Auction Results

[David T]

Just got my Hemmings Motor News and at the RM Sotheby's auction in AZ a very low mileage, all original Delorean sold for $123,200. Now before everyone gets excited, this is very rare, the car only had 175 miles on it. It does set the upper limit (at least for now). This will be the Delorean that all others are judged and appraised against and will help to increase the average sale price ($58,000). For the short term everyone should talk to their insurance broker and make sure their car is not under-insured. If you are thinking of selling, this may be a good time, prices are way up.

[Timeless]

They're going higher especially with DaVinci release in August. The $248K sale price for the Kia-powered car last year was crazy.
I'm all dialed in with Hagerty for coverage. Good news is I have a great 7K Stage II example that the PO didn't drive it enough, but I will.

[Josh]

There have been several six figure cars sell in the past few years. Bring A Trailer has sold the majority of them.
All of them have something in common, they are modified. BTTF replicas, and as mentioned the Kia swapped car is second in value only to the A Car.

[cdrusn]

There are not a lot of potential investments out there right now. Rising interest rates have killed the stock market and the investment housing market. The Feds
plan on 4 more interest rate hikes this year further destroying stocks and rental properties. Gold, silver, ha. So what is left to invest in? Deloreans. :race:

[Helirich]

I just upped my insurance to 60K. I guess it might not be enough soon. Of course, mine is high miles. That’s one of those things I don’t agree with. Low miles mean something when the car is a few years old, but When you have a 175 mile car that is 40 years old, you know that car is not road worthy. To me, it is of less value than a higher mile car that is driven regularly.

[CFI]

I just upped my insurance to 60K. I guess it might not be enough soon. Of course, mine is high miles. That’s one of those things I don’t agree with. Low miles mean something when the car is a few years old, but When you have a 175 mile car that is 40 years old, you know that car is not road worthy. To me, it is of less value than a higher mile car that is driven regularly.

When a 40 year old car only has 175 miles, roadworthiness means nothing. How road worthy does it have to be to sit in a garage?

[todd1561]

So what is left to invest in? Deloreans. :race:

You could go full grandpa and pick up some Series I bonds at 9.6%

[cdrusn]

You could go full grandpa and pick up some Series I bonds at 9.6%

+1 for series I bonds but read the details carefully. Must hold for 5 years or take a 3 month interest penalty. Also no withdrawal for one year. Maximum purchase is $10,000 per year. Will keep up with inflation but not make anyone rich. Good place to hole up waiting for the new President.

[David T]

As in past periods of economic uncertainty, money is flowing out of Wall Street (stocks, bonds, etc) and into physical assets like real estate, gold, and collectables, driving up prices. The main rule to follow is diversification. Don't put all of your money into one kind of investment. Growth is not the main factor, preservation of capital is the goal.

[cdrusn]

Smart strategy. Except, with mortgage rates almost doubling, investment real estate would only be available for those with cash. When inventory for sale
goes up, prices will steady or at least be negotiable unlike up till now it's been a sellers market. Gold and silver have never been a good investment except to
protect against total loss. Frankly right now there are no good investments. Save as much money as you can and then when the market turns you will be ready.
A very wise financial guru, Charles J. Givens had the best advice: It's not how much you make it's how much you keep. :race:

[Helirich]

Smart strategy. Except, with mortgage rates almost doubling, investment real estate would only be available for those with cash. When inventory for sale
goes up, prices will steady or at least be negotiable unlike up till now it's been a sellers market. Gold and silver have never been a good investment except to
protect against total loss. Frankly right now there are no good investments. Save as much money as you can and then when the market turns you will be ready.
A very wise financial guru, Charles J. Givens had the best advice: It's not how much you make it's how much you keep. :race:

All true. The big issue I see is the possible collapse of the dollar and it’s loss of “reserve currency” statis. This won’t be a normal recession, or even depression. In a currency collapse, a lot of rules change. You definitely don’t want to be holding a lot of cash. Gold has been historically a good for this situation, but not so sure today because it’s kind of lost it’s magic. Crypto? Maybe. Kind of an unknown. I’m inclined to go with real estate. (There not making any more of it)

As far as Deloreans, their not making anymore of them either. Plus you can look classy while your waiting in the bread lines.

[Riley88]

Precious metals are used in most electronics and have a huge demand. They will always have a good value.

[Michael]

I'm a big gold/silver guy. Bought in around 2010-13ish. As an investment, (especially in physical form) it's horrible, but as insurance, it's not a bad way to park 15-20% of your wealth.

