What is it with all the 348 bashing?

don't take it to heart Todd, the 355 owners don't do too awful well either. I wondered the same thing, thought I purchased a real lemon etc etc. It is really a matter of what YOU think. I happen to love my car. Corvettes? I have owned many, no thrill there, a dime a dozen. Park your 348 next to a Vette and see what the public thinks....The first time I drove my car I stopped for gas. When I came out of the station there were literally people taking pictures with their cell phones around my car.

The "educated" hobbyists on this forum are well aware of the mechanical issues and performance of every model of Ferrari. The 348 has it's own set of problems. It appears to me that they have pretty much identified and solved the major issues on the 348's. Enjoy yours...............

 

In general terms, that I am sure somebody can expound on, the 348 had some "birthing" pains.
As discussed elsewhere and argued as well, there were issues with bad chassis grounding, the suspension geometry was changed on later cars due to some "quirky" handling, poor shifting issues, the OEM timing belt tensioners were junk, the dual disc clutch with the grease filled center was a b!tch when the seals wore out, side strakes were too eighties...................and a few more things that I can't remember........the list goes on, some important, many not, some irrelevant and some just a matter of taste.
Many consider it a transitional car to the 355.
Certain knowledgeable people consider the 1994/1995 348 a better car to own than a 355, and at about half the maintenance cost. (of equally compared cars).

 

There are cliques within the Ferraristi like in any other subculture.

Many of the poverty Ferraris, such as the 308 GT4, Mondial, 400i, 348, are fun to bash not only because you can't possibly be wealthy if you want to buy one, but the styling of them is a bit off-ish, compared to what is considered having Ferrari cool factor.

I happen to like a lot of the red-headed step child Ferraris, and happen to dislike some of the "cool" ones. It is really a matter of personal taste.

However, the 348, too, marks a sort of "dark age" for Ferrari, being considered one of the lowest quality Ferraris to emerge in years. But you could say that for most Ferraris built, as they are a constant money pit to operate.

 

Man! You are lucky you are not driving a 308 GT4, (which I like). You would REALLY take some heat.

 

I enjoy mine and I never thought for a moment that is a bad car. Enjoy yours and don't let them bothering you. It is and always will be a Ferrari and nobody can take that away from the 348.
Believe me, we are privileged to own one !!!!!!!
Roberto

 

I owned two 348s. One for 1.5 years, the other for 2 years. The first one I replace the fuel pump and throw out bearing. Big whoop.

The next one, I never did a thing to.


On the other hand, I owned a 308 that needed continuous tinkering.


People that say the 348 is the least reliable have never owned a 348 (nor a 355 ).

 

348 and 355's are great cars. They would just be better with 4 more cylinders! Just kidding....

 

This forum used to be primarily owners and enthusiasts. Now it is filled with arm chair racers and car critics. Some of whom couldn't afford a 308 GT/4 wheel center... but now they are experts.

Enjoy your 348. It doesn't matter what some anonymous loser says on a forum. Everyone I know who either owns one or has spent time with one, loves it.

 

IMO a 348 is more "Ferrari" than the new Cali....

 

Hey, Todd - 1 fine day, on a quest to search for fellow Ferrari enthusiasts - 2 particular model numbers of road cars brought me to Google - 330 and 348. [As an aside, I can't believe I have this many posts - 16K+!]

Each of the 330 variants have appreciated markedly, not only in value, but in how they are perceived by the masses.

Given time, the 348 will do the same, thereby informing naysayers that the glass was not half-empty, but, half-full.

To that end, it's all about mixing foresight and hindsight.

As to now, *raises half-full glass of water* here's to you and being caretaker of your first Ferrari (348 TS). *down the hatch*

 

Man I always thought you were a complete tool when it came to our 348's. Now I see you have a decent side, Wax. I love you, man!

 

I may have sold my 348...

... but as you can see, my username stays the same

Long live the 348!

 

Well said..


Acquire the mentality we brothers all share when we hear flack, F#ck em all...

For a car that has such a bad rap (supposedly) it sure gets tonnes of positive attention.

 

well I owned a 348 ts for 5 years, quite frankly it was the worst ferrari I ever owned or any car for that matter!! Even Luca di Montezemolo was quoted saying that "we won't be making anymore mistakes like the 348". Lets face it they all have an inherent gear box catastrophe waiting to happen and it will happen.....
but when it was running right it made a glorious sound and i always liked the look of it,I especially liked the back of it the day it drove out of my life...............

 

It's funny but I've been on this forum over a year now and I sure don't see any 348 bashing. My gosh, you should read the California section! Ask anyone in the 308 section what the weakness of a 308 is and you'll get all sorts of answers. Is that bashing? I think it's just being fair.

