Question about something that's been bugging me

[symblieye]

I have a question about something that has been on my mind for some time and I figured you all would be able to share the most insight on it. I apologize if this has already been discussed in the forum. I did a search, but I may have missed it. I'm sure we all experience this being owners of what we own. The topic of $Cost$.
I could be talking to a complete stranger, a family member, or a friend, or a client for work. About 50% of the time, the question comes up: how much did I pay for it? This could be regarding the D, or any car really. I'll start by saying I'm a pretty private person when it comes to certain things, very open and public when it comes to others. And I feel there are certain items which usually are simply beneficial to just keep private: salary, etc.
But what bothers me is not so much that people are eager to ask, but that they seem to be upset at my reluctance to answer the question. I have found usually there are two main reasons people ask this question:
1. Curiosity. People have no idea what these cars are worth (I've had one person say he thought they were worth about $100,000 and another person, the first time I saw her after I got my Delorean she said literally "you know I wouldn't pay $12 to own that car" - she was a special case and I feel the statement had to mostly with her personality, but an example worth citing nonetheless) so I can understand this curiosity which is why in most cases when people ask how much I paid I simply say that mine was a good deal, and they can range in price anywhere from 6k to 50k
2. The other reason to ask: Sometimes people just want to judge you.
'wow you got ripped off!'
'they may be worth that much but I can't believe you wasted all that money'
'from what you're saying that sounds like a good deal.'
'how can you afford that?'
'oh you must only be able to afford that cause it cost next to nothing'
'so you can afford that, but not this?'
'I can't believe you got it for that little'
The judgements can be good or bad. Now, I already know whether or not I got a good deal, and I know better than 95% of the people I talk to. Also, whenever someone asks how much I spent, they already have some number in their head when they ask, so even after educating them as to the current worth they still just judge you based on the number in their head.

To summarize, I have told a select few ppl what I paid for my car. I told my wife (even though I paid for it, wanted her to be ok with it and we don't keep secrets), I told my mom and dad and brother, and I have told a couple of fellow owners, people who were once owners in the past, and a few owners of other collector cars. My thinking thus far on the matter has been:
1. I already know I got a good deal on my car, I don't feel the need to educate people just so that they can confirm what I already know. And for the flip side, I have no desire to feed potential bad and/or ignorant judgements.
2. If the question comes from a curiosity about value, then telling them what the cars go for in general should be enough. They shouldn't need to know what I paid.

Would you ask a woman if she's pregnant? Would you ask someone what they weigh? How they did on their taxes? If they've ever cheated on their spouse? A car is a large and often personal decision no matter what the car is, if someone clearly doesn't want to say, why would you press them? Or why don't people assume its a personal question and instead say 'you know I have no idea, what do these things go for these days?'
Has anyone had similar thoughts or want to chime in with their thoughts/experiences on the matter?

Sorry for the novel... This has been bugging me for a while. At the least, thanks for letting me get it off my chest.

[vps3922]

+1

I totally understand you and your reasoning. I also go with a range as an answer and tell them that I got a good deal. It is also a case by case judgment for me whom I will tell what I really paid. There are the few people out there, same categories like you have, that know what I paid, and then the rest.

Nobody should ask you for the correct price. Ballpark or range should be sufficient.

[wrkey]

My general answer this with "Well, cars, like anything else, is only worth what someone is willing pay for it. And how much someone is willing to sell it for. In this condition, my car is worth about $##k." That is generally gives them an idea of worth. If they press for more info about my cost, I reply with "Well, less than it's worth so I'm happy with my investment." If they press again, I am more direct, "That's not really something I'd care to divulge."

Mostly I think people just want a validation of the value.... or they think it's worth huge dollars or little dollars. Mostly I get response of "I thought it would be worth more than that." Then I ask them what would they be willing to pay for it. Get's a laugh and eases the conversation.

[Denverdelorean]

I think it's because DeLoreans are generally considered rare and exotic. people don't see them so they assume they must be ferrari level or similar. Most of us that own them are pretty average down to earth guys, so it may seem a little out of whack that we have them. I think it's a funny question and it doesn't bother me in the least. Now, if they ask "how much do you make" they are far out of my comfort zone.

