Where did you find your car?

[DaraSue]

Currently going through the frustrating process of car-shopping, beating my head against the wall after getting sniped at literally the last second on eBay and trying to make the logistics work of travelling out of state to check cars out. (I'm in UT so the chances of just happening to find one here for what I want to spend are... minimal.)

Would welcome any input you guys have on what buying experiences were good/bad.

Beverly Hills Car Club seems to have quite a few of them and I know at least one poster here had a good experience with them but I've seen questionable reports about them on other car forums (that they were basically car flippers who did the bare minimum to get it driveable out of the warehouse) so I'm thinking they're kind of a last resort that I'd look at if I were in CA anyway and wanted to pay the $425 to have DMC CA check it over.

Two others I've got my eye on were one in Fullerton that's currently listed for $30K with no bites and one in San Bernardino County owned by a FOAFOAF he wants $33k for, comparable to the one I lost on eBay. I was hoping to find a daily driver for $25-30K but maybe my expectations aren't realistic and I should resign myself to paying a few grand more to save myself the hassle of looking for a few more months/years in which prices could go up.

Thoughts?

[Mark D]

I found mine right here on DMCTalk in the classified section. I'm in WI and the previous owner lived in OH. I was lucky enough to have a car savvy friend living just a half hour away from the owner. After he checked it out and gave me the OK I rented a car and drove 8 hours to check out the car myself. It was "The One" so we made a deal and I drove it home to WI.

[dodint]

^^ That is my plan. ;)

Co-worker has a cousin who has one in a warehouse in Eau Claire, she's supposed to put out feelers for me but I don't know anything about it at all.

[dn010]

I found mine on eBay but the transaction went down outside of it either because the auction ended early for me or because the auction ended and the car didn't sell, I can't remember which - this was back in 2002.

[DMCVegas]

DMC-GG before they became a partner with Houston.

[louielouie2000]

I bought my first two DeLoreans from DMC News members. DMC News was an email list-serve that preceded DeLorean message boards such as DMC Talk. Anyway, it's my goal to buy another DeLorean next year, and I hope to purchase from a fellow forum member when that time comes as well. I just like the idea of buying a car that is owned by a known enthusiast. You get a better idea of the cars individual strengths and faults, how it was maintained & restored, etc. When you look at dealer-sale cars, you can't get any sort of an honest answer on how often the car was driven, how it was maintained, how the DeLorean-specific faults were dealt with (or if they were remedied at all), where replacement parts were bought & who installed them, etc.

That being said, both of my cars had their fair share of issues surface after I purchased them. That's to be expected with any car of this vintage, though. Especially considering most DeLoreans have been stored long-term (which is way rougher on them than being driven), and DMC-12s themselves were a brand new car, from a brand new company, produced for pennies on the dollar, years faster than any other production car that has ever come to market. In essence, these cars have built-in flaws, and storage/lack of use has not been kind to them.

As an example, 99% of Beverly Hills Car Club DeLoreans not only rock their original electrics, but also run their original belts, hoses, and even tires. There is a reason why they advertise their cars for so much less than everyone else; most of their cars will just barely move under their own power. BHCC isn't alone in this, either. The majority of DeLoreans for sale at any given time are in such a condition. These aren't American muscle cars with simple pushrod engines and carburetors; they are (often) fickle little cars with a very early form of mechanical (not electronic!) fuel injection, embryonic computers/electrics, cooling & HVAC systems that traverse the entire length of the car, etc. Most people didn't have a clue how to maintain them, so they simply weren't; or varying mechanics bungled repairs over the years to keep the cars barely operational, etc.

Moral of the story: don't get in a rush to buy, and don't buy a car just because it's nearby. These cars trade hands pretty often, so wait for the appropriate one for you to come along. Even if it isn't near, you'll find fellow owners will gladly go look at the car for you & report back. Trust me, we don't mind doing it- it's always fun to go see a newly surfaced DeLorean in your area.

[Lou and "Boo"]

My car was sitting under a tree for fifteen years. I would walk by it while walking with my first born and say "I'm
Gonna inquire about that some day". Later on in life , I was
Walking with my second born and the guy was outside so I said
"You ever gonna sell That Delorean"
He said
"Why do you want to buy it?"
I said "I don't want to pay tens of thousands of dollars ."
He said "how about $5000"

20 minutes later he signed the title Over to me. :)

I didn't even know about the forums until After I bought it.

[Parzval]

My car was sitting under a tree for fifteen years. I would walk by it while walking with my first born and say "I'm
Gonna inquire about that some day". Later on in life , I was
Walking with my second born and the guy was outside so I said
"You ever gonna sell That Delorean"
He said
"Why do you want to buy it?"
I said "I don't want to pay tens of thousands of dollars ."
He said "how about $5000"

20 minutes later he signed the title Over to me. :)

I didn't even know about the forums until After I bought it.

That's a great story! I wish that kind of thing would happen to me, but I have only ever seen ONE in the wild at all. :frown:

[Gfrank]

My 81 I found on here first, went up on eBay, really didn't have the cash so I never bid, winning bidder flaked so I went and had a look at it as we drove down south on vacation. I bank transferred him the cash a few days later when I was still down south and picked up enroute home...

Which brings me to my 82, sorta 4-5 hours after I paid for my 81, my boss calls me, says I found you a wrecked one In a barn about 10min from my house (we do restorations) , friend storing it for a friend. He told me the price, looked at it the day after I got home. No cash at the time, but 3 months or so later I ended up with it.

My 83 was some completely random post on a local buy and sell on Facebook, buddy tagged me, Beat up DeLorean in a feild. I called the moment I saw the ad.

[davidc89]

I found mine on Craigslist. It was a little easier to search Craigslist a couple years ago. They had a website which would search all of Craigslist for what you were looking for, instead of a single area near you. Then Craigslist had the site closed down. If it wasn't for that site, I probably never would have found it and it was only 100 miles away!

[sdg3205]

My car floated around eBay and Craigslist in Gilbert Arizona for a long time. It was originally listed at $15 and kept dropping every time the ads and auctions were renewed. I was down in Az on vacation in 2009 and convinced my wife driving from Scottsdale to Gilbert to see the car would be fun. I was right, the drive was fun, but she didn't enjoy me poking and prodding the car in the hot desert for an hour.

Looked at a few others in the pacific north west but ended up going with the desert car because of the lack of rust. So glad I did. Like others, I didn't know about this forum or other resources before the purchase.

[DMCMW Dave]

I found first (now only) in the local paper (this was a LONG time ago). I didn't look any farther, and bought the first one I ever looked at. It was a runner that I drove home.

