348 Purchase Question

Forget "investment potential" (and "latest technology"!) You'll spend more servicing a 348 (or any modern-ish Ferrari) than you'll ever "make" on the car. You'll also be having too much fun to worry about it.

I know the 348 Brotherhood will be chiming in soon, but I'll toss in a plug from the 328 Syndicate. For about the same price as a 348 Challenge, you could get a good early 328. Prices/market are solid, the cars have a wide following, and a lot of the nice old school features of the 348 (unassisted steering, 5-speed gearbox, etc) are carried over from the 328. Example:

http://www.motorcars-intl.com/vehicle_details.aspx?id=582&CAR=328%20G

But, buy what you want. If I were to choose among the 348s I'd get a black/tan SS for the upgraded seats. I just cringe a bit when I hear someone say they're buying a Ferrari because that's the most they can spend at the moment. My budget included included a bunch of cars from the 348 to the 308/328 to the TR and 355. I talked to several techs, two dealers, and maybe a half dozen Ferrari owners before making up my mind -- budget was just the start.

 

http://nwrfca.org/faq/348versions.html

quote from above link:
"For North American buyers of street cars, the Factory Challenge (never converted for track use) cars are the cream of the crop, with the Serie Speciale preferred next."

http://www.sportauto.cc/inventory_ferrari/1994_348_Challenge/index.htm

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/ferrariads/showproduct.php?product=495&cat=all

 

In addition to what Bullfighter said you should have money available for that (just in case repair). No exotic is cheap to maintain and as far as an investment goes if you plan on driving it at all it will depreciate. I owned a 348 for a little while and it was a great car to drive. However if a 348 is all you can afford I would seriously consider a 328 and have some $$$ to keep in the bank.

 

Dealerships and owners had the opportunity to self-convert 348's into Challenge vehicles, so verifying a "real" Challege will be more and more problematic in the future.

Not such a problem with the SS. The registry alone will reduce that problem.

The 348 SS versions have the Motronic 2.7 and Spider exhaust, by the way.

As for "investment" potential, I wouldn't put many 348's into that classification...however, 348 Competizione LM's are clearly investment grade Ferraris.

You'll also want to look at the 348 Primer, linked below.

 

Buy it, drive it like ya stole it. If it breaks and you can't afford to fix it, put it in the garage as motivation to make more money or learn to fix it yourself (it's only metal). Buy it for yourself only and not what other people think. Take the floor mats out and wear out the carpet-let the next guy use them to cover the holes you make having the time of your life. Show off the rock pecks in the front bumper you got at 170mph. Put up photos on the wall of the garage from the time you took it to the track. Use your car to get laid at least once. Scare the sh*t out of yourself. At the end of life, it's not how much cash you leave, but who can tell the best stories in the rest home, and who's fighting over that clapped-out Ferrari in the garage!!!! Above all, BUY IT and BUY THE BEST YOU CAN!

 

BEST

ADVICE

EVER

 

Preach brother preach!! ^5

 

You'll need to remove the engine for the timing belt service - if you have a hoist, a good set of tools and mechanical skills, it's doable.

Buy what you like. I will keep my 328 until I can afford something older. Good reading here from Michael Sheehan, whose opinions I agree with 93% of the time:

http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=SCM_200712_SS

 

I'm a huge fan of the 348 and the proud owner of SS #64. Your opening post appears very similar to the questions I asked when I decided to go for it last year. I quickly learned through the pride of ownership that purchasing a 348 in the name of "investment" is simply self justification. When that beauty is sitting in your garage beconing you for "just a fast spin around the block" the investment concept quickly disopates and the short spin becomes an hour cruise. I think the question your asking is more accurately posed "am I going to lose money on this car" and the answer is "No". 348's have argueably reached the bottom of there depriciation curve and may be on the rise if you believe in NADA pricing. The last 6 months have shown an increase in 348SS value by nearly 10%. I'm betting the economy is going to throw a wrench in that but, its a start.

