Claude, Good point, and I agree with you on the "$20,000" rule, but I think it bears mentioning that the rule only applies over a limited range of purchase prices, and of course it depends on whether you want a "needs-nothing" daily driver, or you want a concours-quality restoration. Personally, I think that $17,500 is on the low side for completing a typical $2500 DeLorean, but there are quite a few out there selling for $18k or $19k that would need little if any additional investment to get them up to the level of a looks great/runs great daily driver. There are even a lot that sell for $14k to $15k that probably don't need five or six thousand in parts to complete them, unless you happened to buy one that turned out to be 1,000 miles away from needing a complete engine and tranny rebuild. But your point remains valid, that a low-dollar initial investment just means that you're going to have to fork over that much more to get the car up to any given level of appearance/reliability. I would add that you're generally better off in the long run saving up the money and buying a car that someone else has completed all or most of the work on already. More than once, I've bought a car and paid less for it than the total of the receipts for work that had previously been completed on it. In those cases, it's almost like I got the car for free, and the restoration at a discount! Scott Gardner -----Original Message----- From: fivetwofive [mailto:CBL302@xxxx] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 6:53 AM To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [DML] Parts for a sad ebay DMC-12 Just remember the $20.000 rule,when it comes time to buy a Delorean,whatever you pay for it,is the difference,between,what it cost to buy,and what it will COST YOU to finish this car,meaning that,if you pay for example $2500.00 for this car it will cost you AT least $17,500 or MORE (not including labor) to complete this car.Hope this puts some understanding,into your head before you get into this project. Just think about this ONE question before you decide to buy this car: WHY DID the last person restoring,this Delorean GIVE UP on this car? Something to think about. Claude 00570