348 to take over as the 'entry-level' Ferrari??

I agree with bullfighter on this one. People looking at a 348 are considering other 'newer' ferrari's, I am. In fact, its why I'm selling my 348.

I have a 328 which I love for the fact that it is classic and more of a true connection to the road for me. Keep in mind I'm 30 and for that matter, represent a new wave of ferrari buyer.

The 348 for me is more about the driving performance and I bought it to have a 'fast' ferrari. I've decided to upgrade the 348 to a 360 (or god willing a 430 coupe) for the driving aspect and keep the older cars for their classic value.

I have a neighbor who is a little older to me and again, to him there is no better car than the 328. He's not even interested in my 348. Another neighbor who is the same age is and always will be in love with the testarossa...

I just don't think the 348 is in the 'classic' catagory yet. Maybe when people 5-10yrs younger than me start buying Ferrari's they will be but until then the prices will stay where they are.

And for that matter, a good 348 can easily be had in the mid 30's. Ask me how
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+1 I am in the same age bracket and agree. Our generation of Ferrari buyers is a bit different

 

Trouble with the 348 is that of all the F-cars out there, when you consider ongoing, cummulative maintenance costs vs. purchase price / value, the 348 is the only one likely to leave you with little or no equity at the end of the day after a few years of ownership.

 

The same can also be said of the eariler testarossa. Someone once said "...get a major done and the car comes free...." or close to it. But the testarossa does come with more flair (iconic, flat-12, miami vice).

Ace

 

How?

 

I heard all of this decades ago - about the 246 Dino... It'll never hold its value. It is an Entry Level car, and not even a real Ferrari. You can get one (if anyone would buy one) for less than $15,000. It's only a 6 cyl. so it will never hold value... Blah Blah Blah

"Entry Level" isn't a bad term. In this case, it's an economic term which is only relative to time and demand. A couple of decades from now, an F430 will be termed "Entry Level."

Regarding the "308 vs. 348 post" - You have one car which has found its bottom and has been steadily increasing in value vs. one car which is decreasing in value. At some point the 308 will continue to rise while the 348 either holds steady or decreases more.

Think of the sentence above, and here is how that same sentence went a few decades ago...

(246 vs. 308) You have one car which has found its bottom and has been steadily increasing in value vs. one car which is decreasing in value. At some point the 246 will continue to rise while the 308 either holds steady or decreases more.

The same will happen in the future with the F430 and so on...

 

buy mine....its in ferrari ads


And with the testarossa, I have that one too in iconic Miami vice white and that car is in a whole different league to me. And I did a major on the car and it really wasn't as bad as everyone thinks...

 

Is that the one for $30,000 that DrewStoddard was reffering too? I already have a 348, I was just curious how he could get a decent for mid-$30's.

 

prices of mondial, increase in these last years

 

Tell us more about the major service because this is the key point in the value of these cars (IMO). In ten years parts will be more expensive and labor as well. The amount of parts and labor these cars will require will not decline however. Some mechanics may get better (faster/cheaper/fewer mistakes) but the comparison of required service to its competitors at the time (example a 360 ten years from now) will not favor the 348/355. The perception of the engine out service in terms of labor hours plus parts is what will be the biggest issue in the value story on 348s and 355s; aside from the inherent valve and header issues. I love those cars and would love a spyder or a "B" at some point, but if I consider that a 348 GTB (in equivalent value) might be 30 grand in ten years while the 360 will probably be 40 grand doesn't help me jump into the 348/355. If the major in ten years will cost ten thousand dollars, there is a serious problem IMO.

But my perception of a major is just that, a perception. I haven't done one but have maintained my 308 and can relate to what is needed. I would appreciate hearing an account of the parts and labor hours required when a 348 or 355 gets a major.

 

I agree there are some like that, but I don't think I'd say there are "a lot" or "many."

It's similar in the 911 world. The market it pretty efficient. The years that had less reliability (like the '90-'94, or '75-'77) have lower prices than the others. Yeah, a buyer might luck out and find a newbie who knows nothing and just wants a "Porsch," but they are few and far between. Esp. with the Internet.

Some people don't do any internet research, but that's almost worse for the "orphan" cars. What those people usually do is call the shop closest to them. A lot of shops are pretty harsh on the orphans, esp. when a low knowledge person is asking. Rather than spend an hour going into all the plusses and minuses, shops often just say "avoid those years, they have too many problems."

I think the 348 is going to have similar problems to the '90-'94 911, for almost identical reasons. Those were techological "transition years" for most sports car companies. They were also in many ways transition years for styling, for both Porsche and Ferrari. A good number of people therefore prefer the cars that came either before those years, for their simplicity, or after those years, for their styling and improved reliability.

I don't think that will ever change for the 348. Yes, they will always have value, will always be on the road, will always have their fans and will never be given away. But in the near future, their value will be significantly less than both the 328 (for cars in equal condition) or the 355, and will continue that way forever.

