Yes, thinking about a 348

Hi Everyone,

First post on the board. Been a lifelong Ferrari fan, Jean Alesi fan and so forth. I've read a lot of the threads here (including the various NSX vs. 348 ones), and I wanted to ask about the maintenance/upkeep costs, preferably without the usual "if you have to ask, you shouldn't buy a Ferrari/Porsche/Maserati" BS. Right now, I'm driving a Porsche and have a nice independent I trust, and, although it's spent more time in the shop than I had hoped, the costs have been ok (usually in the $700-1,500 range for this and that, $4K for a head gasket). So my question is how much more are we talking than Porsche costs (for those owners out there). What are the major services, etc... and how much do people pay per year to service their 348/355s?

And who has the highest mileage 348? I've seen some with 50K, but not much more. How long can they go, and do people feel comfortable taking long road trips with them. Drove down to Road Atlanta form NYC for the Petit LeMans, and would think that would be a very fun drive in a Ferrari. And, finally, I'm guessing, based on what I have read here, that folks would not advise buying this: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=232037695

Thanks in advance.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1838799

 

Been involved in an Accident.....Negative #1
Auction car in 1999.................Negative #2 (negative for me)
Auction car in 2005.................Negative #3 (negative for me)


3 strikes ....for me of course

 

Yes, 3 strikes it seems. And it has gross fake carbon interior detailing. Thanks for the link to the search...very interesting. How about incidentals? Sounds like 1.5 to 2x Porsche rates.

 

What Porsche?

 

Is a Testarossa a better buy for the money? They seem comparable to 348/355.

 

What Porsche?

 

944 Turbo. Old car, rare parts.

 

Service on a 12 is much more costly


Check out Eugenio's site

www.EugeniosFerrariService.com

 

I happen to know about a great 348 TB SS for sale with major service done and low mileage!

 

Hey, welcome. I've had a 348 Ts for about 2yrs so far nothing major. I would tend to figure about a 1-2$ per mile. Remember the more you drive the Better. Us being in N.Y. It gets a little tough. In my my opinion the 348 is a great car.Don't believe the hype.If you get a good ppi you should be o.k..I have a good ind. in jersey he's honest an reasonable.Good luck.

 

- A decent maintenance budget is about $10K total for a 5 year period - i.e. $1.5-2K per year. Should cover major + fluid changes
- Jean Alesi was one of my faves too for his wild style
- Buy a well maintained car - it will spend more time on the road than in the shop
- Drive the car often - say 1-2 times a week
- I drove 1700 miles from Salt Lake City to Houston when I bought the car. It was fine. Zero problems. It loves road trips.
- I don't see any reason why a 348 cannot do 100,000 miles if it is maintained properly.

 

348/355s are agile sports cars. They are fantastic in the twisties and race tracks. The TR has an awesome torquey engine and is a fantastic cruiser on road trips. But it is too heavy to be a great track car in stock form. They fulfill different needs. Buy what suits your needs.

The TR is very expensive to maintain.

 

I drove my 348 Spider across the USA! I'm up to 50,000 miles... no problems. The thing runs like a top.

Repair bills??? Zero so far

Go for it!

 

More maintenance $, as posted, although the 355 can make your eyes water.

The 944 wasn't Porsche's most durable car, but in general I found my Porsche (993) to be very solid and forgiving. Where Ferraris can bite you in the wallet is when the ancillaries start breaking -- targa top latches, turn signal stalk/controls, electric switches, etc. The parts prices are excruciating, and availability isn't great (Mercedes is the benchmark - they have everything for seemingly every car they ever made. Ferrari is kind of the opposite...)

My recommendation is always the 308/328 series for under $100K, but I'm hugely biased. All Ferraris are expensive, but the later 308s and 328s are relatively simple cars that don't have a lot of electronics to fail - and the mechanicals are durable. But - you want a 348, so...

For the 348, the model improved over time, so if it were me I'd go for a late Spider model. $4K-$6K sounds like a routine major service cost on a 348, so if the $4K repair on the 944 made you want to sell the car... make sure you're ready for this.

Congrats, but let's not mislead the OP. **** happens on old cars. How much do new brake rotors and pads cost on a 348? ($1K+?) How about a new clutch? ($2K+?)

Definitely, go for it, but I'd recommend scanning the Eugenio's link that Chris posted above, and also checking out parts prices on Ricambi or elsewhere to get a dose of reality.

 

This is true... I did not intend to mislead. Budget money for routine maintenance (majors can cost around $5k, due every +-5 years or so) and for parts that wear out (such as brake discs). These really are great cars, and worth every penny.

 

Drove my 348 from New Jersey to Ottawa and back--about 1,000 miles--over the summer. Lots of open road and a whole lot of fun. Give your back a rest every 3 hours, though, unless you are under 30 years old. Wait a minute...was I EVER 30 years old?

 

Thanks for all of the great advice and info. I've been through about $7-8K since May on my 944, which I would consider excessive. In any case, I think I'm going to have to put off Ferrari ownership for a while and wait until I can really get a strong example of whichever model I choose, 348, 355, TR, what not. A 911 might be a good mid-range step.

 

$8k in repairs on a 944? Sell that thing asap! I expect Porsche to cost $0 in repairs... supposedly they are worry free, daily driver cars. Ferraris are race cars - I expect to have race car bills (but haven't yet).

If you want a show quality 348 Spider, let me know... I am debating selling mine.

 

Yep, head gasket was changed, had to fix a leaky power steering hose, change the alternator, change out some warped rotots, fix some instrument senders, etc.... Been almost exactly $1 per mile, more if you include gas.