First Ferrari advice

Not sure about the 348 being a daily driver. Definately not on the 512, but that's my inexperienced opinion on the matter. The 355, might be close. BTW, here's one in your neck of the woods: http://nsxfiles.s2ki.com/f355/

It's well maintained, with a bit of miles on it, but also tracked several times.

 

I drove my Testarossa daily, it was perfect as a daily driver, anyone saying otherwise its probably because they don't still get it. Ferraris can be driven daily, thats what they were built for. I even drove mine 6 hours to get to a track, drove it another 6 hours of hard driving during the weekend and then drove it back home another 6 hours of fast highway driving, the next they I was driving again as a daily driver around town, no problems at all. If I was out to buy another for $75,000 it would be a Testarossa all over again, but if high costs of (30,000 mile majors average $10,000 dollars)(clutch around $3,500 to $4,500)(15,000 mile minors of an average $3,000) seems to much $$$ then buy a 355 as they are faster than a 348 and much better in everything, also the 348 and 355 are pretty close the amount of cash to keep running. For me the best experience is the Testarossa of this bunch, the 355 is a little quicker of the line but thats about it, theres nothing like a flat 12. The clutch is as soft as butter and it has a short travel, the steering a little heavy only at parking it then it becomes very light, the a/c really works, its big inside I am 5'11" 200 pounds, also people and friends told me that the testarossa was more of a head turner than a 355,348,308,328,BB512,456, and even the 360, everytime I had mine parked to one of this I could see that it was true.

 

I would suggest the F355 as well except I do not know if that $75,000 is inclusive of what you are willing to pay for service for say the first year. These cars are expensive to fix and service so $75,000 is just the first part. You can pick up a nice coupe for under $75,000.

 

Get a 328. It's rock solid and you can beat the living snot out of it and replace rotors and such at will with a lot of extra funds. You can buy a GREAT 328 @about $40k or less and use the rest to really track it and burn through rotors/pads with no ill will and keep it running better than tip-top.

 

Get a 355. Its the most chuckable and trackable of the bunch. And with not cats , its one of the most beautiful sound on earth..

 

How much HP did that Lingenfelter have ?

Since I have two 512TRs you know what I would suggest. The 512TR has more power than the other two and IMO is the best looking road Ferrari ever built. The sound with a pair of tubi & no cats is wonderful. I dyno'd mine & she makes 460 hp. I have F50 brakes on mine as well & have track driven her a lot.

I also built a 512TR race car which weighs 2800# with almost 500 hp, Thats a rocket

 

get the 355. You'll love it. You might have to spend a bit more, but have a PPI done and drive it hard. You won't regret.

 

I second William's motion.

 

Its not local, but 2 weeks ago when I picked up my car in TX, The dealer had a green 97? 355 w/9000 mi? I think it was a coupe. He told me he was asking for ~ 75k.
email me if interested I'll dig up his #.

 

for 75.000....just buy a 512 TR...I own a 348...and i one day i have to change...it ll be for a 512 TR...twelve cylinders...it's ALWAYS better than 8...

 

What ever you decide to get, be sure your first Ferrari is a 12 cylinder. Otherwise, you will not get the true Ferrari experience. While I have had two 8 cylinder cars, a 328GTS and a 348Spider and four 12s, a 400GT, a 330GTC, a TR and my current BB512i , I will never own another 8 ! FYI, I put almost 50k miles on a TR with very little problems other than routine service. I would rather have my old 400GT 5 speed back than either the 328 or the 348.

 

Where can you find a nice 512TR that does not need serviced for $75k???

 

Believe me when I tell you, you will get the "real Ferrari experience" out of any one you get. Don't be affraid of the 348. They are a better value than the 355 because everyone talks crap about them. Even a low mileage 348 can be had for $60K. Almost everything they say about them is not true. All of the bugs the cars had early on have been solved by updates. All you have to do is get one that has been driven. Make sure it's well documented and have it inspected. I bought one for $40K with 38K miles on it two years ago. It has been used as primary transportation since then. I am not kidding when I tell you it has been driven almost every day. I don't have another car so it goes were I go rain or shine. It now has 73K miles on it and is running perfectly and let me tell you I don't baby it. I just had it out @ Road Atlanta this weekend and it ran flawlessly. I think the 355 would be a great choice as well but you will pay a lot more for one and probably not get much more in the way of performance.

 

Ferrari of Atlanta has a fine example of a 348 Challenge that did not have the racing equipment put in. It is in excellent condition and they are asking $67K. It's red/tan with around 15K miles on it I think. I think they also have the racing stuff to go with it if you want to put that stuff in.

 

Typically finding good inventory especially earlier cars can be difficult as these are not Toyota's. Personally I would get focused on one particular model and then find the best example based on your budget.

 

Warrenn has one for ya....

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17907

 

for sure, 348 are great, and far better than some car magazine said some times ago...and it's a real driver car

 

Just make sure you spend as much time finding the RIGHT mechanic as you did in finding the RIGHT car. If you do not have a mechanic, find two or three in your area and meet with them one-on-one. Offer to pay them for a half an hour of their time to meet with you. Coupled with references, you can make a good decision. DO NOT pay a dime in advance for ANY work. I made that mistake once and speak from experience!