I am looking at a possible purchase of this vehicle from a local person. Car seems to be in excellent condition, has 38k miles, and he is willing to let me take it to a dealer for inspection. The cost of the auto isnt the main concern for me, it is the upkeep and maintenance. I plan on putting roughly Id say around 5k a year on it, with driving to work and back sporadically, and weekends/light tri state travel. What can I expect the maintenance to be for using it this way? What should I look for upon the purchase? What major problems can be expected with this model? Any help appreciated. Thanks!
I'm not sure I can help you with the details of your questions. I am a relatively new owner myself. My research concluded that maintenance costs for a 348 can be covered for about 2k per year. That assumes you start with a car that needs nothing and is in good shape. It can get worse very rapidly with all differant sorts of problems but contrary to the opinion of 355 owners, the 348 is a very reliable car. Most of the costs are associated with making sure nothing goes wrong.i.e. preventative repairs. Engine out service is the lions share of the expense. Its required every 3 to 5 years to replace timing belts. It seems that the expense of the engine out service causes people to replace items that aren't yet broken to ensure they don't have to do another engine out. This includes replacing items like water pumps, belt tensioner bearings, cam seals, etc... Its also a great opportunity to do major cleaning and reconditioning of the engine compartment. There is lots more information available regarding this subject and I'm sure many more will offer a few Cents to this thread. Your screen name clearly identifies you as a hockey fan and suggests you live in Connecticut. I'll be at newington arena tonight for Lil Bastards hockey practice. Come on by if you'd like to chat. I'm the big guy with the goteau. Lane
$8-10K should be enough for 5 years worth of maintenance assuming you use good independents and have a decent car to begin with. Make sure you get a well maintained car with decent service records and a caring owner. Difficult to identify chronic problems that affect all 348s. A well maintained/driven car shouldn't have any serious problems. Some potential problem areas: crack in the rear buttress (tb), gearbox/clutch problems, weak shocks/dampers, hot engine start problems. By putting 5k miles on the car every year and driving it regularly you are likely to have very little niggling problems.
Thanks for the input! What is the out engine cost? What dealer do you use? I will be going to Miller (greenwich), as I thought that was the only one in SW Connecticut, is there any others? We also just bought a new boat 2 months ago, so I am weighing out if it is silly to have both with maintenance costs and 3 kids right now. I am in CT, as you surmised. Yes, I have been playing hockey since I was 7 (was on the junior islanders) and am actually playing tonight at wonderland of ice in bridgeport in a league game. I also play thursday for a private rent out we have had for 5 years now, every thursday. SO I still play 2 times a week at least.
Great! Thanks for the input. So the average is still about 2k a year give or take. I have to weight that with the boat maint. So far, doesnt sound too bad if I am starting with a good vehicle, which I believe this seems to be, but you never know. So you think driving it and not letting it sit is also a good way to keep the engine and drive train "maintained" for lack of a better description?
Is this the car that Cannillo was/is selling? Seemed like a nice car, great records with $14k service (!) but showed a bit grungy.
