When I was shopping for my D last spring I did a lot of thinking and research on the cost vs. condition question. I found a few Ds in great shape for 17-20k, but I opted to buy a D that wasn't in perfect condition for $11k (cracked windshield, some minor scratches and dents). My reasoning was this, when buying a used car you NEVER know for sure what's wrong with it; so paying a premium for a "perfect" car is kinda silly since you don't know for sure if it's "perfect." Also, if you plan on driving the car a lot, it's likely that you'll collect a few scratches, or dents yourself; if you paid $20k for a perfect car these day to day problems will likely give you an ulcer. Only pay a premium for a D if you're a collector. -M --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxx> wrote: > Mark Noeltner wrote: > > > Other people on the list have mentioned the $20,000 rule. You can either > > buy a good D for $20,000, or you can spend $10,000 for one, plus another > > $10,000 to get it into shape (substitute any two numbers adding up to 20,000). > > While I mostly agree with this, I want to point out is that it is possible to find > a reliable DeLorean in the $12,000-$15,000 price range that has only cosmetic > faults. You can drive a car with dented stainless, sagging headliners, cracked > leather, a faded dashboard, or ripped carpeting. Unfortunately, when you find a > car with these cosmetic faults it is very likely to have some hidden mechanical > problems. Either way, you can put off cosmetic repairs as long as you can stand > to look at the faults. > > If anyone is considering a DeLorean as a daily driver, also remember the $1,600 > rule: budget at least $1,600 in parts and labor every year to keep your daily > driver running. If you spend less than that this year, plan to spend more next > year. Sometimes a lot more. If you plan to do restoration work while driving the > DeLorean daily (restoring at a leisurely pace), you should probably double that > figure. > > > I strongly recommend having a 2nd reliable car to drive, [SNIP] > > since they are almost 20 years old, they are going to need a lot of work to > > get them there just like any other car that old. > > Absolutely. If you plan on driving *any* 10+ year old car every day, you had > better assume some unscheduled down time for repairs. If you have another car for > winter driving, you can improve this by doing some maintenance and repairs during > the winter. > > - Mike Substelny > VIN 01280, 7 years