Need Help on Potential Buy of a Mondial

Advice.... well, from everything I've heard, don't buy one with a Valeo.

 

No.

 

And this coming from someone who is "in a pile of 308 parts". Stepped into that one, eh buddy?

BTW, I've had Rachel (a Valeo) for 3 years - and she's a dream come true.

 

The electrical problems were with the earlier years. I don't know anything about the valeo, but there were not many built, so the car is rare but will have few who know how to work on it. Belts on the 348 engine must be inspected via engine removal. Then you can tell if you needed to replace them or not. Check other threads, as some will say 3 years or 15,000 miles, and others will say 5 years or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first.

 

1. Get a PPI done on the car. Have the clutch, suspension actuators, and fuse blocks checked for early warning signs of trouble.
2. Lower and raise each window 10 times. I'm not kidding.
3. Don't be afraid of mileage with good service history. Similarly, be wary of low mileage (<5000) cars.
4. Valeo is cool in a first-of-its-kind sort of way. Everyone has paddle shift now so don't knock Valeo. It does, however, have some rare parts.
5. On the belts: Do what the manual says. Or don't. Your call.

 

Electrical problems are for the earlier cars, and Valeo is fine, don't worry about it. As long as it was well serviced and all checks out fine visually with a good test drive, you can pull the trigger before someone else does. I've never done a PPI on any of the Mondials I bought simply because I trusted the previous owners and service records.

 

True, true... I made a point of saying "from everything I've heard" though....
and... My pile of parts will soon be a very fast NA 308!!!! ;-)