[BladeBronson]

I first found Dave S ^^^ through dmcnews in 2000. I hadn't sat in a DeLorean since I was a kid and didn't know how well I'd fit being 6'4". He invited me to a car show at a college so I could try on his car. The DMCMW group helped me find a car for sale in southern Illinois. It was cheap and rough. I daily drove it for 5 years and poured tons of money into it.

Last fall, I posted a wanted ad here on dmctalk and got a response from an owner who had almost exactly what I was looking for (a few vins away from the range I really wanted). I'd learned enough from my first one to spot a good one when I saw it. I sent photos of the car around to a few DMC friends, flew to Philly to test drive it, and bought it. So far so good.

[DaraSue]

Thanks everybody who's responded!


My car was sitting under a tree for fifteen years. I would walk by it while walking with my first born and say "I'm
Gonna inquire about that some day". Later on in life , I was
Walking with my second born and the guy was outside so I said
"You ever gonna sell That Delorean"
He said
"Why do you want to buy it?"
I said "I don't want to pay tens of thousands of dollars ."
He said "how about $5000"

20 minutes later he signed the title Over to me. :)

I didn't even know about the forums until After I bought it.

OMG, that's awesome! But how many zillions of hours/dollars did it take to get it roadworthy again?


I bought my first two DeLoreans from DMC News members. DMC News was an email list-serve that preceded DeLorean message boards such as DMC Talk. Anyway, it's my goal to buy another DeLorean next year, and I hope to purchase from a fellow forum member when that time comes as well. I just like the idea of buying a car that is owned by a known enthusiast. You get a better idea of the cars individual strengths and faults, how it was maintained & restored, etc. When you look at dealer-sale cars, you can't get any sort of an honest answer on how often the car was driven, how it was maintained, how the DeLorean-specific faults were dealt with (or if they were remedied at all), where replacement parts were bought & who installed them, etc.

(...)

As an example, 99% of Beverly Hills Car Club DeLoreans not only rock their original electrics, but also run their original belts, hoses, and even tires. There is a reason why they advertise their cars for so much less than everyone else; most of their cars will just barely move under their own power. BHCC isn't alone in this, either. The majority of DeLoreans for sale at any given time are in such a condition. (...)

Moral of the story: don't get in a rush to buy, and don't buy a car just because it's nearby. These cars trade hands pretty often, so wait for the appropriate one for you to come along. Even if it isn't near, you'll find fellow owners will gladly go look at the car for you & report back. Trust me, we don't mind doing it- it's always fun to go see a newly surfaced DeLorean in your area.

Yeah, that's the conclusion I'm rapidly drawing, too. I feel pretty good about the ones I've got my eye on currently b/c they were both driven regularly and maintained by DMC and/or an authorized shop for the major stuff. I'd rather pay $30k for one that's in decent shape than get one cheap that's going to end up costing the same or more by the time all the stuff that's been rotting in storage is fixed. Another member recommended doing the full checkout by DMC anyway so maybe I should reconsider my plan to just pick it up and drive it back and try to temper my desire for instant gratification. :tongue:

[DaraSue]

I first found Dave S ^^^ through dmcnews in 2000. I hadn't sat in a DeLorean since I was a kid and didn't know how well I'd fit being 6'4". He invited me to a car show at a college so I could try on his car. The DMCMW group helped me find a car for sale in southern Illinois. It was cheap and rough. I daily drove it for 5 years and poured tons of money into it.

Last fall, I posted a wanted ad here on dmctalk and got a response from an owner who had almost exactly what I was looking for (a few vins away from the range I really wanted). I'd learned enough from my first one to spot a good one when I saw it. I sent photos of the car around to a few DMC friends, flew to Philly to test drive it, and bought it. So far so good.

What makes a certain VIN range preferable to others? Did later ones have more of the bugs worked out (or have more issues due to the company being on shaky ground?)

[BladeBronson]

What makes a certain VIN range preferable to others?

Various changes were made throughout production of the car. I wanted the later features of the 1 piece bolster and integrated pull handles, but with the earlier grooved hood. I can't remember the details now, but there was a very brief period of time when that combination was being made.

[SKnight]

Various changes were made throughout production of the car. I wanted the later features of the 1 piece bolster and integrated pull handles, but with the earlier grooved hood. I can't remember the details now, but there was a very brief period of time when that combination was being made.

I have the same features, love the grooved hood and integrated pull handles. This was a late 1981 combination, made from about October to November I believe. In December, they switched over to the flat hoods for the 1982 model year.

To add to the main thread, I thought I'd end up getting my car through Craigslist or from a for sale ad on this site. One day I went to DMCNW to look at the cars they had on sale and ask questions, I left about 2 hours later with an offer on the table and then a week later I drove my new pride and joy home.

[BladeBronson]

I just found my notes. #5993 introduced the door pull strap, #6093 introduced the 1 piece bolster, and #7199 was the last with the grooved hood. I ended up buying #10644 because it had everything that I wanted except for the hood, but also had a Stage II engine and had been very well taken care of.

[AugustneverEnds]

I first saw 10287 at a car show and my Mom noticed a For Sale sign on the parcel shelf. We jotted down the number and I called four weeks later, test drove it, first one I ever drove, made a deal on a piece of notebook paper and now it has been four highly enjoyable and educational years. I have learned massive amounts by working on the D and haven't spent a ton of money but plenty of sweat, nerves and cut knuckles :race:

[Kerichbe]

As some may know, my father was the original Managing Director of the company. When he passed, I was determined to get a Delorean simply for the memories. My mother left me enough money to purchase a car, so I started looking. I found one about 10 minutes away that was for sale and made appointment to look at it. By time I went to look at it, it had sold. Being pissed I went online and found one in Saint Louis at a Toyota dealership. I picked up the phone and being totally clueless, bought it. It has run and been a solid car for the passed 4 years, boy oh boy was I lucky. If I were to repeat the adventure, you bet I would check it out before taking the plunge! As it is, I have been very pleased with it, and the previous owner(s) took fairly good care of it.

[Jonathan]

I found mine on eBay but the transaction went down outside of it either because the auction ended early for me or because the auction ended and the car didn't sell, I can't remember which - this was back in 2002.

Exactly this, except in 2007 for me. From a classic/corrupt used car dealership.


That being said, both of my cars had their fair share of issues surface after I purchased them.

And A LOT of this, unfortunately for me too.


I didn't even know about the forums until After I bought it.

This is the single biggest thing I would go back and do differently if I could, knowing how this one decision would have a ripple effect on future events. I bought and paid for my car in August 2007 and joined the DMCTalk.com forum in September 2007. Very bass ackwards.


