Are 348's that bad?

What great posts! I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled about the 348 when I was looking at first. I much preferred the improvements made on the 355 but based on those improvements, I couldn't justify (read, afford!) the premium to jump into the 355.

Now that I have it, considering it's got about 8k more miles on it since when I bought it 20 months ago (Average of 400/month, and here in Michigan, more toward about 900 miles per "weather appropriate" month) and can report the following problems/fixes:

Passenger side window stopped working, door wire harness had a loose wire, and was about a 20 minute fix with no cost involved what so ever.

Battery light came as the alternator was no longer kicking out the appropriate voltage anymore. Had the alternator fix applied and has been running like a champ ever since. (actually, it ran like a champ even when the battery light was on too!)

I find it amazing that you can still carry on a conversation while driving with the top down - I've driven/ridden in some modern convertibles where I couldn't say the same!

My wife had suggested that it was time to part ways with the Spider. I can't bring myself to do it.

For all the 348 faithful out there, we know. Others can speculate, but we KNOW that the 348 IS a fantastic car! For all those who doubt, don't buy one!

 

As I new owner of a 348 and old owner of 308, I don't understand the styling issue. Parked next to a 355 they have the same shape/style. Minus the slats on the side and the rear tail lights, there pretty much the same car form style stand point. Everyone lumps 308/328 together, but somehow seperates 348 from 355. I don't here anyone knocking the 355 styling.

I personally like the 308 style, but don't care for the 328. I made a decision to jump to a 348.

From a performance stand point the 348 vs. 308/328 is night and day. Much more performance for the money.

Regardless everyone has there own opinions. If you don't like the 348 then don't buy one. Don't park next to one at your next show.

 

Richard's 348 is particularly beautiful because it is black.

I like the 348, but can see how the "cheese graters" are dating the car, particularly on the rear. In black they don't show up as much and look actually darn cool. Same goes for a black TR.

As for the performance: Yup, 308/328 to 348 is IMHO the biggest jump there is. Much bigger than e.g. 348 to 355. A well sorted 348 is a modern day Ferrari and fantastic to drive.

 

As a 355 owner, I'd love a 348 to add to the stable. I'd love to get a 348 Challenge that has been used in anger, and have it as a weekend fun car. Dings, scrapes etc all would add to the charm. Race paint also.

The 355 is the car I take my wife to dinner in. The 348 would be the car I'd take up Angeles Crest alone.

While both cars are very similar from a mechanical perspective, the overall effect is very very different. The 348 has an agression and rawness about it. The 355 is more silk.

just my .02, Dave

 

Could not agree more. I have a 348 C. It raced in the '96 series.

 

That's exactly the way I went.Good post Richard.

 

The linear slats and lights make the 348 appear very different than the 355, the 348 is the baby TR but I don't hear anyone saying the 355 is also a baby TR.

Concerning performance of a 348 vs 328, the 348 has maybe 40hp more in Italian hp but weighs 100lbs more, thats like saying the 328 which has 40 more hp than the 308 but also weighs 100lbs less than a 308 is night and day, not that much of a difference in either case, now the 355 has 75 more hp than the 348 which is a good margin and is a big difference vs the 328 and 348.

The poster asked a question and I am sure wants to hear various opinions not just from 348 owners and no I wouldn't buy one but I wouldn't mind parking next to one.

 

I've owned both the 328 and 348, and believe me, the 348 is a lot more "sports car" for the money. The "wow and fun factor" far outweighs that of the 328, just my opinion.

Stephane
Scaledetails

 

An opinion from someone that worked in a dealer when those cars were new.

The biggest problem with 348's was the 328. We had just come off a 3+1/2 year run of possibly the best car they had ever made preceeded by 10 years of the second best, at least in terms of build quality and reliability. Seriously, during that period we almost forgot how to write warranty claims. Then came the 348. The early cars had some horrible build quality issues. The dealers were the final assembly point. The cars came with many parts just falling off. The glove box doors would not stay open, the interiors were ungluing themselves. A PDI (PRE DELIVERY INSPECTION) on a 328 took 45 minutes to do a through job. On a 348 it could take a day or more by the time you glued the interior back together, replaced the strut on the glove box door, reinstalled the mirrors that were falling off, tightened all the loose suspension components and oil lines. The cars were assembled like a bunch of teenagers were screwing them together. Then the service bulletins and recalls started. I have a big pile of both.

