'82 DMC-12 assessment

[Rich_NYS]

Make sure the Title is clean, the numbers match up and the mileage is correct.

Thanks David.....match the VIN to the title, right (or is the VIN in multiple places I should check to match?) Newbie question: clean title is a title without leins, right?

[Rich_NYS]

Thank you everyone for the knowledge you're sharing....I very much appreciate the help with this!

[LEVY]

Thanks David.....match the VIN to the title, right (or is the VIN in multiple places I should check to match?) Newbie question: clean title is a title without leins, right?

Yes, David meant title on hand and no liens on the title. No to worry about mileage, on this cars there is no way to check!

If ownre can not provide you a title because it was lost, no to worry, there are many ways to obtain one, as long as price is right and vehicle is not reported as stolen/salvage etc.

LEVY

[David T]

Yes, David meant title on hand and no liens on the title. No to worry about mileage, on this cars there is no way to check!

If ownre can not provide you a title because it was lost, no to worry, there are many ways to obtain one, as long as price is right and vehicle is not reported as stolen/salvage etc.

LEVY

What I mean by a "clean" Title is that it is the correct one for the car (the vin #'s match) the owner has not marked it up or signed it yet, there is no Lien (or if there is, it has been paid off and the owner has proof) it does NOT say Salvage on it, and the mileage can be matched up, ie, you can make sense of the mileage in that the Title does not have a higher # than what is on the car's odometer. If the recorded owner is deceased the current owner has the authority to sign the Title and sell the car. Included with the car you want to get 2 sets of car keys (2 for the single key system, 4 for the 2 key system and if a locking gas cap), the Owner's manual and whatever else goes along with the car such as accessories, cover, tools, parts, etc. The car should have a spare tire, lug wrench, jack handle, jack and bag. Anything you don't get will cost you so be sure to get everything you can. A lost Title or one that is messed up IS a big deal or at least it can be. If you are buying the car you are entitled to getting a good Title. Once you give the seller cash they will have NO obligation to help you in any way. Without a good Title you cannot register the car or drive it on public roads. If it turns out the car was ever reported stolen they will take the car away from you. All you can do is sue the person you bought it from. Good Luck with that!

[Rich_NYS]

-Just talked to a friend who will be nearby and can take pics of the car for me....saves me a 2.5 hour drive! I hope to post pics within a day or two.

I don't even own a DeLorean yet and I'm already having fun...

[Jonathan]

Thank you everyone for the knowledge you're sharing....I very much appreciate the help with this!

I don't even own a DeLorean yet and I'm already having fun...

For sure. There is lots of help to go around and it seems time and time again, the DeLorean community proves that they are very happy to share it with others.

Keep that "having fun" idea in mind throughout. That's what all of this is really about for most of us. If it's no longer fun for you, then you know to take a break, either temporarily or entirely. Much of the advice the guys are sharing with you here will help you keep having fun with this hobby. These cars can destroy you if your expectations aren't in line with your reality. Spend the time to learn and make an informed decision. I wasn't kidding about the surprises. Guys that don't own their cars anymore often got to that point because of not knowing what they were getting into.

Thanks for the trademark idea... lol!! You can use it for $1, haha

[LEVY]

-Just talked to a friend who will be nearby and can take pics of the car for me....saves me a 2.5 hour drive! I hope to post pics within a day or two.

I don't even own a DeLorean yet and I'm already having fun...

Just keep in mind, if "your friend" likes the car, and he is able to negotiate a very good price, and have the money, he might forget friendship and may buy it for himself.

That happened here on this forum before! The buyer even wrote some sarcastic comments to the guy who wanted to buy it at the first place. 2.5 hr. drive is nothing, you still have to drive to see it. What if he knows nothing about Deloreans and tell you is not worth the asking price? Are you going to take his word? You can ask the current owner for pictures too.

Hope you buy your dream car soon!

