How to determine a price of a auction delorean?

[ncp546]

Hi everyone, I may be going to an auction this up coming Saturday and one of the items up for auction is a 1983 Dmc-12 manual with 2,769 miles on it. Now since this is an auction im not sure if it is running or not (the RPM gauge is frozen at 25 is this normal?), however they do say it was in a heated garage. This delorean is beautiful, all original no rips in seats from the pictures there looks to be no dings in the body. It has been sitting, there is dust in the interior it looks like. The old owner past away and they are basically auctioning off everything. Now a few questions come across my mind, what do i look for? Dry rot in tires? Rips, cracks, dents..? They may or may not start it up usually they do not, but if they do, what should i listen for in the engine? And now the very oviouse, how much would you spend? Again these questions come into play, does it run, why was it parked for so long? I just need a general idea what to look for and what a good price is. I will attach a picture of the exact delorean. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day :)310443104531046

[Silverbullet]

Well, the RPM stuck is normal, they all do that... The sitting and not started, costs a lot to fix....So you need to know if it has been kept up and running, or just parked...
Price could be $25,000 ish..

Craig

[David T]

Well, the RPM stuck is normal, they all do that... The sitting and not started, costs a lot to fix....So you need to know if it has been kept up and running, or just parked...
Price could be $25,000 ish..

Craig

It looks to be in nice condition and complete. If it is a non-runner it can be worth as much as $15,000. Figure it can take as much as $10,000 to get it running. For $25,000 you can buy a very nice runner. If it is not a runner you will have to rebuild the fuel, brake, and cooling systems, battery, tires, weatherstripping, headliners. Probably include updates, hoses, belts and A/C. The main thing to look for is a rusted out frame and a clean Title. If the motor doesn't run try to see if you can rotate the crankshaft. If you can't get it to run you can't tell the condition of the brakes, transmission, motor, A/C steering and most of the electrical system.

[vps3922]

310443104531046

Did you take those pictures? I guess that they were taking this picture when the car was running because the temperature is showing approximately where it should be when the engine is warm. The alternator or battery is dead if the engine was running when they took this. I usually see the RPM stuck at 1500 when switched off and not 2500, but there could be others out there. There might be issues with the temp gauge or sensor ond or RPM gauge if the car was off when they took this picture.

Looking like a nice car though!

Listen for a clicking when the car is running. The exhaust manifold gasket is done on one side if it is. Mine did this and the gaskets were shot on the driver's side.

[Jonathan]

Advice?

Learn about the cars a lot in general and then use that when you see one like in an auction. Read James Espey's book if you can.

It doesn't sound like time is on your side if this auction is soon and you don't know the basics. You could be treading dangerously if you are buying something that you don't know much about. It could work out fine or it might not.

I've never gone to a car auction so can't say for certain how much you get to learn about the item before bidding on it. If this was like a typical antiques (or crap) auction, you'd want to not have to buy anything there for an amount over a certain maximum. This could help you account for the surprise aspect.

Think of it as the $5 surprise bag. You could get something useful or you could get a bag full of bent nails for your money.

Personally I would go into this very cautiously if you're not well educated on the cars. With so little specific information on this car, it will be up to the bidder at the auction to know what they are looking at to then create a good price in their mind.

David's numbers make sense so take those and don't go over 2/3rds of them to play it safe. The car does look nice from the couple of photos. Yet anything can look nice with just a couple photos if taken at the right angle. The gauge positions are not an issue from what I saw.

If it worked out ideally, you could be the winning bid with some sort of caveat that protects you from a bad car until after you get it inspected. Maybe a minimum $500 downpayment or something and if it is a crap car, then walk away for that price.

This doesn't seem like an ideal way to buy a DeLorean in my opinion. Just way too many things to go wrong even for someone that has an eye for the car's features or failures.

[ncp546]

Wow thank you all for the positive replies, i did not even notice the temp gauge nice catch! I think i may be going, although it is very risky i would still like to check it out. Keep the replies coming i would still like to read them :)

[ncp546]

Did you take those pictures? I guess that they were taking this picture when the car was running because the temperature is showing approximately where it should be when the engine is warm. The alternator or battery is dead if the engine was running when they took this. I usually see the RPM stuck at 1500 when switched off and not 2500, but there could be others out there. There might be issues with the temp gauge or sensor ond or RPM gauge if the car was off when they took this picture.

Looking like a nice car though!