[Kane]

So, what did you pay for yours?

[Michael]

I don't answer the question of "what did you pay?" and I'm very blunt about it when I tell them it's none of their business.

If I get the slightly less personal "So what are these things worth?" my response is "Just with any collector car, price is dependant on a lot of things including condition. They can range anywhere from 1ķ to 100k". I then let them look at my car and make their own assumptions as to what it's worth.

[vwdmc16]

I started a thread about this a few months back and we came up with a few good replies to deflect the answer or answer vaguely.

[Mark D]

From my own experience I feel like the "how much did you pay for it" question comes up because the car is so oddball and most people have no idea what it costs to own one. If someone asks me how much I paid I almost always redirect the question by answering that the typical price for a nice car is somewhere in the mid 20's. I'll usually add that you can find them in running condition for less than 10k and you can spend more than 50k if you want a car that has been completely rebuild with all NOS parts.

For 95% of the people I've encountered that answer is more information than what they were expecting and satisfies what they really wanted to know.

For the other 5% that explanation seems to go in one ear and out the other and I get something along the lines of "Yeah, but what did YOU pay for THIS car" If I'm not too offended by the person at this point I'll say I paid near the average price I just explained.

Of that 5% there is that other 1-2% that feels they are entitled to know exactly what you paid. I have never told anyone a specific number that wasn't a family member, friend, or a fellow DMC owner. For the people that keep pressing me I'll just tell them flat out that they don't need to know exactly what I paid and that it's starting to get rude that they keep asking. I've never had anyone continue beyond that point so I don't know what I'd say after that.... Probably just stop talking to them and walk away.

In my head I imagine that I might ask them an equally as personal/financial question like what their gross income was last year, if they owe the IRS any back taxes, what their social security number/credit score is, etc. I've never actually said anything like that though. Knowing how some people are I'd end up with the guy who has no problem giving all that information to a complete stranger.

[symblieye]

Thank you guys so much, immediately after reading your responses I stated to feel better. It's good to hear from other owners that they get this as well and reassuring to hear that there are other owners that feel the same way as I do.


Thank you vwdmc16 for mentioning the other thread. A lot of good suggestions and advice that made me feel better as well. I think my favorite was nullset:


"
"Most of them cost about 25k, but this one was more expensive because I had to pay someone to take off all the BTTF props they put on it when they made the movies".


Or,


"Most of them cost about 25k, but this one cost more because I had to remove all the gold plating, and that was really time consuming/expensive"
"


Many LOLs for that :)
I've only really talked to my wife until now about this issue, and I while talking to her a little while back I said "That's a pretty personal question isn't it? I think every time someone asks me how much I paid I'm gonna respond with 'How big are your genitals?' See how they react, and then say 'I'm sorry, since you got personal I thought we were on that level with each other' "


In thinking about the scenario today, I thought of another possible response:
"Well, I'm NOT loaded by any sense of the word. It IS however a car with some moderate value. There, I answered both of the questions you were actually asking without giving you a number at all :)"
This response also may work well since the 'I'm not loaded' portion may pre-empt any coke jokes, or it may also provoke them, who knows...


Another great point that was brought up, which I did not think about, ppl may be simply trying to buy the car without saying just that. This really makes me want to lean toward the "Make me an offer" response. I feel like this one would work on almost any level:
- If their intent was to judge you, and they don't answer you can say, 'Well, like my mom always said 'if you have to ask you can't afford it'
- If they blurt out a number, you can choose to laugh it off or educate; depending whether or not they were just looking to make a joke or judge or if they were just curious
- If they are looking to buy, it jumps to the point


I think that's what I'm going to start using :)


Thanks again for the advice, I feel tons better!

[Silverbullet]

With me.... like a lot of others here.... It is not what I paid for the car that is important.... It is how much money I have spent to get it into the shape it is today... I am in the club that "IF" I wanted to sell it.... I most likely would not get my money back. But to me it is worth it to have a great, dependable fun car, that has had a lot of the old stuff replaced.

