Introductions!

[Lwanmtr]

Well, good luck in getting your house and hope you get what you want for the car.

[Ron]

Actually, I'm just looking to get up to the "20-post-threshold" because I'm selling my car.

I replied to your PM earlier...Check your mailbox.

[dmclvr]

Thank you, both.

[ramiel05]

Hi everyone,

My name's Mike and I'm not a D owner... yet. Owning one has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and I recently decided to give myself a deadline to ownership: 5 years. My "soft" goal is 2-3 years from today.

I've done a lot of research, some lurking around these forums, and a bunch of Googling. But I want to hear from the community: what are some things I need to do to be prepared to to be a responsible, caring Delorean owner?

I haven't worked on cars in the past and the nearest DMC location is 4 hours away in Humble, TX. So I'll likely have to develop the knowledge and skills to do basic upgrades and maintenance myself. What's a good way to learn more about doing this for a 30 year old car? How did you learn?

I'll be looking at Ds that are between the $27k-$35k range, with at least more than half of that amount saved as a down payment and a few thousand as a "buffer" for imminent fixes. What's a good option for financing the rest of that half? Try my current bank first or try one of those specialized classic car financiers? And how does that work for private sales? I can't find a good source on that.

And in general--what would I really be in for? I'm in for the long-haul here. What should I expect that isn't apparent from the outside?

[Lwanmtr]

Welcome...hope you manage to get a good one in your price range. Financing might be tricky if you buy from a private seller, most banks dont like that.

[Dangermouse]

What's a good way to learn about 30 year old cars?

Buy one

Get an old Golf or BMW and learn all about maintenance of those first. Oil, brakes, suspension etc. will provide a lot of carry over skills plus the metric tools you buy will be useful for the D.

Don't go crazy and buy a Citroen or it will ruin you

[Lwanmtr]

Why bother with the vw or bmw..do what I did and go right to the D..hehe.

[Domi]

Welcome to the forum
I think the best way to learn the basics on the car is to read all the "how-to" you can find on this website.
Take a look at the owners thread who already did a lot of job with their car, this will give you an idea on how to work on the car.
And, of course the best is to have another owner near your home to help you when you need it.

[MOLI]

Hey there everyone,

The name is Paul from NJ. I currently do not own a DeLorean, but have been actively looking everywhere to land my first DeLorean. Joined the forums a few years ago, but haven't been active as work had consumed a lot of my time.

Looking forward to getting to know a lot of you and meeting up at the local shows/meets, pick your brains and hopefully be put in the right direction towards my first DeLorean purchase!

[Rich]

Replying to Post #644 above.

Hi Mike,

Welcome and happy hunting to you. You ask good questions, which is a great start for understanding classic car ownership.

About the financing for a classic like a DeLorean, yes, it complicates a deal with a private party but it happens all the time. Get in touch with one or more classic car lenders and get yourself in position to make offers when you are ready. They can quote you pretty fast nowadays but you might get a surprise no-quote response so it's better to know before you make an offer.

BEFORE you get in touch with lenders get your (free annual) credit report to be sure your credit records look right to you. Then see about buying your FICO credit score, which is based in part on your credit report. You'll probably need to be in the high 600's or over 700 but don't quote me - the credit score criteria is up to the lender. If you haven't established good credit then financing might not be right for you.

See this article listing some classic car financing firms: LINK: hagerty.com/finance/classic-car-financing/Potential-Providers

Oh, and if you haven't already done so then you must buy a copy of The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to DeLorean Automobiles by James Espey. 120 pages of vital shopping information to familiarize you with important aspects of the car.

....what are some things I need to do to be prepared to to be a responsible, caring Delorean owner?.....

I'll be looking at Ds that are between the $27k-$35k range, with at least more than half of that amount saved as a down payment and a few thousand as a "buffer" for imminent fixes. What's a good option for financing the rest of that half? Try my current bank first or try one of those specialized classic car financiers? And how does that work for private sales?