Hello,

I have lurked here for a number of years but finally decided to make a post.

Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by Delorean's. In high school, a buddy's dad had one and after riding around in it a couple times...I fell in love and decided someday I would own one of my own. Now, nearly 20 years later, I think that day is only a couple years away so I need to start really learning the finer details of these cars and deciding exactly what I want...and what I don't want. I already have some cash set aside and I am planning on selling one of my "fun" cars once I am ready to seriously make this purchase. But, there is a lot of learning to do.

From my basic research, it appears that factory options on these cars were rather limited. From what I can tell, the options were: automatic vs. manual transmission and grey vs. black interior. Everything else was pretty much standard. Is that accurate? With that in mind, based on the cars I have seen I think I like the grey interior better. Is one more popular/valuable than the other? For transmission I'm 100% a 5-speed car guy, I won't buy an automatic. Does one tend to sell for more than the other?

As I understand it, the majority of variations on these cars comes from design changes made throughout the run of production. I know there are a bunch of them...but the one's that really stand out to me are the hood and the antenna. I know I don't like the look of the cars with the antenna in the front fender and I don't care for the later flat hood. I know the gas-flap hood is popular, but I have heard mixed things about it. I have heard that they can rattle while driving down the road and they negatively impact the look of the car. On the other hand, they make refueling much more simple as you don't have to open the hood.

What are the thoughts on the gas flap hood? Are they really more desirable and how much do they affect the value? Do they rattle? Can someone give me some pros/cons on this feature?

The only other thing that I really don't like that I have seen is some cars have a wide black stripe on the side. As I understand it, this was a dealer option. I don't care for this look and much prefer the thin trim.

Also, I would prefer a clean mostly original driver...doesn't have to be a pristine show car. I don't care for or need the performance upgrades or any of that. I'd like to find one pretty much stock.

So, based on my early research I here is where I think I stand:

Must Haves
5-speed
Good Condition, Clean Interior, Mostly Stock Driver
Grey Interior (I think)
Original

Unsure Of
Gas-Flap vs. No Gas Flap

Must Not Have
Fixed Antenna on Front Fender
Non-Grooved Hood
No Wide Stripe on Side

As I begin to research this further, I would appreciate any thoughts or comments. Any suggestions on resources to learn more about these cars...other than just reading the forum which I have already begun to do. If anyone has any specific threads I should read please let me know.

Is the car I have described here unusual or difficult to find? Obviously due diligence will need to be done on any prospective purchase, but I'm not looking for a "unicorn" am I? Am I being realistic?

What can I expect for maintenance? Are these cars hard/expensive to keep on the road if being using as a weekend/nice weather driver? My expectation would be to put no more than 1000 miles on the car per year.