...and boy does that name bring back memories "Charles Givens: Wealth Without Risk".



He never owned a DeLorean soooo.....

[gullwingD]

You've got it wrong, the high DeLorean prices are what's left of the boom cycle. I would expect a dip in prices when monetary policy tightens, and some people are forced to sell assets just like in 2008. As far as the "new DeLorean" I don't see it... who wants a fake DeLorean? It's just another car with the name badged on it.



As in past periods of economic uncertainty, money is flowing out of Wall Street (stocks, bonds, etc) and into physical assets like real estate, gold, and collectables, driving up prices. The main rule to follow is diversification. Don't put all of your money into one kind of investment. Growth is not the main factor, preservation of capital is the goal.

[David T]

You've got it wrong, the high DeLorean prices are what's left of the boom cycle. I would expect a dip in prices when monetary policy tightens, and some people are forced to sell assets just like in 2008. As far as the "new DeLorean" I don't see it... who wants a fake DeLorean? It's just another car with the name badged on it.

It isn't just prices of Deloreans, you can see the same thing happening throughout the classic car world. And not just classic cars, it's commodities and all kinds of collectibles. You are right though in that it is a bubble and eventually (sooner rather than later) you will see the bottom fall out and prices WILL drop. If you can ride out the crash you will see things come back higher than ever, just no way to predict how long that will take. Right now it is a seller's market and if you are thinking of selling, now is the time!

[MrChocky]

I call BS on the 2008 thing. This has been repeated so often it's taken as truth.

Now, I fully admit the data on historical sales prices is, spotty at best, and I'm fully open to corrections with better data, but I have found some listings from 1995 (DeLorean World),
early 2000s (DMC News), 2012ish onwards (DMCTalk) and much more recently, my own records and research.

I think the correct story is that prices were in slow decline sine the original 25-26Kish 1981 sale price ($25K inflation adjusted is about $80K in 2022), with prices around
20-25K in 1995-2000ish ($25K in 2000 is about $47K today), and then a gradual uptrend starting perhaps in 2010 reaching about $40K in 2020 for a sorted car (about
$45K in 2022), and then as everyone knows a near doubling in price to today.

As of writing this (and it will be rapidly out of date, I'm sure), the cheapest DeLorean for sale anywhere in any condition, publicly advertised is $70K. (I know that
recent BaT cars have sold for less, but none of those are listed right now).

Could prices decline again? Sure; there's certainly seasonal declines of 10%, and more wouldn't be unexpected. But I doubt it'll be enough to somehow
make the cars "affordable" any time soon. Besides, the world and types of owners has greatly changed since 2008.

Fight me.

[Timeless]

Could prices decline again? Sure; there's certainly seasonal declines of 10%, and more wouldn't be unexpected. But I doubt it'll be enough to somehow
make the cars "affordable" any time soon. Besides, the world and types of owners has greatly changed since 2008.
Agreed. Being what they are they'll never go way down in value long-term.

[gullwingD]

Nearly doubling since 2022... not normal price action. I would argue dealers are still buying these for much less. DMCH has made a career out of buying these for dirt cheap and flipping them high for years.

[Helirich]

Nearly doubling since 2022... not normal price action. I would argue dealers are still buying these for much less. DMCH has made a career out of buying these for dirt cheap and flipping them high for years.

One thing I believe the dealer does is quote high prices to fix stuff and when people complain they offer to buy. The previous owner of my car was quoted $7,000 to clean out the fuel system and replace the filter and pump. That job sucked, but I don’t think it sucked 7 grand. Plus the owner would have to had it towed a long distance.

I’m not trashing the dealer for this. It’s a business decision and if it works for them, great. If they get too out of hand, someone will open a repair business to compete. (The American way)

[gullwingD]

Right now the high prices you see posted do not include any work because the suckers are buying. The only ones that claim to have work done are the 100K plus DMC H cars. We know Texas was selling really nice running cars with a lot of work done in the 40s just pre-pandemic, according to someone who bought one from them.


One thing I believe the dealer does is quote high prices to fix stuff and when people complain they offer to buy. The previous owner of my car was quoted $7,000 to clean out the fuel system and replace the filter and pump. That job sucked, but I don’t think it sucked 7 grand. Plus the owner would have to had it towed a long distance.

I’m not trashing the dealer for this. It’s a business decision and if it works for them, great. If they get too out of hand, someone will open a repair business to compete. (The American way)