Bruce- Narrowly speaking, yeah, there are going to be ongoing maintenance needs if you buy and drive a DeLorean. I've heard one owner describe it as a "special needs" car. First, it's old as daily drive cars go. Any 1981 or 82 car that hasn't had a lot of $$$ sprinkled on it in recent years is probably as classy as a dumpster. Door struts for instance, or even the ones on my van, will poop out a lot sooner than 18 years. That's just normal. Then there are the distincly DeLorean annoyances like the wimpy French alternator in the earlier cars or the central door lock system that fries and locks you in your own car. But any car or automaker has it's weaknesses. I love my '95 Neon but any used car rating guide will tell you to avoid '95 Neons. My son has one too. It's had struts, motor mount, brakes, headlite relays, turn signals, the rack & pinion assembly, speakers and even the entire exterior paint replaced as defective... all while still under warranty. But we still like our Neons. If you want a maintenance free car, you definitely don't want to buy an 18 year old car, from an individual, with no warranty and partial repair records for a cost about the sticker price of a new car. (I hear the Honda Prelude is a very nice car.) And frankly, if you spend $5000. fixing up a car, any car, it usually won't raise the value of the car by $5000. It just doesn't seem to work that way. But if, like me, you've always thought gullwing doors are the coollest accessory available, and if you hate to see rust pop through the quarterpanels of your favorite car, and love the idea of a stainless body, and if you don't mind sports car cramping with a Neon sized engine, and think it's pretty neat to own a limited edition car that turns heads, well then you'll probably really like the DeLorean! - Wayne