It seems people are willing to pay a dealer that has a car re-done way more money than a private party, that has had the same work done... All in all any old car can break, have problems and such. They feel more warm and fuzzy, spending more money with a dealer. Like a lot of people here, "IF" I sold my car, someone would get a great car, as it was not fixed up to sell at a profit.

I tell people they sell for $5,000 to $100,000, and mine is in pretty good shape.... My .02


Craig

[papanoel]

I really don't like it when people ask me this either. Like you, only a select few know what I paid for the car. I paid a fair price. I think it's extremely rude to ask.

I have various answers to deflect. "It cost more than I should have paid for it." not true but it gets them to move on usually. "It's an expensive toy that I just had to have so it was worth it to me"

If they insist i'll just say nicely "I don't like to talking about it. It was a fair price and I just like to enjoy my car for what it is."

Never had anyone insist beyond that. If they did i would just say i'm not comfortable talking about it.

[DeLorean03]

This is the benefit of owning the car a lil while now. I always say "Back in 2003, I paid $10k, and it was a running project car."

That gives me the benefit of nearly 11 years, and you know how people's thiking goes "Wow....over 10 years ago for $10k ??? They must be much more than that now!!"

[PB Co]

I too believe it is a rude question. But in this modern age common courtesy, etiquette, and just plain old being polite are rare traits. I am only about three weeks into ownership and I really do feel like the question of cost comes mainly from curiosity. Knowing that the car would get a lot of attention still did not prepare me.

Here is my solution. Tell them how many digits are in the price. Some people get it right away and others have no idea what you are talking about. In my limited experience it gives enough away to stop someone from asking again for a specific amount.

Passing judgment based on dollar value and firing off a sarcastic comment is just a sign that they have other problems in their own life. If they can't enjoy a unique vehicle and cannot squash the urge to be heard then I pity them.

I paid four digits.

[NightFlyer]

The funny thing about this is that rarely will those same people ask a guy with a '63 split window Corvette, a first generation Dodge Viper, or a brand new Maserati Quattroporte that same question.

For some reason, which I haven't been able to figure out beyond being a side effect of the popularity/familiarity/uniqueness of BTTF, our marque attracts infinitely more douche-bag questions than other classic/rare/unique/exotic marques do. I think a lot of this also has to do with the fact that most of us appear in public like regular/average/personable people (as was recently exemplified in our making Jalopnik's list of 10 friendliest owners' groups), whereas owners of other marques don't appear to be as approachable.

Depending upon my reading of the person that's talking to me and my comfort with them, I'll either answer that question with the truth, or with the variable range that many others also use.

[Notifier]

I usually get the "how fast can it go?" question. That one really bugs me! My response is "well, the speedometer only goes up to 85, and I've never had it up that high, so I really don't know."

[Mark D]

I usually get the "how fast can it go?" question. That one really bugs me! My response is "well, the speedometer only goes up to 85, and I've never had it up that high, so I really don't know."

I've had people ask me that question knowing the speedo only goes up to 85 and incorrectly thinking it's the max speed. When I tell them it tops out at around 130 they think they've caught me in a huge lie. Once they realize their flawed logic they usually stop talking.

One guy told me it was illegal to be able to drive faster than the speedo can read. I told him it was illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit. Some people are just strange... our cars seem to attract a disproportionately high number of them.

[NightFlyer]

I've had people ask me that question knowing the speedo only goes up to 85 and incorrectly thinking it's the max speed. When I tell them it tops out at around 130 they think they've caught me in a huge lie. Once they realize their flawed logic they usually stop talking.

One guy told me it was illegal to be able to drive faster than the speedo can read. I told him it was illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit. Some people are just strange... our cars seem to attract a disproportionately high number of them.