Moral of the story: don't get in a rush to buy

Agreed. More patience in buying, less passion. Buy with your head and not your heart. That's likely shitty sounding advice, but learning the hard way is worse, trust me.

[Rich_NYS]

I came to the forums when I first decided to buy a DeLorean. While still early in my familiarization/education, a friend sent me a pic of 10372 for sale in the PO's driveway (late 2013.)

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?8630-82-DMC-12-assessment&p=126308&viewfull=1#post126308

I didn't want to buy an auto, but it was only a few hours drive so I decided to at least look at the car and see one in person to further my learning experience. It appeared it could be a worthwhile purchase, so after posting pics & questions and PM'ing Jonathan & NightFlyer Josh, I bought it. I continued to look for a 5-speed that ran & drove, with a solid frame, and priced "in the teens." Prices were creeping up as 2015 got closer, and I was having no luck finding what I wanted.




4728 expired on eBay (didn't meet reserve) and didn't re-list. I contacted the PO, bought it as a "hedge," and sold 10372 a month later. It ran/drove, but developed an unidentified noise so I decided to goo deeper into the resto while diagnosing the noise. Everything is going well and it should be back on the road in early spring.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11936-VIN-4728-Running-Resto&p=199172&viewfull=1#post199172


If I find another 5-speed that I like more than 4728, I'll buy it and list 4728 in the forums, DeLorean Facebook pages, and eBay (in that order.)

[DMCVegas]

What makes a certain VIN range preferable to others? Did later ones have more of the bugs worked out (or have more issues due to the company being on shaky ground?)

Fantastic question.

There are cosmetic changes to start. The biggest ones being things such as the hoods and door pull straps. There are also other certain, very subtle differences such as wheel types and A/C panels that most people will never notice.

Then however there will be certain mechanical and assembly differences. The mechanical stuff like Front end Recalls, under-powered alternators, & Otterstat Pipes you can easily fix yourself. In fact, most of these have probably already been taken car of by now. But a HUGE difference though in very early cars is going to be vehicle construction. When the assembly line was first designed, the idea was to have the gullwing doors fitted last as the crowning piece.

It was a terrible idea.

When the doors were fitted last, they were adjusted to align with the fender and body panels. So they sometimes do not seal very well. This is also why on very early cars you're more likely to see gouges in the underbody around the Infill Panels where the VIN plate is, above the striker pins. Whenever you read early articles about the first cars where people would complain about door leaks and wind noise during reviews of the cars (fenders look good, but gaps around the windshield), or especially difficulty opening and closing the doors (even sometimes with guide blocks on the latches), this is why.

The production line was later reorganized to have the doors completed separately, and then installed onto the car FIRST before any other body panels. This allowed workers to ensure that the doors sat properly flush against the car to seal the passenger compartment from water, wind noise could be reduced/eliminated by ensuring alignment against the A-Pillars and windscreen, and that the striker bolts were properly centered to allow for easy opening and closing of the doors. Then after that the fenders and quarter panels were installed and aligned accordingly to finish the gaps and outside appearances. Some early cars I've had to put a little more *oomph* into the doors to get them closed. Later cars though like mine I can close and latch with a single finger.

Very early cars I'd probably leave alone. The cars at the beginning of the production increase for the DMC stock offering can be a big rougher on certain things, but I wouldn't worry. The cars that were assembled by smaller teams/experienced skeleton crews after layoffs and during the winding down of company operations are going to be really good. This isn't Detroit where people didn't care. The Irish workers had a great love for this car, and were very talented. They just didn't have a whole lot of experience in the beginning. Which is why you see early reviews of the cars with complaints here and there. But you if you start reading later reviews from 1982 and later, the reviews are actually very positive. As the assembly skills increased, the cars got better.

Keep in mind though, I'm still doing comparisons on brand new, factory-fresh cars which no longer exist. You still must approach any DeLorean you buy as a 35 year-old used car.

[TheMaverick]

Currently going through the frustrating process of car-shopping, beating my head against the wall after getting sniped at literally the last second on eBay and trying to make the logistics work of travelling out of state to check cars out. (I'm in UT so the chances of just happening to find one here for what I want to spend are... minimal.)

Would welcome any input you guys have on what buying experiences were good/bad.

Beverly Hills Car Club seems to have quite a few of them and I know at least one poster here had a good experience with them but I've seen questionable reports about them on other car forums (that they were basically car flippers who did the bare minimum to get it driveable out of the warehouse) so I'm thinking they're kind of a last resort that I'd look at if I were in CA anyway and wanted to pay the $425 to have DMC CA check it over.

Two others I've got my eye on were one in Fullerton that's currently listed for $30K with no bites and one in San Bernardino County owned by a FOAFOAF he wants $33k for, comparable to the one I lost on eBay. I was hoping to find a daily driver for $25-30K but maybe my expectations aren't realistic and I should resign myself to paying a few grand more to save myself the hassle of looking for a few more months/years in which prices could go up.

Thoughts?

Do you mind sharing your contact selling in San Bernardino?, thats were I live, I'm also looking for my 1st Delorean.. thanks DareSue!

[mr_maxime]

Found mine on carsforsale.com. It was at a classic car dealership.

[Lwanmtr]

Found mine on ebay. I contacted the guy asking alot of questions...but the auction ended..amazingly, the buyer turned out to be a flake and the guy relisted it....I got it for less than what the auction ended for the first time. Flew down to vegas to pick it up few days later. The only disapointment was that it wasnt running quite as he said, but he spent a couple days with me to try and get her running and then actually drove up with me when I decided just to trailer it.

Luckily, I was prepared for the amount that was gonna be needed to put back into it....a year later and its still sitting cause a few contracts fell through, so I been goin slow now.

[DaraSue]

Agreed. More patience in buying, less passion. Buy with your head and not your heart. That's likely shitty sounding advice, but learning the hard way is worse, trust me.

Well, I was all set to take things slow and go check some out in SoCal that looked like good prospects, and then I got a tip on a screaming deal for one I would have felt good about buying unseen (seller is a well-known restorer) and of course he needs the money by Friday morning and Crapital One will only wire transfer to a title company or one of my linked accounts. Tried to start the transfer last night, so I could get it in my credit union and transfer to him before the cutoff, it still hasn't shown up. I'm losing the will to exist. :frown:

[DaraSue]

Fantastic question.

There are cosmetic changes to start. The biggest ones being things such as the hoods and door pull straps. There are also other certain, very subtle differences such as wheel types and A/C panels that most people will never notice.

Then however there will be certain mechanical and assembly differences. The mechanical stuff like Front end Recalls, under-powered alternators, & Otterstat Pipes you can easily fix yourself. In fact, most of these have probably already been taken car of by now. But a HUGE difference though in very early cars is going to be vehicle construction. When the assembly line was first designed, the idea was to have the gullwing doors fitted last as the crowning piece.

