffer than the same parts in a F348 chassis.

The suspension parts are the same save the springs and shocks.

The pre-Speciale F348s had a different rear sub frame, while the Speciale and after F348s have the same rear suspension geometry as the F355. This lowered the rear roll center and increased the rear grip by transfereing cornering loads to the front tires.

I actually think the F348 steering feels better, the F355 power assist assists too much.

Layout-wise: maybe, component parts quality-wise the F355 is in a different league.

I can (sort of) agree with you here, in that the computer controlled shocks on the F355 are a little slow to go to the firmer settings.

The F355 transmission is miles better.

Nothing sounds like a well tuned F355 at RedLine! Too bad the F348 did not have another 1,000 RPMs to play with.

 

driver feel's a big part of it. Sure the 355 has longer legs, but depends what's important to you, and how you're going to use it. Most of my driving is around town and local highways with traffic.

I'm with Allanlambo (can't believe I typed that) - I definitely prefer the feel of the 348 over the 355 - forget the rest of it. The power-steering on the 355 doesn't do it for me. In my case the 348tb I took a look at was $49k USD and the 355GTB was $100k USD asking prices. F-car prices are usually higher up here in Canada because of the import laws.

Both cars are engine-out belts, and most should have the the big problems ironed out by now, like any valve issues etc.

I can't speak to the reliability issues.

 

Black/Black 1994-348 Spider with 103K For Sale right now for $39,500.00 at www.gullwingmotorcars.com I saw the ad in Hemmings.

 

I think the 348's are great - I would say that wouldn’t I!

Designed and produced in an era where the 328 - TR - GTO were roaming the showrooms - The 348 came out and I fell in love with it straight away. I can see lines & features in the 348 from all 3 of those cars. Just like the TR was a radical change from the 512BBi - the 348 was a radical change from the 328.

Radical at a first glance - Look a little closer and see all those magical details that Pininfarina managed to blend in together from all of his other masterpieces

The fact that the 348 was launched at a point where most of the world was in recession and being the successor to the 308/328 series gave the 348 a "Hell of an act to follow" task. I personally think it done wonders. Ferrari must have though so to design the 355 from it!

Proud 348 Owner

Paul

 

I don't know why but everytime I see a 348 beside a F355... I just prefer the 348. I'm a big fan of the 512 TR so I think that can explain why I love the 348 so much. If everything goes to plan in the future, I would like to purchase a 348 as my first Ferrari. ( I don't care about the problems you mentioned)

Luca said the 348 is the worst Ferrari ever build? What he said wasn't very professional .

 

I just sold my 348ts and thought it was a great car. It run strong never had any problems, got a lot of looks. It was a bit rough ridding, but hey it had stiff suspension. I bought a TR, which is a much superior car, but I would suspect that, since the '90 348 was about $98k to the '91 TR at about $175K. Too bad to those F guys that had a terrible experience with such a nice car.
Good driving and stay in thefast lane,
Jim

 

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I prefer the 348 spider to the 355 spider. Sure, the 355 is faster, but I like the way the 348 drives and looks. The 348 spider is a more beautiful car than the 355, IMO, but I'm a little jaded as I think the 512TR is the most beautiful Ferrari made in a long time.

 

You are in the minority...the 355 is considered one of the more beautiful designs to come out of the factory in years by Ferrari...that is why they sold 13,000 of these cars

 

if you find a good well sorted out 348 it will treat you just fine. an abused 355 will give you more trouble. just do your homework b-4 you buy.

 

i ve been very happy with my 348 spider. of course i wouldnt mind the extra 60 hp and air bags from a 355 but i prefer the front style, simplicity of manual steering, shocks and top of my car. i dont care for the side strikes or tail light treatment of the 348 but doesnt bother me in black. overall extra 40-50k for what amounts to a similar but improved car doesnt add up for me. rather go all the way to 360 which is totally different not just improved version if have $ burning hole in pocket

 

There have been many engineering developments and design refinements to F348 series that have improved its Performance, Handling and Comfort.

In addition to the modifications to the body configuration of the F348 Spyder, there had been significant technical changes that enhanced the performance and road stability.

Engineering developments included a transverse gearbox with revised ratios for quicker acceleration and a free flowing exhaust system for higher power output. The wider rear track with an improved suspension system assured better handling and manoeuvrability.

In 1994, the evolutionised F348 GTB/GTS cease production with the all new F355 GTB/GTS. The F348 Ferrari Spyder’s were still produced alongside the F355 series.

The late F348 Ferrari Spyder’s were further evolutionised by introducing the F355 characteristics onto the F348 Spyder’s as a development platform for the all new F355 Spyder that was to be released in 1995, when the F348 Spyder cease production.

Their has never really been a bad Ferrari.

 

There have been many engineering developments and design refinements to F348 series that have improved its Performance, Handling and Comfort.

In addition to the modifications to the body configuration of the F348 Spyder, there had been significant technical changes that enhanced the performance and road stability.

Engineering developments included a transverse gearbox with revised ratios for quicker acceleration and a free flowing exhaust system for higher power output. The wider rear track with an improved suspension system assured better handling and manoeuvrability.

In 1994, the evolutionised F348 GTB/GTS cease production with the all new F355 GTB/GTS. The F348 Ferrari Spyder’s were still produced alongside the F355 series.

The late F348 Ferrari Spyder’s were further evolutionised by introducing the F355 characteristics onto the F348 Spyder’s as a development platform for the all new F355 Spyder that was to be released in 1995, when the F348 Spyder cease production.

Their has never really been a bad Ferrari.

 

well there are 2 sides to every story of course as many here have stated.

I regret to say however that the 348 will and indeed does go down as one of the worst ferraris in terms of build quality and reliablity.

the one thing thats clear from comments here is that if you get the latest one you might get lucky.

Although the 348 might share many things with the 355 its a different car, the stteering being the only thing that might be retrograde.

Its a feerrari thats best avoided

 

would you say the difference between 348 and 355 or 355 to 360 is greater? if you have any sense its the latter as the 355 is simply an evolution of a 348.

 

The only problem with the 348 is that it is down 60-80hp compared to the 355. If the 348 had the power of the 355 you wouldn't hear all the bad press. Case in point the Testarossa. A 348 can out handle a Testarossa but it can't out accelerate one. So no one talks bad about the Testarossa. As for the suspention being modified, all they did was stiffen it. Big flipping deal. Oh but the rear was widened you say. Uh no it wasn't. What was widened was the rim. They added more meat to the mounting area of the tire to set it out further. Then they added half an inch to the width. All you have to do to fix the handling problem of the 348 is lower it, throw on a set of 355 rims, change the tire alignment, and presto a fabulous handling 348. The 355 aren't problem free either. Everyone has already pointed out the valve issue, but those aren't the only ones. There are problems with the engine mounts cracking, the headers cracking, problems with the computers for the breaks, and they even have power window problems. Oh lets not for get about over heating problems because of the solid rear, which was fixxed with the challenge grill. So the 355 isn't perfect either. They don't get bad press because of the extra power they have. Take that power away and people will start calling it "the worst car ever made (348)".