Re: [DML] At what point does a DeLorean become salvage.

[William T Wilson <fluffy@xxxx>]

On Sat, 23 Dec 2000 garyg@xxxx wrote:

> price to $5000, but I suspect that I could get him to go lower.
> As for the car, it needs a lot of work. Currently it isn't running.

I would treat this DeLorean as a "poorly stored" car and do the usual fuel
system overhaul. After that it would probably run fine. Cost for this is
a couple hundred dollars, if you do the work yourself, mostly in rubber
nubs and other soft parts.

DeLoreans aren't really prone to transmission problems, other than the
auto trans computer; but that is a problem which will not be caused or
made worse by sitting in a junkyard. If you believe him about the engine
being in good shape, then things are good.

> He said that the car was running about six months ago, but that the 
> fuel pump has gone out. Regardless of whether this is true or not, 

Maybe the inertia switch is tripped. It can fool an inexperienced
user. But don't try to un-trip it before you buy the car, or the price
will go up :}

> the transmission. The car's interior is in pretty bad shape. The 
> driver's side door does not open and close properly. It looks like 

This is probably the worst part. Interior parts are expensive, and (to
me, anyway) annoying to work with in general. If the door is damaged,
repairs are possible but probably would require the attentions of a
specialist, or at least someone familiar with door repairs. If it is
actually damaged or bent, you will need help; if it's just out of
alignment, you can probably fix that yourself if you are careful.

> someone may have forced it closed at some point. The passenger side 
> door opens, but does not stay open. The windshield is cracked and 

Neither of these is a problem. Windshields are available and the
passenger side door is probably only in need of a new strut.

> dent, but other than that they look pretty good. So, I guess my
> question is at what point does a DeLorean become a write off or at
> least a seriously bad investment. I'm looking for a car needing some

Well, there are people here who have repaired cars with frames broken in
half, submerged in lakes for years, and completely disassembled into parts
(not all on the same car, though), so I guess the answer might be, maybe
if it's been in the crusher. :}

My question would probably be how it *got* into the junkyard. Does it
have a salvage title?