Bad review from 348 buyer's guide~

348 is reliable enough, buy one and have fun!

 

348's are pretty cool. Very reliable. Hi-tech only where it counts (e.g. engine management).

Check out www.club348.com (especially the tech section there) for a primer on 348's.

When the 355 first came out it was trendy to bash the 348. My *theory* on this is that Ferrari overhyped the 355 by claiming a lower curb weight (in reality, 355's weigh in at 50 to 100 pounds heavier than 348's), greater horsepower (this is actually true, but the 355 has power-robbing accessories such as power steering and lower torque in mid-range rpms than does the 348), and modern amenities that seemed cool back in 1995 such as air bags and electric seats and convertible tops.

Per my *theory*, 355 drivers found the hype lacking, and so took out their frustrations back then on the older 348.

Of course, as time passed 355's came to be known for two major issues: valve guide problems and inferior exhaust headers, as well as expected minor failures in the "modern amenities" areas (e.g. power steering reservoir failures, premature air bag deployment, electric seat or seat pot failures, power convertible top failures, etc.). 355 F1 owners in particular were originally hosed by $15,000 F1 pump failures (now aftermarket units can be had new for $3,000, so times have indeed changed, and even on that point preventative changing of the F1 pump relay for about $50 tends to save those pumps).

So the 348 reviews that came out, especially by the non-mainstream press during the 355-was-the-new-Ferrari-model era, tended to be unfair to the 348.

...And history has turned those reviews upside down. Manual seats turns out to be a plus for the 348 today, a very different view than what people shared back when the 355 was new on Dealer showroom floors. Air Bags are now viewed as kid-killers, rather than life-savers as they were back then. Power convertible tops and power steering (on a mid-engined car!) aren't exactly what the "racing set" cares about today, either.

Moreover, the 348 isn't known for killing its valve guides or exhaust headers...and 348's have quite a few more miles on which their headers and valve guides have gone than have 355's.

Now, all this being said, both are fine cars. You'll do well in either 348's or 355's.

What I'm doing is pointing out the change in perspective/attitude that's transpired over the years.

Early reviews of 355's were filled with superlatives, and the car rocks (especially a well-maintained version)...but it isn't as good as it was hyped and people have finally figured out the difference.

Early reviews of 348's were filled with complaints, yet the 348 rocks (2nd fastest at Le Mans 1994)...and reviews written today would be far more favorable. It's held up against the test of time.

You've got Pininfarina designs in both...wonderful Italian leather in both...but do you want more or less in the way of Italian electrics in decade+ exotic cars?!

You do get more in the 355, make no mistake. But you are going to pay to play it via maintenance (e.g. electric shock actuators, ecus for the side windows of all things, ecus for the electric seats, air bag sensors located around the car, etc.).

 

Instead of buying that book, you should subscribe here.
There is about, ummm, a BILLION times more information in this section than ALL books ever written on the 348.

btw: My car has been perfect since I have owned it, almost 2 yrs.
Find a good example and those "books" will not apply to your car


oh, and click my Signature!

 

No Doubt...your insecurities are showing again.... He wasn't asking about 348 versus 355 debate, he was simply asking about the 348 on it's own merits. Read his post again.

 

Ha! Well, so I'm insecure...gotta problem w/dat?!





(...just trying to explain *why* there would be bad reviews of a good car, though)

 

WOW! I think Ill take my 355 out back and shoot it and then find a great 348......NOT! Why make such ridiculous statements?

 

You find it "ridiculous" that I stated

 

"buyers guides" are USELESS unless the writer of the book actually owned the car for awhile and can speak from actual experience

all hearsay

 

Who is William Taylor? Looks like he wrote a buyer's guide for every V8 Ferrari.

 

Buy a 348 and forget about it Jonomo.
Awesome machine and you will have lots of fun behind the wheel.
These cars are around 15yrs old now mate and most if not all the 'bugs' have been sorted out. I have had my car for 2 years and have not had any issues. Well, blew a clutch up, but thats a wear and tear item. The car has been fantastic and I dont regret ever buying it.

 

I love both 355 and 348, in fact although I have a 348 I have to say in the looks department I MUCH prefer the 355. However, as a drivers car the 348 wins out for me, I prefer the more raw feel of the 348, particularly the non power assisted steering. To me, although clearly in a different league, it's like the 348 series prod car was more in the spirit of the F40 road racer, being of the same Ferrari era. On the F40 look how highly ITS now thought of by the ferraristi officianado compared to the undeniably more capable and sophisticated F50 and dare I say it even Enzo!

My personal view is that out of the two the 348 will be the one thats most enduring in years to come, the 355 being just that step too far in terms of electronics. Prediction on responses to that: 355 owners will probably disagree, 348 owners will probably agree - no surprises as thats the way human nature works.

