Over the years, the Ferrari Mondial has been labeled the “cheap” Ferrari, the model that has been perpetually unloved by enthusiasts. But that may be changing a bit, as the Mondial – especially the later years of production – have been trending upwards. The 348, however, has increasingly been outed as one of Ferrari’s least polished efforts in recent memory and vastly overshadowed by the later F355. The seller of this 1991 348 listed here on eBay has placed it for sale with some cosmetic shortcomings and a very reasonable Buy-It-Now price of $65,000, making it one of the cheaper entry points into a mid-engined Ferrari with a gated manual transmission.

The listing for this 348 is written by AI, so it’s effectively useless for understanding the history of the car or how it’s been looked after. No matter the purchase price, mid-engined Ferraris like this one still need an engine-out belt service,  and most sources cite between 30 and 40 hours for that work plus whatever else makes sense doing (like a water pump) “while you’re in there.” In most Ferraris, you can make the argument for the investment; the driving experience will reward you. However, does the 348 justify it? Does the experience of rowing through that gated shifter make you want to dump four or five figures into maintenance? That alone is probably a big reason why this 348 is listed so cheaply.

Looking across the few other 348 listings out there, sellers are still asking for $80,000 – $90,000 for a clean example. To me, that seems like an awful lot of money for a car that was always described as having horrible electronics and sketchy handling. Considering $50,000 buys you a very nice Porsche 996 Turbo with a six-speed manual, you have to absolutely love the Ferrari experience to justify the investment. Regardless, the interior of this 348 is in great shape overall, and better than I expected considering some warning signs with the exterior, like the smoked fog light lenses and heavily tinted windows (sorry, window tint fans – it just always looks cheap to me on an exotic.)

However, it is a Ferrari, and the price of entry will never be any cheaper. The rear suspension has been a source of complaints over the years, but various aftermarket solutions have improved the track of the rear end while better tires always make sports cars more communicative. The 348 is also incredibly simple compared to modern performance cars, so once you sort out some wonky electronics, improve the suspension, and perform the necessary belt service, you’ve got a legit mid-engined Ferrari that, yes, will be smoked by some modern-day family cars, but will look and sound like absolutely nothing else on the road. And that, alone, is worth the price of admission.