How to choose a 348 to buy?

The gearbox is a weakness, so in an old car it may have been already repaired (which will make it good until the next failure) and in any case it's something to look at.
I did own a tb; even the ts (not having to go to the spider) is catastrophic in terms of (lack of) stiffness by comparison.

 

I bought mine in 2002. Its a '94. I agree my maint cost average is about $500-$1000 a year. It came with 11,000 miles (unloved) and now has about 75k miles. That said, there were a few years here and there that it did not get driven at all.

My Jag however....

 

You will have to compromise somewhere. My advice would be to compromise on cosmetics and color combo to get the most mechanically sound car you can. That's what will eat you alive cost wise, cosmetics/body work can be handled by non Ferrari specific shops without much sacrifice, the mechanicals are a bit more difficult for non specialists. If you want a red/tan car you will be paying more for a bad car, bad combination.

 

Ferrari Alternators are crap. I went through three then just replaced it with one from Japan. I has gone years with nothing more than an oil change.

 

Hi.
I bought mine at Spain, nearly one year ago ( so not too much experience) after performing the Time Belt change, checking compressions, all fluids changed, new gaskets, old tubes replaced, etc. I paid 5.000€ on an ex oficial Ferrari technician shop for that work were the car was maintained the last 20 years with previous owner( Fair price according hours, and Ferrari material).
Check leaks, compressions, starting perfectly at first turn of key without pressing accelerator,A/C with no error codes on screen, maintenance invoices and maintenance book, owners manual, leather tool bag, all lights on the on the dashboard working ( some cars cancel two warning lights), check gear box ( second gear is hard until on temperature, so I go from first to third initially, I had to learn how to change gear with Heel/ Tip ), Check fuel gage ( early models have problems), runs on normal temp and psi, electrical side mirrors works, electric windows are slows but works, fans working after shutdown, paint in good condition or original…..
So far no issues, and being confident in the car. I think that if has been well maintained is a reliable car of 35 years old.

 

It's possible to go either way, as long as you're making an informed decision.

I used to say that you should budget a quarter of the purchase price for the first service, whenever buying a used Italian car.
There will be things the previous owner no longer notices that will annoy you.
So the first service will often be large.

When I bought my 328 in 1999, it had full service records, but hadn't been maintained very well for a couple of years.
I had a full engine-out "make it right" service that did cost about a quarter of the purchase price.
And it's been mostly trouble free ever since.
(Other than the usual timing belt changes and shift shaft seals.)

Of course, recently I've been having to update the fuel hoses, as cars from that era weren't built to run E10 ethanol fuel, and the ethanol can degrade the original production fuel lines.

 

No mayor issues, never had a problem in 22yrs and *over 30K kms
Worst thing that can happen is a failure of the timing belt. So be sure it has been replaced or
service it after you buy it (using Hill Engineering bearings)
Rear lights and the grill are rare and expensive!

 

no, biggest bills are belt changes.

expensive failures can be heater ecu as they are hard to come by.

at 348 age you will be into some suspension work at some stage but there is no rocket science there. also fuel lines/ pump rubbers but again its all standard mechanical stuff nothing special. as with clutch.

 

That’s the inexpensive part. The 40 hours or so for the job is the expensive part.

 

@Ricambi America is the best there is for parts. My friend for almost 25 years.

 

DrS.... "The days are long, but the years are short". Sometimes I'd pay a king's ransom to roll back the clock 20 years. Other times, not so much.

 

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a postive toned post out of you....even on BaT.

Shut. UP.

sjd
...from a guy who bought a 348 off of CRAIGSLIST, and does ALL his OWN WORK.