In a message dated 10/27/01 4:04:52 PM Central Daylight Time, RJRavalli@xxxx writes: > > > << So the rule of $20,000 needs further analysis and a new figure (much > Higher) will likely surpass the "old rule of thumb.">> > > You're right, the "new figure" *should* be much higher, simply because no > one ever really stops putting money into a car to keep it maintained and > repaired! To me this whole "rule of $20,000" thing sounds a bit > ridiclous. Even if you buy a $17,000 DeLorean, if you keep the car long > enough you are obviously going to end up putting more than $3,000 into the > car for repairs. To me this whole rule is a little silly and not very > Well, here's the thing. it's supposed to start out with a decent, running, average condition car. your total pay plus the total amount it will take to make sure everything is properly upgraded and in good order PREVENTIVE MAINTENENCE-WISE, then it should total up to about $20,000. you won't have a concours car but it should be able to take you anywhere you want to go within a couple thousand miles and not be worried about a breakdown. in my opinion, the rule of 20 is only good for determining if a seller is putting a fair price on the car. if you really know your stuff, you should be able to total most problems up roughly in your head upon inspection of the car and then subtract that from $20K. if what you come up with is in the ballpark of the asking price, then you have yourself an average buy. however - things come up. maybe the clutch wasn't bad when you bought it but a few months later it goes out. well, there's another $1000 incl. labor to chalk up! also, as average values of DeLoreans increases (as it probably eventually will), the $20,000 benchmark will have be upped a little as the years go by (because the purchase price will be increasing globally). as for myself - i think i have about $20,000 invested in my car right now, but that's for perfection. i still have some more work - i have to overhaul my A/C system and my cooling fans and put an upgraded radiator in. also i'm sending my FI system to Grady for cleaning and calibration. so i think i will be around $25,000 when i'm done. will i think i got screwed to the tune of $5,000? probably not! i'll consider it the price you pay for learning everything you can about your car so that not only can you fix it yourself but you can help other owners as well. Andy Soma576@xxxx 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596 Fargo, ND 58102 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]