355 or 345

Perhaps post this in the 348/355 section...

 

what kind of comments are you looking for? About the engine, the interior, the maintenance, the wow factor, or ???

 

Both require serious MONEY for engine out service.

It's all a matter of which car you love more.

 

I own a 1996 F355 GTS and do all of my own work. The F355 has been a great car to work on. A general comment is once the F355 is sorted out it just works!

The issues I have had have not been difficult to diagnose or to fix. A few years ago I did the engine out, that went very well and the car works great. Since the engine out I have had issues but nothing serious. For example, I found a few loose connections, a broken wire, and a release bearing leak. Nothing I would not have expected from a car that is 15+ years old.

 

I owned a 348 Spider a while back, and I kept it for about 4 years or so. I never had any serious issues with it.

I remember when I first got it and had Ferrari of Houston do the major service on it, the 348 technician said the 348 was the most reliable trouble free cars out of all their cars.

However, the 355 had been the most expensive to own (non super Fcars).

If you are looking for reliability and worry free, I would say 348 by far.

 

Keith Martin, the publisher of Sports Car Market Magazine also publishes buying guides for various marques including Ferrari. In that guide, they clearly state that the 348 is one of the least reliable modern era Ferrari's as Ferrari made a lot of changes in engineering that car. I can only speak for Canada, but 348 values here are far lower than 355 as they are much less desirable.

If you haven't already, it might make sense to do some reading from real authorities on the subject both in terms of maintenance and reliability. While beauty certainly is in the eye of the beholder, most perspectives that are written to include a section on the 348 are not complimentary about the cars dated appearance and they often note that this, in addition to the mechanical woes, helps account for the low selling prices.

 

I have heard from a good authority that a well sorted '94 is the 348 to have.
The '94's have all the factory updates done to them and are known to cost considerably less to maintain than a 355 once sorted. (No 5-valve heads, diverter valve problems or header issues)