Be Honest!

[louielouie2000]

I always had a love/hate relationship with my DeLoreans. I loved them when they functioned properly, and got extremely frustrated when they fought against me (which towards the end, seemed more often than not). Less than 5 years into ownership, I decided the negatives of ownership outstripped the positives, and I sold my second DeLorean (the first was lost to a collision with a drunk in a Cadillac). I just felt I didn't have the time, skills, or cash to stay ahead of the constant problems that surfaced. I'll own more DeLoreans again when I'm older and my patience, wisdom, and bottom line increases. But right now, DeLorean ownership is just an extremely masochistic proposition.

[tjd]

I have put the necesary money and time into updating and fixing the age related and the inherit DeLorean engineering problems thus sorting the car for worry free use (as worry free as any other car) I've put on nearly 12,000 trouble (& worry) free miles in the last 2 1/2 years. My car is an original (N. Ireland factory build) and honestly that gives me much more confidence in my car then anything a few hired techs can do at DMCH regardless of how much time they take per car, they will never build enough cars to equal the experiance and training of the average DMC factory worker had by Oct 1981 when my car was built.

But I also went into this the right way, I bought a one owner car that had a proper maintenance history throughout it's life that never had any extended period of sitting or lapses in maintenance or service, and after purchasing I did not just drive it until something broke, I updated the cooling system, electrics, replaced the fuel accumulator to fix a warm start problem that the original owner didn't know about, and redid the clutch and brakes, put new tires on it. All before putting on the first 100 miles. I really don't know what some of you expect out of "rolling restorations". This hobby isn't cheap and neither are these cars. The most expensive and least enjoyable DeLorean is a cheap DeLorean.

[Sidaries]

After you bought your Delorean, how long till you hated it, sold it, or learned to live with it?

Well, I have to say, that I had to learn to live with my car (This is my Delorean related blog is called Life with a Delorean). It needs a lot of maintenance, but it is a very reliable car. I took a 2500 miles trip two months ago, without any significant issues.

I do not plan to sell it, but I cannot say, that I never thought about it sometimes. Mostly when I did not want to spend more money on it. Luckily I always kept it and now I have it more than 3 years now.

[Mike C.]

Loved it: The night I rolled it off the trailer
Learned to live with it: The night I rolled it off the trailer
Hated it: The night I rolled it off the trailer

Ok, maybe not that quick on the Hate.... but honestly it wasn't my first time around a delorean, so i didnt go in with visions of anything but restoring a car. you learn to hate it the first time you injure yourself working on it, which should be about immediately after you start working on it...whether it be hitting your head on the door, stainless cut, splinter, etc... lol

I hate the fact I dont enjoy it as much as I used to, but those are the breaks I guess. That took about 2 years to really get annoying.

Whenever I look at it, I see a burden at this point. I have basically 3 things I want done: 1. repaint drivers fascia because I have a small crack in the paint on the passenger side (yes, a minor thing) 2. I bought the car with a small pressure dent in the drivers door (shouldn't be expensive to get sucked back out) 3. Install the AC that I have sitting in my living room (time is not on my side... neither is a lift)

Those 3 extremely minor things would make my car where I would want it to be. Honestly I have ZERO motivation to do any of those 3 right now.
Im currently planning a move out of state, have to contend with trying to get into a med program out of state, or possibly in another state, have to study for 3 entrance tests, etc.. and frankly the car just isn't a priority, which I think makes it un fun for me to drive or look at.

I may be selling it to a friend just so i know I have the option to buy it back when I have time in my life to deal with it.

[Michael]

I see your more the exception then the rule when it comes to owning a Delorean as yours is remanufactured and has several upgrades. What are your thoughts when you compare the two original VS. remanufactured, if you've driven them both?

If you don't mind what was the price/cost of your car with all the bells and whistles?

I have driven a few original cars, but not nearly long enough to form an opinion. The last time I drove an original car, it was BKP944's Delorean for sale in Knoxville. It was a manual and drove quite nicely.

