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348 or 355?

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davidthe458loon

New member
Hi,
Have been to view what could be a bit of a bargain! Heard that before? I have opportunity to buy a 1990 348 which looks like a 355. defo a 348 as its a 1990 but is really good 355 lookalike. Is this common as i know panels are interchangeable. Gov Mot site says its a 355. only shows 29k miles and have been sorted for a number of years. What is the value? Body is good and engine is fine but needs a service.Red/crema any advice or ideas what to look out for or is there a way of finding out more about the car from chassis number? thanks in advance.
 
Hi David. If you post up details of the car (reg, chassis number etc. ) people may know something about it prior to it's conversion.

With regards to value the simple answer is each to their own but it'll be worth quite a bit less than a 348 which still looks like a 348 and a whole heap less than an actual 355. From that regard I doubt it's a bargain as such unless it's priced way below a 348 which hasn't been 'converted'. Essentially this form of conversion doesn't add value, it detracts from it.

Also be aware that it won't be seen well at events where people know what it is such as Ferrari Owners' Club events etc. Just not the 'done thing' to try to make your Ferrari look like a more expensive model (unless you're talking the expensive stuff like 250 GT/Es made into 250 GTO 'recreations').

If it's what you want then go for it though.
 
Can you clarify, you say it’s a 348 but gov website says it’s a 355? Typo in your post?

But as Pete says; unless it is way way below a 348 price, and let’s be honest, they aren’t expensive, then it’s not a bargain. Why, because the market is so limited for such things (unless your in Japan or USA, modified Ferraris are not what the market wants at all) and if you wanted to put it back to standard unlikely you would see your money back given the cost of parts. (Spend some time on ferrariparts, europarts and redbay to see costs).

But depends what the price is. If it has a 2 in front it might be worth the hassle.

If you want a 348 or 355, and they are very different cars, then wait till the midst of winter when traditionally prices are a bit keener.

Good luck.
 
chassis number

Thank you for replies, here is the chassis number if anyone can shed any light on the cars history-
zffka36c000086852

will upload pic once i figure out how to , thanks.
 
348

Yes as above, it is an early 348. I would be wary, as a few were fitted with 355 panels after a shunt. Go in with eyes wide open.
 
Interesting. Somebody has spent a lot of money trying to make a 348 look like a 355; probably have been cheaper to just by a 355 in the first place!!!!

Front and rear bumper
Rear grill and lights
Wing mirrors
Engine bonnet
Front bonnet air intake cover
Door slats
Rims

Nothing that couldn’t be reversed if you wanted by the looks of it; it’s all just bolt on stuff.

As to buying such a car…as per comments above!
 
I think the bottom line is no matter how good the 'conversion' it detracts from the value of the original car. If it comes with the original 348 panels it might be more interesting but if it doesn't you've got to ask yourself why (possible accident damage as suggested above?), and if you ever want to sell factor in returning it to original spec.
 
If value is not remotely an issue for you then many of the points made above don't matter.

In Ferrari circles this kind of thing used to be more severely looked down upon almost uniquely. Like no other marque its aficionados were seemingly obsessed with valuezzzzzzz - I maintain that this was largely because, like no other marque it was awash with spend-to-pretend types many of whom had made a massive financial leap to acquire one.

It was so boring - go and see any other marque shows these days outside of the Ferrari concours scene and you see enthusiasts make all sorts of modifications and upgrades some are unique to the last of the owner and some are good some are bad downgrades but enthusiasm comes in many forms. Perhaps one off the greatest car collections in the world (Jay Leno's) is full of 'modified' cars. Taste is personal so somethings work others don't but...since I have been in the Ferrari scene (two decades now) attitudes have changed significantly. At the recent national meeting a few owners sought me out, one was via and involved the Ferrari representatives at the event, to talk about the revisions made to my V12 in order to understand its three different configurations under which it had done the Mille Miglia Tribute. Two others were interested in similar 'upgrade paths' for their cars.

If you are buying the car above as a car that you want to enjoy - if it makes sense to you go ahead and do it.

If you are buying it as a short term 'investment' then avoid because of the way the Ferrari investment enthusiasts view it currently will be dimly.

If you intend to hold onto it for a long time that will likely not matter much.

I suggest you try to understand the history and source of the parts if it all checks out go-for-it
 
Modificato said:
In Ferrari circles this kind of thing used to be more severely looked down upon almost uniquely.
Click to expand...

You've made some good points, Mod, and I agree with much of what you've said other than this bit which I think is slightly missing the point.

This isn't anything like what you and others have done in taking an already very good car and modifying it mechanically to improve it. This is taking a car and trying to make it look like another in this case newer, faster and yes more expensive model. Put Senna body panels on your 570S or an Aventador kit on your Gallardo and rock up to a Maclaren Owners' or Lamborghini Owners' do and see how positive a reaction you get. I don't think Ferrari is unique in this at all.

