328 / 348 Really everyday ?
Discussion
All,
A question that I'm sure has been asked before, although a search of the forum didn't find a suitable answer.
Having had a number of 964's and Lotuses (Loti ?), I have been looking for sometime for a "new" 964, but have not found a good one that meets my basic requirements (C2, manual, LHD).
I live abroad (hence LHD) and work a lot from home so don't use a car everyday.
Having looked at some of the previous posts and classifieds here, it got me thinking if I really could use either a 328 (love those curves) or 348 (more modern) as an only car - covering 8-10k a year.
I am aware of the costs of ownership (insurance, servicing etc) but really want to understand any issues around reliability or fragility from owners of these types that may use or used them everyday.
Many thanks in advance.
A question that I'm sure has been asked before, although a search of the forum didn't find a suitable answer.
Having had a number of 964's and Lotuses (Loti ?), I have been looking for sometime for a "new" 964, but have not found a good one that meets my basic requirements (C2, manual, LHD).
I live abroad (hence LHD) and work a lot from home so don't use a car everyday.
Having looked at some of the previous posts and classifieds here, it got me thinking if I really could use either a 328 (love those curves) or 348 (more modern) as an only car - covering 8-10k a year.
I am aware of the costs of ownership (insurance, servicing etc) but really want to understand any issues around reliability or fragility from owners of these types that may use or used them everyday.
Many thanks in advance.
halfpenny43 said:
All,
A question that I'm sure has been asked before, although a search of the forum didn't find a suitable answer.
Having had a number of 964's and Lotuses (Loti ?), I have been looking for sometime for a "new" 964, but have not found a good one that meets my basic requirements (C2, manual, LHD).
I live abroad (hence LHD) and work a lot from home so don't use a car everyday.
Having looked at some of the previous posts and classifieds here, it got me thinking if I really could use either a 328 (love those curves) or 348 (more modern) as an only car - covering 8-10k a year.
I am aware of the costs of ownership (insurance, servicing etc) but really want to understand any issues around reliability or fragility from owners of these types that may use or used them everyday.
Many thanks in advance.
The answer is technically you could probably do it but you'd need to bear in mind that the youngest 328 is approaching 18 years old & the youngest 348 is about 12/13 years old.A question that I'm sure has been asked before, although a search of the forum didn't find a suitable answer.
Having had a number of 964's and Lotuses (Loti ?), I have been looking for sometime for a "new" 964, but have not found a good one that meets my basic requirements (C2, manual, LHD).
I live abroad (hence LHD) and work a lot from home so don't use a car everyday.
Having looked at some of the previous posts and classifieds here, it got me thinking if I really could use either a 328 (love those curves) or 348 (more modern) as an only car - covering 8-10k a year.
I am aware of the costs of ownership (insurance, servicing etc) but really want to understand any issues around reliability or fragility from owners of these types that may use or used them everyday.
Many thanks in advance.
In short I think the answer would be "don't do it". If for no other reason than the fact that you'd lose the "sense of occasion" most owners get every time you got in the thing & you'd end up driving a ratty 15+ yr old car which you'd also start to compare to all the modern stuff (and probably find it "wanting" in some areas if you did).
Mechanically, 328s(and 348s) are pretty strong.
Good reply Iain.
Yes, you could, but no, I wouldn't. Not because the cars cannot stand it either. Certainly with the 348, it is quite a raw car and, whilst fine and good fun to drive for 9 hours through Spain ... to drive it every single day as your default car might become a bit wearing.
Now, I am basing this on an average commute of say 20-30 mins, through traffic. If however, you have a lovely clear 15 mins run to do three times a week, then I'm sure it would be a totally different prospect.
I could easily use the 348 every day, but it is only a 5 min trip to work, during which the engine would never get warmed up properly and would not thank me in the long run. Hence I have a faithful 1998 525 Tourer with 1/4 million miles on and save the Ferrari for the weekend
Yes, you could, but no, I wouldn't. Not because the cars cannot stand it either. Certainly with the 348, it is quite a raw car and, whilst fine and good fun to drive for 9 hours through Spain ... to drive it every single day as your default car might become a bit wearing.
Now, I am basing this on an average commute of say 20-30 mins, through traffic. If however, you have a lovely clear 15 mins run to do three times a week, then I'm sure it would be a totally different prospect.
I could easily use the 348 every day, but it is only a 5 min trip to work, during which the engine would never get warmed up properly and would not thank me in the long run. Hence I have a faithful 1998 525 Tourer with 1/4 million miles on and save the Ferrari for the weekend
My 328 felt mechanically robust, but the bodywork was very vulnerable to stonechips and parking dings and the fasteners would start rusting if there was so much as a cloud in the sky.
