Mondial Owners all years, give me your experience with them?

Two advantages to a Mondial 1. Less Expensive 2. Back Seat I don't like the dash layout of the Mondial. It reflects back into the windshield. The electrical problems are age-related. Once rebuilt/replaced, you are good for years. Performance-wise, a good driver in a Mondial will take a mediocre driver in a 308 every time. Even if you don't carry passengers in back, the extra space is great for luggage. A normal wicker picnic basket is too tall to fit in the trunk of a 308, but it goes nicely in the back seat of a Mondial with the seat folded down. I have ridden in the back of my car, and it's amazingly roomy, but it's a cab and headroom isn't an issue. The coupe could be a tight ride in back. The Mondial is a more practical car, as Ferraris go. Still sexy and handles like a Ferrari should, but just not as sporty. If you like the styling of the Mondial, go for it. I prefer the 3.2's myself.

If you are looking for a coupe in California, good luck. There are not many and even fewer were built/imported as the years went on. The A/C is probably not powerful enough to keep you cool in summer.

My QV is for sale. http://www.ferrariads.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=1756&query=retrieval

Click on my profile for a larger pic.

 

Im on my second Mondial. An 88 3.2 coupe in black mettalic. Same drivetrain as the 328, which many consider to be most reliable and inexpensive Ferrari to maintain. Has all the features you look for in a Ferrari while being relatively practical at the same time.
An underated Ferrari to be sure, great fun they are.

 

bought my Mondial QV (1982) in 99 as a neglected rolling restoration, all sorted out and never let me down.
electrics are standard italian and actually quite simple once you get your head around the wiring diagram. upgrade the aircon to the newer gas and you will chill the arctic! quite quick, wonderful sound, useful rear seats (not really for people though!) lots of storage for a performance car and best of all relatively cheap to buy and run.
mine is silver with red interior, nick name is the aluminium tomato!
enjoy

 

'87 3.2 Cab - it is absolutely the best running Ferrari I have owned! It runs great is completly reliable. I own(ed) a number of Ferrari's and this car has earned a lifetime spot in my garage as others have and come and gone. Right now it is the only one I drive on a regular basis as the others are kings and queens of the realm.

Its relatively cheep - if you have small children they fit in the back seat - the top should always stay down but its fairly easy to raise in a storm - you can put stuff in it (back seats) - and it goes realitvely fast.

Buy the best one you can find/afford and you will be happy!

Best of luck.

 

I have an '82 coupe that I acquired about 4 years ago. There have been 3 issues with the car since then. 1) About 4 months after I got the car the ignition switch failed due to some corrosion on the switch contacts. The car had less than 12,000 miles when I bought it & the cause of the problem seems to be related to the car having not been used much. Once the switch was thoroughly cleaned, everything has been working fine. 2) I did a moajor engine service & clutch in early 2003 as those were weak areas for the car. The service records were not the greatest from the previous owner. 3) This past November the 5-8 ignition sensor failed & ultimately caused the header to blow. The header & all 3 sensors were replaced & things have been fine since. Now that the car is sorted out, it runs fine & is very dependable. And, as many others have suggested, there is room in the Mondial as compared to the 308. Finally, when looking at a used one, remember, mechanical things can be fixed but, you can't deny the mileage on the car.

 

Hmmm, I should change my name to Mondial Man as they seem to continue to follow me home!

They are very good cars, relatively cheap to own by Ferrari standards, and perform as well as the 308s and the 328s, keeping in mind the weight bias. I maintained an early (82) coupe for a friend of mine and had very few problems with the car...the elctrical problems that everyone talks about usually tend to be confined to the fuse box. If someone takes the time to go through the box and adjust the tension on the spade conncetion it usually clears up most of the problems. The only other electrical problems I've run into on these cars are those caused by stereo upgrades! These guys get into the cars and hack around cutting and splicing and taping until you got nothing but spaghettii. If you need more sounds, spend the money and deal with a reputable shop! Its worth it in the long run.

I've owned two 85 cabrios and an 88 and they have been great. The QV cars are much better performers than the early cars. Had red/black 85 which was enjoyed and sold many years ago, and Red/Tan 88, now have Silver/blk 85...much prettier than the other two. Its now about go through an "engine out" restoration as I purchased it "as is" and not running. It had been garaged for 4 years after the starter went out and the gentleman didn't want to spend the $700 for the new one plus the labor to install.

The 88 was a really nice car with the 3.2 ltr engine. I wasn't really crazy about the particular EFI system and it had a few strange electrical gremlins as well, nothing overwhelming however. Some like the 3.2 engines a little more because of the percieved efficiency and horsepower gains. However, if you're not afraid to play a little, the 3.0 QV engines can be turned into real screamers!

Other tha that, I guess its ditto for what everyone else has said as far as roominess etc.... Oh, and the Sivler Cabrio (dakharris) that's for sale is a really nice example....

 

93 T Cab: It´s definitely not a performance car, too much weight (1,5 to) and the long wheelbase make it feel sluggish compared to "real" fast cars. Also the build quality is very poor in many details but this is normal with Italian cars and doesn´t bother me.

I bought mine for these reasons:

- It´s a great cabriolet
- It has room for the kids (well, at least 2 of them)
- I like the clear lines of the body, although built in 93, in my eyes it´s a good example of the edgy 70ies design
- It has the Valeo clutch
- I don´t mind little problems in the electrics or mechanics but I HATE fighting against rust; the Mondial was AFAIK the first Ferrari equipped with a pretty good rust protection

 

I'm new to Ferrari, having just gotten an '84 Mondial QV (Euro spec.) a few weeks ago. So far, the car is great, except for an intermittent electrical problem with the ignition which seems to be due to very old wires. I've ordered a new set and hope that will straighten things out.

Overall, the car is great, but just had been neglected. Only 19K miles. The belts were done last year, less than 1K mi. ago. The power is great, handling is exceptional. And nice to have enough room to put the gf AND an overnight bag in the car. All of the other little problems from sitting around have been resolved inexpensively, without much hastle. Hope the car proves to be as reliable long-term as people said.

Regards,
Steve W.