Listen for a clicking when the car is running. The exhaust manifold gasket is done on one side if it is. Mine did this and the gaskets were shot on the driver's side.

Hi there, i did not take the pictures, these are on the auction page. I am assuming the battery is dead, but it could be both. Thanks for the tip on the gasket's!

[Denverdelorean]

Hi there, i did not take the pictures, these are on the auction page. I am assuming the battery is dead, but it could be both. Thanks for the tip on the gasket's!

Assume it has not been started in years unless you have proof otherwise. Budget for a new fuel pump and sending unit ($400+) and and new filter and accumulator (another $200). You'll need to siphon out/clean the fuel tank. Install a new battery, check the fuses and check for fuel flow at the fuel distributor. If all that checks out, you can try and start it.

The gauges can be all wacky when you shut the car off, so don't try to glean any info from that picture alone.

I was very well educated on deloreans when i bought 3519 and i have hit a lot more surprises that i was expecting. it's always the case. The fun part is. I went from a car that had been sitting for 18+ years and painted a hideous, oxidized purple. to a running and driving delorean that is back to stainless steel. I have invested about 17k total and a LOT of time.

This car looks to be well further along than mine was. I paid 10k for mine in it's non-running, painted state.

I would bid up to 17 for this car if it doesn't run.

[ncp546]

Assume it has not been started in years unless you have proof otherwise. Budget for a new fuel pump and sending unit ($400+) and and new filter and accumulator (another $200). You'll need to siphon out/clean the fuel tank. Install a new battery, check the fuses and check for fuel flow at the fuel distributor. If all that checks out, you can try and start it.

The gauges can be all wacky when you shut the car off, so don't try to glean any info from that picture alone.

I was very well educated on deloreans when i bought 3519 and i have hit a lot more surprises that i was expecting. it's always the case. The fun part is. I went from a car that had been sitting for 18+ years and painted a hideous, oxidized purple. to a running and driving delorean that is back to stainless steel. I have invested about 17k total and a LOT of time.

This car looks to be well further along than mine was. I paid 10k for mine in it's non-running, painted state.

I would bid up to 17 for this car if it doesn't run.

Wow thank you for the descriptive input!!

[Bitsyncmaster]

If this is an estate auction, you may just get a great deal since most people don't know the value of the DeLorean.

[Rich]

I usually see the RPM stuck at 1500 when switched off and not 2500, but there could be others out there. There might be issues with the temp gauge or sensor ond or RPM gauge if the car was off when they took this picture.

Just for the record I'm fairly sure that no stock DeLorean tachometers read zero with ignition off.

As a further bit of information the same tach on the same car can end up reading a wide variety of engine speeds after every ignition-off event. Kind of anywhere between maybe 1000 and 2500RPM. I've never heard of any "normal" ignition-off RPM reading on this car.

We might feel a bit better about that problem knowing it also existed in the later versions of the C3 Corvette at least up to about 1980, I think. No coincidence since the DeLorean's instruments were sourced from AC-Delco (General Motors).

They all do - or should - go to "0" as soon as the ignition is switched back on before starting.

[ncp546]

If this is an estate auction, you may just get a great deal since most people don't know the value of the DeLorean.

Yep it is in fact an estate auction, its a small community and small house (lol)

[Nicholas R]

The gauges can be all wacky when you shut the car off, so don't try to glean any info from that picture alone.


I agree, I don't think there is any other information to be gained from that photo other than the mileage, and that the car has gauges. The car looks off to me.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Yep it is in fact an estate auction, its a small community and small house (lol)

The auctioneer will probably start the bidding at some high number. Hold off on your bit until that number drops to $3000 or another bidder starts his bid. Set your limit before it starts (I would be somewhere around $10,000) so you don't get stuck over paying.

[ncp546]

The auctioneer will probably start the bidding at some high number. Hold off on your bit until that number drops to $3000 or another bidder starts his bid. Set your limit before it starts (I would be somewhere around $10,000) so you don't get stuck over paying.

Thanks for the tip :)

[ncp546]

Just got a little update from the owners wife. "...the fuel system needs to be serviced and repair done, we just found out yesterday. Thank you Kathy."

