Wow. Can you point out all the ones that completely slate the 348 over here in the UK, finding it tricky to find them....
It's been a while since I've read them, but I don't recall any big criticisms of the 348 in any of them. The group tests were probably the most critical, but only in so far as comparing them to other cars. I've actually got more magazines on the 348. May put them all up on ebay next year as I'm clearing everything out.
When you're ready to get rid of them, before you throw them up on eBay, give me a heads up with what you think would be a fair price for them. All the best, Andrew.
Not instead but as well ( wouldn't want to rob Sy of a sale) I got a book full of contemporary road tests from amazon. Its called Ferrari 328-348 & Mondial ultimate portfolio. Lots of road tests, comparrison tests of 328 vs 348, that sort of thing. Sy's look more up to date, these are more from when the cars came out.
It's been good to me. Here's a bit from 6.5 years ago: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=140951543&postcount=25
I love my 348. My first Ferrari. 5 years in January. It's a keeper. All other Ferrari's will be additions (458) but this one is my first love and a keeper. Kai Is it 2012 yet?
Thats how I found this thread. Dont you guys know its just plain cool to bash the 348 ? Everyone's doing it. Shows you really know your stuff. JK I think with the 5 valve and exhaust header problems of the 355 the 348 comes off as a maintenance bargain. The 328/308 series is even better but the speed is less. Agree with the LDM comments. The guy puts Machiavelli to shame. Oh; one more little thing; Dont compare this fine car to the NSX. Avoid the pain.
Well said, but that's the problem with us 348 owners......to pinch a line from "Top Gear" we are SERIOUSLY UNCOOL
Hi all, just got the news letter as well. I didn't know there was any threads of the month, but I'm chuffed this one made it. I think the sentiment of what I was getting at the begining still holds true as does the comment below by LightGuy about showing you know your stuff, which I'm sure is tongue in cheek (pretty sure, anyway ). Those that want to try to show they know their stuff knock the 348. Ask 99 percent of those people what personal experience they have of the 348 and there's an embarassed silence or you get the old "everyone know it." comments. The truth is that the 348 is seeing a bit of a revival. After quite a few years of sitting in the shadows of its siblings people are finally starting to 'get it'. I think I mentioned a recent article in Evo Magazine over here in the UK which had a tester drive a 308, 348, 355, 360, 430 and 458. Out of all of them he wasn't particularly looking forward to the 348 due to all the stuff he'd hear about it. At the end of the article he said that the feel and responce of the 348's steering was the highlight of his day. People are finally seeing that the 348's lack of gizmos is nothing about not being able to keep up with the cars that were built along side it or Ferraris that came after it. It was the last car to go into development when Enzo was still at the reins and I believe it was everything he felt a sports car should be. The F40 came as a responce to the 959. It could have had all the 'high tech' of the 959 but that wasn't Enzo's way of doing things. Top Gear 'tested' the F40 along side the 959 last week and it was the lack of techno gizmos, the fact that it was so pure, that they liked. Even Richard Hammond, a die hard Porker fan prefered it. I'm a new 348 owner, mine's still being sorted in the 'shop', (thread is here http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340077 if you're curious. Shameless advertising, I know...) so I'm not as expert as some of you guys. I did drive a few Ferraris in the search for my car though. What I do know is that the 348 is a fantastic pure sports car. The cars that came afterwards are great but a very small part of what the older Ferraris were was lost when Fiat took over completely and added the high tech 'solutions' to the 'handling issues' and quirks of the older cars. That's progress and I'm not criticising but the rawness of the older cars, in a way the last of which was the 348, was not an accident. To some it's what a sports car is supposed to be.
I got the newsletter ... I also own a yellow 1990 348ts for about 19years now, and a F430 for almost 7 years ... I like, and keep my 348, because of the looks, because of being my first F car, BUT NOT because it drives well ! From drivers point, it's a terrible car ! no handling at all. But in the early 90's I ddn't know better. I keep the car because it's in a good condition, and don't want to sell it for the peanuts that I could get from. I remember me driving that car very fast, sometimes on the edge. If I look back on it, it even sometimes scares me. Advice for buying a F car now, I would NEVER buy a 348 anymore, but for a little bit more, I would sure pick up a F430, that's a super car, compared to the 348, surely from a drivers point of vieuw. only my point of vieuw,....
