DeLorean Hunter...

[thirdmanj]

5444

Has found another one. This time its VIN 2627. Pay no attention to the "2227" written on the dusty windscreen. I thought it was 2227 when I wrote it. oops. But anyway Here is VIN 2627, she's a black interior, automatic, with 22,000 miles and she's more or less original. The owner is the original owner and like most OOs he has a hard time accepting what a DeLorean in this ones current condition is worth. But he's also in the greatest position as a DeLorean owner, he's got it, he doesn't need to sell it, and likes the fact that he's got it. But he would sel for the right price.... whatever that means to him. I as usual have offered my services to him to help get it road worthy again, and he said he'll "give it some consideration". I hope he does, finding DeLoreans in this kind of condition is always depressing, and I always offer to drive out and help, but to date have never been taken up on the offer. Oh well, maybe third times the charm...

[sean]

Cool find, where she located at?

[thirdmanj]

Cool find, where she located at?

:banghead: I knew I forgot something. I'm located in Norfolk, VA. All the DeLoreans I "hunt down" are usually located within an hours drive. 2627 is located in Pungo.

[Chris Burns]

Usually when they say "for sale at the right price", it means they want a good bit of money for it. Good find though!

[Mike Z]

thirdmanj...the more DeLoreans found in our area will make yours (and eventually mine) less unique :wink:

[David T]

When a car gets into this kind of condition the owner has a lot of trouble acknowledging it and what it will cost to get the car running again. They still remember what they paid for it and think it is worth a lot more than it really is worth. "All it needs is a battery and some fresh gas (maybe some tires)". Never mind the frame is rotten and critters have been living for generations inside the car! Very difficult to make a deal. Once the OO passes on the family may dump it just to get it gone, that's when you get the "deal". Even a good deal is going to cost a LOT of money to get it going and make it into a reliable driver. There is not much to be made just flipping it or parting it out. In the current market it can be very hard to sell the car when you are done to get your money out of it. If it is a non-runner it can be worth as little as $2,000 and that is what you can expect to get in parts (assuming the drivetrain is salvageable, the S/S panels are good, most of the glass is good, 2 good torsion bars and a clean Title. Remember, the purchase price is just the beginning. You will immediately have to invest towing and storage. The there is Titling, insurance, labor, and parts if you keep going.
David Teitelbaum

[Dangermouse]

How did you hunt this one down and how did you go about approaching the CO?

(I have a name and address of a guy that had/has one but I'm not sure how to approach him with out seeming stalkerish)

[thirdmanj]

How did you hunt this one down and how did you go about approaching the CO?

(I have a name and address of a guy that had/has one but I'm not sure how to approach him with out seeming stalkerish)

I joined a large, well established antique car club. the AACA, and I joined the local chapter TRAACA. The dues are 20 bucks a year and you have one of the largest networks of classic and antique car owners. At the first dinner I went to, a guy came up to me and said the standard "yeah I know this guy..." bit, but this being the organization that it is I was more inclined to believe it. We traded numbers and about a week later the OO called me. He lives about 40 min away, so I asked if I could come down and see the car.

I did, and like a true DeLorean obsessive I fawned all over his neglected DeLorean and didn't even pay one lick of attention to his 1938 Mercedes he had sitting right next to it. In your case as far a tracking down goes its helpful if you remember who gave you the number/address and when you approach the suspected owner acknowledge the awkwardness of the moment and explain that being a DeLorean owner is a lonely existence when there aren't others..... well you know. I find that most DeLorean owners, regardless of the state of their own, all have the same D-virus one way or another and a common ground will be established quickly.

I always offer my mechanical services, hoping that on the grounds that I actually own and drive it semi-regularly, will be taken seriously. So far I have not been invited for a return visit. One turned out to be SamHill's (he got around to fixing it before we could meet in person) the other has been completely modified (and the guy has other toys), and this one the guys in his 80s recovering from a medical procedure and bound to a wheelchair for a time. But aside from that he seams very motivated to get working on it again he mentioned Ed at DeLorean One and started to go on a rant about "that ass hole.." I said, "wait, hold the phone". And proceeded to tell him about DMCH, and its network of service stations, the 2nd Gen/Phase DeLoreans, and their new improved products etc. Maybe I'll get a call back, maybe not. But anything I can do to service a DeLorean and get her road worthy again I try. There are simply too many being turned into BTTF cars, being neglected, or just plain sitting. We belong to one of the most unique fraternities of rare car owner, and I try to remind others that have them that there is a network out there.

[Canon20DFan]

I grew up in Norfolk! To think that Pungo has a Delorean...


:banghead: I knew I forgot something. I'm located in Norfolk, VA. All the DeLoreans I "hunt down" are usually located within an hours drive. 2627 is located in Pungo.

[DMC3165]

Your story is much like this unfortunate gem,

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?348-Found-300-mile-car-in-storage!!!!&highlight=mile

There seems to be many cars like these whose owners feel like their sitting on a gold mine. Truth is as most of us know these 25+ year sitters are worth less then 60,000 mile runners. I agree with Dave T once these owners pass on and the family decides to liquidate these cars it seems like either don't know or don't care what they get for it and that would be the time To score a deal.

As for the 300 mile one I found. I think one of two outcomes is possible. Either it will rot into the concrete where it sits, or 100 years from now when someone is developing that sight they'll realize there's a car down there and ship it off to a museum. Either way it'll never see daylight in our lifetimes.