[ncp546]

Well theres good new and bad news, the good news is you can in fact bid online for the delorean, the bad news is some things came up and unfortunately i will not be able to bid on the delorean. So here is the link for anyone who may want to check it out, perosnally one of the cleanest delorean's i have ever seen, but pictures do hide a lot. Enjoy,

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=4345&aid=86294&lid=21618609&rts=/asp/searchadvanced_i.asp%23searchTerm%3Ddelorean%26cat egory%3Dall%2Bcategories%26searchid%3D%26type%3Dlo t%26search%3Ddelorean%26sort%3Drelevance%26length% 3D25%26start%3D1%26refine%3D%26nc%3D1412727447898# topoflot

[Parzval]

vin 20047. Looks like 3 days left on the auction. Only at $8k. Could be a good deal for someone.

[Rich_NYS]

Well theres good new and bad news, the good news is you can in fact bid online for the delorean, the bad news is some things came up and unfortunately i will not be able to bid on the delorean. So here is the link for anyone who may want to check it out, perosnally one of the cleanest delorean's i have ever seen, but pictures do hide a lot. Enjoy,

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=4345&aid=86294&lid=21618609&rts=/asp/searchadvanced_i.asp%23searchTerm%3Ddelorean%26cat egory%3Dall%2Bcategories%26searchid%3D%26type%3Dlo t%26search%3Ddelorean%26sort%3Drelevance%26length% 3D25%26start%3D1%26refine%3D%26nc%3D1412727447898# topoflot


Thanks for sharing....what have you seen that's not shown in the pics, and did you get a good look at the frame?

[GS450-Junkie]

I have inspected this car. Car has not run in quite some time and will need extensive work as well as all major updates. I begged the auctioneer not to attempt starting it, but they tried to anyway. And guess what?? Wouldnt run. They told me a car is worth more if it runs in their business. They figured draining the tank would be enough so who knows what else they ripped apart when I wasnt there. The heartbreaking thing about this car for me is the interior. Although it is in decent condition, what the other guy didnt mention on here was beneath the 1/2" of dust was a solid layer of mold. It was on everything! I think I will pass on this one.

[Parzval]

Yes, actually you can see the mold in the pictures, mostly evident on the console. Makes me wonder if it's been wet inside.

[DMCMW Dave]

Yes, actually you can see the mold in the pictures, mostly evident on the console. Makes me wonder if it's been wet inside.

Typical of a barn/storage shed car. You'll find the mice later.

[Denverdelorean]

I have inspected this car. Car has not run in quite some time and will need extensive work as well as all major updates. I begged the auctioneer not to attempt starting it, but they tried to anyway. And guess what?? Wouldnt run. They told me a car is worth more if it runs in their business. They figured draining the tank would be enough so who knows what else they ripped apart when I wasnt there. The heartbreaking thing about this car for me is the interior. Although it is in decent condition, what the other guy didnt mention on here was beneath the 1/2" of dust was a solid layer of mold. It was on everything! I think I will pass on this one.

What a shame.
I wouldn't worry about damage done by an attempted start. anything that gas touches needs to be replaced/refurbished anyway.

[Parzval]

You'll find the mice later.

And smell them sooner. Yuck.

[Flash66]

I know of another one that had the same mold issue. The interior was a total loss.

[Parzval]

Up to $13,750 now. Anybody here bidding on it? (Or don't we disclose that? Every forum is different. Seems a friendly bunch on here though. :cool:)

[GS450-Junkie]

I was at the auction today. It sold to an online buyer for $26,000. wow....Car is headed to New York.

[David T]

I was at the auction today. It sold to an online buyer for $26,000. wow....

Someone is going to have a huge case of Buyer's Remorse. For sure it will turn up at one of the Delorean Venders and when they get the quote on what it is going to take to fix it up they will be flabergasted. The other possibility is the winner never follows through with the money, he was just supposed to shill and jack up the price.

[Parzval]

Someone is going to have a huge case of Buyer's Remorse. For sure it will turn up at one of the Delorean Venders and when they get the quote on what it is going to take to fix it up they will be flabergasted. The other possibility is the winner never follows through with the money, he was just supposed to shill and jack up the price.

Considering there's a 10% premium for the internet auction, and then having it shipped entirely across the country, if he's not a shill bidder it'll be over $30k till it's at his door.

[Flash66]

We'll see this one for sale again very soon. You can count on it. The shill bidding is very obvious. There are so many comparable ones for sale right now on eBay that have maximum internet exposure, and that actually run for the same price, with a history of upgrades, that have yet to be sold.

[Silverbullet]

Woo hoo.... That means mine is worth more! Time to celebrate... :cheers:

Craig