I have the beloved 82 Mondial 8. Here is the simple question for your opinions: If I sell it in the next 6 months to a year, is it a good investment to have a major perfomed NOW? That is, will I get my money back, or just be spending money for the next owner? Facts to consider: The range for Mondial 8's is about 15000-22000 This Mondial has 35,000 miles, and had a major done at 25,000 miles...but 10 years ago. It is otherwise in very good...but not mint..shape. The major, plus a few other things...is 4,500. Thoughts? Thanks Image Unavailable, Please Login
Right now, you're taking a big risk driving it if the car's belts haven't been changed in ten years. You'd also have a really hard time selling it with the car requiring a major service.
Well, those are the variables. I really don't believe I am taking a huge risk, as I doubt they will break. I know that is the subject of debate, so perhaps we can set that issue aside. I wonder how much more I will get for the car with a major, since this Mondial will get at least 15,000 as is. Will I get that extra 4k back? I doubt it. But I want to see what others think.
JMHO, but if you can get a fresh professional reputable major at $4K, invest a couple hundred in a pro detailing, should see $20 from an individual and may sell faster. Heck, you may find you do not want to sell it. Dealers will absolutely lowball a Mondial to the low teens. Good luck rt
Sam, Selling the Mondial? What are you replacing it with? Well, the engine doesn't have to come out of that car to do the belts, so it shouldn't be an excessively expensive job. I don't think you'll be able to sell that car (for any decent price or attract as many buyers as you should be able to) if the work isn't done. People want to know that the car is running properly and that they won't have to invest money when they buy the car. There's nothing like seeing "major service including belts performed one month ago" or something like that in an advertisement. Ten years is a lot.
OK, now that is what I was thinking, but looking to see if others agree. Yes, it would be a good job...Ferrari dealer.
Don't have it done. You should be able sell it for $15K now. If you put $4500 in a major you might get $20K for it but it will take longer. So you make $500 but how many months will that take. It is much easier to sell a Mondial 8 on the low side needing some work then on the high side ready to go. Just depends on your goal. I don't think it will make a difference in the end. Same money except you get back the money that you put into the service. Why spend $4500 and wait months to get it back. Sounds like a free loan to me. Plus there are buyers like me that would rather perform my own 30K and not let the dealer touch my car. If I was in the market for a Mondial I would be much more interested in the lower price without the service than a freshly serviced higher price car. It also won't cost me $4500 to service it so there you go.
I second not getting it done. You will never get that money back. Though it would sell faster. The testarossa I just bought had 15k$ worth of work in the last year, prepping it for sale... Listed at 69k$ a year ago... Then 65k$ Then 60k$ Sold for less than 55k$. So the owner got 40k$ in his pocket for a pristine car. He likley would have gotten high 40's without the work done. Sell the car for less and get it over with. The buyer will still find tons of things wrong on the PPI and drive the price even lower. I considered testarossa's with the major due, but the minimal savings made no sense. From a buyers point of view - I want a car with a major, as I prefer the other guy pay for it. On the seller side, just the opposite. The modial is quite affordable. You will likely sell it to some one who doesn't even know it needs a major! Likely will sell as an impulse buy.
Why don't you offer it for sale at two prices - with or without fresh major? Personally if I were buying a 25 year old car I wouldn't expect it to be fault free and would be looking at the cheapest price to allow me to have some reserves left to do the necessary bits. A car with the statement "all servicing done and up to date" wouldn't convince me to pay $5000 more and be naïve enough to think that will mean problem-free motoring!