(a lot of info snipped for brevity of reply)

Very early cars I'd probably leave alone. The cars at the beginning of the production increase for the DMC stock offering can be a big rougher on certain things, but I wouldn't worry. The cars that were assembled by smaller teams/experienced skeleton crews after layoffs and during the winding down of company operations are going to be really good. This isn't Detroit where people didn't care. The Irish workers had a great love for this car, and were very talented. They just didn't have a whole lot of experience in the beginning. Which is why you see early reviews of the cars with complaints here and there. But you if you start reading later reviews from 1982 and later, the reviews are actually very positive. As the assembly skills increased, the cars got better.

Keep in mind though, I'm still doing comparisons on brand new, factory-fresh cars which no longer exist. You still must approach any DeLorean you buy as a 35 year-old used car.

Wow, thanks DMCVegas and everybody else who commented on this! That's a lot of good information. So far I've seen a lot of 81s for sale but I'll be sure to keep a lookout for 82s and later, too.

[Jonathan]

Here are a couple more threads discussing what changed in production from the first car to the last.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?9077-Production-Changes-by-VIN&highlight=chronology

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?4671-Do-we-have-a-Official-Differences-Between-Deloreans-Thread-If-not-can-we-make-one

You can also search the forum using the word "chronology" and several others come up. Reading through the Concours Manual might be the best place to start.

[Ikeaboy1]

I found both my cars through very shitty craigslist ads. Asked the right questions, got the right answers, visited both cars and offered to buy on the spot. I think I got a great deal on both of them, too. They were great cars but badly marketed.

[David T]

As much as Deloreans have minor running changes what matters most NOW is how the car was cared for and it's current condition. Unless you are a purist and have decided you must have a car of a particular configuration or vin with certain features, it's present condition is most important. For the most part, you are always better off buying the best car in the best condition you can find and afford. If you put too many conditions on what you are looking for it will make it much harder to find one. If you really must have a certain feature like a grooved hood or a fuel flap, in most cases it could be installed on any car even if it is not appropriate to that vin. Mis-matching was done all the time at the QAC centers anyway. As for finding a car, when I was looking I started by going to car shows and then went to Delorean club events. At that point I thought I knew everything I needed to know (BOY, was I wrong!). I did buy a very nice one for a LOT of money at the time. It eventually needed a lot of work to get everything to work and look perfect. Anyway, when I was looking for a Delorean, the running changes were not a consideration at the time even though I was aware of some of them, the more obvious, cosmetic ones. Other possible things a car could have is Provenance. An example would be if it was owned by someone famous, like the Johnny Carson car for instance. Or if it was used in a movie.

[DMCVegas]

Wow, thanks DMCVegas and everybody else who commented on this! That's a lot of good information. So far I've seen a lot of 81s for sale but I'll be sure to keep a lookout for 82s and later, too.

No worries at all. Those build differences such as I mentioned though, those are on very early cars. Ones that you admittedly will probably not encounter. But there is nothing wrong with the 81's at all. I myself have a late 81 built during the production bump, and other than one rare manufacturing flaw, it's perfectly fine. It's just those VERY early cars that are probably ones you'd want to leave alone.



I found both my cars through very shitty craigslist ads. Asked the right questions, got the right answers, visited both cars and offered to buy on the spot. I think I got a great deal on both of them, too. They were great cars but badly marketed.

That brings up a great point: Printed Classified ads are a great place to look. Especially when it comes to local newspapers. Now while newspapers copy/paste their printed articles onto their websites, they don't even bother doing this with the classifieds section. The online sites usually just link to national databases that rely upon user submitted information because it's less work, and therefore cheaper. Which means that a classified ad for a car for sale that gets printed in the paper never gets posted to the online site. There are many different kinds of cars in your area for sale right now that you don't even know about. Along those lines, the kind of people who post classified ads in papers will for the most part be out of touch with current prices. Because if they're not up on technology, they're probably not up on date on the newest information. This goes both ways of course with someone asking for unrealistic prices, but you also find many people who also undervalue their cars too.



As much as Deloreans have minor running changes what matters most NOW is how the car was cared for and it's current condition. Unless you are a purist and have decided you must have a car of a particular configuration or vin with certain features, it's present condition is most important. For the most part, you are always better off buying the best car in the best condition you can find and afford. If you put too many conditions on what you are looking for it will make it much harder to find one. If you really must have a certain feature like a grooved hood or a fuel flap, in most cases it could be installed on any car even if it is not appropriate to that vin. Mis-matching was done all the time at the QAC centers anyway. As for finding a car, when I was looking I started by going to car shows and then went to Delorean club events. At that point I thought I knew everything I needed to know (BOY, was I wrong!). I did buy a very nice one for a LOT of money at the time. It eventually needed a lot of work to get everything to work and look perfect. Anyway, when I was looking for a Delorean, the running changes were not a consideration at the time even though I was aware of some of them, the more obvious, cosmetic ones. Other possible things a car could have is Provenance. An example would be if it was owned by someone famous, like the Johnny Carson car for instance. Or if it was used in a movie.

Again, very true. Because after all we're dealing with used cars here. You have to be careful. The most important thing to remember of course is that there is a difference between maintaining and preserving a car. Maintained cars are mechanically sound, and capable of being used as a daily driver immediately. Preserved cars simply look good and may have lots of neglected maintenance and upgrades. Low miles is NOT a good thing.

And very true about mismatched parts at the QAC. Even my car too appears to have mismatched wheels, which was a very common thing per Nick Sutton's book.

Learning from other owners is a good thing. It helps build the ownership experience by taking lots of the worrying out of it. It also helps even when you're a buyer too. You've got to know how to immediately spot an overheated engine to detect hidden damage, or to look for other recalls.

My personal favorite thing to do is to play chicken with the seller. Start the car to idle it, and just stand there and wait. Don't let them turn the engine off, and purposefully tell them that you want to see if the car overheats. I've done this before to help other people buy cars. A solid runner with an honest seller will accept the challenge and happily shoot the breeze with you. A less than truthful seller will get really nervous and make excuses. Toss them $10 to cover cost of fuel and then some if they make a stink about it. If they still decline, you know something is wrong.


If the needle passes 220 you know this car has a problem. So you can either run away, or use it as leverage to get the price down.
If the fans kick on, and then off to keep the car cool, you know the cooling system is working just fine! What you want to do then is kill the engine once the fans turn off, and then wait about 15-20 minutes to see if the car easily restarts. That ensures the vehicle doesn't have a Hot Start issue, and tests the owner's confidence again.


