He did once have the rear wheel come off it and go past him on the motorway as well
Pics up if you get one please
Ferrari 348
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StiflerMR2
- Posts: 1791
- Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:53 pm
- Location: Newcastle
Re: Ferrari 348
Having never driven one myself i cant really comment, but a guy at work had one and he said it was very, very prone to snap oversteer, no warning, just bang and you're in a tree. Could just be a lack of talent on his behalf tho
He did once have the rear wheel come off it and go past him on the motorway as well
Pics up if you get one please
He did once have the rear wheel come off it and go past him on the motorway as well
Pics up if you get one please
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Modena Scotland
- Posts: 2871
- Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:53 am
- Location: Scottish borders
Re: Ferrari 348
The major handling problems of the 348 are said to be the suspensions and chassis. Chassis flexes much more than the 355. The suspension and the geos could be tweaked up to improve the problem BUT will not cure it. As you won't be tracking the car, you should be ok at most times.
I don't know driving in another way which isn't risky. Each one has to improve himself. Each driver has its limit. My limit is a little bit further than other's.
A Senna
Shared SE Calendar
Re: Ferrari 348
So its like the Lotus in the wet then? 
I done some research on it today... Dad's not happy with the price of petrol to fill it up and the 10mpg.............
Defo going to keep an eye on one come winter
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jonathannealeuk
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:04 pm
- Location: Sunny Blackford
Re: Ferrari 348
Hi,
As Jim said I ran a 348 for four years, selling it this year. Insurance is cheap (classic), minor services are easy and therefore cheap. The major one is an engine out job but I found a great garage in Shotts that did a full cam-belt service for £700 including parts and oil. Mine was very reliable once the electrics were sorted. Ticket items can be expensive (clutch was £1300 for instance and replacing the climate control system (which is known to fail) is well over £1k). Petrol usage is high but it comes with the territory and with the big tank the range is remarkably good (350-400 miles)
The main thing to watch with these cars is actually rust, even if they have been stored inside. The panels and paint are so thin that only a little moisture will have an effect (front of rear wing and sills) so really (and I mean REALLY) inspect a car properly as it might look great but have the tell-tale signs - this can be fixed relatively straight-forwardly but if not done to the highest standard nwill wipe thousands of the resale price.
Having said that, if you can afford to maintain it and run it then it easily could be an everyday car.
As for the handling then 'Bah Humbug' to the 355 owners who rubbish it! It does need tweaking and if you can afford a GTB or GTS then they are better, but some simple (and reasonably cheap) modifications will make the car 10 times better. These involve widening the rear track using bespoke spacers, replacing suspension bushes and replacing tyres as a full set rather than replacing one or two at time. Mine may not have been as fast as the 355s round KH but it handled fine and was a lot of fun.
Hope this helps
Jonathan
As Jim said I ran a 348 for four years, selling it this year. Insurance is cheap (classic), minor services are easy and therefore cheap. The major one is an engine out job but I found a great garage in Shotts that did a full cam-belt service for £700 including parts and oil. Mine was very reliable once the electrics were sorted. Ticket items can be expensive (clutch was £1300 for instance and replacing the climate control system (which is known to fail) is well over £1k). Petrol usage is high but it comes with the territory and with the big tank the range is remarkably good (350-400 miles)
The main thing to watch with these cars is actually rust, even if they have been stored inside. The panels and paint are so thin that only a little moisture will have an effect (front of rear wing and sills) so really (and I mean REALLY) inspect a car properly as it might look great but have the tell-tale signs - this can be fixed relatively straight-forwardly but if not done to the highest standard nwill wipe thousands of the resale price.
Having said that, if you can afford to maintain it and run it then it easily could be an everyday car.
As for the handling then 'Bah Humbug' to the 355 owners who rubbish it! It does need tweaking and if you can afford a GTB or GTS then they are better, but some simple (and reasonably cheap) modifications will make the car 10 times better. These involve widening the rear track using bespoke spacers, replacing suspension bushes and replacing tyres as a full set rather than replacing one or two at time. Mine may not have been as fast as the 355s round KH but it handled fine and was a lot of fun.
Hope this helps
Jonathan
Re: Ferrari 348
J,
Thanks for the comments...
We have decided that this will definitely be the next car on the shopping list. Going to wait until winter to pick them up slightly cheaper!!
We could live with petrol as long as we weren't stupid.. We'd both have another car anyway so probably wouldn't drive it as much as we think we would.
I am concerned about the big things going wrong - but as you say if we get it checked over properly then fingers crossed we'd pick up a good one. £700 for that kind of service is pretty good IMHO - for the kind of car it is. So that's good to hear! Consumables like tyres etc are replaced on any car so I'm not worried about spending a wee bit of money to make it a lot better!
Originally wanted the Targa roof but heard a few dodgy things about the roof seals and don't want to have any problems with it in the rain.
Lewis
Thanks for the comments...
We have decided that this will definitely be the next car on the shopping list. Going to wait until winter to pick them up slightly cheaper!!
We could live with petrol as long as we weren't stupid.. We'd both have another car anyway so probably wouldn't drive it as much as we think we would.
I am concerned about the big things going wrong - but as you say if we get it checked over properly then fingers crossed we'd pick up a good one. £700 for that kind of service is pretty good IMHO - for the kind of car it is. So that's good to hear! Consumables like tyres etc are replaced on any car so I'm not worried about spending a wee bit of money to make it a lot better!
Originally wanted the Targa roof but heard a few dodgy things about the roof seals and don't want to have any problems with it in the rain.
Lewis