Mondial in my area...

I think you should pass. That rust looks mean and I doubt that a car with that kind of rust on the outside has been maintained very well mechanically. It is pretty much a throw away car at this point. The guy who buys it should do the bare minimum and run the car into the ground. I can't imagine throwing 5-7K on a proper major on that car, nor could I even see myself spending 3 grand on fixing things as they break.


Generally speaking, Mondials are really easy to work on and on par with the 308's. However, some have dastardly electronic gremlins that can be a major PITA from what I have heard.

All mondials, except the T, can be serviced with the engine in. However, because it is so easy to drop the engine on these cars, many people, including the prior mechanic on my car, drop the engine anyway for easier access.


Good luck either way!

 

its been on eBay several times... each time with a lower reserve.

if they are taking pics of the obvious rust, imagine the hidden rust.

just a guess, its a parts car or trackday car at best. Not that it doesnt have value... could you drive it until something expensive breaks? sure... but then its over.

 

GREAT COLOR COMBO!!!


the car appear very good, keep in mind that this car don't have a original 390 magnesium wheels, but the new wheels very good and you can save a lot of money to change the tyres!! good!

Please check the rust on the "black" on the car, very easy to rustly.

Seat need major works, but keep in mind, very easy to remove all seat and to repair, you can see one of my old post with restore seat of mondial 8.
If you find a good restorer , you can simply repaint and with a special glue repair the scratch, if you need help write me!

About engine, very easy to change all the belts in, very easy to find more parts of bosch and marelli ignition, if you need same special italian parts , write me also (i live in italy)

Fantastic blue mondial!!

 

You guys are nuts. There is one rust patch in all the pics. That is a known area where the Mondials rust. Mine has a rust bubble in the same spot, though not as large as that one. That car looks a ton better than mine looked when I bought it and I certainly don't think mine was a "throw away" car only to be used for driving into the ground. It will be a super deal on a presentable driver car for someone. Not every Ferrari has to be a perfect mint garage queen.

If I didn't already have one (nearly the same gorgeous color) I would buy it.

Just my $.02.

Birdman

 

My concerns start with the fact the car has no history whatsoever. Hence, you are going to have to assume it needs a full major, which automatically adds roughly 3 grand to the price (at least). Then, you have to fix what is broken--add at least another grand for that. So now you are almost at 20 thousand on a car, which is in a difficult color for resale and of unverifiable mileage with no tools or books. This will make it difficult for the buyer to ever turn around and sell should he want or need to. Now, if he wants to start dealing with the rust, it will cost him at least 2 grand to get a competent shop to do it right, and that is assuming there is nothing else going on. with that fix he is now in the low 20s. In this market I am beginning to see a lot of fully serviced, full history mondial coupes in resale red at that price without any rust, etc. I think he would be better off trying to find a mondial 3.2 coupe in the 25 thousand range, or even a QV in the low 20-22 range, than he would be in this car. But, that is just my .02.

 

Id want to know when it was imported here. My fear with euro cars which i generally prefer however, is how do you know that the milage is really accurate?
Easy to swap odometers when brought in. Drivers seat looks pretty bad for a coupe with just 20k on it.

 

There are at least two other threads on this car including my comments and pics when I looked at it. Try a search of "Italian Edition" Mondial.

I offered $17,500 months and at least 8 ebay listings ago but they were pretty firm on $22,000 at the time.

Honestly? It's a beautiful car and looks so much better in person. Drives well too. Starts easily, no smoke, and impossible as it seems, doesn't (didn't) leak a drop of oil. It's a euro car so there's a bit more power and no leaking/jamming sunroof to contend with. The wheels look somewhat pimpish in the pics but are prefectly stunning in person.

If I weren't so fixated on having a black car I'd have bought this one for $20,000. Without hesitation.

 

I absolutely disagree with you on the color Joe. Red is a horrible color on the Mondials pre-3.2. With under 1200 coupes built total, there may be 200 or so ever made in that color.

I could get that rust repaired around here inexpensively, and you'd never know it had been there.

I don't trust records from non-local shops anyway, so a non-issue for me. All "new" cars are assumed to need majors.

IMHO a great buy if you want a GT Ferrari

 

I agree. You cant get a good Civic for that kind of money, and it will never be as satisfying to own as a Ferrari.

 

BTW...

I looked the car over, inside and out, and oddly enough the rust appears to be limited to only that one area below the gas tank door.

It does need a full service including replacement of all rubber hoses (fuel, brake, etc) due to age only.

 

Looks like a nice car to tinker with.

 

Obviously, with Wade's input, my opinion on the car is somewhat different now. It may very well be a very good find and one worth pursuing.

I also agree that red is not the Mondial's best color (which is why I got one in black), however, most people insist on red as the color of their first Ferrari, which I presume is why red has better resale in general.

 

I'm okay with my red on my Mondial, the issue is red really washes out the details of the design. Blues or dark greys are much better to show the details.

 

If you want a Mondial, buy mine - she is perfect and ready to go - one owner for 25 years and the same mechanic since new:

http://www.sportauto.us/01_inventory_ferrari/1981_Mondial_Coupe_Blue/index.htm

 

DIY a supercharger on mine!!! If I keep her, that is where I'm headed. Cheers.

 

If that car only has 20K on it, then I'm 20 years old.

Dave

 

hmmm, I wonder if it would pass CA smog?

 

agree, love the color. could care less about the rust.

geeze, not many of these cars are going to survive the next 20 years the way some guys on here bash everything that is not showroom.

good thing i was poor growing up, as a "rusty" Ferrari that runs and drives is better to me than a shiny new pony car with payments.

 

Personally, its not that I am bashing one car or another. Right now there are such great deals to be had on stellar driver Mondials that saving a few thousand on a car with so many unknowns but a degree of rust would give me great pause. Especially, when you see some fellow F-chatters unloading really nicely cared for cars that have been properly maintained. My biggest concern in jumping into Ferrari ownership was how quickly you can get completely upside down in a car with deferred maintenance issues. One of the reasons I, and maybe I alone, believe that the Mondial market will one day become very hot, is because there are fewer and fewer nice ones out there. If I was still in the market, I would be looking for a really well maintained car that I could drive without fear, while they're still available at exceptional prices.

 

Not a lot of sense of adventure on these cars with the current crowd...

 

+1 on all points. Early black-bumpered Mondials look best in blue or black IMHO. I always assume any Ferrari needs a major, or at least timing belts. You need to KNOW they were done and done right. Best way to do that is to do them yourself.

Birdman

 

Jeez, so much for being diplomatic Personally, I don't like red mondials, especially the early ones...but I wouldn't call them horrible. As for the major, I agree to an extent. But in today's market, you can buy a car that had a recent major done by a very reputable shop for not much more than this car, with a good service history and you still wouldn't have to start playing the find the rust game. My rule of thumb is that, if you can see the rust, you can assume there is a lot more where that came from because the owner probably didn't give a Sh&t. Also, anyone selling a car with some known issues alarms me because he either did not have the inclination or money to fix the problems. Not a good thing on a potential money pit like a Ferrari. In this case, I stand corrected because Wade took a look at the car and I trust his opinion. However, I would still want to start ripping up the trunk gasket, because I would imagine it is a rust nightmare under there.

I am not saying cheap mondials are bad...I am saying, right now there seems to be a pool of higher mileage cheap Mondials with good history's, some from known F-chatters. If I was in the market, I would start there and not with a car that (1) has rust (2) has no service history (3) clearly is on its second odo (4) needs at least a major and (5) needs some mechanical/electrical issues addressed.

****Sorry-I meant to include Tillman's post that you were responding to.