Owning a Delorean...6 Months Later

[eldusto84]

So I bought my Delorean back in April, and here I am six months later. Being a first-time owner of this car, I thought I'd share some of my impressions of this unique piece of machinery.

First off, I should say that owning a Delorean is a not what I thought it would be. Not that I don't enjoy the car, because I do! But a lifetime of hyping up my dream car in my head was bound to lead to disappointment, no matter how cool the car actually is. Because of that, the first month or so after purchasing my Delorean was not very fun- and also because the car needed a good amount of work, which I wasn't fully prepared for.

However, after adjusting my expectations and doing LOTS of research, I decided that if I wanted to really enjoy my car, I had to earn it. So I rolled up my sleeves and started on the repairs. The previous owner wasn't fully truthful about the issues with the car, so a lot of problems had to be solved in a trial-and-error fashion. Luckily I've had an original Service Manual and these message boards to help! Here's a list of what I've fixed in six months...

-TABs replaced (passenger side TAB had actually snapped off completely!)
-Blower motor replaced
-Evaporator cleaned out (filled to the brim with leaves/debris)
-A/C recharged, lines replaced w/new o-rings
-Both tie rod ends replaced
-Oil pressure sending unit replaced (also stopped an oil leak!)
-Oil change
-Alignment
-Most fuses replaced (the old ones were mostly shot)
-Front balljoints, bushings, etc. greased
-Brake lines flushed & refilled
-New shifter boot installed
-Other random silly things

Aside from the A/C lines and the alignment, I've been able to do all of the repairs myself. Unlike when I first bought it, the car is 95% road-worthy now and I've been driving it at least once a week. I would ballpark my expenses around $700 at this point, which I've heard is a modest figure for a Delorean :) There are still some small things that need to be fixed on the car, namely the power windows and possibly the window switches. The previous owner installed some custom switches that weren't even wired correctly, so I have to fix that.

Overall, my experience has been positive with my Delorean. It turns heads like no other and can be fun to drive when it's in a good mood. I'm always a bit paranoid that something else will go wrong while I'm driving it around, but I don't think that will ever go away!

[djscoto]

This is great to hear these thoughts as the D has been my favorite car ever since I was a child. I am finally in a position in my life where I can start saving for one. I am actually almost there. :)

Since I have never actually ridden in a stock D, the only thing that I am uncertain about are how my potential dream car would handle and perform. I do realize that it is under-powered and ~30 years old, so I am sure that I have set my expectations properly.

What are your thoughts on how it drives? Did it meet or exceed your expectations?

Thank you,

[DMC1983]

I'll just go out on a limb and tell you now that owning is all about upkeep. It's like owning an airplane; the price you pay for the car is admission and thereafter it's all about how much you want to enjoy it. I've had my car for 4.5 years and it's been nothing but maintenance, every owner here will tell you the same thing. These cars are old and they need that tender loving care to keep on going.

I hope that what you put into it will be what you get out...and then some. It's not just a dream nor a toy, it's a lifestyle and a hobby in one fine package :headbang:

[Kenny_Z]

I'm happy to see you figured out what it means to own a classic car and put some effort into keeping your dream alive. Though I am sorry to hear you had to lower your expectations on the car. I'm curious as to what you mean. Was it just about your car's condition or something about Deloreans in general?

[Dangermouse]

Thanks for the update.

It may be useful to future owners if you would share some details about the car when you bought it (specifically demonstrating the list of things that had to be done to a car of a certain history/price)

- had it been a daily drive or a stored car?
- what standard was it advertised as (x/10) and what standard did it turn out to be (y/10)
-price, if you feel comfortable with sharing that.

[David T]

On any used, old car replacing all of the fluids and filters is to be expected unless the seller has receipts that it was all just done. The A/C shouldn't have been a surprise. As you discovered, many of the things you have to do is undoing previous incorrect work, routine stuff that the PO should have taken care of and a lot of little things that just take time to sort out.That is part of the fun of ownership of any old car. Once you "catch up" and get all of the bugs out of the car all you have to do is regular maintenance. Keep up with that, fix things as they break and you will do well and have a reliable car. At least you seem to have a good, solid car now! And as you say, you didn't spend all that much. If the battery is over 5 years old, tires over 7 you need to consider replacing them. Track your gas mileage. That is a big indicator as to the general health of the car. If it is low the brakes could be dragging (stuck calipers) and/or the motor may need a tune-up (dirty injectors, worn plugs). Do all of the owner checks, tire pressures and check all of the exterior lights. The more you drive it the more confidence you will have in the car. And the more fun you have!
David Teitelbaum

