Should I buy my old Mondial t back? I sold it last year due to financial problems, I'm better off now but not THAT much better off. I used the money from the Ferrari to pay off the HP on my van, making me £200 a month better off. With the rest of the money I bought a Lotus Elise S2, and I have to say it's a great car. I'm still paying the loan I took out to buy the Mondial back in 2010 So now the buyer of my Mondial is selling it for the same price I sold it to him, he's fitted a Larini exhaust and said he'll get the cambelt service done if I go halves with him on the bill (another £7-800) I would have to re-finance, but can borrow enough to pay off the existing loan and have enough left to pay for the Mondial (Elise sale price of £15,500 plus £3,000) while keeping the monthly payments the same (£150) I was not expecting to get back into a Ferrari so soon, but now I've given myself an almost impossible dilemma.....sell the Elise (I have an interested party) and buy the Mondial back, or leave it another year or two and buy a different Ferrari then when I am better off. I've thought about it for ages but cannot decide what to do! I'd have only about £1,000 left over to pay for anything needed on the Ferrari, although this amount would go up over the coming months, as I made some more money from my business.
I would ask if you sold it the first time and bought a Lotus Elise S2, and are considering getting a different kind of Ferrari, i.e. 308, 328, 348, 355 maybe buying it back is not what is going to make you happy. Remember you have been there & done that, despite your situation of needing the money at the time. You should consider buying your Mondial back only if you truly missed it, loved the car, would never sell it again and have learned from your mistake of letting such a fine automobile go! Seriously, if you have your eye on another Ferrari, buying it back is not the answer because you will get bored and sell it again after the reunion wears off. But if you do, we're family again, LoL. I've made only 1 mistake of letting a car go that I truly regretted, that's my Porsche. The rest was a been there done that experience and it was time to move on... Just my $.02, all the best !
Martin, if you do decide say to buy a different ferrari such as a 348 or 355 then if money is tight you may have to consider the extra running costs involved. As Mondials go they are economical cars to own and maintain and regards buying back your ferrari think of it as 'better the devil you know'. Nino.
The most bang for your buck and economical is the Mondial 3.2 ! The t is somewhat expensive to maintain because of the engine out thing, unless you are a do it yourself guy like Nino ! But if you go in on half and the seller pays half for the Major Service, you should have trouble free years until you sell it in a few! Hopefully by then your business will make millions and all of this silly talk will be (OBE) overcome by events. BTW, I could not find financing for my 88 last year so I had to buy it in cash ! So vacations will need to be trimmed back this year, D'oh!
Just my two cents: This statement alone tells me "no". These cars are expensive toys that rack up expensive bills. You shouldn't put yourself underwater to own one. All it takes is one hiccup and you're stuck with a very heavy paperweight and no means to get it rolling. If all you want is a toy to go fast in, you can buy a ratty track car for a couple thousand. Keep in mind, when someone here posts "best bang for the buck" and "economical" they're speaking relatively... as in you'll only be out $5k instead of $10k when you need service.
I think you should buy it back to keep yourself out of trouble. You said you are still paying it off which by law you should not do you should have paid your loan off when you sold the car as it is not your property until the loan is paid out, how I know, i bought a car that was not paid out the fellow missed payments so to keep the car I paid off the loan and asked the seller to pay me back. He was in trouble for selling the car by the financier as they had a lien over it as they all do as standard procedure.
We don't have such laws here in the states other than the personal common sense law that should govern all, if practiced, we wouldn't have the housing and bankruptcy crisis today BUT... I agree with Mike (soucorp), if you absolutely LOVE your old Mondial and miss it terrbly, buy it back and if you run into financial problems, park it and let it sit until things get strong again. As long as its not your daily driver and you don't depend on it to get back n forth to work, where is it written that you face bankruptcy if you don't fix it right away? I also agree with Nino, it's better to dance with the devil you know, it's all in the details.
I don't often get into these discussions, but if you have to re-finance to buy a Ferrari, that is telling me that it's not a good plan. There will be other Mondials in your future. Get your finances sorted out well first, and then look at fun cars.
Get your finances in order. Take the pressure cooker of dollar management off your table. Hey, it's not like you've never experienced the joy of driving a Ferrari - is it ?!! So first, blow the indebtedness away. Take your time, because time does change all of our perceptions and desires. Take two of these - - and call me in the morning Cheers, Hank
+1 I say screw the Ferrari for now. Get your financial house in order, enjoy some cars if you can that are reasonable and within your budget (1991 Alfa Romeo Spider anyone ) and come back to the Ferrari in a few years when things are right and you won't have to stress over it. Heck, you are driving a Lotus for pete's sake, its not like you are slumming it in a 15 year old rusted out Civic. You have plenty of car there to enjoy without worrying about waiting for the other shoe to drop. Just my .02
Thanks for the replies/advice. To answer one point raised, the finance is not attached to the Ferrari, it was just a bank loan, so it was fine to sell the car and keep paying the loan. Also since I posted this the bank refused me another loan, even though some of the money would be used to pay off their original one. This has happened before and it's because I am a Limited Company. (so technically I could dissolve the company and they would not get their money) I think last time I put my wife on the paperwork as well, which made them happier. So I think the sensible thing to do is wait for now and maybe buy a Ferrari next year, or the year after that.
Very wise decision ! I wish you prosperity and happiness, and your Ferrari will come again, keep the faith !
