Mike is essentially right, but a VIN can tell you a bit more. For example, the earliest VINs were from cars assembled just after the production process got started. If you recall, many of the first 500 or so cars (pre-production) were assembled in order to get out the "bugs" in the production process. As time went on, through late 81 and early 82, the workers became more proficient and the assembly line sped up. Correct me if I'm wrong, but late 82's- through December- morale was lower and, as Mike said, many of these cars sat on docks in New Jersey and elsewhere waiting to be sold. On the other hand, improvements in some of the cars initial deficiencies were taken care of, particularly from a major components and safety standpoint- changing out the underpowered alternators, for example. So you can make some judgments of the quality of car from where it started. But again, to Mike's point, the care of the car in the intervening 20 or so years is probably more important, particularly for a car that has seen some use. David jdl@xxxx -----Original Message----- From: Mike Substelny [mailto:msubstel@xxxx] Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 11:56 AM To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [DML] On Buying a DeLorean (best year to buy) I caution all subscribers to take this type of advice with a grain of salt. Do not to be lulled into a false sense of security! Simply knowing a DeLorean's VIN (or build date) tells you NOTHING about its value or its viability! Consider that daily drivers are not necessarily the most valuable. Concours quality, gold plated, and other very special DeLoreans would be unlikely candidates to become daily drivers. - Mike Substelny VIN 01280, 8 years use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/