Location: Leonardtown, MD
Posts: 9,003
My VIN: 03572
I had to wait till I was 55 years old to get my car. With my daughter working and married and my son in his last year of collage that was when I could afford to get my car. I'm glad I made the move than because cars were $15 to $20 K.
I would not think prices will drop. But think of it this way. You will be able to sell your car for at least what you paid for it so you really have your dream car that will only cost you maintenance cost.
Location: Middleburg Heights, OH
Posts: 1,939
You have your head and heart in an amazing and right place kid. Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a prospective buyer with so much controlled enthusiasm since, well, ever really. I am highly impressed.
All I can say here is: don't rush the purchase itself. If you see one you like, we can comb over it with a fine tooth comb, both remotely (pics) and locally, and you'll have a VERY informed purchase. Not like mine, which basically required a full resto on top of way too high "running" pricing. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Also a tip: DeLoreans are dude magnets, not chick magnets, so don't expect many females to be interested. (With Michael being the exception -- did you see his hood alignment recently?) That said, I got married after I bought mine, and it was our wedding limo, so don't give up! (Yes, bulky wedding dresses do in fact fit, amazingly enough.)
Location: St. Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30
You left me in "Aww" when I read your post. Thanks ShepOriginally Posted by Shep
Names Mason btw. I've wanted the car since I was 6. My grandmother had a neighbor down the street that owned one until he passed away a few years later and the family took it. I'd see it parked out in his driveway seeing the old guy clean it. He was kind enough to let me sit in. I'd always think of it as a silver bullet, it just looked so damn cool.It was after seeing that car did he let me barrow his VHS copy of BTTF and then I was hooked. I figured getting into the community I'd have to prove myself that I wasn't some BTTF fanboy that just wondered in. But once you get pass the pop-quizzes, then people are quite accepting to a young guy like me.
I haven't hear about Michael's hood. I do recall at DCS 2016 in Springfield that someone had some girl sit on his hood, he found her on social media and she had it as her Facebook banner. She left a dent in it and I heard most people kindly messaged her how bad it was for the hood and not to do it without permission. She kept the banner, but tried blocking everyone who messaged her. As a Millennial, I apologize for our lack of common courtesy.
There is a car... actually two cars that I have in mind. One with some miles and one with a brand new engine. Both are in my price range... I'm not even joking. I wouldn't mind posting them here, but for the sake of privacy, I don't want to put anyone out there (plus you never show your cards in a game of poker). I would like to get the communities thoughts though. I can PM them to you if you'd like to look?
Location: Burnsville MN-Moving to Kalispell MT. in June 20111
Posts: 886
My VIN: 2691
Marty Maier live across the river in Alton Ill.
Location: Middleburg Heights, OH
Posts: 1,939
Feel free to PM me!
I don't know if I'm a Millennial or a Gen X'r, somewhere in between. Born in May 1990, I have attributes of both.
BTTF for me too, I saw it and went "it's amazing how much work they put into the cars" to my Dad at the mall scene, just BS'ing the wind I think the saying goes. He goes "what do you mean?" and I went "Well the way the doors go up instead of out" and he told me "they made them like that, it's a DeLorean". Within the next probably five seconds, as he's explaining there was a company in the 80's that made it, my attention went to the famous movie line.
History had me hooked far more than the movie, but a fan of both. It does help greatly when every fill up I have someone asking me "where's the flux capacitor?" (current favorite retort: "in 1985!") as I can greatly appreciate how they came to know the car more than I did. You'll get a LOT of BTTF fans, but that's a good thing. I think without BTTF, DeLoreans would have faded from popularity and into obscurity rather quickly. Universal Studios milking the cash cow every now and then keeps fresh blood in the DeLorean ecosystem, but whether it's good fresh blood, some on here debate that.
Location: St. Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30
Born August of '96. Like I said, I was 6 years old so once he let me what his tape, the time machine was all I could think about. I started doing my own research on the car itself when I was... 11? I think it could be good blood. You just have to plant the seed in the back of their mind that, "the car is real and one day... you can own one". That will get them hook, line, and sinker.
Stay on for a minute. I'll PM you the cars.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Posts: 160
My VIN: 04629
Mason, keep your focus.......school, family, future wife, personal goals. You will get that car some day, I promise.
Here's how my seed got planted. When these cars were coming into the automotive world, I thought "What a beautiful car, wait a minute, designed by an Italian, and it's made in Ireland......" (Well I'll never be able to own one) But that 'seed' was planted and growing, I just didn't know it.
My love for this car was so strong I made a R/C scale model of it using a BTTF body, that was three years before the real one came into my life.
Then I saw an ad in a local paper,' DeLorean for sale, sacrifice $$ ', I had some money saved and combined with my tax returns, it was time to buy my dream car!
I now have enjoyed my car for over 25 years, you will have that opportunity too some day...............keep watering that seed!
Posts: 4,807
My VIN: 3937
No worries about coming off as rude, Mason, you weren't. There are far worse things than sticking to something you believe whole heartedly in and not letting the experiences of others affect what direction you're headed.
If your heart, or gut, passionately wants one of these cars, then it'd be foolish for me or anyone else to tell you otherwise.
There is no shortage of engineers, or other technically brilliant people, on here and in the DeLorean community. Coming from my own experiences, in life and with the cars, sometimes it's better to follow your own intuitions and not think so much about things. Certainly not to try and do your thinking from the perspective of someone else, family, friend or other.
They aren't walking in your shoes, you are, and while their experiences and advice about life can be respectfully listened to, their advice doesn't need to be taken. And there's nothing rude about doing so.
Sept. 81, auto, black interior
Location: Rowlett, TX
Posts: 1,533
My VIN: 5482
I highly suggest having a garage where you can store it and work on it when it needs maintenance and repairs. After all, it is 40 year old technology. Buying a pristine example won't necessarily mitigate the exposure to common issues that plague these cars.
I also highly recommend financing only what you must and paying cash for everything else. Different stroke for different folks, but that's my 2 cents.
I badly wanted a DeLorean when I was in college too. Patience, saving money, and an understanding wife helped me realize that dream a decade later. Good luck to you!
Jeff
Location: Middleburg Heights, OH
Posts: 1,939
Responded by email Mason! Too much to go over in PM format, hope that's okay!
While I would agree on the garage, it is for entirely separate reasons. Seeing a 30-foot long tree branch fall on my parents' tennis court and fracture much of the concrete for the umpteenth time is a simple reminder of just how fragile a car can be by comparison. Not to mention it's a pretty valuable car compared to most cars that are street-parked, and higher theft risk. Also that door seals often go bad, and rain seeps in (an issue I would surely face a lot already if I parked outdoors).
And perhaps more simply: don't you want to work on your car when it's still pouring rain outside? Or dark? Or freezing? A garage with electrical outlets provides that capability. Lights, ambient heaters (careful where you point it!), even a fan do wonders for extending the usable work time.
On the tennis court, before anybody goes "Shep's parents must be rich!", it would barely constitute a "barn find parts car" by any standard -- they bought the property with it already in disarray, it's been unusable for 30 years by now. Net is shot, the poles for said net are more rusted than a DeLorean frame ran through every Ohio winter since manufacture, the crank mechanism froze up a decade ago, the surface is uneven, flaky, and covered in black crap, and it's sunk enough to be very unlevel. But the concrete is over a foot thick from the parts that are exposed, so that's a serious amount of energy slammed into a brick wall there.
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