Re: [DML] The Delorean lifestyle

["Ryan Wright" <ryanpwright@xxxxxxxxx>]

Adam

On 9/4/06, Adam B. <adamb35@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>    But I'm wondering what it's like in your day to day life.  What's it like when you pull into
>  a gas station?  When the general public sees you, how do people react?  Do people, for
> the most part think it's neat?  Or do they crack smartass cocaine jokes (like my dad
> does)?

People react both ways.

Virtually everyone loves the car, however. Even people who are
cracking jokes, from my experience, usually love the car and that's
simply their way of striking up a conversation. Expect to answer the
same questions over and over again, every time you stop anywhere.
However, it's a lot of fun - you get to have brief conversations with
a lot of strangers and almost everyone I've talked to has been
pleasant.

>    Also, as far as owning the car itself, how reliable are they?  Should I get a refurb from
> DMC Texas?  What's the best insurance company for them?  Am I asking too many
> questions?  Ok that's all for tonight!

The car is very reliable once you update it. However, you need to
remember a few things:

1. The car is 25 years old now. That means most of the parts are also
25 years old.
2. Most people don't drive them very often, so many cars you find have
low miles.

Added together, you have a lot of systems just waiting to fail. Low
miles on a 25 year old car are not necessarily good. If the car isn't
being driven often, all of the old, rotting components within it are
not quite failing and thus are not being replaced. If you start
driving it regularly a lot of little parts are going to start failing.
Do you have the time and budget to replace them? Can you do your own
work and do you have a garage and healthy supply of tools?

I bought a Sunday driver with about 43,000 miles it from the original
owner. I had to look for awhile to find a DeLorean with that many
miles; most cars for sale had less than half that, which can be a huge
problem if you intend to turn it into a daily driver. I have a large
list of the items I've replaced, most within the first year of
ownership. They add up to many thousands of dollars and I do most of
my own work. I recommend you set aside $3,000 to $5,000 for updates.
Triple that if you plan to hire someone else to work on your car.

Obviously, if you buy a DMCH refurb you shouldn't have any of these
issues. That ought to be much like buying a new car. However, if I
were your financial planner I'd advise against it. You shouldn't even
entertain the idea of spending in excess of $40k on a vehicle with
your salary. It's a terrible financial decision for many reasons. That
said, maybe you have a bunch of cash sitting around in investments and
can afford the hit to your retirement portfolio. If so, go for it.

Last bit of advice: DO NOT FINANCE A DELOREAN. Pay cash, or don't buy
one. A year from now, when you're making $350 a month car payments on
a 25 year old car that's sitting in the garage, unable to be driven
because you don't have an extra grand or three to fix a problem that
cropped up, you'll wish you had listened. :) Really, though, this car
is going to want a healthy supply of new parts in your first year or
two of ownership., so you need a fair bit of discretionary income
month to month. If you plan on paying someone else to do the work you
need a LOT of discretionary income. Generally speaking, if you can't
afford to buy the car outright, you won't be able to afford several
large repair bills that come one after another 3 months into
ownership.

Many people disagree with me and finance them anyway. Some of them
turn out OK, but I still think it's a bad idea.

BTW, I love my car, I drive it daily, and now that I've worked through
most of the initial issues with 25 year old parts, it doesn't require
any more maintenance than any other used car would.

-Ryan




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