Hello I have been lurking at this forum from a while and I am now here. I am from France, real cars enthusiast since ever and now trying to jump into the train of Ferrari (or Porsche tbh) cars. I was last year looking at the Mondial T/3.2 as a first step into this train but got really frightened by some friends who warned me a lot about the reliability of Ferrari.. One year later I am decided to ask to the real knowing people who is really going on. I am in fact quite hesitating between a Mondial T/3.2 and a Porsche 964 so.. A part from that I am now having an Alfa Romeo 156 GTA which is a really nice toy but that is an another world! Cheers
Check the Mondial forum, have a PPI done on the car before purchase. That model is a bit older do less stuff to go wrong, a well sorted example that has been maintained will keep you happy.
Hello Thanks for the welcome. The more I am reading about these models the more I think they are quite reliable.. excepted regarding the transmission! So just trying to figure out it this particular point is a too high risk! Cheers
Welcome to Ferrari Chat! I don't understand where you got that information. Mondial transmissions have a great reputation for reliability/durability. Cold 2nd gear shifts can be stiff on a lot of Ferrari transmissions, and the Mondial is no exception, but 5-10 minutes into the drive, they are very smooth. Most of us go from 1st to 3rd until the assembly is warm, then 2nd is easy. Ferrari's are like racehorses: You have to warm them up before you run them hard. Also, a well sorted Ferrari can be very reliable. It is ones that do not have proper maintenance performed/deferred or sit undriven for extended periods of time that can be problematic. And, if you do need to do repairs, Ferrari parts can be 10-20 times the cost of parts for other cars. Parts prices can vary from vendor to vendor as well. Example: I needed a part recently and found it could cost from $15-$150 depending on who was selling it. But you can also do it yourself on the older, analog models and save some money. BTW, I am in Paris right now on a 10 day visit! Alden
Hello Sorry for the late reply, I hope you are enjoying Paris, there is a nice weather here currently! I am aware of the hard 2nd gear on Ferrari this is not a problem for me. I am also doing 1st/3rd on my Alfa during the first minutes when cold. I have discovered about the loosening ring nuts that are the cause of a lot of Mondial T/348 transmission failure. I have discussed about this on my thread in the Mondial T forum, with some people here in PM and also some friends former Ferrari owner and I sadly have the feeling this is real. When looking at all the classified I have seen, I haven't seen one car with more than 70k miles without a rebuild gearbox.
