What Was a DeLorean Car Value in the 80's?

[Pags44]

I've been interested if any of you know how much a DeLorean was worth in the 80's AFTER the company went out of business? Were they basically worthless? It's kind of like a modern day situation with the GM lines of Saab, Saturn, Pontiac, etc. but DeLorean was only one car where GM is a parent company and is still around. Just curious. Thanks!

[David T]

They were being advertised as low as $9,500. But realize that is in 1983-4 dollars. There is an advert somewhere.

[Pags44]

Dealers must've had the cars for years then, wow.

I wonder what the used market prices were.

[David T]

Dealers must've had the cars for years then, wow.

I wonder what the used market prices were.

That price was by Consolidated. They had the largest # of Deloreans. Many dealers tried painting them hoping that would make them more sell able. The main problem was the question buyers had of who would service them and if there would be any parts available. People, for the most part, were not buying Deloreans as collectables, they looked at them as daily drivers and would require service. And new car buyers generally don't do their own service. So who buys a new car and doesn't expect a warranty? Not many which is why the price dropped so low.

[Iznodmad]

The original owner of 16128 paid $16k for it in April of 1984 from Consolidated, one of the last 5 cars they had left over for sale then.

[mr_maxime]

I've wondered the same for Fisker Karmas especially considering how much more complicated it is and that their battery supplier went bankrupt. At least there were plenty of replacement parts for the delorean.

[David T]

While it is true there were a lot of parts, it was not common knowledge and who knew how to work on them anyway? It only became obvious later that there was this treasure trove of parts. What was common knowledge was that the company went bankrupt and when you hear that you assume there is nothing left. Often, when the dust settles, someone steps up and tries to continue something in some fashion but that was not apparent at the time. There was just all that bad publicity about how under-powered and unreliable the car was. Remember, there was a BIG fuss when Johnny Carson got stuck in his car on his ride home from the dealership and JZD was arrested on video. The publicity was horrible. It didn't improve till the BTTF movies came out.

[Gregadeth]

It didn't improve till the BTTF movies came out.

Did the value of the cars noticeably spike up because of the movie, due to increased demand? I would imagine after July 1985, DeLoreans were commanding relatively higher prices across the board.

[SamHill]

I think there had to be some segment of the ownership who were rich guys and they were just plain done with it.

[Dangermouse]

Did the value of the cars noticeably spike up because of the movie, due to increased demand? I would imagine after July 1985, DeLoreans were commanding relatively higher prices across the board.

I wouldn't necessarily think so. It was originally a kids movie. Most of the BTTF fans today are fans "because they saw it when they were a kid", and kids in 1985 didn't have 10-25k to spend on a car. It has only when they got older and have some disposable income that they can afford such a car from their youth.