Huge let down after 348 drive

No need to apologize, you spoke truthfully about how you felt and your honest impression. Perhaps your expectations were too high but you were honest.

To me, as a 355 owner (which is my favorite), I must say that the 348 is close to perfect as a Ferrari purchase today for various reasons:

1-Almost has a "classic car" status yet still turns heads and still has a modern up-to-date look.

2-Price (a friend of mine bought a 10k miles perfect condition 348TB with lots of upgrades for only 38k which is unbelievable)

3-It's the last car developped while Enzo was alive and is considered by many as "the last real Ferrari"

4-Side strakes

5-It's a Ferrari. No matter what Porsche you drive and how great it is, it suffers from 1 major major problem: It's not a Ferrari.

I love what this guy says at the end of the video, look at the smile on his face!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiW6S9RfAI]s02e11_C- Ferrari 348 - YouTube[/ame]

 

By the way the first one I drove was also in need of a service. At least time frame wise. I am not a three year belt change man. I am not even a 5 year belt change man.
But this one was at 9 years or so it was rather due. Plus it probably hadn't been driven hard in a while.
Mine is having its belts done in another year or so. Around the 7 year mark.
Let me say this... These cars are just "different". It is amazing how much better these cars drive when they are driven the right way. They are NOT a Porsche that is for sure. I would have allowed pretty much anyone to have driven the Porsche. But the Ferrari is something else. And not because it is a Ferrari. It is not a car for everyone by any means. I want to let my daughter drive it but I am just more concerned she won't listen to me on "how" to drive it.
I have said this before. The 348 is the last "raw" v8 Ferrari. At the 355 they started adding frills like the f1 and power steering.
I wanted a no frills type of car compared to the Porsche and I got it that's for sure.
Nothing else compares.

 

Must confess, do find one thing strange, and it does relate to this thread. When I went looking for my first Ferrari I was warned off the 348 by several 'experts' citing handling issues, some even pointed to the 328 as better in that concern. Take a glance over Fiorano's official lap times for each tipo and you'll find the '89 348 is 7 seconds quicker than a 328. Sit and count them, 7 seconds is one hell of a long time. It's also only a second slower than a 288 GTO - a stripped out race car with 100 bhp more than a 348. And this was in '89 ie before all the handling 'problems' were addressed. Would be interesting to see how much closer to a 355 a later 348 would be as an '89 was officially 3 seconds slower. Maybe only a couple? Not sure.

Anyway, not sure how a poor handling car could do that with a mere 300bhp.

The track was changed with a hairpin becoming a sweeping bend before the 355 F1 time was recorded at a second quicker than the manual so times after are a bit 'skewed' as a result but it is interesting to have a scan through them.

 

Interesting thread and I guess a couple of things from my experience may help. I was in the market for a 355. I have saved for 6 years. I had driven many 355's and loved the whole experience. For me personally the 355 is the best looking car in the world. Then I drove a 360 on a track and was amazed by its balance and ability so i started to look at both 360's and 355's. Then by chance I saw a 348 at a specialist and decided to try it out. At first it didn't blow me away, it's not incredibly fast (my last sports car was a tuned TVR Cerbera 4.5v8). But I then got out to a dual carriageway with a series of about 7 roundabouts. I started to put the entry and exits together feeling my subtle inputs with the brakes and the throttle making a hugely rewarding experience. Then the balance of the steering mid corner, it is truly epic. The limits of the 348 are more obvious at lower speeds than the 360 and 355 (or a caymen s i would expect) making you feel alive. I also had the Noble M12 on the list, although extremely fast, lacks the overall ownership experience of the 348. I am now a week into ownership of a 348....

Of course, the one you drove could have been pants......

 

Igor... try a Toyota NSX or Honda GTR?

Both are way better than the 348!!

 

Interesting thread and I guess a couple of things from my experience may help. I was in the market for a 355. I have saved for 6 years. I had driven many 355's and loved the whole experience. For me personally the 355 is the best looking car in the world. Then I drove a 360 on a track and was amazed by its balance and ability so i started to look at both 360's and 355's. Then by chance I saw a 348 at a specialist and decided to try it out. At first it didn't blow me away, it's not incredibly fast (my last sports car was a tuned TVR Cerbera 4.5v8). But I then got out to a dual carriageway with a series of about 7 roundabouts. I started to put the entry and exits together feeling my subtle inputs with the brakes and the throttle making a hugely rewarding experience. Then the balance of the steering mid corner, it is truly epic. The limits of the 348 are more obvious at lower speeds than the 360 and 355 (or a caymen s i would expect) making you feel alive. I also had the Noble M12 on the list, although extremely fast, lacks the overall ownership experience of the 348. I am now a week into ownership of a 348....