Your question regarding Challenge vs. SS is far more difficult to answer. Potential buyers of 348's have many considerations. Most seem to evaluate the cars based on cost, condition, last major, mileage, and ever been tracked. I know I did. Challenge cars from virtually any Ferrari series have the highest likelyhood of having been tracked and therefore scare off many potential "investment" buyers. The true value may then be considered reduced since the number of potential buyers may be more limited to those that truely understand the car and what "tracked" truely means. While that is most deffinatley just my opinion, it is the opinion that drove me to the SS model. That makes it accurate for at least one buyer, Me.

If your interested in a SS, there was one owner considering selling his specimen. see the link to his thread.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182162

There is also a thread detailing the SS registry. It can give you some understanding of where you might find one.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138385&highlight=ss+registry

Hope I've been helpful and good luck

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=YEAR+descending%2cPRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7cE-%7cM-_51_%7cD-_1406_%7cN-N%7cR-10000%7cI-1%7cP-YEAR+descending%2cPRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cZ-60074&aff=national&paId=135297733&recnum=15&leadExists=true

Check out a '94 challenge car. Not much different than an SS, except much more rare.

 

Hi Steve,

Due to time constraints I cannot at the moment really add much more to that which has already been said. However, I want you to know that the street Challenge car, while superior in a few minor ways to the Speciale, does not have the Speciale widened rear track. There is an easy solution for this, however -- wheel spacers from Ricambi America.

Also, please fill out your profile so that we know where you are from.

Regards,
David

 

Greetings--this is my first post (so please be gentle)!

I have been lurking here and I have been looking for
my first F-car. I originally started out wanting a 308,
then a 308QV, then a 328. It is tough finding a good 328
so I started looking at the 348s; there are several good
ones (seemingly) available.

I don't want to be impatient to buy one--I like the lines
of the 328 but the 348 seems to have many "better"
features. Some people say the 328 is more "classic" and
some say buy the most recent car you can afford. I can
afford either one--there does not seem to be much
price difference. The 355 is out of my budget.

Any advice? I'm sure I will hear both sides but that's OK.
Thanks in advance for your help. You are a great group
and I hope to contribute when I can.

 

Blockhead : this question is fairly often asked here so a good few hours spent looking at previous threads will help as will taking a look at www.the348.com

Also an indication of your location might help get you more detailed advice on how to buy

 

Here you go. Any questions........................
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That is breathtaking! Very nice!

If I go with a 348, I will probably go with a
GTS, but the convertible is awesome!

 

I did check it out--I suppose I was curious mostly why
people decided to buy a 348 over a 328 (unless they
are fortunate enough to own both!) or, if they moved
from a 308/328 to a 348--why did they?

BTW, I'm in Northern California-- thanks--

 

Whatever Bullfighter says. I'd go with that

Actually, I would like to get a 348 some time but in addition to and not in lieu of my 328.

 

You know, I think you need to buy these cars based on emotion, since there is no amount of logic that can justify purchasing these things. In my case, I went to the local ferrari "spring thaw" event and got to see all the cars in the person. The 348 really grabbed me visually. To my eye it is much more aggressive than the 328. I knew that was the one I had to have. Go with your gut

 

I mixed "gut" with "logic". Wanted a 328 ladder chassis, with sound 348 mechanicals, and 355 adjustable suspension / power steering. Ended up with a T Coupe. Result !

 

I've always loved the 348 and of course the 355.. but the 355 might be a little too pricey on the maintanence side for me.
i love mine so much, i will never consider selling it, even when getting into another Fcar! you will not regret your purchase of ANY type of 348

 

+1. Time has proved the 348 to be a great car!

 

I personally don't think the 348 will be a good investment like purchasing a Dino would have been 5 years back. But then again who knew that the Dino prices would more than double in a short space of time.

I would say look at your budget and keep about $8k aside for a 5 year maintenance and then find the best maintained car that you can. Honestly I would say that there is little difference in driving between a premium priced SS or an early model car with suitable add-ons (spacers, exhaust upgrades, etc).

Take my example: I wanted a SS car real bad in 2006 but my budget was around $50k and decent SS were in the late 50s/early 60s price bracket. To me that was an unjustified premium. So i settled for well maintained clean 1991 TS and have been a very happy owner. For the price of an SS, I have 95% of the same car with money in the bank for maintenance.