Later when they started to get some miles on them we started to find the problems.
The early shift cables all got replaced, most of the early alternators got replaced, the cam seals and O rings got replaced several times on most of the cars until the factory came up with a fix. The fix was to do it the way they did it on the 328.....DUH.

With even more miles it became obvious that the bearings on the cam drive jack shaft were undersized and could just not take the load. The factory came up with a fix for that but it was just a patch until the block could be redesigned for a bigger bearing that the first design could not accept.

I was high enough on the food chain in my dealer that I could pick my own jobs and I requested that I not be given any more 348's to work on, I found it depressing. I will admit however that the problems got fixed one by one and before the end of production they became a good car but it was a hard road. I have also heard in the intervening years from people that were employees at FNA at the time that the warranty costs nearly put FNA out of business. That did not surprise me with the huge warranty money that was paid to my store alone.

The reputation of that car was hurt in the dealers from day one and the factory did not give us reason to rethink it for a long time.

 

i get tired of reading about the 348 bashing , i really dont see as much bashing on any other model... the majority , if not all people who have owned one , were /are quite happy with the car.including myself. sure i could use a few more HPs, but that would only get me into trouble. it has the perfect power for running twisty roads, which it does better than any car ive owned/ driven. the car actually talks to you in the corners, "hey- i can feel we're gonna break loose i n this turn-slow down!.. i can feel the composition of the road in my hands and in my seat...etc. 348 owners know what i mean. IMO, it is very attractive, aggresive, and 80% modern looking/sans the popup headlights, square-ish tail lights.many think my car is just a couple years old, never over 10 years! most novice folks cant stop drooling over my car, even when i am parked next to a exotic model worth 3 times as much.
I enjoy every model ferrari in its own little way , why cant you ?
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Darron, when did you put the stripe on it? Very cool.

 

it was a temporary halloween costume i call it, i did it with removable vinyl . i do vinyl graphics... it was raining one day ,i got bored what can i say? . it comes right off ,little /no glue residue. its kinda growing on me, i have alot of compliments on it. thx.

 

All this rubbish about this is wrong and that is wrong is getting a bit long in the tooth. I DRIVE mine and it works great. Most Fcars (and anything that is mechanical), when they aren't used.............ROT!

This should be fairly simple...........if you like it...........buy it, drive it and enjoy it. IF you don't.................then do something else and stop stressing.

There are too many arm chair qbacks.....Ciao

 

heres a birdseye .
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Concerning performance of a 348 vs 328, the 348 has maybe 40hp more in Italian hp but weighs 100lbs more, thats like saying the 328 which has 40 more hp than the 308 but also weighs 100lbs less than a 308 is night and day, not that much of a difference in either case, now the 355 has 75 more hp than the 348 which is a good margin and is a big difference vs the 328 and 348.

My factory '94 348 Challenge was closer to 3050 lbs. and had 312 hp. Thats 100lbs. less than a 328 GTB and 52 more hp!!! It is also set up with solid bushings and more aggressive suspension geometry. Drivers being equal I do not think a 328 would keep up.

But who's counting???

 

I would upload pics, but i cannot figure out how to compress them to fit. Just spent an hour trying and the files are to big.

Does anyone have any tricks?

Thanks Richard

 

I think I got it.
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Hey, I resemble that remark! What are the rest of us supposed to do?!

 

Oh i do like that stripe :yes:

 

post 92 the build quality was improved. dont get a gts, the top is a non-stop fiddle - noise, water, rattles. get a gtb or a spider. the car is very modifiable given how long it has been around etc, and you can find plenty of non-ferrari parts to do it. good car to go racing with since there is no capital destruction when you mod it up. you can easily mod the engine to get higher hp etc.

 

I had a drive in a late spyder the other day and it was a lovely car. The problem with the 348 is that the 355 is just much better. The late 348's seem to me to be prototypes for the 355.

 

Not really what I would call a problem when they are twenty thousand pounds less to buy..

 

Yep, I believe the late 348 floorplan is the one used in the 355s ... but cheaper

 

yes , 355 is nicer,but too much like the 348 , id rather jump to the 360 modena , they are not much more , another 20 k but well worth it.

 

Are 348's that bad?

Yes, if you drive one your soul will burn in Hell!