On Sun, 22 Jun 2003, mcydrake wrote: > Hello, I am a teen in CT that would like to know if a DeLorean would > be a good first car, and daily driver. I love these cars and will I have to say that it probably wouldn't. This has come up a few times on the list so you might look at the archives. The DeLorean has a few disadvantages that make it somewhat unsuitable for a first car, including but not limited to... Insuring a DeLorean is hard; insuring a 16-year-old is hard, insuring both is practically impossible. Since you mentioned it, no, the stereo is not particularly good. There's no CD player, the radio reception is bad (on early cars with the windshield antenna, which requires an aftermarket antenna to fix), and the speakers and head unit are both non-standard sizes making upgrades awkward. These problems can all be addressed but they're disadvantages that almost no other car has. Visibility in a DeLorean is very poor (both out of the car, and other drivers seeing you). It's not an easy car to drive, compared to most others out there. Everyone crashes their first car. DeLoreans are rare and irreplaceable and can also be very difficult to repair from collision damage. There's no back seat. (draw own conclusions ;) ) DeLoreans are not particularly suitable for the snow. There is plenty of snow in CT. Some of your friends will probably think it is weird. Of course, this depends on your friends :) Mechanical suitability is probably the least of your worries. Even if you can fix it (and even if you can't, PJ Grady, one of the best DeLorean shops around, is on Long Island) - you would probably be better off with something else, just because of the car's characteristics. I was involved in a frame-up restoration on a '55 Jeep before I had my driver's license. But, when the time came to actually get something to drive, I went and bought myself a Geo Metro. In this case it was the Jeep's 60 mph top speed that I decided was unsuitable (probably the only time someone bought a Geo Metro for performance reasons). I did, indeed, end up crashing it, though I never managed to total it. But I had a friend that went through four Honda Civics. My advice would be to wait a few years, then get a DeLorean as a second car, for which it is excellent. There are lots of other cars in the same price range that would probably be better. I usually recommend something like a MKIV Supra or a Camaro, which although they may not be much easier to insure, eliminate most of the other disadvantages.