Some very good points posted above. Your car looks great. $15- $19K sounds inexpensive to me for a nice Mondial 8 coupe. A Ferrari for mid teens?! Wow. And its Red! My suggestion? I say: Money is cheap right now. New home? What is the interest rate for this new home purchase, say 5%? Cripes. Keep the Ferrari & finance the home an additional $15K (you would have gotten from the Mondial) @ 5%. Over a 15 year term, your talking what... $125 bux a month more? For $125 a month I would drive a Ferrari like yours any day. You know its a great car. Keep the car, get the new home, have the major done when your ready.
fwiw, i agree with 308. dont have it done. you can offer it without at one price and with it doen at the price + cost given to you by dealer now. do not engage yourself to do more than what is stipulated in the major tho.... on the other hand, $15k is not a lot of money....so you might want to keep it. just out of curiousity, what would a mondial cabrio of this era and condition cost?
if you are going to sell it, I wouldn't give the major price or suggest that you would get it done before they purchace it. I think that at the lower price it would be appealing to the do it your self people, especially if you give them a good test drive, and show them everything that you know to be wrong with it. it would suck if they said that they would buy it after the major and backed out after you got it done. $.02 michael b said some interesting points though about financing but, 20% down = no mortgage insurance.
Thanks all, for the comments and advice. Sounds like I will hold off..I MAY just get the belts and tensioners done.
Sam, That's what I would offer, I think you are not yet due for a major, check the Owner's Manual......but fresh belts/tensioners are not that much and would make a selling point.
Actually, according the manual, the car has been OVERmaintained in that it has already had a major and still only has 35,000 miles. The manual calls for a major at 52k.
Sam, this is a bit of a falicy....you are putting too much trust in your 23 yo owner's manual (actually, my previous 1987 328 manual said the same thing). Conventional wisdom has for the past 10 years said that the service interval should now be 5 years/30k, and this is backed up by FMNA and Ferrari SPA's service network world wide. Is 5 years a bit conservative? Probably, but I would also think that ten years is pushing it. Now that said, I would agree that it is NOT financially wise to have the work done. It would be best to have the car professionally detailed, and sell as is. It may take longer to sell, but you will come out with more of your skin intact.
I definitely vote to not have the service done before selling it. I vote to not even change the belts or tensioners. Buyers may think you slapped a band-aid on the major service w/o actually doing all of the items needed. Instead, spend a few hundred bucks getting it professionally detailed, redying the seats if needed, fixing little annoying things that are wrong, etc. Your car will sell more quickly and for more money if it looks great cosmetically, IMHO. The buyer for an 8 is not the same as a 550 or 360. It is likely they will be more hands-on and budget-minded (if such a thing exists in F-land) DIYers. I'm always suspicious when looking at pictures of cars advertised for $25k that are claimed to have $10k in service receipts in the last year, but the leather is cracked or worn, windows slow, etc. It makes me wonder if the work was actually done at all. You go through this all the time on motorcycles. The best way to ensure a critical service procedure is performed (such as valve adjustment and belt tension on Ducatis), is for the new owner to do it himself after purchase, regardless of what the PO claims. Getting it looking great cosmetically, and you may get $20k for it anyway if you sell when the weather is warm. Of course disclose the need for the major, but if the new owner ignores this it is his own fault. He should have spent more time reading the horror stories here. You basically have two types of buyers: 1. Well-educated enthusiasts who are on a budget. Long on elbow grease, short on finances. They will do the major themselves, and it would be doubtful they would pay you your money back on it. 2. Less informed buyers who only want a great-looking car for relatively small $$$. They could care less about maintenance. They would be probable candidates to become a future DPO. Either way, no major is a better way to go.
The belts are a potential time bomb. Any buyer is going to want to test drive the car.... what if a belt snaps? I recently bought a 308GTB from an owner that cut corners on maintenance... he had most of a 30k service done when he had to replace a clutch but refused to do the belts and tensioners because they only had 5000 miles on them... despite the 12 years they also had. I was so concerned that I refused to buy the car from him at his house... he drove it to his mechanic's place and we did the deal there... with me immediately turning the car over to the mechanic for a belt change. Good thing, too, as one of the tensioners simply came apart on disassembly. He was living on borrowed time...despite the blets looking great. The other services aren't as critical as this (IMO)... but whether you keep or sell the car I would think you'd want those belts serviced. Bill
I am getting it done. 50/50 split above. Guess what? F Of LI told me the seals were leaking, which would weaken the belts. If I hadn't had them look inside, this might indeed have been a "time bomb." So, even with the winter discount, it is still costing too much, but I have decided to keep the car at least another year. My logic: For a year I don't have to worry (too much) and it will sell quicker and for a little higher price if and when I do sell.