[Chris Burns]

On any used, old car replacing all of the fluids and filters is to be expected unless the seller has receipts that it was all just done. The A/C shouldn't have been a surprise. As you discovered, many of the things you have to do is undoing previous incorrect work, routine stuff that the PO should have taken care of and a lot of little things that just take time to sort out.That is part of the fun of ownership of any old car. Once you "catch up" and get all of the bugs out of the car all you have to do is regular maintenance. Keep up with that, fix things as they break and you will do well and have a reliable car. At least you seem to have a good, solid car now! And as you say, you didn't spend all that much. If the battery is over 5 years old, tires over 7 you need to consider replacing them. Track your gas mileage. That is a big indicator as to the general health of the car. If it is low the brakes could be dragging (stuck calipers) and/or the motor may need a tune-up (dirty injectors, worn plugs). Do all of the owner checks, tire pressures and check all of the exterior lights. The more you drive it the more confidence you will have in the car. And the more fun you have!
David Teitelbaum

:headbang:

Agreed!

[eldusto84]

I will try to answer the questions asked so far in this thread.

To DJSCOTO... the car drives better than you would imagine a 31 year-old car should drive, but if you're expecting something smooth like a modern Corvette than you'll be disappointed! I'm surprised at how heavy the car feels, especially when braking. It honestly feels like I'm driving a stainless steel tank sometimes, which is both good and bad. It makes the Delorean feel sturdy, but at the same time you know that you aren't going to speed off in a hurry with all that weight. I enjoy the feeling of no power steering, and a 5-speed manual transmission is a MUST. I honestly don't know how some people buy automatic sports cars, let alone Deloreans.

To KennyZ... I had to lower my expectations because they were set impossibly high over a lifetime of dreaming about the car. There's no way it could have matched the hype that I built in my head. The car's initial condition added to it some, but now that it's in great shape again I am beginning to really appreciate it more.

To Dangermouse... I bought the car for $18,000, and it had 16,400 miles on it. I am the third owner. The previous owner had it for 7-8 years and only a couple thousand miles on it at most, so it was mostly stored. It was advertised as 8/10 and delivered in a 4/10 condition. The snapped TAB and tie rods had a LOT to do with how badly the car drove. At this point I would rate it around 8-9/10.

To David... the previous owner put in a new battery right before he shipped the car to me. Tires have great tread, no rot either. I'm planning to replace the spark plugs before the end of the year, but I might need some pointers on actually getting to the damn things!

[Michael Babb]

I once saw a posting (I think on the DML) that stated, "You really have to love these cars - because they will try their best to make you hate them." As has been stated in the past, maintenance is key - but that does not mean that unexpected things cannot happen.

I have owned the same DeLorean twice now, and am currently considering getting another one. . .and my first week of DeLorean ownership, back in 1997 or so was absolute hell. I live in North Carolina, and my car was for sale at DMC-Houston (on consignment for a gentleman based out of NY). I flew down to Houston one Saturday morning and Stephen Wynne picked me up at the airport in his DeLorean (what an awesome way to be greeted outside a terminal). We went back to DMC and went over the entire car. I had seen D's in the past, but had never driven one, nor had I had an opportunity to get this up close and personal with one before. After a few hours of going over all of the functions and features and an extensive test drive we finalized the purchase and I drove off. So far so good.

I spent the next few days driving from Texas back to North Carolina, and after going over some railroad tracks in NE Texas started having what seemed like fuel delivery problems. The car would be humming along nicely when it would suddenly become starved for fuel and would slow down and almost stall. Though it had appeared to be in perfect condition on pickup there seemed to be something seriously wrong with the car. After several days of troubleshooting on the phone with Warren and the DMC crew (with me basically in tears most of the time and out on the road with no tools), I finally limped home with the car, averaging about 45 on Highway 40 through most of the state. We finally determined that some wires had become corroded on a connector associated with the fuel system and that was causing the pump to falter a bit. Apparently the bumpy railroad tracks had caused the remains of the wire to separate so I was getting inconsistent connections. A quick splice job and the car was running perfectly. . . .(remember it had been a consignment car, so had not had EVERY system gone over by DMC).

The experience was a good lesson to me that even little things can be a pain and should somewhat be taken in to account - especially if you are planning on a long trip. For my money, I think that AAA is a great investment to have if you are the owner of a classic car. Getting a ride home in the cab of a tow truck sure beats spending time on the side of a highway working on or troubleshooting a car.

