which is easier to own/work on. 355 vs 348 vs TR

D) a 328

In all seriousness, I would have to say that the 348 would be my choice (based on the criteria you listed) from the list above. A 12-cyl car will be more expensive to maintain than an 8, so that knocks off the TR.

Hopefully a 348/355 expert will chime in with firsthand technical knowledge of each car.

 

IMO none of these would be a good choice to begin working with unless you have some experience. I haven't worked on a 355 so I can't comment but my 348 came apart and went back together fairly easy for the most part. I found many things accessible on my 348.

 

348

 

On all three cars the engine, rear suspension and transmission are on a sub frame. How easy the removal of this subframe would have a lot to do with the price of the 30k service which is something you need to take into consideration.

Other maintenance, shocks, brakes, spark plugs & wires, and such is really just a matter of patience.

FWIW a 300ZX Twin Turbo would be a lot harder to work on than any of the cars listed above. What you need to look at is how often you might need to turn a wrench on any of them and how expensive/available parts are for each.

 

I normally would have said the 348, but since it was a spyder I went with the 355. No convertable mumbo jumbo to fool with. Also because the 355 has the 2.7 Motronic, same as a 348. Other than that the 348 is the easiest of the three.

 

348 is the easiest but I find the TR not far behind.

IMO the 355 is the most difficult due to the packaging but that is partially due to the fact I have very large hands and there are many things on that car I just cannot reach.

The motor on a 348 and TR just about fall out. Not so on a 355.

 

Ya know....... now that I think about it......if your gonna leave the engine out major for the dealer to do, why bother? That is the biggest reason to do your own work, to save the money on the engine removal.

 

With your mechanical back ground i would say none of them. I had a 328 and was a certified mechanic back in high school and i would'nt touch the car. I found an independent Ferrari mechanic who was in the ballpark for prices and i knew the work was done right. A Ferrari is not a car you take to your neighborhood gas station or backyard mechanic like me or you to have worked on.

 

I'll have to politely disagree with the notion of not touching your car. I had never touched a Ferrari motor before I got my 308. What I soon realized is that the laws of physics and mechanical properties are virtually the same on any internal combustion engine automobile.

Ferrari's are built by human beings and human programmed computers just like every car on the road. They share the same mechanical principals as others do. If you don't dig in and try to figure things out, you'll be spending a lot of money for repairs that you could have probably done yourself.

I'm not advocating that everyone should attempt to fix their Ferraris, because some just don't have the mechanical sense or experience to fix their wife's curling iron.

Bottom line is if you are too afraid to touch your car, then you probably shouldn't. You just take it to brother Brian. (AKA Rifledriver)

 

Yeah but a 355 berlinetta has not folding top at all. So no mecanisms to fool with, could possibly get broken, or top to replace. Yes the 348 top is manual, FAR better than electric, but it still has to go up and down. My point was that the top was one less thing you had to fool with. I guess I'm just not a soft top kind of guy.

The '95 355 berlinetta, to me, is the simplest of the 355 run. It has the Motronic 2.7 ecu, same as a late model 348. The last run of the 348's were also the test bed for the 355's. Kinda like the Mondial T was the test bed for the 348. So many things on a '95 355 are just as simple to work on as a late 348.

Since this guy doesn't wanna do the big jobs, the less there is for him to have to fix the better. Why he doesn't, I don't know, especially since his uncle is a mechanic? But go figure.

So in the end he should just get what he wants cause he is gonna pay the dealer anyway. SO, it really doesn't make a difference.