[DML] Re: newbie question

[Waernst@xxxx]

Bruce- Narrowly speaking, yeah, there are going to be ongoing maintenance 
needs if you buy and drive a DeLorean. I've heard one owner describe it as a 
"special needs" car. First, it's old as daily drive cars go. Any 1981 or 82 
car that hasn't had a lot of $$$ sprinkled on it in recent years is probably 
as classy as a dumpster. Door struts for instance, or even the ones on my 
van, will poop out a lot sooner than 18 years. That's just normal. Then 
there are the distincly DeLorean annoyances like the wimpy French alternator 
in the earlier cars or the central door lock system that fries and locks you 
in your own car. But any car or automaker has it's weaknesses. I love my 
'95 Neon but any used car rating guide will tell you to avoid '95 Neons. My 
son has one too. It's had struts, motor mount, brakes, headlite relays, turn 
signals, the rack & pinion assembly, speakers and even the entire exterior 
paint replaced as defective... all while still under warranty. But we still 
like our Neons. 
If you want a maintenance free car, you definitely don't want to buy an 18 
year old car, from an individual, with no warranty and partial repair records 
for a cost about the sticker price of a new car. (I hear the Honda Prelude 
is a very nice car.)
And frankly, if you spend $5000. fixing up a car, any car, it usually won't 
raise the value of the car by $5000. It just doesn't seem to work that way. 
But if, like me, you've always thought gullwing doors are the coollest 
accessory available, and if you hate to see rust pop through the 
quarterpanels of your favorite car, and love the idea of a stainless body, 
and if you don't mind sports car cramping with a Neon sized engine, and 
think it's pretty neat to own a limited edition car that turns heads, well 
then you'll probably really like the DeLorean! - Wayne