In Need of Your Collective Expertise

Welcome to FChat!
Where is the car located? I know someone with a 1990 348ts for sale.

 

Welcome! I'll give this the first shot...more info from others to follow I'm sure.

I owned a 1991 348 TS..but that was many years ago. I wasn't too fond of the car and had a couple problems. One was electrical...and that was over and over again too.

Check to see if the car you're getting has updates..recalls (if there were any). I remember I had to get a new Alternator.

As for the $50k range...I (like many others) love 328s. Its an old body style, but if you put that $50k towards a 88/89 328 you could get an overall better car.

There are also 355s that approach that price. Someone linked an eBay sale in another area here for one that was for sale in the $57-$59k range. But thats going to be a 1995 F355....I love that year for 355s and have had 2 of them (still have 1 in Europe in yellow). But you could get a rathole of a car for only $50k.

Good luck!

 

Welcome to F-chat!! Fill in your profile so we know who we are talking to. Do a "Search" on the 348 here at F-chat you will find a lot of info.

 

Welcome... Can you tell us the serial number...?

 

Welcome. I would recommend reading all about the cars here and not rushing into any purchase. $50k for a 1990 348 is not a bad price. If the car is in top shape it would be a good deal. I have an 89 348 and was considering selling it for around $47k (with 23k miles), but have decided to keep it (for now). Don't let the droves of vocal 328 owners sway your preference. The 328 is a great car also, but if you want a 348 that is what you should get. Aside from the exhaust ECU's going bad, there aren't too many mechanical complaints about the 348. The servicing is more expensive than the 328, but if you get a well maintained car, you should not have any unusual maintenance / repairs. The major service for a 348 should cost around $4k - 5k every 5 years, while the 328 should run around $3k. So if saving $1-2k per5 years sways your decision, then you should get a 328. The 328 will probably do better for your wallet in the long run (appreciation wise), but for me the agressive look and more modern appearance of the 348 won me over. If you have specifics about the car you are considering (pictures, serial number, seller name, etc...) this is the best place to find out if they are problematic.
BT
BT

 

The Serial Number is a must, I believe it's inside the driver's side door jam (an expert could correct me if I'm wrong). With that posted here on FChat some members will be able to tell you anything speacial (good or bad) about the car. It's like a carfax but free and more detailed. Best of luck with it.

 

It's an exciitng decision to look for an F-car, but be warned, they're not like the Honda or Corvette for maintenance. Parts are very expensive and the mechanics can be a little more Italian/tempermental.

I really like the dark blue of this 348 a lot (although it's considered an off-coluor and deduct $'s accordingly), and also like to see the lower portion still black - so many have been repainted it's rare to find them "original" like that. A few words of caution when you go to look at the car - even though it's 16 years old now, it should show as almost brand new, including the way it drives. Don't take "they all do that" if it misbehaves - they don't. Stiff or reluctant shifting when cold is ok, but that's about it.

It's crucial that someone who knows how to turn a Ferrari wrench has done thw maintenance work regularly on the car. Not being expert wrench turners, most of us hire one to check out the car for us - a Pre Purchase Inspection. If the seller refuses to allow the car to be looked at - run very fast!

Maintenance should be done per schedule, every 3-5 years for the engine-out/belt-change. regardless of miles. If the maintenance records don't say Belts when they should - run. If the records are missing, deduct big bucks. If there's no clear ownership trail, deduct $'s. Yeap - there's a pattern. One 348 I looked at that "just needed a tune-up" would of been $30k+ (Canuck Buck's) to make right. All mechanical, and not counting the surprises. Oh yeah - they'll all have a few surprises once you starting driving it your way, budget accordingly. Stuff that worked fine for the previous owner, or the car sat for a while, whatever.

I love my 348 and ended up with a spider, but I do see 348ts take a while to sell sometimes - so make sure you buy right.

Don't forget to look for any signs of accidents - big $ deductions for anything bent/cracked/stressed. Try giving the Ferrari Club of America rep for your area a shout, see if he knows the car. local Ferrari mechanics often know quite a few of the cars in their areas as well - in fact, finding the right Ferrari mechanic is likely more important than finding the right car.

Good luck! I spent 18months looking before buying, hopefully your search goes more smoothly.

 

I'll defer to BT and others who actually own 348's (I have a 328 - buy one! buy one! </unwarranted outburst>), but you'll absolutely want to invest $400-$500 on a proper Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) at a reputable Ferrari mechanic's or dealer.

The 30K service is the "major service", not the rebuild service. You don't want to ask for a "rebuild" by mistake...

The $5K beyond the purchase price assumes that everything is peachy except that the car is due for a timing belt and bearings. That's not a safe assumption for those of us who actually have to keep track of money. I kept $8K+ in the bank just in case, and that was after my car passed a PPI with great compression/leakdown numbers.

Also, I looked at several 328's before I bought. In hindsight, this was a good move. Otherwise I think we're all prone to the Ferrari shock-and-awe effect that these cars produce even if they're on their deathbed mechanically. My first drive was a thrill I'll remember for a long time, but if you'd asked me for a real objective evaluation of that car I would've been too busy staring at the emblems to respond.

 

Welcome!

You should check out Texas section for the current event. There're some who owns 348 in the group, and you can get direct feedback from them. There's lunch gathering on 3/1/05. (see details in First Wednesday Lunch)

BTW, nice color for 348!

 

I would buy a 348 (biased). I saw that blue one on e-bay. Very interesting color. Might look better if lower panels painted same blue.

It seems like a good car. Get records and PPI. Because of color might be hard to sell. You might be able to talk the seller down a bit based on that. It may also be hard to sell when time comes.

 

The 348 is in some sense an interim car, transitioning from the by then bulletproof 308/328 series, which was in production for a long, long time, to a newer design, which led to the 355, a well-loved and better selling model. My first ferrari was a 348, but I bought a late model (a spyder), by which time some of the mechanical quirks in the 348 were sorted. I generally like the model, as it has more torque than a 328 (owned an '89, not as fast as the 348 or wellmade as a 355 (owned one of those too, but found it a little too 'disconnected'; I liked the non-power steering on the 348, and its even smaller size). I found the interior parts in the 348 to be a little cheesy. But, hey, it is still a terrific sports car- at the time, it was pretty expensive compared to the competition, and Ferrari really focused on upgrading the car to the 355.
Keep in mind that research is cheap, learning by buying and reselling is costly. There are plenty of cars out there- no such thing as a once in a lifetime deal on a ferrari- those probably disappeared 30 years ago. Also, a few thousand dollars saved now on purchase price can easily be spent in multiples after purchase to fettle a 'bargain' and get it truly right.

 

Beautiful car... And the history we have on it suggests the same...

In 1998, it was entered into the Cavallino Classic by Wayne Zuckerman of Livingston, NJ. The car won a platinum award in its class.

In 1999, it was entered again by Zuckerman, winning gold.

In late 2003, the car came up for sale by a gentleman in NY. It was listed as blue sera with a tan interior, 34,000 easy miles (never tracked, etc.), only used four to five days per month during winter weekends in Palm Beach, Florida. This gentleman purchased the car in 1999 and drove it less than 5,000 miles annually. It was also listed as very clean with new Pirellis as of 2001. The car, at the time, was located in Palm Beach. The car was still for sale in January, 2004.

Aside from not being driven very often, it sounds like this car was treated very well... Good luck and let us know how it goes...

 

Well done sir... well done.

 

Whoa. I'm confused. Did Nno say the car that now has 25k miles was offered previously with 34k miles?

 

He also first said that it was a '90 ts, not a '91 tb.