Anyone buy on Oodle? American Listed? Too good to be true...

[ramiel05]

Hey everyone!

I’m a Delorean enthusiast who is actively researching and saving $$ for the day I’m ready to get one of my own. One thing I’ve been coming across are sites that seem to list “too good to be true” deals on Deloreans, and I was curious about people’s thoughts on some of those sites.

Some of the deals I’m seeing are things like “$19,000 - fully restored, runs great, everything in great condition, etc…”. I know generally what condition Delorean to expect in different price brackets, so some of these just seem shady. I expect a well running, good quality Delorean to go for at least $25k.

Does anyone have experience with sites like Oodle, American Listed, or even Craigslist when checking out Deloreans? These are the sites that seem a little weird to me.

What sites outside of eBay, Hemmings, Autotrader, and cars.com are less known and worth checking out?

Thanks!
Mike

[bfloyd]

I bought mine off of Craigslist 3 1/2 years ago for $9,000.00 . It was a typical "hadn't run in 20 years", but it had been stored in a guys basement garage since 1995. No rust, clean interior, low miles (8,637 miles), and still had the original belts, hoses, tires, brakes, etc. It was a unicorn of a find, and I bought it sight unseen 4 hours after the seller listed it. Sure we've put a lot of money into it since then, but you kind of expect to with a 37 year old car.

[dodint]

Not a DeLorean specifically but I found a really fantastic Mustang SVT Cobra on CarGurus, a platform I had never heard of until my Dad directed me to the ad.

[David T]

If you are going to buy a car like that you must be skeptical of a deal that sounds "too good to be true". While they do exist, they are few and far between. What IS common is scammers who will put up a listing to take a deposit and there never was any car, or at least they don't own it. They grabbed a photo somewhere and wrote up a description with a lot of errors hoping to get a hungry, unknowledgeable buyer to jump at such a sweet deal. Ask for a particular photo of say, the odometer or the vin tag or the Title just so they can prove they actually have the car and didn't just swipe some photos from another car to run a bogus ad. If you do actually go to see the car take what you have learned from this forum and inspect the frame, check the fluids, drive the car (if you can). If possible find a local owner or a mechanic friend with another pair of eyes to help. Ask what else goes with the car. Sometimes you are surprised at all of the stuff they will "throw in" that goes with the car like books, spare parts, covers, etc. Be aware of the prices of parts that the car will probably need so you can say, the brakes will have to be rebuilt and the parts cost X so I want to pay your price minus X. Or a cracked windscreen, you get the idea. Bring cash so you can negotiate. A good reason to bring another person, if you will be carrying cash and need help moving the car. NEVER give the seller cash and not remove the car RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Having the Title and a Bill of Sale is no protection. They could have a duplicate Title and sell the car to someone else while you are making arrangements to move the car. Either bring a trailer or a phone # to get it towed right away. There are a lot of ways to get burned and there are enough unscrupulous people out there that you must protect yourself. Make sure the Title is PERFECT, no tampering, erasures, errors, or improperly filled out. You may never see the seller again so you can't figure on his helping you if there is a problem. If the car has not been started for many years don't even try. What you can do is see if the motor will just turn over but don't try starting it. In the first place you could cause a lot of damage and in the second place, once the seller hears it run he will want more money. Keep looking but a good general rule is to buy the best car you can afford. In the end you will have spent less and gotten a better car quicker. Buying a wreck is less "up front" but it will cost a LOT of money and time to get it going. Figure a "sleeper" is going to need EVERYTHING!

[ramiel05]

I bought mine off of Craigslist 3 1/2 years ago for $9,000.00 . It was a typical "hadn't run in 20 years", but it had been stored in a guys basement garage since 1995. No rust, clean interior, low miles (8,637 miles), and still had the original belts, hoses, tires, brakes, etc. It was a unicorn of a find, and I bought it sight unseen 4 hours after the seller listed it. Sure we've put a lot of money into it since then, but you kind of expect to with a 37 year old car.

Nice! I do see a lot of those too.. "hasn't run/been sitting for several years". How's the car doing these days? Would you go about it the same way again?

[ramiel05]

Not a DeLorean specifically but I found a really fantastic Mustang SVT Cobra on CarGurus, a platform I had never heard of until my Dad directed me to the ad.

Ah, CarGurus, I forgot about that one. Thanks for the tip!

[ramiel05]

If you are going to buy a car like that you must be skeptical of a deal that sounds "too good to be true". While they do exist, they are few and far between. What IS common is scammers who will put up a listing to take a deposit and there never was any car, or at least they don't own it. They grabbed a photo somewhere and wrote up a description with a lot of errors hoping to get a hungry, unknowledgeable buyer to jump at such a sweet deal. Ask for a particular photo of say, the odometer or the vin tag or the Title just so they can prove they actually have the car and didn't just swipe some photos from another car to run a bogus ad. If you do actually go to see the car take what you have learned from this forum and inspect the frame, check the fluids, drive the car (if you can). If possible find a local owner or a mechanic friend with another pair of eyes to help. Ask what else goes with the car. Sometimes you are surprised at all of the stuff they will "throw in" that goes with the car like books, spare parts, covers, etc. Be aware of the prices of parts that the car will probably need so you can say, the brakes will have to be rebuilt and the parts cost X so I want to pay your price minus X. Or a cracked windscreen, you get the idea. Bring cash so you can negotiate. A good reason to bring another person, if you will be carrying cash and need help moving the car. NEVER give the seller cash and not remove the car RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Having the Title and a Bill of Sale is no protection. They could have a duplicate Title and sell the car to someone else while you are making arrangements to move the car. Either bring a trailer or a phone # to get it towed right away. There are a lot of ways to get burned and there are enough unscrupulous people out there that you must protect yourself. Make sure the Title is PERFECT, no tampering, erasures, errors, or improperly filled out. You may never see the seller again so you can't figure on his helping you if there is a problem. If the car has not been started for many years don't even try. What you can do is see if the motor will just turn over but don't try starting it. In the first place you could cause a lot of damage and in the second place, once the seller hears it run he will want more money. Keep looking but a good general rule is to buy the best car you can afford. In the end you will have spent less and gotten a better car quicker. Buying a wreck is less "up front" but it will cost a LOT of money and time to get it going. Figure a "sleeper" is going to need EVERYTHING!

