I caught Italian car fever...Now looking for my first Ferrari!

So, it happened....I fell for Italian cars. I have long been thinking about getting a Ferrari, but never really followed through. I always had British cars, a 1969 E-Type, an Aston DB7 V12, several XJS's, and even a classic Mini when I lived in Japan. I finally bought my first Italian car, a 2018 Alfa Romeo 4C, which I love! Well, I guess Alfa was my gateway drug, because I started to look at maybe getting an Alfa convertible or GTV6, maybe an old Lancia or Fiat 124 Spider. I just wanted another fun car I can use while I'm stationed out here in Monterey for a year and half, and one that's a little older so I can take it to car shows like I did with my E-Type.

I quickly dove further down the rabbit hole, and ended up at Ferrari. So I started looking at 308's, but really fell for the 348 as a fun driver to enjoy for a year and a half. I really like the 355's, but I've read on here that they can potentially have much more expensive issues, plus they are more expensive to purchase and all good examples would be above my price range.

I am trying to stay around the $50k range, and found a pretty decent looking one in AZ. It is a Rosso Corsa TS with about 50k miles. I ordered a PPI via a service called Lemon Squad who provided detailed pic, descriptions, etc. Overall the car checks out well and drove very well, had light patina reflecting the age but nothing major, no accidents on carfax, no visible signs of an accident, so it looked good, but there were two things that have me a little concerned.

First, the inspector said there was a very slight leak at the transmission. Is this common? Would it be crazy expensive to fix? Second, there was a decent size panel gap between the front trunk and right front quarter panel, uneven with the left side. The inspector says it does not look like accident damage, no signs in the paint or under the car, he thinks maybe the panel was removed for some work and not put back on correctly. Is this something that happens with the 348's? I asked the dealer selling it about the gap, and he said this is normal, as over time the aluminum hoods shift around. Is that BS?

The car has extensive service history going back since new, it is a 2 owner, the last full major was performed June 2015 at 47k miles, and last engine out 1/2 service was done last July at 49k miles. The clutch and water pump were changed within the last 10k miles.

So, what do you all think? Should I run away now knowing about the slight leak and panel gap or continue with the process and have it further inspected by a local Ferrari Specialist?

Also, anything else I should know about the 348 in general. It seems like a pretty durable car if properly serviced. I plan to alternate between this and my Alfa as my only 2 cars, could it handle this type of duty? Am I just crazy?

Thanks in advance!

 

Well, I feel dumb. As soon as I hit post I noticed I misspelled "looking" in the thread title. Guess I'm off to a great start on Ferrarichat! Lol

 

He had Ferrari experience, but I'm not sure if he had much with the 348. He couldn't source the leak and didn't see it drip when he was there, but said he saw it at the bottom of the trans and showed it in this picture.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Attached are the photos showing the transmission. It all looks clean except for the first pic directly underneath the trans. He said it didn't drip while he was there performing the inspection or after the test drive though.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That's good to know. I went through and read posts about them and they didn't seem too bad. I definitely don't want to get left with a several thousand dollar repair bill right after driving it off the lot.

Also, I'm getting that sense too reading threads on here that the 348 is kind of the hidden gem of the range. I hope this one works out.

 

True! So far I have been able to get the price down to $47k but the dealer doesn't seem to want to go any lower. Assuming the next ppi comes back fine and the leak isn't a big repair is this a good price?

 

This is the one:
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/ferrari/348ts/2095423.html

 

You hit the nail on the head! The dealer sent me scanned copies of a lot of the service records and there were a lot of hand written receipts for thousands of dollars a piece with no shop name or anything. I thought it was a little weird, but I went back through them though and did noticed they were from Alex Traverso. I will give him a call Monday and see what I can find. I found the previous owner's info and gave him a call and he seemed to have spared no expense on it. He has nothing to gain from it selling since it is now being sold by a dealer, and he sounded like a pretty honest dude, so things are looking good. I love Ferrari shopping, it's like being a detective!