Above all, I would seriously advise anyone looking to purchase a DeLorean to study them a bit, and most of all to seek out some owners that will let you get familiar with the car if you can. First time I went to buy a DeLorean, I was just in awe of the car and couldn't think straight. I was way to excited to negotiate. Getting familiar with the car to let the excitement die down is important. Don't worry, it comes back with a vengeance once you finally buy one and make it your own. But during the inspection and buying process, if you can get an experienced owner on your side to both guide you and ground you, that's truly the best thing.

[David T]

If you can't get a knowledgeable owner the next best thing is to get Espey's book. Or read every post here on this forum!

[Rich_NYS]

Above all, I would seriously advise anyone looking to purchase a DeLorean to study them a bit, and most of all to seek out some owners that will let you get familiar with the car if you can. First time I went to buy a DeLorean, I was just in awe of the car and couldn't think straight. I was way to excited to negotiate. Getting familiar with the car to let the excitement die down is important. Don't worry, it comes back with a vengeance once you finally buy one and make it your own. But during the inspection and buying process, if you can get an experienced owner on your side to both guide you and ground you, that's truly the best thing.


+1

[Jonathan]

Start the car to idle it, and just stand there and wait.

This is likely the best advice I have heard to date on going to look at, drive, and potentially buy a used DeLorean.

This one step can bring out more information than any other single thing you can do. Car functionality, recent care or condition, seller's stance or ethics or lack thereof, and with the time it will take for the car to get up to temperature and kick the fans on, it'll usually give you time to play with other switches and features to make sure those work too (windows, lights, HVAC, stereo, etc.) And of course it ensures you are seeing the car with your own eyes and can feel or hear what the car is like, for better or worse. Sitting in it ensures you fit. Even smelling the car can be of value for either mouse stink or raw fuel smelling somewhere it shouldn't be.

And +1 on current condition versus how it came off the line 35 years ago. The odometer matters to some extent. It can be valuable to know how many miles have been put on the car recently versus many years ago. A car driven every Sunday for 50 miles is likely in decent shape and has the usual "sitting for too long" problems sorted out. Sure there is a mileage number that's too high, but it won't be one of the more common things you experience. Most odometer readings don't tell you the entire story, and that's not even factoring in how the speedo/odos don't always work reliably on our cars!

[DaraSue]

Do you mind sharing your contact selling in San Bernardino?, thats were I live, I'm also looking for my 1st Delorean.. thanks DareSue!

Check your notifications, I sent you a PM with his number. Good luck!

[DaraSue]

Above all, I would seriously advise anyone looking to purchase a DeLorean to study them a bit, and most of all to seek out some owners that will let you get familiar with the car if you can. First time I went to buy a DeLorean, I was just in awe of the car and couldn't think straight. I was way to excited to negotiate. Getting familiar with the car to let the excitement die down is important. Don't worry, it comes back with a vengeance once you finally buy one and make it your own. But during the inspection and buying process, if you can get an experienced owner on your side to both guide you and ground you, that's truly the best thing.

Yeah, I feel like I've learned a ton just reading around here in the last couple weeks. Glad I didn't jump on the first one I saw!

[DMCVegas]

This is likely the best advice I have heard to date on going to look at, drive, and potentially buy a used DeLorean.

This one step can bring out more information than any other single thing you can do. Car functionality, recent care or condition, seller's stance or ethics or lack thereof, and with the time it will take for the car to get up to temperature and kick the fans on, it'll usually give you time to play with other switches and features to make sure those work too (windows, lights, HVAC, stereo, etc.) And of course it ensures you are seeing the car with your own eyes and can feel or hear what the car is like, for better or worse. Sitting in it ensures you fit. Even smelling the car can be of value for either mouse stink or raw fuel smelling somewhere it shouldn't be.

Thank you very much for the complement, I do appreciate that. :smile:

I actually have a story about that as well. A friend of mine who bought a DeLorean years ago after seeing mine asked me to come and help him look at a couple of cars he found. The first one was the stuff of nightmares.

The seller would only let us see the car at night. So I brought a nice powerful flashlight and my oil change ramps. When I busted them out he looked worried and was hesitant at first to drive the car up onto the ramps so that I could inspect the underside of the drivetrain. But he finally relented. Things got worse when I pulled out a clipboard and the DMCH evaluation sheet to go over the various items on the car, and then he started to panic when I told him NOT to shut the engine off because I wanted to test the cooling system while the vehicle was stationary. While under the running car, I felt a burning sensation on my leg as hot coolant from the tank started dripping down. Strike one. The fuel lines were rotten, despite the guy claiming the thing was maintained by a local mechanic. Even though he couldn't tell me his name, and wasn't using the Vegas mechanic everyone else did. Strike 2. The cooling system worked, and the owner looked amazed that it did. That worried me a bit, but I dismissed it as perhaps someone who didn't know the car that well. But after bringing the car off the ramps, my friend decided upon a test drive. It was an automatic, so he shifted it into reverse and started to move. Then the car just took off backwards and almost ran over the curb across the street. He shifted the car into park, put the brake on, killed the engine, and hopped out. He was pretty shaken up. The seller was pissed, but then I asked him to restart the engine, and go through all the gears without moving. I checked the transmission fluid level: EMPTY! Strike 3. Then the guy said not to worry, he had an old bottle of transmission fluid somewhere... So my friend walked away from that one.

Second local car he found for sale later we visited. Owner was totally different. I asked him to leave the car running, and he said not a problem. Then he pipes up and says, "Hey, while we're waiting, let me show you the portfolio I have." We go through his receipts and photos of the car, and he tells us the story about how he found it, and what he knows about the POs before him. All with his back turned to the car, and ignoring it. The cooling system passed of course, but that level of confidence in the car played a big part in the purchasing of it.



And +1 on current condition versus how it came off the line 35 years ago. The odometer matters to some extent. It can be valuable to know how many miles have been put on the car recently versus many years ago. A car driven every Sunday for 50 miles is likely in decent shape and has the usual "sitting for too long" problems sorted out. Sure there is a mileage number that's too high, but it won't be one of the more common things you experience. Most odometer readings don't tell you the entire story, and that's not even factoring in how the speedo/odos don't always work reliably on our cars!

Exactly. There are really two different kinds of bad DeLoreans out there:

Early, factory-fresh cars that didn't have all of the later updates and production changes.
Neglected, used cars that haven't been properly maintained.