Whenever anyone asks me a question or makes a comment about how the speedo only goes up to 85mph, I have to presume that they apparently didn't own or ride in any mass production automobiles that were marketed in the US from the mid '70's to early '90's. How else those people apparently missed an entire decade and a half of cars is quite simply beyond me, unless they were all driving/riding in limited production models at the time, such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

Big daddy federal government mandated that all mass produced cars marketed at the time had to limit the top speed of their speedometers to 85mph, in reaction to both climbing highway fatalities (which were all attributed to speed, however inaccurate such a presumption was/is) and the OPEC oil embargo (driving slower increases fuel economy). I wonder if any of these same people recall a time when speed on the interstate highways was federally limited to 55mph, or if they fogged their ways through that reality as well....

[mluder]

The question I always hate is the sometimes follow up to "What did you pay" and that's "Would you want to sell it?"
I am definitely not looking to sell unless some yo-yo offers me way too much. I'll gladly take their money, buy another DeLorean and pocket the rest.
Sometimes, depending on my mood I'll play along a bit just in case.

Couple of funny ones I ran into...

Once had a 20-something kid follow me to a grocery store parking lot and ask what it was worth and if I'd sell it to him.
I said "What would you offer?
He replied "Three"...
I said "Three Grand?"
He said "Yeah"
I said "You'll need to add a couple zeros."
He responds, "What year is it?"
I said, "'81."
And he says "And you want $30 grand."
I said "It has less than 20,000 original miles and they only ever made 9,000 of them... it's not a Honda Civic."
He gives me a stupid look and walks away.

My favorite happened just a couple months ago.
Guy and his wife pull up to me n a Target parking lot.
He says proceeds to tell me how nice my car is and is it for sale.
I said "No, not really."
He replies, "C'mon, everything's for sale."
Now he's an a-hole so I said "OK, $30,000." (Which is more than I paid but I've put a lot of work into my car and he's the one that said everything's for sale)
He say, "Ha! I can get a brand new one for that from the shop in, where is it, California?"
I said "If your referring to the re-built cars from the shop in Houston (yeah I know there's one in California and several other locations too but this guy has no idea what he's talking about), they are not "brand new" but are frame-off restorations of old cars, and cast more like $60,000, and it can take up to a year to get one."
He then does my favorite thing ever and proceeds to tell me how I don't know what I'm talking about. That's right buddy... Me, who actually researched for years and now actually owns a DeLorean doesn't know nearly as much as you do about them.
A$$hat!

[mluder]

I told him it was illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit.
:hysterical:

[Flicky]

I am always shocked at the weird people I meet while getting gas in the D. Many of my cars get attention, but the D is special. The guy I hate the most is the knuckle wrapper...they come up and jab there nasty little hand on the hood and make this moaning grunt whilst saying, 'stainless'. This is then followed by, 'how mu-ha pay fer yit'. After watching the tobacco juices spritz onto my hood, I will say with a smile and arms opened, 'take a guess', Their answer allows me to gauge their douchiness. I think an answer like, "well, I've had it for 20 years" would also work in any case.

As for deflecting with the. 'what's your genital size'. I have to think that this could bring about horrendous pelvic thrusting and screams of, 'back that ass up into the future'.

[OverlandMan]

I also get this question all the time. I had a guy drive by my house, stop his truck, roll down his window and ask if the car was for sale. #1 Its not. #2 I know he's not serious because he doesn't even get out of his car. He just wants to go tell his power-boating friends with dragon t-shirts and faux-hawks that he tried to buy a DeLorean today. I tell him it's not for sale. He says "everything is for sale man". I said ok $50,000. He says nice car and drives off. I got back to my yard work.

Like other previous posts, I've disclosed my purchase price to a select few and that's all. About a year ago I put together a post on my car blog that showed where I was with the restoration progress and costs. I'll have to update that and see where I'm at now. I don't mind disclosing that information publicly on my blog because I think it would help someone considering a running/driving project car like mine that still needs a lot of TLC.

Here's a link to last years: http://dmctx.blogspot.com/2013/05/restoration-calculation.html

[symblieye]

As for deflecting with the. 'what's your genital size'. I have to think that this could bring about horrendous pelvic thrusting and screams of, 'back that ass up into the future'.

:hihi2:

[Denverdelorean]

So, what did you pay for yours?

