[jfk]

Could someone please shed some light on my dilema:

I'm in two minds whether to buy a 348 or go for the 355.

Choice of 348s:
(1) 348TS, Grey/Grey, 15T miles, good condition, early 1993. Around £33K
(2) 348TS, Rosso/Cream, 20T miles, good condition, mid 1991. Around £34K

Choice of 355:
(1) 355GTB, Roosa/Nero, 38T miles, good condition, 1995. Around £44K

Criteria for my decision:
a) Desirability/ Street cred
b) Resale value
c) Fun Value
d) Maintanance cost
e) Overall value for money
f) Any other points that I've missed


Thanks for everyone's help in advance.

 

[ze_shark]

355 all the way.
Aside from questionable esthetics (but that's subjective), the 348 is universally recognized to have a snappy behaviour at the limit while the 355 is a landmark car, though ironically close to its predecessor.

With a 355 you get a perfectly balanced car, 80hp more, improved build quality, nicer design in and out, and a resale value which is much likelier to hold than the 348. The 355 is also the first car of the so-called Montezemolo era where Ferrari broke away from the crap they designed and built in the 80's. Although 355's still have seminal problems such as valve guides in early models and exhaust manifolds for the entire production, I still speculate that you'll have less worries.
44K£ sounds like a bit too much (in my local currency/market) for a 95 355, even if mint.
Anyhow, if you have the 10K£, I would not hesitate a second.

 

[jfk]

Thanks for the comment. RHD cars in the UK tend to command a 20% premium, unfortunately for us. LHD imposes too much hassle.

The 355 that I saw had the old straight pipings, but people seems to think that it makes no material difference to handling. Maybe it was just salesman-talk.

ALso, someone mentioned that 348 prices have come down a lot, and has bottomed while the 355s are still in steeper decline.

Is there a premium for Rosso/Cream combination over others?

 

[boyce]

On the point of resale values, I bought a RHD rosso/crema 348tb back in july last year for £30k.

At that point, a RHD rosso/crema 355 would have been around £50k - £55k, and cosequently too much for me.

I am however in the motor trade myself and have kept an eye on the price of 348's and 355's.

From what i can see, the price of less desireable 348's has backed off slightly, and you can pick up LHD non red cars for roughly £22k upwards. The price however of cars similar to mine has stayed at £30k.

As far as 355's go, it's a similar story in terms of %drops, but your dealing with higher costs to start with - a 5% drop in value of a £25k 348 is £1250 whereas a 5% drop of a £45k 355 is £2250! I think a RHD rosso/crema 355 would now cost £45 - £50k.

It's the same principal generally with all cars - they all level off eventually at a certain value. I believe that 355's are still deprieciating.

Let's face it, whichever you buy, you're not going to loose too much money but make sure if you are bothered about resale to get rosso/crema.

By the way, I adore my 348 and yes, i would like a 355, but they're not worth the extra cost at the moment - I'll get a 355 in another year or so, when the gap in price has dropped some more!

 

[Boxer]

The pro and cons on the 348 vs F355 have been covered in a number of past threads. Suggest you do a search. There are also buyers guides in the Members section which contain more indepth information. IMHO the F355 is the superior car. However if you do decide to go with a 348, try to find a very late one.

 

[Stradale]

The 355 is streets ahead of the 348. This is a no contest.

 

[Will]

Having driven both cars I would have to agree with Stradale. There really is no contest! For pure driveability, the 355 is by far the better car in my opinion.

I am actually in the same position as jfk and I hope to have a 355GTS by end of April. I was originally looking at 348's too, but after speaking with various dealers and past and present 348 owners I have discounted the 348 option. I'm told that running costs are significantly higher for 348's than 355's, so the higher purchase price will be justified to some extent when it comes to serivcing/repairs etc.

 

[jfk]

On the point of resale values, I bought a RHD rosso/crema 348tb back in july last year for £30k.

At that point, a RHD rosso/crema 355 would have been around £50k - £55k, and cosequently too much for me.

I am however in the motor trade myself and have kept an eye on the price of 348's and 355's.

From what i can see, the price of less desireable 348's has backed off slightly, and you can pick up LHD non red cars for roughly £22k upwards. The price however of cars similar to mine has stayed at £30k.

As far as 355's go, it's a similar story in terms of %drops, but your dealing with higher costs to start with - a 5% drop in value of a £25k 348 is £1250 whereas a 5% drop of a £45k 355 is £2250! I think a RHD rosso/crema 355 would now cost £45 - £50k.

It's the same principal generally with all cars - they all level off eventually at a certain value. I believe that 355's are still deprieciating.

Let's face it, whichever you buy, you're not going to loose too much money but make sure if you are bothered about resale to get rosso/crema.

By the way, I adore my 348 and yes, i would like a 355, but they're not worth the extra cost at the moment - I'll get a 355 in another year or so, when the gap in price has dropped some more!

The 348ts grey/grey car is a later 1993 with 2.7 injection. Do you think that the price difference is enogh to compensate for it being non-red?

 

[boyce]

jfk - to me, the grey/grey car sounds like a better option than the 91 rosso/crema version.

But, ask yourself 1 question - if this is going to be your first ferrari, do you really want any other colour than red? And, you did list desireability/street cred as your #1 concern! Would you regret a non red car in a couple of months?