I dont doubt your point of view at all. I wonder if it has more to do with how your car is set up rather than it being such a bad handling car. I know the early cars are the reason that the 348 had the bad reputation, maybe your car needs some setting up by someone that knows what theyre doing. See if you can get a drive in a later model 348, a spider or GTB / GTS and feel the difference. A later 348 is an excellent handling car but I think early cars can be set up to handle great as well. Here in Australia the value of 355s are dropping now and the 348's, especially the rare spiders are going up in value.
maybe you're right, and my car needs a set up, but I know I have a very good dealership, and they always do a good job, so I wonder ... BUT, if you have ever driven a "modern" F car, like the F430, I'm sure you will NEVER choose for a 348 or even a 355, the difference is soooooooooo huge. I have it, and I keep it (as I said before, it has no value anymore, so why sell it), but I would NEVER advise buying a 348/355 ! spend a little bit more, and get yourself a nice used F430, you will never regret it ! Btw, the ownership of a 348, is far more expensive than for a F430 !
Do you think it perhaps depends what you're after? I prefered a 348 to a 355 but have heard people say they like the raw appeal of an early 308 over a more modern car like a 348. I loved my old MGB Roadster, wire wheels, chrome bumper, big steering wheel and all. Great fun to drive but not everyone's cup of tea. If you're after a modern, sorted drive then it's probably true that the 355 is better than a 348. But a 360 is better than that. But its not as good as a 430. Which pails next to a 458... And so it goes on. The thing is some people aren't just after the most modern car out there. In a recent test aspects of driving the 348 was praised over the newer V8s largely due to it being more engaging and the steering comunicating better to the driver. That included the 430 and mighty 458. I'm not for a moment sugesting its a 'better' car. Its just different and appeals to different people. Would get the handling looked at though. The garage I use set up quite a few track cars and the owner used to work on both Le Mans and F1 cars (was Stirling Moss and John Surtees' engineer at one time). He says a 348 is extremely sensitive to being set up right. Far more like a race car than a road car.
If you are in the UK and you want a 348 set up to handle contact Robin at Damax.co.uk. No connection. He understands those cars.
I see this quite a bit, so why not swap a 348 rack into a 355 or depower the 355 rack? Then you have the best of both worlds, the much more powerful 355 engine with its almost 9k capability and the direct steering of the 348. By the same token, I don't know how one can criticize the handling of a 348 vs a 355, they're essentially the same chassis. Spend $200 on a good corner weighted alignment and there should be negligable difference. Are the camber curves so drastically different that the 348 gets wonky when the suspension is loaded or something?
Difficult to understand for me how to compare the last Ferrari with no electronic assistance, with a 430! Did you ever try to drive a 430 with no electronics at all? Iit is impossible even in race mode; so what? I met many time the Technician who in Maranello worked out the F348 evolution, during the first Challange races. He is still in Ferrari and he has a very special consideration for the 348, even today with this astonishing 458 (huge difference with the 430, of course)
I guess the point I was making (if indeed I ever make a point) when I started this thread was that the 348 isn't better or worse than its younger siblings, it's just different. For years a lot of people have taken it for granted that the 348 is in some way inferior but often this is based on little more than hearsay. Either that or people expecting it to be something it isn't. Granted, its raw feel (some would say untampered with) is not for everyone but that's not to say it's not a great car. I spoke to someone when I first kicked this thread off who asked "why do you care what people think?" Truth is I don't much but for years the loudest voices have been those who have put the 348 down. Several journalists loved the car at release only going on to backtrack when the trend went that way. It was almost like they didn't want to be seen as stupid for not spotting the cars percieved 'flaws'. One said after first driving the car that it was simply "sensational". A few years later he decribed the handling as feeling like the wheels were made of wood. All in all the 348 is what it is - the last Ferrari to be made without all the gizmos and gadgetry that came later. I think that it was made in the mould of how Enzo saw a sports car. No power steering, no gizmos just a pure sports car. Some people don't like that and I've got no issue with their opinion. But to say it isn't a great car is simply to be missing the point. It isn't supposed to be a modern car. Its supposed to be exactly what it is. Is the perception of the 348 slowly changing? Check out all the threads that are popping up or being revitalised. Sy's epic conversion to close to a Le Mans spec racer, Paul V's lengthy rebuild of his, Bradan's rebuild or a 348, my somewhat more limited tarting up of my new motor to name a few. Now look at the general interest. I must confess I post on a UK based forum as well and the 4 threads I've thrown up have had about 50,000 views, obviously many return visits but the interest is definitely there. I think the perception of the 348 is shifting. Very slowly but it is shifting. Given time I think this model will be back to where it should be. Historically sitting between the 328 and 355, but as a sports car sitting alongside it's siblings, no longer sitting below them.