I have a copy of The De Lorean Gold Portfolio with all sorts of articles where the DMC-12 was first reviewed when it went on sale. The poor reviews on things from door and electrical problems seemed like big items back then. But nowadays? Nope. If an owner right now were to post on here that they were having the same problems with their car that Road & Track claimed to have had when they first reviewed the cars 35 years ago, we'd probably gently scold them for not fixing those issues before hand. But back then, no one knew any better. Especially since many of the common-knowledge fixes we casually toss out were not even known back then. Production and both owners gave the car the gestation period it never had. So we benefit greatly now.

However the flip side is that no matter how rare and exotic a car is, it's still just a used car at the end of the day. Time and use have taken their toll on seals, bushings, leather, electricals, fuel systems, etc. Hell, it took almost a year and a half of daily driving just to get rid of the funk left behind by the PO's aftershave in my car. Even if you don't have mice problems, even little things like the smell inside of a closed-up car is something people don't think about.

Again, it's a used car; treat it like one during the buying process.



Yeah, I feel like I've learned a ton just reading around here in the last couple weeks. Glad I didn't jump on the first one I saw!

That's great! Where do you live right now? I'm sure there are some local owners who can help you out.

All in all, there seems to be lots of questions still about buying a DeLorean. I'm probably going to put something together for a future DeLorean World article to share my experiences with cars I've looked at, as well as ones that others have too.

[DaraSue]

That's great! Where do you live right now? I'm sure there are some local owners who can help you out.

All in all, there seems to be lots of questions still about buying a DeLorean. I'm probably going to put something together for a future DeLorean World article to share my experiences with cars I've looked at, as well as ones that others have too.

I'm in SLC. I've already chatted a bit with Jay from our local club - I was referred to him by Andy from RentDelorean.com, who I'd talked to when I first started looking and wanted to test drive one. I didn't even know we had enough DeLorean owners here to have our own club! But I'm looking forward to meeting everybody in person (if they ever have a get-together on my night(s) off, lol.) Both of those guys have been really helpful - Andy checked out a car in Vegas for me and Jay referred me to one I'm going to buy if my bank can manage not to hose me tomorrow.

(My advice for first-time buyers: Make sure you have as much as you want to spend in an account you can get it out of with a minimum of red tape, because if you have to dink around with transfers you could miss The One, and a lot of online banks won't even let you do an individual-to-individual wire transfer, as I found out the hard way.)

[DaraSue]

Update: 6 bank transfers, a stock sale, a wire transfer, a payday loan, a credit card advance, a very generous loan from my BFF and another wire transfer later, THE CAR IS MINE!!!!!! :partyhat:

(Don't worry, I'm paying all the loans and advances back today. I had the money, it was just tied up in Transfer Hell and it was a time-critical transaction b/c the seller wanted to use it to buy another car on Sat.)

I pick it up three weeks from now (first time I could get a few days off work). Woohoo!

[whocruiser]

Update: 6 bank transfers, a stock sale, a wire transfer, a payday loan, a credit card advance, a very generous loan from my BFF and another wire transfer later, THE CAR IS MINE!!!!!! :partyhat:

(Don't worry, I'm paying all the loans and advances back today. I had the money, it was just tied up in Transfer Hell and it was a time-critical transaction b/c the seller wanted to use it to buy another car on Sat.)

I pick it up three weeks from now (first time I could get a few days off work). Woohoo!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!:rollin::nana1::cheers:

[Lwanmtr]

Awesome..Hope you enjoy her :rollin:

Welcome to the nuthouse :)

[Morpheus]

Those build differences such as I mentioned though, those are on very early cars. Ones that you admittedly will probably not encounter. But there is nothing wrong with the 81's at all. I myself have a late 81 built during the production bump, and other than one rare manufacturing flaw, it's perfectly fine. It's just those VERY early cars that are probably ones you'd want to leave alone.

I agree with everything you said but this. As the owner of a VERY early VIN, I will admit that it has a personality all its own, but I don't know that I would consider it any more problematic than a later 81-build car, especially if none of the recalls were ever done. Pretty much all of the "early car problems" are easily addressed and IMO add to the uniqueness (and rarity) of an early VIN. When people ask about my car, I like to tell them that it was one of the first 600 cars off the assembly line... and it always gets a great reaction.

I love my April 81 build car, warts and all. :)

[dodint]

Rarity? By what measure or standard?

Gold cars are rare. A particular VIN is as unique as the rest, it's just sequencing.

[Iznodmad]

Rarity? By what measure or standard?

Gold cars are rare. A particular VIN is as unique as the rest, it's just sequencing.

Early cars are rare, especially a "3 digit" VIN. It is addressed in the book: celebrating the impossible. It specifically says that most early cars were scrapped because they were so bad. I'm sorry that I can't reference the exact page since I am nowhere near the book at this moment. Believe it or not, there are collectors that specifically search out the early cars. I'm one of them.

[dn010]

I'd be one to seek out a 3 digit vin car. Maybe one day!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[DMCVegas]

I agree with everything you said but this. As the owner of a VERY early VIN, I will admit that it has a personality all its own, but I don't know that I would consider it any more problematic than a later 81-build car, especially if none of the recalls were ever done. Pretty much all of the "early car problems" are easily addressed and IMO add to the uniqueness (and rarity) of an early VIN. When people ask about my car, I like to tell them that it was one of the first 600 cars off the assembly line... and it always gets a great reaction.

I love my April 81 build car, warts and all. :)

I believe that is a fair statement. The question of things for build quality is again, more about complex things such as the door alignment. It can indeed be rectified, but it's a far more advanced task than what a new owner may be ready for. Later production vehicle did a much better job at the task.

The other reason why I also kind of recommend someone new stay away from the very, VERY early cars is because they can have more rare pieces which are more difficult to sort out and replace. This will be things such as the early A/C panel with the thicker lines, ashtray, Craig Radio, spare tire, and especially the early Automatic gear selector assembly.

Now, do these items functionally affect the car if you had to replace/retrofit later items into them? No, not at all. But many people have a severe aversion about modifying their cars. DMCH even sells Faceplaces/center stacks to install modern DIN radios so that people don't have to cut a thing to make it fit. Just plug and play. Yet you'll still see people searching for two-knob radios because they feel they must somehow preserve the car.

As also mentioned, these very early cars are collectible to some. Not necessarily because they're worth more, but because they're more of a challenge to find those odd cosmetic pieces, etc. So unless you're up for the hunt, it may not be as enjoyable of a car for a new owner. That's all I'm saying.

[delgato]

I found my car on Craigslist. Picked it up in middle of OH.

I bought the car that they all warn you about. I was basically a parts car as far as condition goes. And the price reflected that. I figured worse case scenario I can sell the flap hood and left fender and get most all the money back right there. It was a complete car and even had a few new parts with it. However, it has ALL of the Delorean issues.

Hasn't ran in countless years, interior all cracked up, and of course rusty rotten frame.