Apart from the gearbox being obstructive when cold, it would have been easy to use everyday, but it was just too much of an attention magnet.
I'm a staunch advocate of having a cheap and reliable snotter to use for trips to the supermarket and for parking in s
tty places.
Apart from the gearbox being obstructive when cold, it would have been easy to use everyday, but it was just too much of an attention magnet.
I'm a staunch advocate of having a cheap and reliable snotter to use for trips to the supermarket and for parking in s
tty places. Thanks all for the advice.
Interesting to see the motivations for not doing it.
It would be a well maintained "keeper" so depreciation doesn't worry me. And as for comfort, I ran an Exige as my daily car for 18 months - put 22,000 miles on it up and down motorways and (fun) A / B roads so comfort is all relative
Agree that I would loose that "special" feeling - but again, I think that it would be a sense of occasion everytime I drove it. When I owned my first ever 964 with sports exhaust, I used to smile eveytime I drove it and heard the noise. Even after 3 years of ownership, I still smiled. Should never have sold the car.....
I will in all honesty probably return to Pork. It would seem that a 14 year old 911 is more bullet proof than a 14 year old 348. But I know that Ferrari itch will still be there.....
Interesting to see the motivations for not doing it.
It would be a well maintained "keeper" so depreciation doesn't worry me. And as for comfort, I ran an Exige as my daily car for 18 months - put 22,000 miles on it up and down motorways and (fun) A / B roads so comfort is all relative
Agree that I would loose that "special" feeling - but again, I think that it would be a sense of occasion everytime I drove it. When I owned my first ever 964 with sports exhaust, I used to smile eveytime I drove it and heard the noise. Even after 3 years of ownership, I still smiled. Should never have sold the car.....
I will in all honesty probably return to Pork. It would seem that a 14 year old 911 is more bullet proof than a 14 year old 348. But I know that Ferrari itch will still be there.....
halfpenny43 said:
TIt would seem that a 14 year old 911 is more bullet proof than a 14 year old 348.
On what basis? ... I have had both. The '89 Carrera was sublime and I should never have sold it, but I wouldn't say it was more bullet proof than the Ferrari. Possibly slightly cheaper to service and maintain agreed.The 911 however does not have the same "feeling" or sense of occasion that the Ferrari does.
burriana said:
halfpenny43 said:
TIt would seem that a 14 year old 911 is more bullet proof than a 14 year old 348.
On what basis? ... I have had both. The '89 Carrera was sublime and I should never have sold it, but I wouldn't say it was more bullet proof than the Ferrari. Possibly slightly cheaper to service and maintain agreed.The 911 however does not have the same "feeling" or sense of occasion that the Ferrari does.
I know that 964's have problems, but both of the ones I owned were well cared for and looked after, but driven every day covering tens of thousands of miles. I only called out the RAC once when a DME relay failed and I didn't have a spare.
Agree that a Ferrari has more of a sense of occasion than some Porsche's - I would argue that a Carerra GT, original RS or something of that ilk has a sense of occasion too, but that was not my intention.
I asked for opinions on the practicalities of running a 328 and 348 as an everyday car and all of the feedback I got suggested that this was not advisable.
I just get a sense that it is more feasible to run a 930 / 964 / 968 as an everyday car than a similar aged Ferrari.
How about a late Esprit?
Not a V8, because it would be cheaper to run a Ferrari.
But an S4 or an S4S would be far quicker than a 328, is mechanically robust, doesn't rot, is cheaper to service and is far cheaper to buy.
I replaced a Turbo Esprit with a Ferrari 328 and the Lotus was quicker, handled at least as well, gripped better and had nicer steering.
The only let down was the farty sounding engine and the turbo lag. And the crap gearbox.
But the Esprit was every bit as much of an event to drive.
In fact, the Lotus felt more special, perhaps because it drove less like a conventional car even than the F328.
Not a V8, because it would be cheaper to run a Ferrari.
But an S4 or an S4S would be far quicker than a 328, is mechanically robust, doesn't rot, is cheaper to service and is far cheaper to buy.
I replaced a Turbo Esprit with a Ferrari 328 and the Lotus was quicker, handled at least as well, gripped better and had nicer steering.
The only let down was the farty sounding engine and the turbo lag. And the crap gearbox.
But the Esprit was every bit as much of an event to drive.
In fact, the Lotus felt more special, perhaps because it drove less like a conventional car even than the F328.
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