It's a very different thing to modifying the car to either make it perform better or even cosmetically to make it unique.
 
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Ferrari's really are the oddballs !! Every other car I own is modified, and the owners of these think you are just a weirdo if you havent fitted better parts than factory to the car.
 
Nosevi said:
You've made some good points, Mod, and I agree with much of what you've said other than this bit which I think is slightly missing the point.

This isn't anything like what you and others have done in taking an already very good car and modifying it mechanically to improve it. This is taking a car and trying to make it look like another in this case newer, faster and yes more expensive model. Put Senna body panels on your 570S or an Aventador kit on your Gallardo and rock up to a Maclaren Owners' or Lamborghini Owners' do and see how positive a reaction you get. I don't think Ferrari is unique in this at all.

It's a very different thing to modifying the car to either make it perform better or even cosmetically to make it unique.
Click to expand...

I get that if someone was seriously trying to pass-it-off as the later better car.
 
Modificato said:
I get that if someone was seriously trying to pass-it-off as the later better car.
Click to expand...

Better ?!?!??! :laugh:

I guess if they are it probably wouldn't be at a FOC, Mac Owners' or Lambo Owners' event so fair point :thumbsup:

Still think you'd get a similar reaction at any of those if you take a car 'dressed up' as a later model. Willing to bet it has a 355 badge on rather than a 348 one but happy to be shown I'm wrong.

As I say, very different to what you've done imo
 
sssdu01 said:
Ferrari's really are the oddballs !! Every other car I own is modified, and the owners of these think you are just a weirdo if you havent fitted better parts than factory to the car.
Click to expand...

Again, very different. Does your Elise wear an Exige badge for example or is it happy to be a highly modified Elise?

It's not about performance modding a car and saying this is my modded x, it's about changing the look of a car to try to look as if it's a different car model.

I'm pretty consistent on this - I've got absolutely nothing against replicas, in fact some are absolutely superb. But the second you badge it as an original and effectively try to pass it off as one you lose me I'm afraid.
 
Allandwf said:
Possibly this car? Irish plate with 355 in it.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=63&t=541738
Click to expand...

Interesting point from the owner of a 348 with 355 panels on about half way down - he prefers the look of the 355 but the more raw feel and simpler mechanicals of the 348. Fair enough.

He does mention the reaction it got at a FOC event though so I'm standing by that and I think it's only fair to point it out to the OP. Think you'd need quite thick skin if you want to take it to FOC events. Be amusing to enter it into the Concours though, the judges would probably have a coronary :laugh:
 
thank you for all the comments, all very valid i think. Apart from MOT history which shows mileage seem genuine from 2006 onward, the car has nothing to go with it. 27000 in 2006 to 29000 now.

The current owner has an interesting story though. He thinks that the car was used in Goldeneye as it was cheaper to supply the film company 348s made to look like 355. 5 cars supplied, 3 left and 2 right hand. i am not sure how to check this out so any ideas? He also said that the car had some black stuff on the interior which took him ages to clean off. This is put on interiors of film cars to highlight the actors in shot, to tone down the background sort of thing.

Anyway thanks for all the advice and comments.
 
davidthe458loon said:
The current owner has an interesting story though. He thinks that the car was used in Goldeneye as it was cheaper to supply the film company 348s made to look like 355. 5 cars supplied, 3 left and 2 right hand. i am not sure how to check this out so any ideas?
Click to expand...

Yep, I've checked the scene and I'd say it's untrue, good story though. Gearshift is wrong as is the whole centre console area. You only get the briefest glimpse for less than a second but it'd be a major job to rip out the whole inside of the car in order to show it for maybe half a second if that so frankly there's no way you'd bother. They used at least 1 355. My guess is it was just a 355 and not a team of 348s made to look like them.

Edit: Also why supply 2 RHD cars? In every shot where you can tell (which is almost every shot) it's LHD. It makes very little sense to use some RHD cars which you'd hardly use and have to be very careful about not showing them as RHD, especially as RHD cars are generally more expensive. All in all I think it's more than a little unlikely.
 
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Nosevi said:
Again, very different. Does your Elise wear an Exige badge for example or is it happy to be a highly modified Elise?

It's not about performance modding a car and saying this is my modded x, it's about changing the look of a car to try to look as if it's a different car model.

I'm pretty consistent on this - I've got absolutely nothing against replicas, in fact some are absolutely superb. But the second you badge it as an original and effectively try to pass it off as one you lose me I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

Pete my comment was a generic one applicable to most Ferraris i.e they are probably the least modified brand of sports car in the universe. vs the lotus world where you would struggle to find an Elise thats factory standard, and it doesnt seem to impact on value ££ .

I share your views on people trying to modify a car then pass it off as something its not, I think its just plain dishonest and at times immoral :thumbsdow
 
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