Trade Corvette for Delorean

[camaro430sut]

I know it's a long shot but any of you fine D folks interested in trading for a clean Corvette. I've got an 02 triple black convertible with 8500 miles, 5.7, 6spd. The car is immaculate. Fully loaded, magnetic ride control, heads up, polished wheels. Has a new Corsa axle back and Kirban short shifter, otherwise stock. Would like to trade for a manual transmission Delorean. Figured it might be worth a shot

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[Mark D]

I know it's a long shot but any of you fine D folks interested in trading for a clean Corvette. I've got an 02 triple black convertible with 8500 miles, 5.7, 6spd. The car is immaculate. Fully loaded, magnetic ride control, heads up, polished wheels. Has a new Corsa axle back and Kirban short shifter, otherwise stock. Would like to trade for a manual transmission Delorean. Figured it might be worth a shot.

You will be much better off selling your Corvette on a Corvette enthusiast forum where people will appreciate the condition and mods to your car. Then use the cash in hand to buy a DeLorean.

Your chances of a trade are slim to none, but more importantly you don't want to limit yourself to buying a DeLorean only from someone willing to trade. You're going to want to be picky about what DeLorean you buy and you will be greatly decreasing your options as a buyer with a trade instead of cash.

[Michael]

A low mileage C5 convert like that should be an easy sell.

[OverlandMan]

You will be much better off selling your Corvette on a Corvette enthusiast forum where people will appreciate the condition and mods to your car. Then use the cash in hand to buy a DeLorean.

Your chances of a trade are slim to none, but more importantly you don't want to limit yourself to buying a DeLorean only from someone willing to trade. You're going to want to be picky about what DeLorean you buy and you will be greatly decreasing your options as a buyer with a trade instead of cash.

Yup. ^this

[Mark D]

Also, I fixed your picture for you

[Michael]

Also, I fixed your picture for you

He as simply playing into the auto rotate that Talk does with the pics. Either way, he was safe.

[Nicholas R]

A low mileage C5 convert like that should be an easy sell.

I agree; if I were in the market for a C5, I'd jump on this; it has every feature I would want. This should sell in no time.

Like others have said, finding an owner that wants to trade really limits you to only cars owned by people wanting Corvettes. There's a good chance that those cars will not be the quality that you're looking for (you appear to be someone that appreciates quality given the condition of your Corvette). A pile of cash from selling a low mileage high performance manual convertible Corvette on the other hand, opens you up to the entire DeLorean market (which is still small, but bigger in relative terms)!

Regardless; beautiful car! It was driving my dad's 98 C5 around that made me decide that the LS1 was the right choice for my car's engine swap. Still can't think of any better engine platform than the LS.

[dmclvr]

I'm selling my DeLorean (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?15...y-5-Speed-1982), but I'd prefer cash to another car. You really should sell the Vette, and that gives you room to play.

[opethmike]

I have quite a bit of experience with both C5 Corvettes and DMCs. I'm on my 2nd C5, and I've had my DeLorean for ten years.

I can tell you right now, if you want to sell that Corvette, wait until spring/summer when the market is hotter for Corvettes, and you fill sell it quickly. You will also sell it for excellent money. My most recent C5 purchase was a 1999, manual transmission, red, convertible, with 22,000 miles, and in near minute condition. I paid (and did so quite gladly) $20,000 for the car.

I'll be blunt - the market will provide you with a much nicer C5 Corvette for $20-25,000 than what kind of DeLorean you'll get for the same money. You can find PLENTY of DeLoreans in that range, but they will not be immaculate. Nice, but not immaculate.

I will never suggest that DeLoreans are bad cars (they are not, despite popular misconception), I do have to always ask someone's motivations as to why they want one, and what their expectations of the car are.

I've lived with both a DeLorean and Corvettes for a long time. The ownership experiences are dramatically different. If you aren't a people person, especially one who can't stand hearing the same stupid jokes from complete strangers over and over again, you will not have a good time. I am absolutely not a people person, so in order for me to enjoy my DMC (which happens to be my favorite of my small collection), I have to do so privately, which is pretty restrictive. I either take it over to friend's houses who respect my annoyance at Bttf jokes, or I take it on a driving loop and come home and park it without stopping anywhere. Gas stations are where 95% of the annoying public encounters happen, so when the car needs gas, I fill up a couple of 5 gallon cans and bring those home for the car. My way of owning and enjoying the car may seem a bit extreme to some, but between not being a people person and having social anxiety issues, it's worth it to me. I also have a Lotus, as well as the aforementioned C5; both damned fine machines, but neither one sparks my passion as much as the DMC, nor give me the same wonderful sense of contentment as the DMC does when I take it for a long drive.

On the flip side of that, if you enjoy conversations with the public and don't mind repetitive jokes, or intrusive questions (it's VERY common that the first question someone asks when you walk up to is what did you pay for it.), then the car will be much easier to enjoy. I can't speak to what experiencing the car in that manner is like because that isn't me at all, but there are PLENTY of people on here who can provide a people person's view on that aspect of ownership.

Next, the driving experiences are just as dramatically different. DeLoreans drive just fine. But that's really it - "just fine". Acceleration, braking, and handling are on par with your average econobox commuter car. That's not meant to be an insult to the car, but merely what the reality of the driving experience is like. The DeLorean is a 'feel' car. You step into it, start it, drive it, and next thing you know, you can't help but bask in what a special and unique machine it is. A fascinating part of automotive history, very uniquely built, with a style like no other car out there.

In my tenure as a member of the DMC community, I have seen several people come and go thinking that they'll just make the car faster. Very few follow through with that. Yes, it can be done, but it isn't simple.

You can do heads, cams, exhaust, convert to EFI, and now you'll have a car that accelerates marginally faster than your average econobox car. But I did that work to my own car, and I can tell you DeLoreans that have been given that treatment sound fucking AWESOME!!!! So I look and sound awesome while the the guy in the Honda Civic in the next lane blows my doors off.

The PRV does not like much boost, so a low pressure turbo installation won't gain you much past the cams/heads/exhaust, and will cost you quite a bit more. If you want to go fast by running more than 6 PSI boost pressure; boy oh boy are you in for a project. You'll have to deal with the pistons, piston rings, and cylinder liners that all don't like boost, and you'll have to come up with a modern day engine management solution to handle all of that boost as well.

The last thing you can do for a faster accelerating is an engine swap. I'm presently working on putting an LS4 into my car. LS engines are a wonderful swap for these cars (several have been done successfully and are well known), but they are not easy to do, they are expensive, and they take a long time. Beyond the engine swap itself, I am going to have to make customized suspension and brake upgrades to keep things safe with that power.

So my TL; DR version of this - DMCs are wonderful cars if you go into ownership with the right, realistic expectations. What are your expectations, and how do you intend to use the car?

[dmclvr]

That is an excellent description of DeLorean ownership. I personally enjoy the corny BTTF jokes and the pseudo-fame my car brings me. It's a bit awkward to go out for a gallon of milk and get stalked by paparazzi and fanboys, but if you want to turn heads, there's no better car (short of the Ghostbusters' Ambulance with full sirens blaring). It's a car that can rub shoulders with both VW Beetles and Ferraris.

It is, of course, not the fastest, best handling, or otherwise best car on the market. It is great for a weekend road trip. Can be temperamental, and there's the endless photos at the gas station, the grocery store, the wherever. I do try to be clear with potential buyers exactly what they're buying.