DeLorean Value - Greatly Overstated

[Dracula]

To carry over the conversations that people seem to want to have about the car I'm trying to sell here:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?48...682#post118682

I believe that the values of DeLoreans are greatly over-stated, especially by owners.

I want to get out of the DeLorean community and, as to how I feel about the process of selling my car, it's simple:

I was hoping that one of these people who are always appearing and saying that they're doing their research and waiting for the "right" car to show up would have seen what a screaming deal mine was and buy it. I don't have the time or spare resources to dedicate to selling the car at an auction and I'm not losing any more money on it.

Case in point, there's this car that sold through DMC Midwest $45,000.

http://dmcmidwest.com/delorean/6797/

What did it have over mine? Mine has 20,000 more miles and a Stage II upgrade as well as all the suspension and handling upgrades for $15,000 LESS!

I don't think that there was anything wrong with my eBay ad and that I have already severely undercut the value of my car as it is.

How about this one?

http://delorean.com/delorean/10682/

They sold it, per their website, for $35,000. It has under 500 miles difference and next to NOTHING done to it.

If they sell this one at $32,500, the buyer is an idiot.

http://delorean.com/delorean/1441/#!prettyPhoto

My car, for $2,500 less, has 11,000 fewer miles and a complete service history that exceeds my asking price.

The same goes for this car, though, they only have 3,000 more miles than I do.

http://delorean.com/delorean/5568/#!prettyPhoto

The point I'm trying to make with all of these links is that there is next to no research being done by the general DeLorean-buying public and either there are a number of saps over-paying for these cars or DMCH lies through their website about what they sell them for.

The value of a DeLorean is greatly over-stated and buying a nice driver for $15,000 is the rule, not the exception. There are a lot of dogmatic things that people like to say in the DeLorean community: The "Rule of 25," the $57,500 list price of a "new build" car, the inflated prices asked by the DMC satellite shops that cars somehow sell for, etc.

I was convinced that my 30k mile fully restored and upgraded Stage II-equipped car would bring $30,000 without a doubt on eBay, but with ZERO bids and no offers to-date, I'm now willing to say that the value of a Stage II car is no more than that of a standard DeLorean and that all DeLoreans are only worth sub-$20,000 and that anyone who pays more than that is overpaying.

This perceived illusion of DeLorean value and notice that there's a funny taste in the Kool-Aid that has filtered from DMCH through the media in regards to what these cars sell for and are worth.

[Jonathan]

Hey Chad,

I won't try to dispute what you're saying here, because I've not done my own research on car values with respect to asking versus actual sold numbers.

What I was going to mention was, do you think this phenomena would also be seen in other areas? Like other classic ars for example, or even other products or items with somewhat arbitrary values?

I could see values of say Lotus Esprits from the 80s having a similar situation, or maybe a lot of other old cars. I see them much more often, and only because they made a million + of them, but a lot of Corvettes for sale at shows and what not have asking pirces way out of line with what you more or less know they are actually worth. Not saying that helps your car sell, but it seems common. No idea the accuracy of DMCH posted sold prices, but that's likely not something any of us can know until you speak to an owner who actually admits to paying that. A fellow on here did mention paying in the $50k's for his car, so it's not a complete fabrication at the very least.

The bigger picture might be as all this relates to the economy. If you are selling something with an arbitrary value, which I guess just about everything in life gets an arbitrary price tag in some ways... it will be relative to what someone is willing to pay. Real estate, comic books, cars, used clothing. DeLorean values are not exempt and if most people reading here are on the owner/buyer end and not the seller, most of us might not have had to experience what you're doing. No details here, but I wonder if some folks from recent years like Wilson in Colorado or Rene the Military girl, took a bath on their cars when they sold them? Like I said, not saying it will help put dollars in your pocket, but it might help you sleep better at night.

A local owner to me contacted a family member of mine a summer or two ago because he wanted to talk interiors. My Uncle does this for a living and he does really great work. He normally does Ferraris but I put him in touch with this owner because I thought he might be able to help. Long story short, the call didn't go well because the DeLorean guy talked about some pretty fancy and good quality work he needed, but when it came time to talk about what it might cost, all of a sudden those services weren't worth quite as much as they were a minute ago. All talk and no action kind of. Wanted the product/service but wasn't willing to pay for it.

We see it every day with various things in life that we shop for, but man it must be frustrating for sales guys when this long line of us talk about how great an item is, but can't justify spending the money on it. If you are selling your car, it is worth a fortune. If you are buying, it is worth half that. It isn't just DeLoreans, Chad, it's everything that is for sale.

