Looking at a 348 need help.

Hi All,
I'm looking at my first 348 purchase, here are the details:

1989 348 TS
18,500 miles
Visually, it looks great.
VIN checks out on CarFax

I need to know what specific things I should be looking for before I purchase. The owner says he has the service history. Is there any good on-line guides I should use? I will be calling on a ferrari tech after I check out the car and everything seems O.K.

Thanks,

Mike

 

The most common problem with the 348 is the exhaust ECU setup. Check to make sure it is intact, plugged in, and if possible look at the connectors to see if they are the newer type with the green silicone. The 89 has several differences to later cars, so you might consider the cost of some upgrades in your purchase. I personally like the 89 cars for the simpler things they have, and mine has been pretty reliable and very fun to drive.
BT

 

There's an online guide & resource beginning at www.the348.com that is a development of the one that has previously been mentioned here

 

Do a Member search for NO DOUBT. Check his profile. He has a web-page he made dedicated to the 348. It is a 348 page no owner should be without. Youll see what I mean. That will answer ALL your questions. There is a section you should print out and will have a list of things to look for specifically with the 348. I still have the print out when I was searching. Came in VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY (deep breath) VERY VERY VERY VERY handy!!

No Doubt is the man!

 

The best web page in the world.....................

http://webpages.charter.net/aircover/348/1994Ferrari348Spider.html

 

Thanks to everyone. This infomation has been very helpful. I hope to be joining you guys as an owner soon.

--Mike

 

I know that you need to see the car for a good appraisal, but what would the going average market price be for this car:

1989 348 TS Red/Tan
18,500 miles
Visually, it looks great.
VIN checks out on CarFax

Needs belt service.

--Mike

 

$42K at the top end. Reason being, you're going to fork out $6-8K for a solid 30K service with miscellanous items that you didn't know about. So now you're in it for $48-$50K, which should be sufficient for a pristine example with up-to-date service.

My personal target would be $36-$38K. I figure I can buy a 348 "at market" any day of the week - so what's the hurry?

 

Thanks,
I have looked at many cars now and I have not committed. However, I do want to be very careful. I thought major service was about $4000 - $5000? Is it really that high now? hmmmmm... Maybe I'll spend a little more .

--Mike

 

You're not going to get a 30K service done for $4K without cutting some serious corners somewhere. And those will get you into deep $$ trouble later. When I look at a $4K 30K service on a 348, there are ALWAYS important items missing - someone said "to heck with new rollers (or water pump, or tensioner bearings, etc., etc.)".

If you do the oil pump update and water pump (both are "must dos" in my book), you're going to be well into the $2K's just on parts alone. The job is about 40 hours, so if your mechanic charges say $80 per hour, you're well into the $5's before any "while you're in there" stuff.

Do you quick search on "Details of my 30K service" and you'll see what I just spent ($6K-ish), and what I got for it. And my mechanic's labor rate was very reasonable.

If someone has done a "half-a**" 30K service (seems to be the rule rather than the exception), I consider that the 30K service hasn't been done at all - as there are still many old parts in the equation that are long overdue for changout. Start over and do it again - right this time.

 

Understood. The car did have belt service in 1999. Still looking for paperwork on that. The years on the belt are troubling so I think I will walk away from it. Thanks for the heads-up on what should be included in the service. I will look for these things on any car I look at next. Is there a list of "must-do" items floating around so I can verify against a sellers paperwork?

Never mind just read your "Details of my 30K service" post

--Mike

 

Whether or not it needs the oil pump kit will depend on the serial number of the car - the earlier models had the oil pump with the defect. This was at one time a recall, but the window has passed for that. When you look at a car, you might call Ferrari with the serial number and see if the oil pump kit was recommended.

 

I would (and did) budget $5k for my 30k service. I think that is sufficient for the typical servicing (including water pump) at most independant mechanics. You might spend $6k, but that would be changing out a lot of parts, as Husker just did.
BT