I got mine..I should say stole mine "second hand". The man who commisioned the build bought it on May 3, 2006. He pulled out all the stops and get the stage II engine, Eibach suspension, machined wheels, xneon haedlights, and Alpine premium audio with the Genesis Profile 5 amp(hidden behind the rear shelf) and JL Audio sub in the rear cubby. When he got it, he never drove it and put only 1,700 miles on it before he decided to have it shipped to a consigner for auction in Jan 2008.


Enter me, I saw it on ebay and although it was an automatic, I know a deal when I see one. This thing was for all purposes, a brand new DMCH remanufactured car. I preferred a manual trans, but it wasnt that important, especially considering the condition and price of this one. I think I paid 23.5k for my car, and although I brefily considered flipping it, I then realized that I will never have a car this nice for this price.

I probably will sell it sometime down the road, until then I will continue to put it on a lift every 6,000 miles and wax and detail the frame and suspension. I will continue to keep it in A-1 condition both cosmetically and mechanically so I can get top dollar out of her when that day does arrive. I have put about 14k miles on it since Feb 2008.

There are a few things about my reman that I wasnt crazy about, I wasnt crazy about the steering rack failing after 12k miles, it now has a reman. rack with a warranty on it. I wasnt crazy about the tailight boards and their flakyness,(it now has PJ Grady boards). I could do a complete review, but I won't since I didn't buy it from DMCH. I will say that even if you get a reman. car, there are a few little odds and ends that need to be taken care of to make it perfect....but then again I'm pretty anal and a bit of a perfectionist, so those flaws my not even matter to most people.

[tjd]

If you read enough you here about peoples experiances with DMCH remanufactured and "new build" cars. All surprising stuff and reaffirms why for me I am much happier with one that is factory built and not torn down and rebuilt be their techs. I'd be disappointed to learn that a reman or "new build" DeLorean that I paid top dollar for did not include Grady boards as the OEM boards are pretty useless and this has been known since the late 80's, and as such are a major safety issue. I continue to be surprised about the accounts of the quality and workmanship on these cars out of Houston. I must say I was unimpressed with the fit & finish of the DMCH "new build" that was in the showroom at the DMC Midwest open house back in may.

[DeLorean03]

For me, I'd say it was about 5 years before I got really annoyed. It wasn't so much the car as it was the BTTF comments - it just got really plainly old. As far as the car itself, the veterans here know I was promised a nearly turn-key car that was ANYTHING but that. My car idled and that was nearly it. Thankfully, I met Casey (HillBillyDMC here), and he held my hand and showed me the ropes through the first 3-4 years of extensive learning, and now it comes down to "hearing/feeling a noise", figuring out what it is, and fixing it.

Nowadays, I love the car, but sometimes the "flash" of owning it alludes me. It's not like it used to be, but I guess complacency kicks in whenever something exotic becomes common-place in everyday life. I'm proud to own one, and I love my car - I guess I have lost the "exotic" feeling that everyone else feels when they first see the car.

[08087]

I'm learning! And all ears, keep em coming!

[Kenny_Z]

you learn to hate it the first time you injure yourself working on it, which should be about immediately after you start working on it...

That's the moment that I feel a car really belongs to you and they tend to work better after that. With the Mustang I cut my hand on the carb and bled down into the intake. From that point on she's never really given me anymore trouble. With the Nova it was when I got a piece of her on my eye and had to have it removed and the rust ground off with a mini-dremel. That was a sickening feeling

So far Red has only clocked me over the head with the engine cover and louvers. That's not a real injury, just an annoyance.

I haven't reached the hate/live with it point yet and I doubt I will. I've been disappointed by it but I was more disappointed in myself for just driving her so much after she sat for that many years without doing a complete inspection.

[Farrar]

TOTAL frustration hasn't happened yet (I have a long fuse), but I have got to the point a few times over the years where I have had to take a break from the car for a few days. Strangely, not having tons of money to throw at the car helps: I am forced to take a break from the car while saving up for an expensive part, and this allows me to re-evaluate my list of goals, strategy, and whatnot, and come to the car fresher than if I had been at it non-stop.

I admit I lost a bit of sleep after the fire, but that was mostly because I was so far away from the car that I had separation anxiety and was counting the days until I could get back to it and put it on the road again.

Farrar