LEVY

[louielouie2000]

What I mean by a "clean" Title is that it is the correct one for the car (the vin #'s match) the owner has not marked it up or signed it yet, there is no Lien (or if there is, it has been paid off and the owner has proof) it does NOT say Salvage on it, and the mileage can be matched up, ie, you can make sense of the mileage in that the Title does not have a higher # than what is on the car's odometer. If the recorded owner is deceased the current owner has the authority to sign the Title and sell the car. Included with the car you want to get 2 sets of car keys (2 for the single key system, 4 for the 2 key system and if a locking gas cap), the Owner's manual and whatever else goes along with the car such as accessories, cover, tools, parts, etc. The car should have a spare tire, lug wrench, jack handle, jack and bag. Anything you don't get will cost you so be sure to get everything you can. A lost Title or one that is messed up IS a big deal or at least it can be. If you are buying the car you are entitled to getting a good Title. Once you give the seller cash they will have NO obligation to help you in any way. Without a good Title you cannot register the car or drive it on public roads. If it turns out the car was ever reported stolen they will take the car away from you. All you can do is sue the person you bought it from. Good Luck with that!

A clean title can also refer to a clean vehicle history... ie: if the car has been in accidents, been salvaged, flooded, was ever a Lease/Rental car, had any major repairs or recalls performed, etc. You can try running the VIN on Autocheck or Carfax, but most DeLoreans have been off the road since those services started documenting VINs, so on many DeLoreans, you won't get any information.

[NightFlyer]

-Just talked to a friend who will be nearby and can take pics of the car for me....saves me a 2.5 hour drive! I hope to post pics within a day or two.

This is something I don't get at all. If you're serious about doing it, then why is making the trip to see the car in persona, even multiple times, so very difficult? Even at a discounted price, we're still talking serious money here - aren't we? And yet it's not worth a few gallons of gas and a few hours of your time?

COME ON!

When I purchased my car, I made a 1,200 mile round trip twice (two whole days and 2,400 miles of driving) - once to scout several cars along a carefully planned/determined route, and once to purchase/pick-up my car. And that was only after visiting several other area cars (within a 300 mile radius) that I previously rejected. All together, I probably expended 3,500 miles and the requisite time before finally purchasing #1798.

If it's too much of a hassle to actually visit the car a couple times before deciding whether or not to purchase, then my honest advice is that a DeLorean is not for you - your heart will never be in it. A DeLorean is an enthusiast's car. It's not a new car and will never be like a new car, no matter how nice of a car you may have. And an enthusiast would not be making a deal out of a 2.5 hour drive. Not trying to discourage you, I'm just trying to make a point here.

If the frame was previously messed with, that says that a PO did a lot of messing with this car. If that PO, or his hires, didn't really know what they were doing, it could be a disaster. Or maybe they did know what they were doing and everything is just fine. You either really need to know what you're looking at or have someone go with you that does in order to accurately assess the value.

[Bill6298]

I can speak from experience about making all of the rookie mistakes. I bought vin 6298 in late 2002 and made all of the usual mistakes. However, I had one thing in my favor: a "known" previous owner. There was quite a bit of history available for my car on the DML at the time.

My top mistakes:

1. Underestimating how much money it would take to keep the car going and finish the projects not tackled by the PO. Ask yourself: Do you have enough disposable income to keep things going? I would consider how much margin you have to address other life events including losing or changing jobs. If you run out of money, things can get exponentially worse.

2. Not having enough DeLorean knowledge to make a well informed buying decision. Again, I got lucky with a honest and competent previous owner but I did not understand what it would take to fix the things he fully disclosed as problems.

These two issues led to the ultimate bad situation for me: storage. Don't think you can store the car while you solve your money (or time/family/employment) problem and pick right back up where you left off. Every year will create new costs on top of the original cost. It's easy to double or triple the amount of money needed to move forward.

I recommend:

- Learn everything in James' buying guide book (http://store.delorean.com/p-10550-th...tomobiles.aspx).
- Read forum posts on a regular basis to make sure you enjoy staying engaged
- Research and price common procedures for different levels of a restoration

This may not apply to your specific situation but I thought I'd share a real world story.

Good luck.

Bill