Should I buy my wife a Mondial t for her birthday?

As a corollary to the previously started thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=140140596#post140140596

I love my '87 Mondial 3.2 but my wife does not because of the heavy manual steering at slow speeds. It actually scares her. She does enjoy everything else about the car-the look, the sound, the open air, the gated shifter. Am I crazy wanting to surprise her for her birthday with the Mondial t? I bet the power steering alone would make her alone love the car. I am looking at other so called 4 seater cabs out there, but I just so love the Mondial, that I'd love to put another in the garage next to mine. Is that crazy? Will both she and I be disappointed?

 

That is why I wouldn't consider another Mondial 3.2. Plus, my 3.2 is mine!

She already has a bigger lead foot than me.


Seriously, would she enjoy the Mondial t? t owners, what do you think? Will still have three little kids, and while I like the 456's and 612's a lot, they both are definitely too much car for a soccer mom, plus she wants a fun cabriolet.

 

You know me well, my friend. I think the downside for the t are the quirks in all older Ferrari's, which we male Ferrari lovers rationalize that those are things that make a Ferrari special, like not being able to shift into second when cold, or the rear window is stuck, or there is a warning light telling you something is amiss in Italian. My wife will find those things are highly irritating and probably be yelling profanities while waiting for AAA to show up, then get even more pissed when the repair bill shows up. She'll probably want to go back to driving her Honda minivan, which might give me the green light to drive her t from time to time, which might not be a bad thing at all.

The BMW 330i cab, MB 430 cab, Jag XK8/XKR cab, lexus SC430, toyota solara, old chevy camaro cab, volvo c70 and 996 are all on my short list, but for selfish reasons, I guess, I'd really love some support/justification from you F-chatters for a second Mondial, this time a t. So if I do pull the trigger, I can blame my mistress F-chat for it!

 

She might not think the trunk space is enough, especially since her Odyssey currently holds multiple lawn chairs, soccer balls, water bottles, and then gets groceries, jackets, and backpacks thrown in there. Last summer we drove two cars to the beach when we vacationed, as my Mondial just doesn't hold enough "stuff" for a family of 6, if you include the dog, for a week at the Jersey shore. Once down there, however, we drove the Mondial every time we went out.

 

It's good to hear Michael that one wife enjoys driving a t.

 

Even though my stuck-in-the-80's-Ferrari-obsessed-mind is basically made up, I'm smart enough to know that if she's not happy, I'm not going to be happy. A car like a SC430 or 330 cab is basically a no brainer for convertible happiness for her, especially when it starts raining and all she has to do is push a button, and there's a roof over her head.

Tex, in the Mondial t, if it starts raining, she'll be cursing while struggling to raise and latch the roof. In this particular scenario, she'll be yelling out profanities towards both the car and towards me, at the same time breaking the Tenex fasteners on the tonneau cover and then breaking the roof latches with sopping wet hair!

 

I'm not sure mom wants her own Ferrari as much as dad would really love a second one!

Look, my father (R.I.P.), a photography and gadget nut, bought my mom a camera "for her" for their first anniversary in the 60's. Needless to say, it wasn't her favorite gift at the time or ever.

Years later, he bought her one of the first big screen Sony TV's, the one with the coffee table console and detached screen. She returned it when it first arrived, telling the delivery guys "We don't need that thing. Take it back!" He then had it delivered again and set up, despite her resistance again. She sat in front of that wonderful projection TV for almost twenty years, enjoying it thoroughly while it lasted.

I'm just not sure which effect buying a Mondial t will have on my wife.

There surely are safer bets to make, including options that result in a nearly guaranteed to be happy birthday girl.

 

Hi Dave. Why not black? I like black and so does my wife. There seems to be a big lack of Mondial t's out there for sale right now. None of the ones I've seen over the past few months are black, however. Mostly Rosso Corsa, a white one, and that's about it.

I haven't forgotten about your offer Dave. We will take you up on it, hopefully at the latest in the early spring. I really want her to drive one before a t shows up in the driveway with a big red bow on it.

 

OK, Gregg, should I make that a poll??? lol

To surprise or not to surprise the wife with a Mondial t.......that is the question.

I've bought a few properties at sheriff sale without seeing them on the inside, and every time I have, its been a great decision. I bought my Mondial 3.2 with no available service history, and while it cost me a bundle to sort her out, now that she is, it too has been a great decision.

But buying a Ferrari for my wife for her 40th birthday as a surprise? wow! I don't know what to think except to quote National Lampoon's vacation.....this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!


Clark?
Hi Honey!
What are you doing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ9Bb8UMi84&has_verified=1

lol