Delorean offered - what do you think? (pics)

[LK-Photostyle]

Hello,

my name is Ludwig, i´m 38 years old and i´m from germany.

A friend of mine in the US, sent me an offer with a delorean for sale.
I´m thinking of exporting it to germany.

Specs:
VIN 10294
Dec. 81
Manual
16.990 Miles
2 Pre-Owners

I´m not a delorean expert, so could you please check the pictures for issues or problems you can see?
That would be helpful for me, maybe not getting a problem-car.
What do you think about rust on the frame? In the first attached picture it looks like rust bubbles at the bracket between engine and transmission.

The dealer told me, that everything would be fine with this car, except the ac (doesn´t work).
He also send me a short video with the running engine (sound was good).

I noticed, that i have to change the coolant bottle.
But this should be a smaller task for me.

Thank you!!

Regards,
Ludwig

[Bitsyncmaster]

Hard to say the frame condition from those photos. But that rear cross member is a common place to get some rust. See if you can get some photos of the front crumple area. The shifter knob is not stock.

[jawn101]

Center console armrest is kinda screwed up. A/C seems to have been converted, so if it's not working I would expect some PO hack jobs. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I have a history of getting hood chronology wrong, but that hood seems wrong for a Dec 81 to me.

Otherwise it looks pretty clean - definitely get pictures of the frame, underbody, suspension. Good luck.

[Michael]

Center console armrest is kinda screwed up. A/C seems to have been converted, so if it's not working I would expect some PO hack jobs. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I have a history of getting hood chronology wrong, but that hood seems wrong for a Dec 81 to me.

Otherwise it looks pretty clean - definitely get pictures of the frame, underbody, suspension. Good luck.

Not only is the hood wrong...which is no big deal, more importantly, the frame is wrong. They did not have undercoating until much later. There is no way I would buy that car without having someone who is knowledgeable do a personal inspection. There may be issues with the frame and the paint/undercoating has been applied to cover them up.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Not only is the hood wrong...which is no big deal, more importantly, the frame is wrong. They did not have undercoating until much later. There is no way I would buy that car without having someone who is knowledgeable do a personal inspection. There may be issues with the frame and the paint/undercoating has been applied to cover them up.

My 81 has undercoating. Think it was dealer that did the undercoating.

[Jonathan]

Hi Ludwig,

Pictures can say a 1,000 words... but when there are only 10 of them of small resolution... it's definitely not enough of the story to buy or not buy.

That being said...

- frame looks to be in good condition... from what I can see. It's what you can't see that could be the concern. The slight bubbling area could be the only area even slightly affected, or it could be the only area still hinting at what else might be hiding under there. Not sure about the undercoating, as Michael said. We have some thick, messy undercoating on some Canadian cars in the area, but that isn't what this looks like. I have a similar undercoating to this in some areas, more a black paint, being thinner and less messy, and my car was built before yours here. Frame considerations need to be investigated further.

- centre console seems to be on top of the passenger seat belt end, and I don't recognize what the black item is up towards the passenger footwell. If it is just on crooked, then not much of an issue. Again, it could be leading to something else and would be best to find out.

- same idea with the shifter knob not being original. Not a problem unless it's the tip of a bigger problem that was worked on.

I bought my car from a dealership that wasn't a DMC or vendor place and would not go back and do it the same way. Pictures are okay but someone in person that knows what they are looking at is best. That likely means someone on this forum that is in the area of the car. Let someone who has no bias in the car to tell you about it. But they need to be knowledgeable. I had a coworker that I knew vaguely look at my car and he thought it was great. Problem was he didn't know what he was looking at. Have someone drive it for sure as only then will you get a better feel for condition, functionality. If the dealership won't allow this, then take that as a sign that there is more than meets the eye and you should walk away. There are plenty more DeLoreans out there if this one doesn't work out.

EDIT: if you can, post the link to the engine running video as it may tell us quite a bit more than you realize (depending on the camera angles).