Of course, the one you drove could have been pants......

 

Igor,

I think a couple of things need to be explained to set your expectations

1. This is car is from three decades ago. It's the 20-teens now, and that car was from the 90s! The '67 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 was an amazing muscle car and goes for an amazingly high price today (you could trade one for a Lamborghini!), but no one is buying that car thinking that just because of the name and the price it is expected to drive like a modern Lamborghini. They are buying it for the nostalgia, heritage, and for enjoyment of the pleasures and quirks of an antique. A 90s Ferrari should be looked at in the same way, given the amount of time that has passed. If you don't enjoy experiencing automotive history, then get a modern car.

2. This car has a very, very bad service history. If the only record is of a service done ove a decade ago, that is bad, bad news for a Ferrari. Ferraris are not Toyotas, they are very high maintenance cars and very expensive to keep running correctly. This is why you don't see them being driven as commuter cars every day. The car likely has all sorts of worn components that need to be replaced. Rubber ages badly, and low miles have nothing to do with that. Oil and other fluids age even worse. Time has everything to do with it. A properly maintained Ferrari will see service annually, regardless of miles, to have the fluids changed. And major services every three years, which run several thousand dollars because the entire engine must be removed from the car to service it. Anyone that can't afford to service a Ferrari, can't really afford a Ferrari.

3. A car loses horsepower with age. Miles again have nothing to do with it. Compression is lost, components age, and with it comes lost horsepower that will not come back until a complete engine rebuild. It is just a fact of cars and age. Sort of like people, which is the opposite of what you thought in your earlier post. Handling is lost when bushings, motor mounts, suspension, and tires age and wear. Those probably have to be replaced too on a car this poorly maintained.

4. A Ferrari 348 doesn't have power steering and is best known for it's steering feel. These cars are not best known for their quarter mile times, or forgiving handling. If you enjoy old school mechanical driving in a taut chassis, then this car is one of the best. But if you don't want a car that will punish you when you make mistakes, don't drive the 348 hard. It sounds like you are not coming from having experience with a lot of sports cars, so I would just caution again that this car is not a daily driver commuter car. It is a car meant to be driven very hard or not at all. So you might want to consider a more forgiving sports car if this will be your first one.

5. I own a Ferrari 360, but I have really always wanted a 348. How's that for irony? I'm not trying to defend a 348 and I'm not trying to bash it. The appeal of the Ferrari 348 to me is it's mechanical nature and unassisted driving, along with great looks! Not a lot of people are into the simple purity of the car, which is why the newer cars have electrical assistants of all kinds in addition to having much more power and performance. Not everyone likes driving and maintaining old cars, which is why you don't see many on the road!

 

Yes, a Ferrari 360 or 430 is probably what you are thinking of when you think of a Ferrari these days. If you really want to be up to date, there is the 458. Even the 458 is about to become obsolete as it has been out for a while now!

The 360 has much better handling and power compared to the 348, and it has more of the supercar proportions (wide, low, with a big back). It weighs the same as the 348 with 100 more HP. But it also almost drives itself compared to the 348. Power steering, stability and traction control, F1 shifting, ABS, airbags. I might as well just commute in a bus, since the car drives itself! Haha, just kidding.

 

JPK, just like to say really interesting reading your thoughts as an owner and driver of a more modern Ferrari.

 

Another guy who can't afford 15$ but wants to buy a ferrari

 

Its a Ferrari not a civic


Totally different breed

 

I think this thread is rather interesting.

For me, the 348 did not blow me away when I first drove it. I have only driven two of them, both Spiders. The second one i tried was way better than the first one, giving the feeling of a well maintained and 100% original car. This one I bought.

After having owned it for some time I must say it just keeps getting better. When you push her, she actually id quite fast. The best part though, is the feeling of the steering. Just the best steering feedback I have ever experienced.

