Page 123 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

Ferrari established the Ferrari Challenge racing series as a way to bolster lagging 348 sales. The series was a success and continues to this day, and Ferrari Challenge-spec cars command premium prices.
for going through consumable parts like clutch discs and water pumps, and the flywheel alone comprises 30 separate parts. Finally, the 348 was produced in the era of electronic everything, but not yet in the era of everything being reliable. Thus the 348 has been plagued by expensive electrical gremlins.
Because the 348 has historically been less valuable and therefore easier to purchase, many examples have also suffered from deferred maintenance. That makes a complete maintenance history absolutely essential to a good ownership experience. The
Ferrari 348/F355
build quality of the 348 also got better as the years went by, so newer is better, generally speaking. Later cars use the updated Bosch Motronic 2.7 system, rather than the earlier 2.5. The whole industry was in a steep learning curve in this era, and it shows.
Driving the F355
Ferrari aficionados agree that the F355 is a dramatic improvement over the 348. In looks and in performance, the F355 left prior models in the dust. The new five-valve, 3.5-liter V8 delivered almost 20 percent more power than the outgoing model, boasting
ABOVE RIGHT: Ferrari added the fast-but-finicky F1 dual-clutch transmission in 1997.
ABOVE: The 348GT Competizione was created specifically for the FIA GT championship in 1993.
Wayne Carini  Affordable Classics  121