 

Honestly couldn't tell you on the 348 or 355 because I haven't done one yet. I did do one on the testarossa as I stated above and honestly I was pretty afraid of it! My mechanic is a stand up guy and did a great job while finding the best prices on parts (blackhorse plug in FL). I think it would have been a completely different story if I brought it to a Ferrari dealer and had them go at it, letting them order the parts from their parts department. At one point, we replaced the O2 sensors in the TR. The first pass at pricing was incredibly high and then Christian called me back 2-3 days later saying he found them somewhere else for a fraction of the price. I was looking for them too online and even after his mark-up they were cheaper than anywhere I could find.

What I'm getting at is that while the majors are scary unknown beasts until you get in there at look at everything, if you have a good mechanic that you trust (especially on parts) then it won't be so bad.

I may have my own hopes for what is going to happen in the future with the prices of Ferrari's I strongly believe that 348's won't stay around 30k in 10 years. They'll either be up or down. But based on your theory of prices for parts going up then the price of the car will go up as well as it would have a value equal to a minimum of the parts involved.

ramble...

 

I owed a 308gts carb, mondial cab QV, 348ts later turned into full racecar, 550M and repaired countless Ferraris and have a full home garage shop. 348 Engine out service is a piece of cake. It is often easier to take the motor out and have easy access to work in a clean environment than trying to lean in on the front 308 bank and not get dirt in the head with the valve covers off. My V12 550 is so easy to work on it is not funny but it is so painful to reach in on my back/knees. When the 348 was introduced in 1989 in LA. I was invited to the small racetrack in my area where FNA had the 348ts, tb and mondial T at the track. We lined up taking laps by pro drivers. It was so fun! What struck me at that time was how the pros just beat those cars all day long with nothing more than adding more gas. Tires were smoked! In 1989 the 348 was the 430 16M of the day. I had to have one. Later I wheel to wheel raced my 348 for years before it got wrecked. I had years of trouble free racing and took the engine out for service every year. It was just too easy to not do the service. There will always be a place for each Ferrari but every new model brings more thrills that's the bottom line. What you really need to do is own as many as you can.

 

I think you are missing the mark here, the 1980 308 GTBi is far more rare than the 3x8s you mentioned. Despite being the runt of all too common litter, I have only been able to find 13 legitimate examples so far. I'm sure there are more but they must be hiding well. These are sure to skyrocket in value. Just thought I'd stir the pot!

 

Looking at Mondial Coupe prices would conflict with this. It costs similar dollars to do a major on one of these as it does on a 308QV. Parts prices don't bring up the value of cars; if they did, 355s, 360s etc would be going up and not down.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferrari-348-ts-1990-Ferrari-348TS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a3Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem4146736553QQitemZ280354841939QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks

(not affiliated with this sale - demonstration purposes for this thread discussion only)

 

Not to offend any owners/enthusiasts of the 348 series out there, as this is just my opinion. I don't think the 348 will ever reach the iconic status of the 308/328 cars because 1)The 348 is much more complicated and less user friendly(read expensive)to service, 2) The 348 is much more dependent on more complicated electronic systems to operate, many parts of which are specific to this model and will become increasingly difficult if not impossible to source as time goes on, 3) The 348 has a reputation(maybe undeserved)for being fragile and poor handling, and most important 4) It does not have the timeless styling of many other Ferraris that have gone on to icon status of there respective eras. This I think is some of what has held down Testarossa prices. The styling just has'nt aged well. Bear in mind, this is coming from a FIAT x1/9 fan, for what that's worth. That being said, there is no category where a 348 would'nt outperform my 1985 308 QV. Again, this is just one mans opinion, so please, no angry letters.

 

Well, you put a smiley on your post. But if some guy with greasy fingernails and an ECU code reference book sticking out his jeans pocket asks for your address, be careful. The 348 Brotherhood never sleeps. Except sometimes in the garage.

 

And we know where you live Well, maybe not where YOU live, but people like you. No offense taken. I love my car just like you love yours and the 3X8 guys love thiers.

Just as a point of note, I did NOT buy my 348 as a "performance" car but rather as a very nice example that is almost a classic. My car is pushing 17 years old, and regardless of a sometimes less than stellar reputation in the community, I keep watching them fall by the wayside for various reasons from crashes to being left for dead because no one ever took care of them, and every time I see that happen, a little piece of me smiles inside...

348SS for your viewing enjoyment...
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Hey !

I think 348s are extremely cool (read my profile, I want one). I would love a 348 Challenge car for the track, or a Speciale for the road, whats not to like, a nible package of strakes and louvers without the Testasteroni bloat, and no F1 or valve guide atrosities of the 355. Of course I would keep my iconic 308QV Euro......My hope is the 308 goes the way of the 246Dino ($$$$) and the 348 does in fact become the new classic icon, it could happen.

PS: my supercharged 308 is faster than a stock 348, but I still want one, warts and all.