Also, refering back to a point raised, I don't know how much servicing/belts/clutch are on the 355, but I had the dealer do all those things to my 348tb in with the £30k price tag. I have the invoice for this work and the total was £2300. It will not need any futher work for 2 years now. Make sure which ever car you buy to take into account any routine maintanence that needs carrying out in the near future.

What are you going to do with the car, by the way? Are you going to take it to any track days etc?

 

[ze_shark]

Red Ferraris are becoming a cheesy cliché, move on ...

 

[jfk]

jfk - to me, the grey/grey car sounds like a better option than the 91 rosso/crema version.

But, ask yourself 1 question - if this is going to be your first ferrari, do you really want any other colour than red? And, you did list desireability/street cred as your #1 concern! Would you regret a non red car in a couple of months?

Also, refering back to a point raised, I don't know how much servicing/belts/clutch are on the 355, but I had the dealer do all those things to my 348tb in with the £30k price tag. I have the invoice for this work and the total was £2300. It will not need any futher work for 2 years now. Make sure which ever car you buy to take into account any routine maintanence that needs carrying out in the near future.

What are you going to do with the car, by the way? Are you going to take it to any track days etc?

** Good points raised. The only concern that I have with classic rossa/crema combination is risk of being too ostentatious. But on the other hand, the grey/grey combination could lead to trouble when I come to sell the car in a year's time or so to move on to something else.

Do you think the price tags for the two car are reasonable give the conditions?

 

[boyce]

Red Ferraris are becoming a cheesy cliché, move on ...

I have to say, I've not herd a view like that before, and the last place i expected to is on a ferrari web site. Remind me again, what colour are ferrari's famous for????? The prices of red ones aren't higher for nothing, you know......

 

[boyce]

jfk - to me, the grey/grey car sounds like a better option than the 91 rosso/crema version.

But, ask yourself 1 question - if this is going to be your first ferrari, do you really want any other colour than red? And, you did list desireability/street cred as your #1 concern! Would you regret a non red car in a couple of months?

Also, refering back to a point raised, I don't know how much servicing/belts/clutch are on the 355, but I had the dealer do all those things to my 348tb in with the £30k price tag. I have the invoice for this work and the total was £2300. It will not need any futher work for 2 years now. Make sure which ever car you buy to take into account any routine maintanence that needs carrying out in the near future.

What are you going to do with the car, by the way? Are you going to take it to any track days etc?

** Good points raised. The only concern that I have with classic rossa/crema combination is risk of being too ostentatious. But on the other hand, the grey/grey combination could lead to trouble when I come to sell the car in a year's time or so to move on to something else.

Do you think the price tags for the two car are reasonable give the conditions?

Jfk - the two cars seem reasonably priced and if you're only keeping the car for a year or so, neither car will pose a problem to re sell.

 

[Boxer]

From what I have seen recently, the cars seem to be priced £2-3000 on the high side. The market always tend to slow a bit in the winter.

 

[Dj Dirk]

Red Ferraris are becoming a cheesy cliché, move on ...

I have to say, I've not herd a view like that before, and the last place i expected to is on a ferrari web site. Remind me again, what colour are ferrari's famous for????? The prices of red ones aren't higher for nothing, you know......

actually i agree with him, i preffer a non-red aswell.
besides if you have seen a see of red Ferrari's (500 or so) together then it gets kinda boring/annoying. and if you see another colour then parked at a side, that's a lot cooler

 

[Dr. Bob]

So the resale price on Grey Ferrari's is less high. You also buy it for less money, so that shouldn't be the problem. Only problem is that maybe it will take a little longer to sell. I would take a non-red because almost every Ferrari is already red, so it isn't that special anymore.

 

[ze_shark]

I would take a non-red because almost every Ferrari is already red, so it isn't that special anymore.

The factory says that only around 30% of the cars ship in red nowadays.
Old cliché as I said. Still a lot for that color, but nowhere as high as people believe.
This ratio is obviously not valid for older models, but as long as the color combo is not exotic or weird, I'd speculate that the car value will not be lower over time.

 

[boyce]

From what I have seen recently, the cars seem to be priced £2-3000 on the high side. The market always tend to slow a bit in the winter.

Generally, you'd be correct - but that doesn't seem to be the case for these types of cars - certainly not in my area of England, anyway. And don't forget - there's always a bit of movement in the advertised price!!

 

[boyce]

I would take a non-red because almost every Ferrari is already red, so it isn't that special anymore.

The factory says that only around 30% of the cars ship in red nowadays.
Old cliché as I said. Still a lot for that color, but nowhere as high as people believe.
This ratio is obviously not valid for older models, but as long as the color combo is not exotic or weird, I'd speculate that the car value will not be lower over time.

But this is exactly the point!!!!! We ARE dealing with older models!!!!!!!!!
I think you'd have to wait a long long time for the prices to be equal, if ever, on anything 348 backwards.

 

[Bazil]

Sorry guys - but you're all wrong.

The 348 is a fine car. Anyone that worries about the handling on the limit - either needs to be more careful on the road, or doesn't know how to have fun on the track!! If you want perfect handling, go for either a Lotus Exige or a track car.

It's also one of the finest looking Ferraris - I should know... :green:

jfk - where have you been looking?