I love my car, and I am pretty sure you would love the 348 as well, as long as you get to experience the right car.

 

Absolutely. No need for apologies; not everyone digs the same things in automobiles. I would try another, for sure, and maybe try to keep her a little more on the boil during the drive. It wasn't until my second 348 drive that I discovered just how lively a car it is if you keep it wound up. They like to be driven that way.

I came out of a Cayman S and honestly, now that I know how to drive the 348, I have not wanted for anything.

 

5

Felt the same way about the 308. Just trying to accelerate is boring but working the gearbox and the pedals and the steering wheel together on a twisty road with that beautiful noise behind you is intoxicating. I could see how some are left unimpressed though.

The first car I drove that really and for the first time blew me away was an M5. 'till that point all the Porsche, lotus, Ferrari and Corvettes left me disappointed at first.

 

a totally uncalled for statement there..... here is a guy who gives his personal opinion and all you can do is diss him for something you don't even know about him? wdf? well if you have nothing nice to say, or no valuable or semi valuable input to give on the topic, you should just refrain from saying or typing out any s h i t...... ok before you take a dig at me for not having paid up $15 and getting a subscriber status with an avatar, let me tell how else i contribute here.....i try my level best to only deal with the sponsors here when i get my parts, etc....and we're talking here in the thousands of USD to date that is (in the last 8 months alone that is) and i think they, the sponsors whom i deal with, purely because of here and the "other forum" keep the sites afloat much more than one's $15/annum....

 

There are plenty of people who choose not to subscribe and the $15 or $50 is seldom the reason behind the decision. Let's just talk about cars.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Totally agree. When I first test drove my car, I was underwhelmed with the acceleration. I still am to a degree. It's certainly a quick car and can get out of its own way but by modern standards (not even supercar standards), it's on the slow side. When I tested my car, I was also considering a 996 turbo. Can't even compare the cars. The Porsche blew the 348 away in a sterile, generic sort of way. But with my 348, I loved the steering, the way the car handled, and the old school analog feel to the car. Ferraris went more high tech almost immediately after, starting to some degree with the 355.

 

Poor Igor walked into a hornets nest butt naked and covered in honey!

Don't mess with the 348 brotherhood.....

 

I can understand that neglect doesn’t help a car but I certainly doesn’t make it feel so bad it feels like a Civic. I bought my 348 because I wanted an old school driving feel (no assists from multiple computers) and I was not disappointed, but…..it took me a few long drives to get used to her and her quirks. Unless you have driven a gated Ferrari’s before and not with a salesman, you really can’t appreciate how to drive one. Once all temps are up, tires warm, keep her above 3500 min but 4000 to 6500 is the place to be and she becomes a sweet ride. My baby is 23 years old and she gets beaten by 1 year old Subaru WRX STI toddlers. Who cares….I drive her hard and she repays me very well with excitement, fear and hopefully not death. Once in a while she does bite but hey….that’s what unassisted means.

This guy obviously had enough confidence to drive on the track, then he slightly lifted off the gas and….she bit him…..just when you think you know how to drive a car…..in comes the 348 to teach you a lesson….hehehe!!!!!!

By the way, turn off the assists in a 360 or switch everything to off on the wheel of a 430 and they both bite....real hard too because they get you much faster into trouble!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrH4KDKmFCE From the outside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6oIgmksnVo From the inside



~

Mario

 

I had a Porsche 996 Carrera before and I really think it´s an proper sports car. It was lowered, had LSD and sport exhaust, was fast, turned well and sounded like a hungry wolf. 0-100 km/h in 5,2 seconds and 280 km/h top speed. Ok, nice. Then I traded it for my new Madonna, a 348 tb. Driving it home was a joy, smiling and laughing, and my wife said that this is something really special. I parked the Ferrari in my garage, jumped into the Porsche to drive it back to the dealer and I thought: what was so special about this car?
Sums up my feelings pretty well, I think. Ferrari have soul, german cars are just machines.

 

"just machines"

great race winning legendary championship machines

 

Yes, great championship winning machines. But for me, my Alfa Romeo 166 V6 24v is a greater car than the Porsche because in my opinion, it has soul. Now with the 348, it´s the same feeling but even better than the Alfa. I just love Italian cars and bikes.