I could see the frame was REALLY rusty but it was not till I pulled it off the car and disassembled everything that I saw the real damage. The frame was a ltotal oss and had to get a different one. The frame I have now is also in rough shape but is repairable and is now 85% repaired. Should be good to begin the reassembly in the next few months. Then I get to go into the messed up interior and everything else that is wrong. This is going to be a long project.

I bought it as a project so I am not upset with the purchase per se. However it is tough to have a cool car sitting in your garage that you will not be able to drive for years to come.

I would say to folks that if you want to take on a project car that is cool. Just expect that it will take far longer than you think and will cost way more than you may expect. I have hardly bought any parts yet but have spent tons of money on tools and supplies just to only take it apart and start the restoration. Not finish, start. Now that I have a better idea of the parts I can clean up and what I need to buy I have started pricing out the stuff I need to get and YIKES. But hey, this is what I signed up for. I actually enjoy doing all of this work and am having fun doing it, but that is cause I am a glutton for punishment.

I often wonder if I had the 30K for an initial purchase would I buy a good sorted out car? Probably not. For me I might find a better car in the 15-20K range and save the rest for parts and what not. But I wanted a project and boy did I get it. It would be nice if I did have a better car to start with because I really am rebuilding every little bit from scratch.

If you are looking for a car, any car, buy the best one you can afford and take your time looking. While you wait for your next car research research research till your eyes pop out. You will be glad you did when looking at all the different options out there.

Good luck and have fun.

[dodint]

Early cars are rare, especially a "3 digit" VIN. It is addressed in the book: celebrating the impossible. It specifically says that most early cars were scrapped because they were so bad. I'm sorry that I can't reference the exact page since I am nowhere near the book at this moment. Believe it or not, there are collectors that specifically search out the early cars. I'm one of them.

I appreciate your enthusiasm and don't mean to appear to denigrate anyone's hobby or preference.

Rare is just a funny word, to me. The 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda convertible 4-speed is rare. There are a known quantity (two) of an exact configuration.
Designating a swath of a production run as 'rare' where all the cars in the entire run are effectively the 'same' will seem contrived to all but only the most nuanced audience.

I'm just being overly pedantic, as is my nature. It's a philosophical question to me, was just curious of rarity can be inherent or if it's an entirely subjective principle. I collect vintage video games and see the word 'rare' tossed around pretty loosely so it's something I've pondered for a while.

Cheers.

[DaraSue]

Thanks for the comments and congratulations, everyone! Counting down the days til I can drive it home :)

[Lwanmtr]

Hope you'll post some pictures of her.

[novadmc]

found mine on eBay. PO posted a few days before i found its listing. turned out he lived only 15 miles from me, so i PMed him, set up a time to come over and see/inspect it in person after work one evening (dedication thanks to DC metro area traffic).
checked it over in person, made him an offer that he accepted (i never placed a bid on ebay since i didnt want to potentially run up my own offer). he took the ebay listing down while i was there. we worked up a bill of sale, I cut him a down payment check and came back a week later (was about to head out of town for the week) with the rest of the $ and drove it back home.

[clenet]

I found my present car through an old friend of thirty years Rob Grady who I have known since 1985 when I had my first Delorean. It was time to get another Delorean. So I picked up the phone and called the one person that knew would know where the good Deloreans are hiding. If course he knew right where I could find what I was looking for and he fixed me right up. I am glad I saved his number.

[DMCVegas]

I'm just being overly pedantic, as is my nature. It's a philosophical question to me, was just curious of rarity can be inherent or if it's an entirely subjective principle. I collect vintage video games and see the word 'rare' tossed around pretty loosely so it's something I've pondered for a while.

Cheers.

"Rare" can have many different meanings to different people, but in reality the collectability of an item based upon it's "rarity" is either going to be something you want for showing off as part of a collection, or something you want out of a challenge.

It's like the saying about how anglers go through 3 basic stages in their hobby:

The new fisherman starting out wants to catch as many fish as possible.
Once that itch is scratched, the fisherman now wants to catch the biggest fish that they can.
Finally once the fisherman has completed that task, the fisherman then wants to capture the most difficult fish that they can.


With car restoration, it's no different. At first we want to build up any and as many cars as possible and restore them. This is just like finding any car that we can to get started.

Then we want to build the BEST version of that car as possible. This is where we see things like customization in it's many forms.

Then finally we want the challenge of building the most difficult car that we can. This is where we see people who seek out the rare cars like the 500-series ones with the rarer parts and whatnot. Or like myself, once my restoration is over, I have a rare non-DeLorean car I'm looking to restore that has difficult to find parts. It's all about the challenge, and the hunt for the rare parts. Which is a fantastic challenge for the experienced person with boredom, but can be project car hell if that's what you start out with. Hence why I recommend avoiding the very early cars, and why others love them.

[dodint]

Thanks Robert, quality response.

[DMCVegas]

Thank you! I genuinely do appreciate that!

[toyotafreak88]

Update: 6 bank transfers, a stock sale, a wire transfer, a payday loan, a credit card advance, a very generous loan from my BFF and another wire transfer later, THE CAR IS MINE!!!!!! :partyhat:

(Don't worry, I'm paying all the loans and advances back today. I had the money, it was just tied up in Transfer Hell and it was a time-critical transaction b/c the seller wanted to use it to buy another car on Sat.)

I pick it up three weeks from now (first time I could get a few days off work). Woohoo!

Congrats! That loan pool sounds like one hell of a challenge to get together but I totally understand your perseverance, that's awesome lol. I bet if you had gold fillings and nice jewelry that would be the next step...no? haha

[Peripatetic]

I got mine at the obscure DeLorean.com website. They have cars and some parts.

But this was after looking for months at countless other cars. I bought a book on DeLorean buying that stopped me from buying a secretly bad car.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaraSue]

Hope you'll post some pictures of her.

Expect a road trip report in a couple weeks, assuming there's wifi at whatever Motel 6 I'm staying at in Nebraska :)


Congrats! That loan pool sounds like one hell of a challenge to get together but I totally understand your perseverance, that's awesome lol. I bet if you had gold fillings and nice jewelry that would be the next step...no? haha

Hahaha... I was just about frantic enough! Ironically for the rep payday loans have, that really saved my bacon, and when I paid it back by 5 the next day they didn't even charge me interest!

[Lwanmtr]

Couple week, eh? You gonna be able to last that long? lol..

[DaraSue]

Couple week, eh? You gonna be able to last that long? lol..