Thanks for all of the tips here! Good to know about the scammers swiping photos, I had a feeling something like that was going on.

I certainly intend on buying a D that's in the high 20s low 30s, as I'm not particularly wanting a huge project but something that works that I can build upon or upgrade over time while still being able to enjoy it. Your advice helps me with some of the actual purchasing details, thanks so much!

[David T]

Buying a driver and doing a "rolling restoration" is certainly one way to do it but understand the drawbacks. Until you can do things it can be very unreliable and in some cases unsafe (bad brakes, steering problems for example). Cosmetic stuff can easily be postponed but safety related stuff should be a high priority. Read the date codes on the tires, if they are over 7 years old they should be replaced right away. If the brake fluid is dark, figure on a complete brake rebuild and that should not be delayed. Anything that would need to be done to pass an inspection needs to be done right away like bad glass, lights, horn, wipers. When buying a car you cannot use your last penny just to buy it, you MUST leave some money in reserve to use for immediate repairs and other expenses like Title, plates, tax, and insurance. Good luck in your search and don't buy the first one you see unless you KNOW it is a good deal.

[Michael]

Thanks for all of the tips here! Good to know about the scammers swiping photos, I had a feeling something like that was going on.

Holy cat nipples, if this is news to you then I highly suggest you stay away from internet transactions.

[ramiel05]

Holy cat nipples, if this is news to you then I highly suggest you stay away from internet transactions.

Whoa let’s leave the judgement out of the thread. I’m not that naive, just trying to acknowledge and thank those leaving constructive comments. It’s good info regardless.


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[bfloyd]

Nice! I do see a lot of those too.. "hasn't run/been sitting for several years". How's the car doing these days? Would you go about it the same way again?

The car is doing great, runs like a dream. I would definitely do it the same way again. I learned SO much about my car doing all of the mechanical restoration stuff, it gives me confidence when I'm driving it that I'll get to wherever I'm going and get back home. If I had the money, I'd do another one.

[TheMaverick]

Not a DeLorean specifically but I found a really fantastic Mustang SVT Cobra on CarGurus, a platform I had never heard of until my Dad directed me to the ad.

Congrats bud! I bought my 2004 Cobra from an ad on one of the Cobra forums.

To the OP I sold and bought previous cars on Craiglist, not fun but there are some legit sellers out there. But I found my DeLorean thru Hemmings...

[Shep]

What sites outside of eBay, Hemmings, Autotrader, and cars.com are less known and worth checking out?How about this place (http://dmctalk.org/forumdisplay.php?10-DeLorean-Cars)? Has a ton of very knowledgeable and friendly people, some VERY mechanically inclined, a few even offer you to swing by their house! It might even look familiar to you ;)

(Hassling you, of course, but no seriously I bought mine off of here. Posted a "wanted" ad and saw a matching "for sale" ad. She's sitting in my garage waiting for it to stop snowing...)

[ramiel05]

The car is doing great, runs like a dream. I would definitely do it the same way again. I learned SO much about my car doing all of the mechanical restoration stuff, it gives me confidence when I'm driving it that I'll get to wherever I'm going and get back home. If I had the money, I'd do another one.

Awesome! I’ve been studying the workshop manual and have been looking up everything I can find on Delorean repairs and restoration work. Hoping to get to practice on my own one day soon :)


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[ramiel05]

How about this place (http://dmctalk.org/forumdisplay.php?10-DeLorean-Cars)? Has a ton of very knowledgeable and friendly people, some VERY mechanically inclined, a few even offer you to swing by their house! It might even look familiar to you ;)

(Hassling you, of course, but no seriously I bought mine off of here. Posted a "wanted" ad and saw a matching "for sale" ad. She's sitting in my garage waiting for it to stop snowing...)

Wait a second... that does look familiar ;) Haha I check it every day, you bet this will be my first stop when I’m ready! Soooo close!


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[Shep]

"Wanted" ad. Seriously, I just found out a month ago someone was selling that I didn't even know wanted to sell. A prospective buyer asked me for advice looking over cars he was presented with in response to a "wanted" ad posted here and I instantly recognized the license plate, I've seen it dozens of times at DPI. It's the ones that aren't listed anywhere that you should keep your options open for.

I had the "wanted" ad posted while also simultaneously looking, but cannot recommend it enough. You know those knowledgeable and friendly guys I mentioned? They're selling cars! :shhh: And they know guys that are selling too! :shock: The guys on eBay and Craigslist and Hemmings, it's hit-or-miss on how involved in the community they are and how much we can vouch for the car itself. But sometimes people know other people, and sometimes guys that are looking find a car you might want and send it your way.