Full on Ferrari Newbe Question???

348 Is a good choice in that price range. That model had many many running improvements over its production life so the newest you can afford would in general terms be the best.

 

I suspect quite a few of your questions have been asked before so the chances are a search on 348 might help

 

This link might be helpful: http://webpages.charter.net/aircover/348/1994Ferrari348Spider.html

Good luck,
John

 

You might do some searching here ("348 maintenance") to see how you feel about the costs. Any Ferrari costs a lot to run. I had a Porsche 993 before my 328, and the recently completed major service on the Ferrari cost me the better part of $4K. If nothing goes wrong, in another 4 years and 10 months I'll be paying that again. 348's are more expensive to service due to the need to remove the engine, and also the single belt design seems to warrant more frequent servicing.

For daily driving, the 348 might be easier than my 328. Wider driver's footwell, slightly taller car, etc. Drive it and see what you think. I'm 5'8" and frankly I can fit comfortably in anything, but the 328 requires some agility to slip in an out of - not the ideal grocery getter. The gated five speed gearbox is not fun in traffic but a delight on fast roads.

You'll also see a lot of posts on this site about how all modern Ferrari's should be "drivers" - cars that sit around too much can be money pits (leaky seals, internal engine corrosion), just as cars with a lot of deferred maintenance can be. You should know exactly when the last major service was completed and what was done (which parts were replaced). The interval for the 348 major service is the subject of a lot of debate, but 3-5 years is the most commonly accepted range.

Not to dissuade you, because there's a lot of love here for 348's and Ferrari's in general, but:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96132

 

OK, first I must ask: You put 20,000+ miles a year on your 911, and you are looking to replace it as your driver with an F-Car (348)?

Doing a $5k-$7k major every 18 months is going to get spendy quickly.

 

it's always scary when you're on the outside looking in. when you're inside, it isn't so bad anymore. i think you'll find the belt issue to be present for a good chunk of ferraris. find a car that has been regularly serviced and you shouldn't have to worry about the belts. the 355 has its own bundle of issues, so i don't think there's a huge advantage to a 355, mainly because i don't think the 348 is that bad. bad reputations are usually overblown, at least that's what i find when i look deeper. ferrari ownership can be a nightmare or a dream...best way to make it a dream is to do your homework and buy a well-loved and maintained car. enjoy the ride!

john

 

First, you should fill out your profile.

Second, use a spell checker in your posts.

Third, although well maintained Fcars rarely break, if you're worried about the high cost of maintaining an Fcar, don't buy one. They're expensive, period. They're not Porsche's, or Mercedes. Parts are 5-10 times the price of other auto parts, and you can't improvise when it comes to parts on these cars.

Fourth, not many after-market parts to be had.

 

In the grand scheme of Ferrari-dom, the 348 isn't terribly expensive to maintain. The 355 is more expensive, possibly the most expensive 8-cylinder near-modern Ferrari to service. The 308/328 tend to be less expensive. But they all require significant servicing. We all bought what we did because like the specific model, and did so knowing that this is one dream with stiff price tag. There's a lot of griping about Ferrari parts prices, justly perhaps, but as johng said above it's (usually) worse on the outside looking in.

Just get educated about the big costs and set aside the cash.

Prestige? ANY of these cars has it in spades. Someone here said Ferrari's make everything else look like a breadvan, and it's true. I was parked a few empty spaces away from a sharp black/black '05 Mercedes SL55 last Wednesday, and I was NEVER prouder of my car. Yeah, the SL cost more than double what mine did and if you asked anyone in the area which car they would want a ride in... well, 'nuff said.

Daily driver? The vast majority of people here drive something more mundane every day. Ferrari didn't design his cars to be daily drivers. They're fast and gorgeous and require expensive maintenance and proper mechanical respect by their owners. I would guess some of the newer GT cars (456, 550, 575...) might be more suited to daily driver roles but, again, not for the faint-of-wallet.

 

The man does his own work. More like $1.5k-$2k major?

The car can be parted out after a few years because it will likely become unsaleable with all those miles. I would consider a Porsche with lots and lots of miles but theses F cars are available in abundance with low miles and I would never consider a 348 with 150k unless it was a gift. More's the pity too. There is no logical reason for that to be so.

 

Well, he said "most" of the work on his 911, so I figured anything major was what he was not doing himself.

I made the assumption that he was not removing the engine of his P-car every 18 months, which would be needed with the F348 doing those kind of miles, thus paying somebody else to do the major service.

Using the F348 as a daily doing 20,000 miles a year with what you mention is going to make it quite the project in the long run as well.
Say a $60k buy in to start at 20k miles.
(initial price includes a major to start fresh)

During the first 3 years / 60,000 miles of owning the car some of the costs are:
2 Major services (at $5,000)
3 sets of tires (getting 20k per set)
? Oil changes and other services

At this point the 348 would have 80,000 miles on the clock.

The next 3 years / 60,000 miles
2 Major service (at $5,000)
3 sets of tires (getting 20k per set)
? Oil changes and other services

At this point the 348 would have 140,000 miles on the clock, and not have value for much more than parts in the near future.

At this point the initial buy in of $60,000 is gone, as even you said you would not want the car with those kind of miles unless it was a gift.

Looking at those notes above, one can figure on the following:
$10,000 a year in depreciation costs
$3,000 a year towards the major service
$1,500 a year for tires
$?,??? a year for oil changes and other maintenance

We have not even talked about what is needed for those days when something like "Oh Crap! - What just broke?" comes out of your mouth. That is a whole new discussion.

 

We're on the same page Mike. That's what makes this whole Ferrari thing such a strange and wonderful obsession. There is absolutely no economic justification for buying one. It's not about transportation. I'm very new to this, but what I'm hearing is that #1, the cars need to be driven, and #2 not too much if you are in the least bit worried about the cost of ownership. I had an old Mooney (airplane) once that cost me about $400 a month to maintain for the short time I had it. When it came time to sell though, I got all my money back out and then some. I have a feeling that such will not be the case with any of these modern F cars. I accept that and it's fine with me. But I also think that it's a sad state of affairs that a 911 P car is still marketable with 175K on the clock but an infinitely more satisfying 348 will be all used up. If Bill (sgone930) has the stomach for that kind of pain more power to him.

Dan

 

Funny when you look at a lot of those 30,000 mile Ferrari's how many appear to have 150,000 miles of wear.

 

AMEN!