[AugustneverEnds]

Not only is the hood wrong...which is no big deal, more importantly, the frame is wrong. They did not have undercoating until much later. There is no way I would buy that car without having someone who is knowledgeable do a personal inspection. There may be issues with the frame and the paint/undercoating has been applied to cover them up.

My car, 10287, has the same hood as this one. Given the sometimes haphazard nature of DeLorean assembly this may be the correct hood.

Ludwig, definently a video and more pics would be helpful. Also, any service history about the car. Good luck with your search :thumbup2:

[DMC5180]

Ludwig,

VIN 10294 (DEC 81) is a 1982 model year not 81. (1982's Start at VIN 10xxx) The Flat hood (no Grooves) with DELOREAN emblem is correct for the 82's. The Overall general condition looks VERY GOOD. The frame has been Undercoated therefore it is very difficult to see IF it is hiding SERIOUS rust. You need better CLOSE UP photos of as much of the frame as possible.

Good Luck

[Delorean Industries]

Buying undercoated cars is a bit dangerous IMO. I stay away from purchasing these sight unseen as they are a tricky investment. The pictures are sub par to say the least and from what I can see of key areas on the rear cradle I'm not impressed.

[Domi]

This one is on eBay right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DeLorean-Other-1982-only-19-k-miles-/281152080856?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4175f84bd8&vxp=mtr

[Delorean Industries]

It is right now the street from us actually.

[ALEXAKOS]

when I see a black frame... I don't like it!

Some body drove in with his D and got out in a Benz:)

[LK-Photostyle]

Thanks for your support!

OK, then i would stop thinking to buying this one.
Without any inspection of someone who knows these cars it's an illusion!

I'll look further, till i find my D!

@Josh: Do you know this car?

[Delorean Industries]

Thanks for your support!

OK, then i would stop thinking to buying this one.
Without any inspection of someone who knows these cars it's an illusion!

I'll look further, till i find my D!

@Josh: Do you know this car?

LK, We offer inspection services but I can tell you right now things get ugly with the seller when we start snooping around.

[LK-Photostyle]

I get a note from the seller a few minutes ago.
They receveid a full deposit of the car for the asking price. Congratulations!
Anyone from this forum?

As i said, my journey continues!
Thanks again for your support!

[Jonathan]

Not trying to say this couldn't be a fine car for someone, but the spidey senses go up at times when reading certain things...

This is how the seller answered Ludwig's eBay questions:

"Hi Ludwig! We cannot be sure how many previous owners this car has had, but we know the elderly gentleman who traded the car in to us has had it for a very long time. He was using the vehicle as a collector's piece and show car for the entire time he owned it. The car is rarely driven and has never seen snow or even rain!! This car is nicely presented in fantastic condition. The exterior stainless is in really superb shape as you can see from the pictures, and the interior will detail nicely. The Engine, electrical and frame/body are all working as they should, the only caveat is the Air-conditioning is not currently working (may just need charged). Regarding shipping, we can help you arrange shipping to the US border (in your case, being in Germany, this will probably be the port of New Jersey), you must contact a freight forwarder to facilitate the physical export of your vehicle from the United States. This process is not hard, and we have worked directly with multiple freight forwarding companies to send our vehicles all over the world. We are well experienced in this and can help you as much as possible. This is definitely a great car, an extremely rare, low-mile find, and ready to make it to you, no matter where in the world you are! Don't wait!!"

Just a couple comments if you want to "thin slice" this ad:

"The car is rarely driven and has never seen snow or even rain!!"

Ok, first, describing your car as one that is rarely driven is not a positive. Just like cars that sit aren't a lot of fun as we know. If I hear a seller advertise his car as being driven every single Sunday afternoon for 50 miles for the past decade, that's the kind of car I'd like to pursue.

Secondly, never seeing rain is not important. Rain doesn't hurt cars. Road salt and chemicals put on the highway to deal with ice and snow do. Not driven in the snow is important.

...But, how do you know it has never seen snow or rain when a couple lines earlier you say you don't know for sure how many previous owners the car has had? It sounds like the guy is full of baloney to me.