I think all the cars have some kind of followers and some kind of detractors. But, I don't see anything that really singles out 348's over any other as being picked on. Maybe some of you 348 guys are a little too sensitive....

 

Their all jealous . Looks that compare with a TR and a solid V8 (If you maintain it). I can pick a part any other models faults as well. Check out the early TR’s problems and you will see what I mean. As for the "poverty" quote made above...it is in poor taste no matter what the model. We by what we like not necessarily what we can afford. I choose the 348 when I had money for a 328, 355 or a TR because I like the way it looks.
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I drove mine 348tss to work for the last 3 days. It has 49k on it, it has really been an excellent car. Better than my last 308.

 

It's all in good fun.

 

I recently sold my 348 after owning it for four years. It was a great car and always got a very positive reaction when I was out in it. A few less knowledgable people here will bash it based on comments that they have read, but very few will bash it based on an ownership experience. Enjoy your car, it is a special one! Who could not love this thing (taken the day after a big Zaino treatment)???

BT
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I have no regrets buying, owning, and maintaining my 348, and it ALWAYS garners attention no matter how many times the same people see it over and over. It truly is a work of art. And to the people that claim it is expensive to maintain, here is what I have to say: No Ferrari is cheap to maintain.

 

The 348 had a Factory Recall list as long as your arm when introduced - most of the 'current' cars have already been through the Dealership to fix most of these things by now, so that issue might be moot. I remember the complaints well back when the car first came out - $124,000 for a Ferrari that had LOTS of cheap plastic in the interior? Plastic that turns to slimey-stickey goo before too long? A drivetrain that MUST be removed to service the belts (the dealerships LOVED this 'feature')? Poor handling at the limit? Crappy Gearbox? Funky Electricals/ECU issues? Water intrusion in the engine computer? Poor fit/finish from the Factory? LOTS of bucks for performance that didn't hedge the Acura NSX at the time (Acura was roughly half the cost of the Ferrari when new)?

Hey, its 2009, almost 20 years since the car first came out - things changed on the assembly-line, mid-production, and better 348s arrived off the line. Most of the big-issues have been resolved by POs on their dime, so most 348s out there now have been finally 'sorted' into good cars - but they didn't leave the Factory that way. Current 348 'romantics' either dismiss/gloss-over the bad parts, or never had the luxury of dealing with it during their ownership experience. Good for them. Perhaps they're wealthy enough to not-mind blowing $140 per hour for a mechanic to drop the entire back of the car, rear axle and all, just to change the timing belts. This is the model where DIY service started to slip away from owners, and owners became more tied to Dealership service. I've known a few owners who bought in the early days, and couldn't wait to onload the car and get back-into a 328 or TR just to have a stable, reliable machine made from high-quality products worthy of Ferrari. If you can find a mid-1990s car with ALL recall/service bulletins performed, up-to-date belt service, AND most of the interior plastic pieces replaced with Carbon Fiber or re-done, you might have a very-solid car on your hands.

Oh, and good luck with those ABS systems.....made of NLA Unobtainium now.

 

When Eugenio's service in California used to have their service costs displayed on the web page the 348 was about $1k more expensive to do the major service on compared to a 308 or 328. It was even with the cost of a major service on a 360 (which does not need to have the engine dropped). It was about $1k chepaer than the 355 or TR... So the service on the 348 is about in the middle of the road for the average Ferrari. I'm not so sure about the myth of the early Ferraris all having these problems. My car was supposedly #35 off the assembly line for the 1989 348 cars, and I had service records since the car was new. It featured about 15-18 service bills for the initial 16 years of ownership, and I had almost no problems with the car in the past four years. There is a fair amount of room to work on the engine, so the do it yourself mechanic can reasonably do the simple stuff. Regarding the interior plastics, Ferrari is still using the same crappy coating on the 430 that they used on the 348. People are now becoming aware of it on the 360 models, it tends to take about 8 years to show up... I don't get the 'bad ergonomics' comment. The car was pretty comfortable to me, but I am only about 5'-7". I think the car is much more fun to drive than most people know. I never took the car anywhere close to top speed, but as I understand it, the rear spacers that are commonly added are very helpful providing stability at higher speeds. I am sure you had a bad ownership experience, but that can happen with any model and make of car. It does not mean that all the cars with the same badging have the same characteristics.

BT

 

About the question of the 348 not being a "Ferrari"...

I put together a car show for my son's school last year, and we had a 512TR, a 308, a Lambo Gallardo, a Ford GT, several nice Vipers, the latest and greatest Corvettes, and a Pantera. And my 348 .

Guess which won the mayor's choice?

Guess which won "best exotic"? (People's choice)



Tell me that the 348 isn't a real Ferrari!
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