10k

[papanoel]

I've had people say "this must have cost you 100 grand!"

I don't say anything i just smile. I don't want to be rude to anyone although its really hard to hold back if they are a douche.

I've had the experience of someone trying to open my door while i'm sitting in the parked car on broadway in manhattan. I did not hold back then.

[Starglider]

I've had people say "this must have cost you 100 grand!"

I would be a little embarased to admitt that I did actually spend (a bit over) $100K on my car, because a DeLorean shouldn't normally cost that much. I just got a bit carried away with the mods.

[eagle-co94]

I don't care about answering questions about that...but I answer it three-fold. I tell them what I paid for the car and what I had to fix on it. Then I tell them what I still have to fix on the car. If they ask more I tell them that they can find a running car for $10k...but they probably wouldn't want to actually drive the car. Then I'll tell them to just look at ebay to see what cars are going for. Most people are surprised that there's anywhere from 1-10 cars on DeLorean on any given day.

[vwdmc16]

That's just a lot to say over, and over and over, I want a quick answer that doesn't need a follow up explanation.

[Jonathan]

That's just a lot to say over, and over and over, I want a quick answer that doesn't need a follow up explanation.

"Zero. I stole it."

[eagle-co94]

I've only been driving my D since December so I haven't tired of it just yet. Out of all the questions and comments I'd say that's one of the least common ones. I usually just head them off before they get there by telling them there's a half dozen on ebay right now...

[djdogbone]

Speaking for myself, I didn't buy my car because I cared about what other people thought. When i make a purchase for something like our car, or a rare record or some other collectible item...it's really not about the street value but the value to me. I've been lucky in that everyone who has come up to me is smiling and very friendly. The oddest comment I have ever Received was from a cowboy (full hat/belt/boots), he said "hey, I heard they made like 12 of those!"

Does it really Matter what a stranger thinks about the value of your DeLorean? Every time I walk into my garage, I think "wow, I own a freakin' DeLorean! It's one of only 6k in the ENTIRE WORLD! And this one is all mine!" Howany can say that?!

For me, it's a childhood dream come true. My only regret is that my dad didn't live to take a spin in it with me.

My advice to you is to just be happy with your car and don't let others bring you down with their uninformed/unappreciated comments. The car's true value is what you place on it in your heart.

[Kane]

That's just a lot to say over, and over and over, I want a quick answer that doesn't need a follow up explanation.

Then you bought the wrong car.

[John U]

I don't think it is a rude question, just a genuine curiosity. I tell them I got a real deal at $15,000 but it is insured for $32,000.....then they go ape-sh#t when I show them Christopher Lloyd's signature on the glove box lid :bigclap:

[john 05141]

Funny, I read this last week, and this does not happen so often to me. Just last saturday I go fill her up and there it goes.......
Had to think of this thread immediately, so I gave a basic answer that they can be found 15K€ in driving condition up to 30K€ and higher for a prestine one.
No need to know what I paid for mine and what mine's condition is compared to another one.

I do have mixed emotions about that one, it is probably a general curiosity, only the kind of people usually asking is not the kind you want to tell.

Jan

[vps3922]

Speaking for myself, I didn't buy my car because I cared about what other people thought. When i make a purchase for something like our car, or a rare record or some other collectible item...it's really not about the street value but the value to me. I've been lucky in that everyone who has come up to me is smiling and very friendly. The oddest comment I have ever Received was from a cowboy (full hat/belt/boots), he said "hey, I heard they made like 12 of those!"

Does it really Matter what a stranger thinks about the value of your DeLorean? Every time I walk into my garage, I think "wow, I own a freakin' DeLorean! It's one of only 6k in the ENTIRE WORLD! And this one is all mine!" Howany can say that?!

For me, it's a childhood dream come true. My only regret is that my dad didn't live to take a spin in it with me.

My advice to you is to just be happy with your car and don't let others bring you down with their uninformed/unappreciated comments. The car's true value is what you place on it in your heart.

+1

I think the same when opening my garage door!

[Rich_NYS]

"Zero. I stole it."


I'm definitely going to use that one..!