VIN 3472 and I had a lot of ups and downs during the time that we spent together, and all-in-all the net experience was positive. Just keep in mind that these care ARE now over 30 years old and need love and attention to stay running well. . .my problem was always trying to keep from being too bummed out when something did go wrong and I had to wait for parts. . .patience with UPS is not a virtue that I posses in abundance.

Sorry for the ramble - just wanted to share the experience I had as a new owner some 16 or so years ago.

[AugustneverEnds]

I am one month into DeLorean ownership and I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised. After having spent the last 16 years reading about DeLoreans and largely seeing them ripped for not having enough horsepower or torque, I find the car still to be a thrill. It pulls fine enough at traffic lights and does more than admirably on the highway or back roads. I think, partially, I was expecting the car to feel painfully slow from all of those years of hearing people (uninformed, in now seems) commenting about it. Also I am now 26 and past the stage of my life where I think of myself as an undiscovered Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher.

I have performed some routine and preventative maitenance on the car (see thread Newly Living the Dream) and find it easy to work on and not the fiasco many pundits claimed it to be. On the contrary the car utilizes components from excellent sources (Bosch, Harrison, St. Gobain etc..) and is not an electronic pain in the rear like so many more recent cars.

Really I find myself marveling at the car more day by day. It is a 30 year old car that is modern enough to use frequently (less than daily, more than weekends in my case) but not complex enough to dissuade DIYers from tackling most jobs. And of course the DeLorean is timeless. I still can't believe sometimes that it is actually mine! It's too cool for me :)

[djscoto]

I am one month into DeLorean ownership and I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised. After having spent the last 16 years reading about DeLoreans and largely seeing them ripped for not having enough horsepower or torque, I find the car still to be a thrill. It pulls fine enough at traffic lights and does more than admirably on the highway or back roads. I think, partially, I was expecting the car to feel painfully slow from all of those years of hearing people (uninformed, in now seems) commenting about it. Also I am now 26 and past the stage of my life where I think of myself as an undiscovered Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher.

This is really great to hear. One day soon, I hope to be experiencing the same feeling. The Delorean has been my favorite car ever since I was a child, although I have never actually ridden in one. Thanks,

[Jimmyvonviggle]

Hey I'll chime in with 3028. Owned her since last August. When I got her the doors were stuck shut. Dave S walked me through getting them open. I have since replaced fuses, battery, fuel pump, relays. I have also cleaned her out of rats nests and every species of insect known to man. Changed the otterstat and the plugs, and coil. Got her running, and enjoyed the several times I took her out.

However I realize that the task of making her a reliable car ( by that i mean willing to take my wife with me on a road trip and not break down on the side of the road) is beyond my skillset. Plus I want to drive the thing regularly. I think it would be fun to tinker on a D if you have another one in "perfect" condition. So I made the decision to ship 3028 down to DMCMW and have them sort it out and return me a decent car that I can enjoy. In the meantime I am currently looking for another car (not a D) to tinker with that I won't mind experimenting on.

[AugustneverEnds]

@ djscoto: Glad to hear my posts are useful to someone out there! Really, the DeLorean is more than adequate for any type of driving besides drag racing. You will get one soon, trust me. I had been dreaming about the car since I was ten years old, when I saw a dilipitated DeLorean in a barn covered in pigeon crap and and mechanically shot to pieces. That sparked what became a 15 year wait. I found 10287 about 20 minutes from home, owned by the nicest gentleman when I was least expecting it. Sometimes all the tumblers in the universe just fall into place. I wish you were closer to Central New York, I'd be happy to give you a test drive. Good luck and happy hunting!

[djscoto]

@ djscoto: Glad to hear my posts are useful to someone out there! Really, the DeLorean is more than adequate for any type of driving besides drag racing. You will get one soon, trust me. I had been dreaming about the car since I was ten years old, when I saw a dilipitated DeLorean in a barn covered in pigeon crap and and mechanically shot to pieces. That sparked what became a 15 year wait. I found 10287 about 20 minutes from home, owned by the nicest gentleman when I was least expecting it. Sometimes all the tumblers in the universe just fall into place. I wish you were closer to Central New York, I'd be happy to give you a test drive. Good luck and happy hunting!

Thanks for the kind words and the offer to take a spin in your car! I will be waiting patiently until the right opportunity comes along for me to finally purchase mine. :) Posts like this definitely make me feel good about the D community in which I cannot wait to become a part of. Thank you,