opionions on these DMCs for sale

[dembkomj]

I've found a seller with two Deloreans for sale and would like to obtain some initial thoughts on them. You will see two cars side by side in a warehouse, the car on the right has 13k miles and the car on the left has only 920! All of the closeup pictures of the interior, engine, underbody are of the 920 mile car. The seller is telling me that the cars have been sitting in this warehouse since 1986, so there will be some mechanical issues to work thru.

The 920 mile car has a firm price of $25k and the 13k mile car fr $20k. While he is firm on the price, I feel it's a bit on the high side for cars that have been sitting for 30 years. However, the condition of the 920 mile car looks especially good, especially the frame. It had also been covered by a layer of dust and dirt but has been washed clean for these pictures.

Pictures are attached, I'd like to know your opinions on these. I'm trying to get more pictures from the seller on the 13k mile car.
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Thanks
Mike

[Rich_NYS]

These might be the cars I recently saw on Facebook. James Epsey commented on them; IIRC, he saw them in person and assessed their condition so he might be a good source of info. He mentioned an estimated dollar amount he felt they'd need....I don't recall that amount but it was probably at least 10K (the amount he seems to mention for most cars he comments on.)

[Chris Burns]

Count on at least 15k to 20k in repairs if done by a vendor.

Way overpriced cars in my opinion.

[dmcnc]

The key issue is maintenance....

"A good rule of thumb is that for every year the car has been sitting with no maintenance, plan on spending about $1500-2000 to bring it back to life, mechanically and cosmetically".

Ref: http://www.ebay.com/gds/Buying-a-DeL...1738963/g.html

[DMC-81]

Based on the pictures, in my opinion, $20K for the 13K car is reasonable, assuming it at least turns over. If you can do the re-commissioning work, plan to spend 5-10K, based on decisions that you make, and what the car needs.

I'd snap it up quickly if it were me.

The price of the 920 mile car is also reasonable if you value the extremely low miles. It will need the same work.

They are both low miles, complete, not baked by the sun, not rusted, and un-molested. These things are very valuable to me, and they are worth a premium.

[Domi]

Very interesting find.
Even if these car required some work to get back on the road, they might be a real bargain if the shape is good, especially on the frame.
Any idea of the VIN of each car?

[sdg3205]

Easily $15-20k in repairs and parts. 30 years of sitting. They have a ton of potential, but it will always costs more than you expect to restore a Delorean. Sometimes double.

[MTDMC]

Where are these cars located? I see one of them has a Texas plate.

[OverlandMan]

The seller is telling me that the cars have been sitting in this warehouse since 1986, so there will be some mechanical issues to work thru.

Hard to tell but I think I'm seeing a 94 registration sticker on one of the Texas plates still mounted to the rear of the car. That would potentially contradict the seller's statement.

Where are these cars? I'm in Dallas and if they're around here I'd be happy to help you look over them some more.

[Jonathan]

Based on the pictures, in my opinion, $20K for the 13K car is reasonable, assuming it at least turns over. If you can do the re-commissioning work, plan to spend 5-10K, based on decisions that you make, and what the car needs.

I'd snap it up quickly if it were me.

The price of the 920 mile car is also reasonable if you value the extremely low miles. It will need the same work.

They are both low miles, complete, not baked by the sun, not rusted, and un-molested. These things are very valuable to me, and they are worth a premium.

I was about to say pretty much everything that Dana just said here.

- if the cars sat for the same amount of time, mechanically, they need the same work. Not the cosmetic stuff or if some parts turn out to be missing, but includes replacing rubber hoses, tires, flushing gas tanks, brake lines, coolant, rebuilding calipers, etc.

- we hear of guys sitting on old cars as "goldmines." This might be as close to that being actually true as I've seen. That 920 mile car looks very, very nice and clean. I don't think $25k is over priced really. Think of it this way, if it does take $10k or $15k of restoration mechanical work, and you turn this car into something you've invested $35k to $40k in, visualize what you now have. Likely one of the best examples out there that could be a show piece or an extremely nice daily driver. Conversely, if you bought a car that's for sale somewhere else out there for $15k or even $20k and it is in average shape from those we've seen lately, what does your finished product look like after you've put another $20k into it? I would guess it will not look like this 920 mile car does and never will. We hear the advice of buying a car that was well stored and doesn't run over one that sort of runs but wasn't well stored (sun baked or rusty). This car looks to be in very nice condition from that perspective.

- if James or someone else known has already seen these cars and has made their whereabouts public, then so be it. But, if the location of these cars are not well known yet, I would suggest keeping it to yourself as I expect others will also see the value in this 920 mile car for $25k. Not saying that will happen for certain, but there are a lot of crap condition cars out there that the sellers want more than $25k for.