New to the Forums, soon to be 348 owner (as soon as I find one!)

Welcome and congratulations with your choice !

 

Welcome aboard. Best of luck in your search. Any particular color/year you are looking for?

 

Be sure to have cash in reserves to handle repairs that will come up. Good luck in your search.

 

I searched for well over a year until I found the right car for me. Just be patient

 

I also recommend creating a wanted ad on this site in the Classifieds section. I had been looking for months on Autotrader, eBay, Craigslist, etc. but the dealer I bought my car from is a sponsor here and posted it to my wanted ad. I called within the hour and within the next hour 2-3 other people called so I got lucky.

Don't be shy to make an offer in the 45-50k range for those dealer cars at 65k. I've seen them too, they've been sitting for quite some time and I believe most were bought before prices increased so they have some flexibility.

 

Welcome aboard. Good luck with the search. Good choice on the 348. I love mine

 

For the dealers, find one that is looking to sell the car "today". Market is bearing these cars in the $45-$55k selling range for solid examples from late 2015 over the winter. Some dealers may have their eyes on selling this coming spring/summer and price accordingly. Whether that will be realized (takes 2 to tango) is anyone's guess. A number of recent additions to the group here have been cars listed in the mid-high $60s, but sold at substantially less.

 

Enjoy the search! Car shopping should be fun, of course.

Some may think this is foolish, but I have to throw my own bit of advice to you here -- don't think too much about what the market says a car is worth, think about what it is worth to you alone. Within reason, of course. We're not talking about Camrys here, and the price of settling for an example that doesn't quite do it for you (mechanically speaking as well) simply because it is cheaper is far more expensive than having zero regrets. Slightly different situation, but between buying my 348 and what I lost in depreciation on cars I bought because Ferrari maintenance nightmare stories had me thinking it would be on a flatbed every other week, I could have had 3 348s.

Just take your time and consider every angle...and of course, this site is a fantastic resource, so use it as much as you can!

 

You're sane, 62k is too much in my opinion. Or maybe we both need a sanity check?

 

Crib away. Good luck in your hunt

 

This is very sage advice. I know exactly where you're coming from!

 

Black on early models, body color on SSs and Spiders (and maybe some of the other later models as well?). Many cars have had the black bits painted body color over the years. Purists prefer the original look. One of those never-ending arguments, like shields/no shields.

 

Great cars, good luck in your search! Took me 2 years to find mine, but well worth it!!!

 

Like you I searched for some time and learned as much about the car as I could by reading as much information as I could absorb here on F-chat. Eventually I ended up purchasing my 348 on e-bay. Not as scary as you may think. The seller was very reasonable and entertained my questions over several phone conversations. I had to put only $1000.00 down after winning the bidding process and when I went with a truck and trailer to pick up the car the vendor assured me that if I was unhappy he would be glad to refund my deposit and cancel the deal. After test driving and inspecting the vehicle the deal was done and I was on my way. I do all my own work and I have to say the 348 is very easy to work on and self maintain. Good luck on your search, you won't be sorry if you choose a 348 !

 

I found mine on eBay, too. Sent the seller an email asking him to call me because I had a lot of questions. He did, and I ended up buying the car for 7K below his asking price. The PPI was done by a reputable Ferrari service department and the first thing the tech said over the phone was "This is a great car."

The previous owner was an enthusiast who did a lot of things I was planning to do already, so that was nice. The car wasn't perfect, of course, but that's ok. It'll get there.
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Does the C7 in your username mean you have a C7? If so, you might be a little disappointed withe the 348's power to weight ratio. Then again, it's a Ferrari! I had a 348, and I agree with you about the side strakes. They look really cool. But my advice would be to upgrade to 360 starfish wheels at your earliest convenience. 348 wheels scream late 80's but with 360 wheels they look awesome. I got a 355 after I sold my 348 and I must say to me it seems like a much better car. You can really feel the extra 60hp. They say it's lighter, too, which I had trouble believing at first. But I'm a 355 believer now.