It was the first time I could get more than 1-2 days off in a row. It's a struggle, but I persevere... :wink:

[Dangermouse]

I kept an eye on ebay over the years monitoring prices of DeLoreans, trying to judge when the lines of disposable income, free time and purchase price of a DeLorean would intersect, but in the end, Fate presented me with one locally belonging to a gent who no longer was interested in living the dream. It sat outside an Irish Pub for 6 months, having been a prop for St Paddy's day (and we don't talk about the plans to adorn it with magnetic advertising signs :shhh:).

I believe it was calling me every day as I passed, begging for rescue, door jammed shut (it turned out), windows slightly open, not moving. It really wasn’t the right time for me to take on a project car, but my wife told me it was Lady Fate intervening.

Took a couple of weeks to track the owner down by knocking on shop doors, but finally met him at a local coffee shop, where he was sitting with another prospective purchaser!! However once he learned where I was from, he decided to sell it to me as he knew I would appreciate it for what it is (rather than the other guy who wanted it as a display piece for a private elementary school - school of the future..... geddit). We agreed a price and were in the process of setting off for home (to do the paperwork) when some kid in a Honda with a coffee can exhaust, screeched to a halt beside it, declaring it to be "sick" and offered the owner 2 grand more than he had just agreed with me. The owner showed his quality by sticking with his original deal with me.

Only then did I start looking for on-line help, discovering DMCTalk in October of 2008. I was shocked and surprised at the amount of help available and with everyone’s help, was able to get it operational again.

[dodint]

Hahaha... I was just about frantic enough! Ironically for the rep payday loans have, that really saved my bacon, and when I paid it back by 5 the next day they didn't even charge me interest!

You'll never shake them, though. I used a payday loan to replace the motor in a Land Rover. I paid off the whole loan in the first billing cycle. Now they (OneMain Financial) send me a loan offer once a month and that was 4 years ago.

Guess they didn't feel they got their money's worth. ;)

[DaraSue]

You'll never shake them, though. I used a payday loan to replace the motor in a Land Rover. I paid off the whole loan in the first billing cycle. Now they (OneMain Financial) send me a loan offer once a month and that was 4 years ago.

Guess they didn't feel they got their money's worth. ;)

Haha... maybe I can convince them to rent my car for their commercials. :p

[Furry_DeLorean]

I scoured Craigslist for years to find a really cheap project DeLorean. I avoided Ebay since they were always too expensive for me. Finally I found the cheapest DeLorean I had ever seen (back then anyway) on a Craigslist ad in Sacramento. It was a pretty minimalist ad without any pictures and little information. It basically said "nice car, removed engine". I called the guy and asked for pictures. He didn't have a digital camera so he sent me several photographs through the mail. The car looked pretty good in the photos and he included photos of the engine which was scattered throughout his shop. I decided to make the drive from Washington to check it out. It was in my preferred VIN range and had every feature I wanted in a DeLorean so I was extremely tempted. The body was great and the interior salvageable. I took the plunge and bought it. Towed it backwards on a dolly 625 miles home. Oh the project it turned out to be.

[gullwinger]

Hey gull wingers,
I found mine in a barn in Freetown, MA

[toyotafreak88]

Hey gull wingers,
I found mine in a barn in Freetown, MA
Pics and details?

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

[gullwinger]

Pics and details?

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk
45440
Found her on King St Freetown MA

[Henrik]

I found mine on eBay but the transaction went down outside of it either because the auction ended early for me or because the auction ended and the car didn't sell, I can't remember which - this was back in 2002.

Exact same for me: I scoped it out on eBay; it didn't sell so I contacted the seller and made him an offer and he accepted. I was on the plane to Oklahoma City the next day and drove it back home to Dallas. That was back in 2005. I have done a lot of work on it since then: engine swap, change to stick shift, interior etc.... like most other owners I don't think there is a screw, nut or wire haven't touched.

[jpjones125]

Currently going through the frustrating process of car-shopping, beating my head against the wall after getting sniped at literally the last second on eBay and trying to make the logistics work of travelling out of state to check cars out. (I'm in UT so the chances of just happening to find one here for what I want to spend are... minimal.)

Would welcome any input you guys have on what buying experiences were good/bad.

Beverly Hills Car Club seems to have quite a few of them and I know at least one poster here had a good experience with them but I've seen questionable reports about them on other car forums (that they were basically car flippers who did the bare minimum to get it driveable out of the warehouse) so I'm thinking they're kind of a last resort that I'd look at if I were in CA anyway and wanted to pay the $425 to have DMC CA check it over.

Two others I've got my eye on were one in Fullerton that's currently listed for $30K with no bites and one in San Bernardino County owned by a FOAFOAF he wants $33k for, comparable to the one I lost on eBay. I was hoping to find a daily driver for $25-30K but maybe my expectations aren't realistic and I should resign myself to paying a few grand more to save myself the hassle of looking for a few more months/years in which prices could go up.

Thoughts?I'm looking at one on BHCC's website, would DMC CA go take a look at it for a fee? I'm in Memphis, been searching for one for a while but keep getting stalled due to time and distance.

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[sdg3205]

I'm looking at one on BHCC's website, would DMC CA go take a look at it for a fee? I'm in Memphis, been searching for one for a while but keep getting stalled due to time and distance.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

BHCC is pretty transparent considering the condition of the cars they sell, which is good. Would a major DMC franchise go look at a car for you? Better ask them and not us.

You need to be prepared to travel to get the car you want. Delorean's aren't civics - you'll likely find your car somewhere far away. I'm in BC and my car came from AZ.

[jpjones125]

BHCC is pretty transparent considering the condition of the cars they sell, which is good. Would a major DMC franchise go look at a car for you? Better ask them and not us.

You need to be prepared to travel to get the car you want. Delorean's aren't civics - you'll likely find your car somewhere far away. I'm in BC and my car came from AZ.Thanks for the info. I'm willing to travel, just can't get the time off from work. The one at BHCC doesn't run, but they said the pistons will turn. Figured I would get an estimate on what it would need to run.

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[Jonathan]

Thanks for the info. I'm willing to travel, just can't get the time off from work. The one at BHCC doesn't run, but they said the pistons will turn. Figured I would get an estimate on what it would need to run.

Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk

There are also enough knowledgeable members on the forum here that one of those guys might offer to go look at it for you. For a fee or maybe for free. I'm no where near Beverly Hills, but if a car was for sale near me, I'd probably go look at it for free because I'd enjoy checking it out and assessing the condition for a future owner.

You might want to see about asking the California owners directly if one or more of them could help you. You want someone with the free time and the knowledge. And the ability to give an honest assessment of the car without any bias one way or another. The fact that these cars for sale at the BHCC aren't a secret to anyone means you don't have to worry about someone scooping up your potential purchase because the location got leaked unintentionally.