Close to pulling the trigger, need advice.

[Bitsyncmaster]

If you have a 5 speed, very few people know how to drive them so would not steal them. Anyway the car is so visible that also deters theft. You can't really resell these cars without all of us knowing. Even parting the car out would be hard to do.

[iflights]

Put an Apple Airtag in the car somewhere and you'll know where it's at.

[Timeless]

Put an Apple Airtag in the car somewhere and you'll know where it's at.

I bought an Aston Martin recently and the sales team put an airtag under the seat for added security during transport. I like that.

[Helirich]

If you have a 5 speed, very few people know how to drive them so would not steal them. Anyway the car is so visible that also deters theft. You can't really resell these cars without all of us knowing. Even parting the car out would be hard to do.

I would agree with this. Unless your car is targeted by some offshore export car thief, you?re pretty safe. And they would probably only go for a concourse car.

On the clutch, I do think it is kind of heavy. Not a problem unless you get caught in one of those crawling traffic jams on the interstate.

[mike123]

Out of curiosity, I spent some time searching and could find only 2 instances in the past 25 years of a DeLorean being stolen (and, the theft being discussed online). A far more common risk from what I have seen is damage from someone touching it, leaning on it for pictures, etc. There are some great cameras that can transmit over wifi or cell service to an app on your phone, and can alert you with a phone notification if there is movement in the camera field. Depending on your parking situation, that could be helpful.

I also hate to comment on this stuff, but I don't think the $40k end of your range is reasonable for what you're looking for. There's a car on Bring-A-Trailer right now that's already bid at $40k (mentally add in another $2000 for their buyer fee) and it's got original fuel lines and it overheats (!!). It is a gray/manual/grooved car though, and I think those tend to be a bit more expensive than other other styles because of the time machine builders.

I also do not think prices have come down since the pandemic boom. They seemed to come down a bit in late 2023 through 2024, but rebounded in 2025 to their 2022 peak or maybe a bit higher. I base this off of Bring-A-Trailer sales since I can see actual sales prices; trying to track asking prices over time is pointless in my opinion.

Since you are asking for advice, I would suggest you plan for about $55k all-in (car price, tax, title, auction fees, loan, etc.) and additionally set aside $5k cash for first year repairs. There are just too many things that can go wrong with these and even a pretty well sorted car will have occasional issues arise that could not be foreseen. If you set aside a repair budget, you can at least enjoy the fact that you can handle many of these issues with that.

[ssdelorean]

Your highest priority should be condition. Everything else is secondary unless you want a project. All of your "wants" can be done to any Delorean if you want them bad enough. Your ideal car would be from a club member who drove it at least occasionally, took good care of it and maintained it. Hagerty is not the only game in town. Get quotes from at least 3, the more the better. Google classic car insurance. A 5 speed is more "peppy" than an automatic but either is fine (automatics are rarer and harder to find). A battery master switch is the best and cheapest anti-theft device but there are plenty of after-market alarms you can buy (a 5-speed is now considered an anti-theft device!). Include in your budget to buy the car enough money to do maintenance and repairs. Not the best strategy to have to borrow money to buy your dream car. When it breaks down (and it WILL break down) and you don't have the money to fix it but you still have to pay the monthly bill, you will have put yourself in a very bad spot.

If you have a 5 speed, very few people know how to drive them so would not steal them. Anyway the car is so visible that also deters theft. You can't really resell these cars without all of us knowing. Even parting the car out would be hard to do.

What they said!
Also, I would add that a car driven more will have more bugs worked out of it. Don't eliminate higher millage cars out of your search. K-Jet is not bad unless it is not driven.

When you find a car that you are considering, see if you can ask the local club if they know the car and or owner so you can get more info on the car. Usually owners who join the local car club & socialize will have put more love into the car fixing it up than a flipper or local dealership type of place.

[OverlandMan]

In prior years, whenever threads like these would come up, most of the community would recommend a book to read prior to a purchase. It was a Delorean buyers guide and I thought maybe James Espy down at DMCH was the author but that might be wrong. Anyways, that might be something to leverage into your decision-making process.

[Rich]

https://store.classicdmc.com/p100098...o-returns.html

In prior years, whenever threads like these would come up, most of the community would recommend a book to read prior to a purchase. It was a Delorean buyers guide and I thought maybe James Espy down at DMCH was the author but that might be wrong. Anyways, that might be something to leverage into your decision-making process.

[Iznodmad]

Maybe you should wait some more and have the funds ready to go, with a $5-10K cushion for surprises. Do your insurance research now. Just find the overall best car and forget what you want as far as build specifics. You need reliability if you want to actually drive it and not just look at it. These are very old cars now, they had issues when built and time has not been kind to them. Good luck!

[5dmc1]

Appreciate all the input guys! I understand why some of you might think financing a classic is a bad idea due to repair costs. Rest assured, I am doing this because I just don't want to drop the full price of the car. At the rate I currently make money I could have the price of the car saved up in about 6-10 months. I am financing it so I can keep building my savings while also having my dream car, so repair costs wouldn't be an issue. I also am very mechanically inclined and have done a lot of work on my 1970 Camaro's restoration myself. Only things I would need a mechanic to do would be under-car work and stuff to do with fluids. Any basic engine work I can easily do myself especially being that Deloreans have a spacious engine compartment. A car that overheats isn't a huge issue unless we are talking about possible head gasket failure, in which case I would bring a test kit with me to the deal and ask to test for a leak. If it tests clean, its most likely a clogged radiator/cooling system or a bad thermostat which are both relatively easy fixes.

I was contemplating a 5-spd but I am worried about how reliable the UN-1 will be. I have syncro issues on my 2017 Focus ST and being how new that is, I worry that old 1980s designs might have more issues. Plus I hear the car has a stiff clutch and I live just north of LA and deal with a lot of bumper to bumper traffic, so this would not be ideal unless the bite point is not at the bottom. (can someone confirm where the bite point is in pedal travel pls?)

To the gentleman that commented on Bring-A-Trailer pricing, that is what I am using as my reference. I think one of the running cars around 40-50k would be ideal for me. Fuel lines and coolant bottle are easy replacements I can do in an afternoon, bigger issues like leaking radiator hoses under the car, worn radiator or fueling issues would not be ideal.. hot start or cold start issues are easily fixed with the fuel accumulator or Hot Start solenoid being replaced. I also am aware I would need to set aside around 800 bucks to replace all the old fuses and relays behind the passenger seat if it is having electrical gremlins.

Overall, as long as she doesnt have rot in the frame, roof box or engine block; doesnt have any major dings/creases in the bodywork, or any major mechanical issues (basically a club car driven once or twice a week) I think I would make out well between 40-55k. I have all the service manuals and the Delorean Buyers Guide. I have the guide basically memorized at this point lol. But from what I can tell these cars are super simple to work on, maybe even more so than my Camaro aside from the timing chain/overhead cam setup vs the push-rod style engine in my camaro.

Mike over at DMC Midwest was going to key-swap me a D for my Camaro last year but I couldn't part with her, she's a family heirloom. Sorry Mike, hope there's no hard feelings!