Nashville Newbee

[Bill Hullett]

Hello all.....My name is Bill Hullett .. I live in Nashville TN and this is my first post and wanted to formally introduce myself to everyone here. My brother and sisters and I recently inherited my Dads 1981 Delorean and we're trying to decide what to do....Very original very unused 8000 miles , I think it is still sporting its original set of tires....It's been sitting in his garage for the last few years....I've been given two opinions by car guys in the know...#1 guy says get it showroom clean (shouldn't be difficult) and sell ...guy #2 says sell it untouched as is as in "barn find condition" because that will garner a higher price....We will more than likely sell this car to help finalize his estate so keeping it in the family may not be an option once we determine its true worth...Any Delorean advise would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks all,
Bill Hullett

[Dangermouse]

IMHO "Barn find" cars only appeal to serious collectors who want to keep it that way. As far as I can tell, most DeLorean buyers are wanting to actually driver the thing, so a premium is rarely paid for such a "title". As it presumably hasn't run in years, there is a procedure for cleaning out the fuel delivery system before trying to start it up (please don't just charge the battery and try and start it).

The car looks sooooo much better washed and would probably attract a higher price one the "oh shiney" principle, but some buyers would appreciate a dusty car that hasn't been touched as they know the fuel system hasn't been made worse.

A running car will garner more money than a non-running one, but plan on spending $500-$1000 to get it actually running depending on condition and whether you do the work yourself or pay someone (who knows what they are doing). There is a general rule of $1000 for every year the car has been sitting to get it back into reliable shape (including tires, miscellaneous rubber seals etc)

Most important will be the condition of the steel frame underneath the car, and it's condition will vary based on how the car has been stored. Pictures will be invaluable - if you can get the car on a lift, even better (look at Beverly Hills Car Club sale ads to see what I mean, but ignore their pricing).

Feel free to post photos and let us know the VIN and you may get a price range, or even offers.

[sdg3205]

Its a tough question because you'd have to invest some time and money to get it running. Once it runs, does it move? If it moves, does it stop? Just because it runs doesn't mean any of the associated lambda, cooling, charging, etc systems are working as intended. Things can quickly snowball. Just something to think about.

You won't get top dollar for it as it stands and you'd have to decide how much to invest, and how much risk you'd like to take AND at what point you'd maximize your sale value over your investment. It's all very hard to say.

But welcome! We'll do our best to help you. Post some pics and we'll see where you're at.

[DMCVegas]

IMHO "Barn find" cars only appeal to serious collectors who want to keep it that way...

Which, to add to that, is few and far between. A great example is Chris Parnham's Right-Hand Drive car ,"Dusty". It was a literal Barn Find because it was in fact stored in a barn. It's storage condition was kept as-is for the documentation purposes of the car's history. But once all those photos were taken, the car got washed and restored.

Preserving a car in "Barn Find" condition would only be desirable for perhaps some historic derelict race car that is so far gone, that a restoration would destroy it's originality because so much of the old deteriorated car would need to be cut out and replaced (rusty chassis, body panels, etc.) that it would physically be an entirely different car that simply uses some old pieces and a recycled serial number.

Obviously, yes, a restored DeLorean is going to fetch a much, MUCH higher price than a non-running one. Getting it up and running isn't an easy task for sure. But here is a list of things for you to consider:

Pros:

Vehicle has provenance (and hopefully a few records) as being previously owned only by the first, initial owner and family.
You have a great chance to restore the vehicle a build a solid portfolio.
As the son of the previous owner, you can record some great family history from photos, documents, oral history, etc., and document that to make the care more salable.
If you do the work yourself, yes, you *do* have an opportunity to recover your investment and potentially make some money off of the car since you don't have the cost of the vehicle to subtract from your budget.


Cons:

Building a portfolio requires some time and meticulous dedication to collect, document, and organize all records.
If you pay someone else to do the work, you're going to kill your profit margin.
If you decide to do the work yourself, you need to make sure that you're both comfortable and able to preform a proper restoration.
If you do a bad restoration, you're going to devalue the car as the next person has to undo what you did.


DeLoreans are some of the absolute easiest vehicles to work on. Lots of space, standard off the shelf parts, and one of the strongest support communities, as well as one of the oldest, that you'll ever find. Myself, I learned car repair on my own DeLorean, so it's not that hard. Having said that however, you need to make absolutely sure that if you were to undertake a repair/restoration yourself, that you are a competent mechanic. I mean, if you're the type of person that would rather just pour some pepper or Stop-Leak into your radiator rather than just repair it, please do not touch the car. If you're the type of person that would rather just rebuild a carb before you even swap jets or check the floats, please don't even bother to open the engine compartment.

It's not that I'm a purist, it's that I'm trying to save you from devaluing/damaging your car. You need patience, high personal standards, some talent, and some pocket money to get a car working right. And they do very well as daily drivers too. But that all depends on what quality level of work you put into one. There is nothing at all wrong with trying to save a buck, or even staggering out repair costs. Though not as bad as a Ferrari, they can get up there sometimes, I and many of us totally understand that. But you don't want to be a cheapskate and cut corners.

Having said all that, I've no idea who "Guy 1" and "Guy 2" are in this scenario that you're speaking of. But with all due respect, you seriously need to ignore them. These sound like armchair quarterbacks that might love cars, but exotics and restorations may not be their specialties. If you and your siblings are looking to sell the vehicle, and want to get the most money for it as possible, here is the secret:

Ready?

Be Honest.

That goes for both yourself, as well as selling the vehicle. Don't cover things up, don't lie, and please, especially realize that you're not sitting on a gold mine. Tell the truth when selling.

Please keep us all updated, and the best of luck to you. And hey, if you decide to keep it, we're here for you too to get her back on the road.

[Nicholas R]

Sounds like guy #2 wants to buy it for himself at a lower price. I've never heard of a show car pulling less than a barn find.

The only exception may be some survivors, but only some cars are valuable as survivors, and survivor condition is very specific.

[Iznodmad]

There have to be some owners nearby that are also on this forum. Perhaps they can come inspect the car and inform you of current condition and value.

[bfloyd]

I live right up the road in Lebanon (about 25-30 miles from Nashville), and there is another owner here on the forums from the Clarksville area. I would be glad to offer any help if I could. When I bought my car in November of 2014, it hadn't run in 20 years - but had been garage kept for all of that time. I got lucky with my car, as the interior was was in near perfect condition, with the exception of a small crack in the binnacle and a torn shoulder on the drivers seat. My car had 8637 original miles on it when I bought it, as well as the original tires. I paid $9,000 for my car, and have probably put that much more into it since we bought it. It's in the garage now with the interior torn out as I'm in the middle of a stereo upgrade, but I hope to have it put back together in the next week or so.

Private message me here on the forums if you want to.

http://i.imgur.com/DoKbw0mm.jpg

[Justin51982]

Hey Bill! Welcome!

Just out of curiosity, where in Nashville are you? I'm in Hendersonville.