...extremely rare.... ready to make it to you..... no matter where in the world you are.... don't wait!! ----> is this guy selling some enlargement product on late night infomercials or DeLoreans?

If I give one general piece of advice, it would be to look for your car at someone who has something to lose if they stick you with a bad car. A salesman at a Mercedes dealership doesn't give two sh!ts about what the DeLorean community thinks of him after the car is off the lot. Nor really would any other dealership that isn't focused on DeLoreans.

That leaves you a couple choices... a DeLorean vendor and one of their cars, or a forum member who you have gotten to know well or others here do. Not saying that couldn't go south too, but it greatly reduces your chances of buying a mess if the person's name and reputation is on the table. Many of our vendors survive on what their name or word says, not as much so with whether their replacement so and so bracket is $5 more or less. This might increase the price of the car you could buy, but it likely won't be money wasted. I also understand some vendors can have less than ideal showroom cars available or at least put you in touch with the owner. I would feel better about that than some random guy/dealership no one knows.

Anyway, that's just my take on it. Mostly from experience. I've seen magic acts with less surprises than my car had. And if you want to consider the dollars, when I was looking in 2007 or so, vendors had cars around $29,000 or so (with exceptions of course) and yet these deals on the internet were more like $22,000. If I got the chance for a redo, I would gladly go back and spend that $7k as it was quickly spent on repairs after my car arrived.

Good luck in your search!

[ALEXAKOS]

Gruß Gott aus Athen (I am 50% German :) )
What is your wishlist so we can help keep an eye on it?
- Price range
- Interior color
- Auto / manual
- special prefrences (gas flap etc)

[LK-Photostyle]

Hi Alex,

greetings to Athen! :)
I like the worldwide community here and so much help and support!
Thank you for your offer!

I'm looking for a nearly original D.
It must be manual and in good, driveable shape!
The surface of the SS parts shouldn't have dents, big scratches, etc.
But the bigger thing is, the frame should be ok!
Gray or black, that doesn't matters, but i would prefer gray.
Same thing with the gas-flap. Good when the car has it, but no problem if not!
My price-range is up to 20K US$.

Some work i can do by myself in my garage! Do a restauration as good and original as possible.
My neighbor has a small repair shop with a hydraulic lift, where i can work at the D too.
On the other hand, i can drive to Deloman (www.deloman.de) 30 Miles away from where i live.

I'll check the typical sale-offers regularly, but won't do a fast buy.
At this car here, the decision for buying should go fast and that's what i don't like, especially when nobody can check the car!

[Michael]

I love it when sellers describe the inoperative air con. It always "just needs a charge", simple as filling your gas tank up. :dead:

[Delorean Industries]

I love it when sellers describe the inoperative air con. It always "just needs a charge", simple as filling your gas tank up. :dead:

At least they are not going above and beyond to hide the fact that it doesn't work. I have seen some awesome quick AC fixes to sell cars to unsuspecting owners. Makes me sick! Nothing worse than paying out 20k plus for a car that needs visible work and having to partially pull the body for AC lines.

[john 05141]

Hi,

I understand your search in the US for a Delorean, they are cheaper there than there are here.
If you have looked at all the issues about shipping a car into Germany and all the taxes that are involved and you decided to go for the US I would doo 2 things;

Buy a car from a fellow Delorean driver that unfortunately needs to sell for $$$. They are usually very well maintained and loved.
Get someone from the forum here to check it out for you, I've seen plenty of stories where we do this for one another, I know I would.
You might save enough that the difference gets you a trip to US and check it out in person, maybe 2 or 3 within drivers distance. (that is what I would do)

You can also get in touch with Ed from DMC in Amsterdam. He might have one for sale now and you're sure it has been looked at in detail.
Pleanty of Delorean drivers from Germany on this forum, I know a lot of them personally, I'm sure they will be happy to get you more information.
PM me if you want more info.
they have a forum www. deloreans.de


Jan (aus Belgien)