Thinking about selling Delorean, need opinions on possible values

[88Ngone]

Hi all,

I wanted to reach out to yall as I'm considering, not really sold on the idea yet (pun intended) of possibly selling my Delorean, VIN #10541. It has just under 47,000 miles and I've attached numerous pictures. Overall the Delorean looks great, and runs great. It was recently in DMC Houston in 2016 and had a major tuneup done to keep it in great running shape to include a transmission rebuild, tires, brakes, A/C, etc.

There's probably way too much to list, but we roughly put $15K in parts and labor. The interior is in great shape as you can see in the pictures, but the binnacle is cracked. I just have a cover over it. Additionally, I have made a few modifications in my time with the car. We painted the dash black and had the seats reupholstered black to give it a dual tone. I also installed a flip up DVD player, GPS, bluetooth player and backup camera. I also turned the coin tray into cupholders and put the letters DMC in the steering wheel. The exterior also looks great per the pics and we had both the front and rear bumpers painted to include the louvers. We also added LED light strips to the headlights.

All this to say, I'm trying to look at what a good value would be for my Delorean. Im not sure I'm ready to sell, but I'm at that phase in my life I cant give or drive the Delorean as much as it needs and deserves and I feel that maybe someone out there can. Additionally, it never hurts to help out your family more with savings and maybe give back a little as I know my lord and savior Jesus would want me to do.

All the research I've seen shows $15K to $20K for a decent Delorean that needs major work, $20K to $30K for a decent Delorean, and as big a gap of $30K to $45K for a well kept good to excellent Delorean. Obviously, I would like to make as much as I could for the reasons listed above and would prefer to sell for roughly the $40K price range, but I want to be fair and see the Delorean go to someone who would treat it well. Additionally, I'm absolutely in no rush to sell, if at all, and would have the ability to wait for the right deal.

So if you were in my shoes, and if you decided to sell, what price do you think would be reasonable under my circumstances?

Thanks to all in advance as I consider all my options!

Very Respectfully,
Jared

[Michael]

I could go all Jonathan or Vegas and write a long winded response touching on all aspects of car appraisal and recent value increases. I could go DT and make technical look elementary, but I will just get to the point.

Based on nothing more than your pics, story and a few beers, I would put it right in the low to mid 40's range asking price, maybe 38 or 39k would be a sell price.

I would however fix the cargo net. It takes away so much all distorted like that. At this point it would present better without it at all. Also a good detailing of the engine bay might fetch another grand.

[David T]

Always hard to appraise a car remotely. One idea would be to contact DMCH if the car was recently there. They should know the condition well and can help you set a price. What you spent on the car has no bearing on what the market price is. A car's price is all about condition. If it cost you $30K to buy the car and you spent $50K on it in repairs, you will not get $80K if you try to sell it. Generally speaking, the more you modified the car from stock the less it is worth so many of the "upgrades" you did may actually reduce the price to some buyers.

[Jim D]

Just to give you some perspective, I recently sold 2 -1981 D’s in really good shape for a little under $30,000 each. I was later told my prices were under market value. These cars were posted on this site and within 2 weeks they were sold.
The cars were restored original low milage cars. Good luck with your sale.

[Drive Stainless]

Get the dents on the RH front fender fixed. There is a guy here in Alexandria and also with a shop in Waldorf who will do a great job.

Christopher Ray

http://dentlesstouch.com/

[louielouie2000]

Do a search for sold/completed auctions on Bring a Trailer & eBay. You'll see exactly what cars are changing hands for, and what cars didn't sell because their reserve wasn't in step with the market. You can then compare the condition of your car with the sale prices of cars that have actually sold. From what I'm seeing, cars have sold in the range of $16,000-$47,000 in the past year, with the great majority of them selling in the low/mid $30s for an average sale price of right at $30,000. The vendors will undoubtedly get higher prices for their cars, but then again, dealers always fetch higher sale prices for vehicles than private party sales.

[Hill Valley PD]

5739157398573965739457392I paid 42K for mine last month at DMC MW. It was a consignment vehicle that I believe DMC made 10% of sale on for their services in helping get it sold, which would be 38K to the previous owner of the car. It has 25K on it , was originally from California from 1981-1995 (frame is beautiful), and had 15K in recent DMC MW receipts along with it (2012-present), not to mention other work done by the previous owner. Some of the cosmetic highlights: re-grain (no dings anywhere and stainless looks amazing), fascias redone (probably a while ago but have held up well though not perfect), wheels refinished, seats, carpet, headliner, and dash redone, louvers, engine cover, and other exterior trim painted with 3m trim black, etc. Mechanically, tires are like new (5-6 years old now), brakes redone, new radiator/fans, updated fuses, Eibach suspension installed, new clutch w/stainless steel line, tune up, stainless header bottle, water pump kit, fluids, battery, door struts, seals, doors and t-panel adjustment, etc. I know there is more, but I don't have the list in front of me. I have a set of stainless steel fuel lines ready to go on and will probably change the fluids again. Currently, the AC does not blow cold but was converted to R134 in the records. Based on what I've seen listed over the last year, I paid a small premium for what I know to be a great car verified by DMC MW. Could I have found a better one for less? Maybe, but I haven't seen one listed lately.

[Hill Valley PD]

A few more. I have more pictures in my thread about looking and buying this car as well just to give you an idea. I have not yet tried to detail the engine bay or underneath car, so this is how I got it essentially.

[cdrusn]

The surface rust and unkept frame are big turnoffs for me. Get it up in the air, clean the frame a section at a time with xylene. When clean and with no rust chips, (paint them with POR15), spray the frame with gunsmoke grey rustoleum paint. Use semi gloss black on the sway bars. If you're going to ask top dollar you should be able to show the underneath of the car and have it look at least maintained. I always have a can of gunsmoke grey when I'm putting the car up in the air for some kind of repair, you
never know when a epoxy piece chipped off or you missed a spot last time. I'm thinking $32,500 after a little bit more detail work. :race:

[TheMaverick]

OP My two pennies.. I recently turned down an offer of 38K for mine. I'm not even selling mine LOL offer came out the blue from a person looking to buy one.

Mine is up to 18K miles and similar condition to yours (with the exception of the frame there is much less rust on mine, only small spots, california car, I agree withe cdrusn, I think some TLC will get your car in tip top shape when it comes to the frame cosmetics).

If you can wait for the right buyer, it will yield the best offer..