348 buying advice
Discussion
Full service history, recent cam belt change an advantage (£1500 job).
Tubi exhaust will cost £2k and YOU WILL want one! Other "sports" exhausts just don't quite cut it.
If it's a TS or TB, checkt the base of the rear flying butresses for cosmetic paint cracking from heat of engine bay - not serious, just one of those things that occasionally happens.
Check air-con works.
Engines will do big miles. It is purely when you come to sell that this may be an issue, so factor this in when you buy.
Make sure the seller has not warmed the engine up before you get there, then when he takes you for a drive, see if he gives it some revs or not. You should not take the engine over 3k revs until the OIL temp needle starts to move, this usually takes a good 5 - 10 mins. It doesn't need to move much as it doesn't anyway even when up to full temp. If he revs the bollox off it when cold then walk away!
It is perfectly normal for 2nd gear to be stiff when cold. This goes after a few mins when gerabox oil is warmed up.
Good luck.
Tubi exhaust will cost £2k and YOU WILL want one! Other "sports" exhausts just don't quite cut it.
If it's a TS or TB, checkt the base of the rear flying butresses for cosmetic paint cracking from heat of engine bay - not serious, just one of those things that occasionally happens.
Check air-con works.
Engines will do big miles. It is purely when you come to sell that this may be an issue, so factor this in when you buy.
Make sure the seller has not warmed the engine up before you get there, then when he takes you for a drive, see if he gives it some revs or not. You should not take the engine over 3k revs until the OIL temp needle starts to move, this usually takes a good 5 - 10 mins. It doesn't need to move much as it doesn't anyway even when up to full temp. If he revs the bollox off it when cold then walk away!
It is perfectly normal for 2nd gear to be stiff when cold. This goes after a few mins when gerabox oil is warmed up.
Good luck.
Spot on from Burriana.
Post (late) 92 cars are better - benefits include relocated battery (to front compartment), improved engine management, colour coded sills (and hardtop on TS) and some handling improvements.
Even better are the GTB and GTS models (over the standard TB and TS) which moved the game forward even further - these include wider rear track and more powerful 320bhp engine from Spider model.
Many things will affect value, always go for the best car you can - don't think it will be cheaper to buy a sub-standard car and bring it up to scratch - it won't.
Look for missing bits (things like hardtop bag and toolkit) as these can be very expensive to replace (although will be handy negotiating tools in reducing the price if they are not present.
As burriana said, look for evidence of a recent cambelt change, and a recent receipt showing a clutch replacement is always nice too.
When getting the car up to temp, make sure that the fans cycle in and out and keep the car at NOT whilst sat idling.
Any other Q's, let me know - I am a 348 owner (who's learning stuff every day!!)
Post (late) 92 cars are better - benefits include relocated battery (to front compartment), improved engine management, colour coded sills (and hardtop on TS) and some handling improvements.
Even better are the GTB and GTS models (over the standard TB and TS) which moved the game forward even further - these include wider rear track and more powerful 320bhp engine from Spider model.
Many things will affect value, always go for the best car you can - don't think it will be cheaper to buy a sub-standard car and bring it up to scratch - it won't.
Look for missing bits (things like hardtop bag and toolkit) as these can be very expensive to replace (although will be handy negotiating tools in reducing the price if they are not present.
As burriana said, look for evidence of a recent cambelt change, and a recent receipt showing a clutch replacement is always nice too.
When getting the car up to temp, make sure that the fans cycle in and out and keep the car at NOT whilst sat idling.
Any other Q's, let me know - I am a 348 owner (who's learning stuff every day!!)
thanks for the help folks.the car im looking at is at 'Hollingworth at Ombersley',so ill never know how the previous owner treated it when cold.i always regard this as the biggest disadvantage of buying from a dealer.are there any guide figures as to where the oil pressure should be when hot?also if anyone has any feedback to give on this dealer id be gratefull,e-mail me through my profile if you prefer.really looking forward to this-afternoon as its my first time in a prancing horse
.wish me luck
.wish me lucks11eps said:
I am a 348 owner (who's learning stuff every day!!)
and a very nice looking 348 it is... especially the two tone seats
Not sure about the actual temp without looking at the gauge but mine only goes up as far as the first number, whatever that is, sometimes a little higher if it's a hot day.
burriana said:
and a very nice looking 348 it is... especially the two tone seats
Not sure about the actual temp without looking at the gauge but mine only goes up as far as the first number, whatever that is, sometimes a little higher if it's a hot day.
Thank you very much!!
Your yellow spider looks damn tasty too!!
I'm the same as Burianna - I'm not sure of actual numbers. I think that, when at N.O.T, the oil pressure gauge should sit up at 12 o'clock. As the car gets warmer (and oil viscosity drops) the gauge may read a little lower.
Engine temperture shouldn't get much higher than 12 o'clock point also (90 deg C IIRC) and the fans should keep it around that point. 60-70mph (ie lots of air flowing through side strakes) should drop operating temp to halfway between 60 and 90 degrees.
Thats how mine operates, and its just been serviced, with no problems reported, so I'm pretty confident that the information above is correct.
Much different from that and I would want a specialist mechanic to be looking at it...
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