[StainlessSteelDream]

H
What I was going to mention was, do you think this phenomena would also be seen in other areas? Like other classic ars for example, or even other products or items with somewhat arbitrary values?

Some interesting points about this here:
How Paying Good Money Lowers the Value of Your Car

But basically, when you are selling a "collector car" collector's generally want originality, warts and all. Otherwise it's more a used car; and that's a different market and buyer profile.

The DMCxx people will likely get more $$ because:
A) they are car salesmen, it's want they do.. good salesman hide their feelings and are everyone's friends
B) "dealer" brand name behind them, not from some unknown ebayer etc.

[Jeff K]

Buying from a dealer is a significant advantage, especially for the noob. You have support and service. This is worth a premium.

I bought a Stage II DMC Texas rebuild second hand, it was pristine. Kept it for a year and sold it for 32,500 in 16 days. I was into the car about 28,500.

Did you try Autotrader.com?

[thirdmanj]

Buying from a dealer is a significant advantage, especially for the noob. You have support and service. This is worth a premium.

I bought a Stage II DMC Texas rebuild second hand, it was pristine. Kept it for a year and sold it for 32,500 in 16 days. I was into the car about 28,500.

Did you try Autotrader.com?

This is pretty much what I was gonna say before all the bullsh-t. DMC may not be many things, but they are a known name and very public. They don't offer much (as far as I'm concerned) by way of warranties and such, but it will give a new buyer better piece of mind than a guy from Wisconsin who dresses like a vampire. Now, if you were to offer a warranty on your D, in writing, that was comparable or better than DMCH's, maybe you'd get a taker or two.

[Jeff K]

Also, location is really important!

I live in Los Angeles. These cars have a movie star quality, as you know too well.

Also, the weather is hospitable to driving them year round here.

Jeff

[refugeefromcalif]

No idea the accuracy of DMCH posted sold prices, but that's likely not something any of us can know until you speak to an owner who actually admits to paying that.

I don't have a clue about the accuracy of any other car sales that are listed on the DMC website or, if their owners are even members here.

A fellow on here did mention paying in the $50k's for his car, so it's not a complete fabrication at the very least.

That is me and Here's a link to the sales page for my car.

Buying from a dealer is a significant advantage, especially for the noob. You have support and service. This is worth a premium.

I did buy mine from a DMC dealer but, (I've found), Support and Service aren't included in the price until you pay Extra for it on certain cars. (And sometimes not even then).

George

[pezzonovante88]

I agree with pretty much everything said here. I think cosmetic originality and quality are important with DeLoreans. When there are visible customized modifications, I think it takes away from the overall appeal for many prospective buyers. Also, knowing it's from an experienced specialized DeLorean "dealer" would build tons of value for a lot of people.

[Jonathan]

I agree with pretty much everything said here. I think cosmetic originality and quality are important with DeLoreans. When there are visible customized modifications, I think it takes away from the overall appeal for many prospective buyers. Also, knowing it's from an experienced specialized DeLorean "dealer" would build tons of value for a lot of people.

Agreed.

In my case, I bought a car in the $22k territory and at the time the DMCX cars (some, not all) were about $29k. 10 times out of 10 if I got the chance for a redo, I would go back and pay that extra $7k to buy a DMCX car.

Now that I have learned about the cars for the last 6 years maybe it wouldn't justify it anymore, but back when I knew nothing, even just having the feeling I was in good hands would have been very important.

...now, along come Dave and Julee on day two of my DMC ownership and I survived ok. If some of those other pieces didn't fall into place though shortly after I got the car, it would have been abandon ship a long time ago

[Dracula]

For those who tout accuracy and originality; have you ever seen a DMC refurbished car? They're ALL '82/'83s. They all get flat hoods and later components. Originally a gas flap car? Flat hood! I've also never been impressed by the build quality of them, either. My car has had all of its work performed by DMC Midwest and was refurbished by them.

I also understand the warranty thing, but that's debatable. If you have the choice of a car at $45,000 with a warranty and few upgrades or one for $30,000 with nearly every upgrade possible and no warranty, there's still $15,000 left over from buying the cheaper car that you can use to address any issues that MIGHT surface, especially since if you wanted to have the Stage II work performed to one of the cars they sell, you'd still have to pay the extra $16,000.

Though, that's MY car. If it serves as any form of an indicator, then the amount of work and servicing that you perform or have performed won't effect the amount that you can sell the car for at the end of the day.

Maybe I should sell my car as a DMCMW Refurbished car, instead. After all, I do have the little plaque that they put on the car when they performed the Stage II work...