Must admit I did have a wry smile last year when I saw in Enzo's 'exactly as it was when he passed' office, a photo of a 348 upon his shelf (just think of all the other mega machines he could have had pictures of sat up there). I would think it was probably very close to his heart at the end, I may be wrong but wouldn't it have been the last tipo large (relatively) scale prod car he would have signed off and witnessed coming off the lines?

 

Those guides are beaten 100X by this very forum!

 

Have to admit, I was leery but after one year of ownership... no major issues.
very reliable so far. And I drive the car.

I don't know what the deal is with those reviews??
It would be interesting to hear from parts suppliers and techs that work on the 348s as to how problematic they really are.
Usually owners that are unhappy with their car bash them. On this list I only read good things about the 348s. Has to be some truth to the matter.

so far I have no regrets and I owned a 328, you know the reliable ones.....
but lets not go there.

 

Eh hem...Yeah, that's the ticket, 348's suck. Owner's hate them...yeah yeah, and I'm married to Morgan Fairchild!!!

Seriously, everyone has an oppinion. When was the buyers guide written? Has it been updated?

At any rate, I'm still loving my '94 348 Spider (the wife sometiems wonder if I love the car more than her)

Good luck!

Mike

 

when i bought my 348 and took it up to Fof Houston for a quick run through, the FIRST thing the service manager told me was "dont worry, the 348 is the most reliable car Ferrari has ever built"

I wonder who has more credibility, the guy that wrote the review or a Ferrari service manager of over 20 years?!?!!?

 

This is the reason www.club348.com was set up. To dispel the myth of the crap 348.

 

The 348 got a bum rap because it was compared to the solid 328, which had over 10 years of development time, being a product improved 308. The faults of the 348 looked bad by comparison. The 355 got a pass (initially) because of the breathtaking perfomance increase and styling enhancements. Also most of the 355 faults took many years and miles to become apparent.

The 348 is a fine car as many owners can tell you...most of the nay sayers are either not owners, or perhaps a first time owner, that went in a bit uninformed, not realizing there are fixes for most of the known issues.

 

The 348 is a great car, the 355 is better, the 360 is even better than the 355 and the 430 i'm sure is the best so far. the newer the car the better it is the more modern it is and the more reliable it will be. I loved my 355 i had 2 years of relatively trouble free motoring in it and it was used every chance i had even in the rain. I love my 360 even more than the 355, its better built, faster, more comfortable and even better as an everyday car. I don't want to drive a 430 yet because i know that i will want one even more than the 360.
get a 348, don't worry about reliability issues, find a good ferrari mechanic and if it breaks than just fix the thing and just enjoy it.

 

Is it just me then that finds the 348 more "Ferrari looking" than the 355? I love those side strakes and the Testarossa looks.

That's the primary reason I bought my 348 Spider. The second reason was the lack of power steering (raw feel). Thirdly, less electronics means more reliability and again a more raw experience.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only upgrade Ferrari from the 348 for me would be a F40/50

 

I hope to move up to a 348 someday, in fact there is a 348 cahllange car localy thats available thats killing me right now. I looked over the buyers guide and found it pretty straight forward and informative. Sure there was a few negitive aspects but I found the overall feel of the guide was quite positive. You are going to find negitive things on any car, even the beloved 348. Hind sight is 20/20 as they say, and I think its a good thing someone can be unbiased and let prospective buyers know of a few potential problem areas a given car my have. I think the guide was to help 348 buyers and not "bash" the car, don't get so defensive! Someone has taken the time to put something together to help fellow Tifosi in their next purchace should be commended and not "bashed" for their efforts. I say thank you to them, its people who take this kind of time are the ones who make this Ferrari community so great. Not to take anything away from this forum mind you, its an invaluable asset too, and again all these things are what makes the Ferrari community a cut above the rest!

Cheers!

 

Tough choices. The 348 has larger displacement than the F40's engine, but the F40 has the chiseled/wedge/edgy look of the 348...


...whereas the F50 has the 355's nose but 348's M2.7 brains (and much more displacement than does the 348).

If I upgrade I may have to go with one of the 348 CLM's. 348 looks. F50 performance. 348 brains.

 

Hmm, twin turbo the 348, beef up the brakes and suspension. Take on F40's until the aerodynamics trash you.

 

agreed! give me a snug interior, manual steering, flying buttress, notchy transmission, side scoops/cheese graters and i'm in a ferrari i love(d)

sans power steering, power seats, F1/automatic transmissions, hi-fi stereo, C/D-MP3, cruise control, traction control. etc... if you want all this, buy a mercedes.

just my $0.02