Well..it is a bit, yes. But there are a number of reasons why you would still want one, if Ferrari is your thing.
When I was still a student, I occasionally found myself drooling at the window of a Ferrari sales point. A brand new red Ferrari 348 was parked inside, waiting for a future owner. “One day…” I told myself. And indeed, 12 years later I bought one. The day after buying it I went for a morning drive. Roof open of my TS version; life was good. Getting close to home, I stopped for a red traffic light and the car suddenly switched off. It took a few minutes (which seemed like ages) and plenty of honking cars behind me, until it finally started again. In the years that I kept it, the issue was never solved (though likely a faulty lambda sensor) but it was a good indicator of the electronics of the car, which can be best described as ‘shit’.
The shitty electronics are not its only fault, you see there is the handling as well. The ride was simply…well..scary. Several factors helped with feeling very little connection to the road. First there was a completely wrong choice of hard Bridgestone tires. Secondly the rear wheels were somehow too close to each other, third the suspension really wasn’t great, and finally there is the steering. I know purist love the fact of not having powered steering, but powered steering really would make the car feel better. Steering is almost impossible at low speeds, and even at high speeds when you need a decent steering angle you literally feel the resistance in the steering wheel, which is not a nice feeling. All in all, the car simply didn’t handle that well and driving over 250 km/s was basically playing roulette with your life. Reviews were generally good, even if the car could hardly keep up with the Porsche 911 (or even a Golf GTI!), but from the moment the F355 came out, a car that crushed the 348 in any way, it was then that people realised how Ferrari could make fantastic cars like the F355, and how they really didn’t with the 348. Former Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo even called the 348 Ferrari’s worst product. History therefore, does not look back in a very positive way at the 348.
When I bought my red 348, a friend of mine bought one too, a yellow one. While his too suffered from all those faults, his car did seem to work all the time; no switching off like mine did. When I sold my 348, he kept his and I bought a Ferrari 360. After I traded my 360 for a Porsche Boxster Spyder, my friend asked me whether I was interested in buying his yellow 348. He got a low offer from a dealership and told me “I rather sell it to you for that price”. I didn’t hesitate at all and bought it from him. So here I was, 20 years after drooling in front of the Ferrari sales display, again owning a 348.
With the introduction of the Ferrari 348, the Dutch Ferrari club was lobbying with Ferrari S.p.a about a racing series for Ferrari Owners. Ferrari, after quite a while, responded with a Challenge series, originally only with an Italian and European series. European Owners of 348’s could order a ‘Challenge kit’ and install this on their 348’s to convert them into proper race cars. Handling of these cars was certainly better due to improved springs, suspension bushes, and tires. My 348 has a Challenge kit like that installed, and as such it is eligible to participate to the Pirelli Ferrari Trofeo Classic races.
In the end, upgrading a 348 is not too difficult. Electronics can easily be replaced; heating system electronics faults are often a matter of putting a new 1-euro transistor (though at an impossible place to reach) or replace some wires. Tires have come a long way now since 1993 and installation of proper sports or race tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4, Michelin Pilot Cup 2, or Pirelli Trofeo R will make a world of difference in terms of handling. Suspension rubber bushes can be replaced by Challenge ones (mine has titanium bushes), springs can be upgraded or even entire suspension. The installation of a new racing suspension with the addition of track wideners improved the handling of my car dramatically. And nowadays it is even easy to install powered steering that the purists can switch off (e.g. EZ steering).
At the Nürburgring 
Shopping at the supermarket in Adenau 
Wheels off the ground
So where is the 348 today? In terms of price, it stands at the bottom with the bit cheaper Mondial (a heavier and larger 2+2 car for 2 persons in the front and space for 2 rabbits in the back). I personally find the 348 a much more beautiful car than the Mondial. The fact is though, that the 348 is now one of the best entries into the Ferrari world. Buy one, replace some electronics, widen the track, put proper tires and springs and possibly dampers on it, put powered steering if you are not a purist, and suddenly you’ve got yourself a Ferrari with fantastic sound and stunning looks, and good handling. For me the 348 was one of the cheapest ways to get into Ferrari racing, and I am incredibly glad I bought it. In the few years that I have it now I have done more track days with it than any other car I owned, without ever having a problem; Nürburgring, Spa, Zandvoort, Brands Hatch, and even toured through Italy with it.
So I think the Ferrari 348 is now one of the best values for money. It’s still not fast. But it is a Ferrari. And a pretty cool one.
Ciao!
Robin
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Had my 94 Spider for 10 years 50000 miles and never experienced the problems you had. Handling was superb always had Pirelli rubber, electronics were fine apart from one headlight relay. Loved it. Now have f355.