Re: [DML] getting ready to buy a Delorean need help

[Ryan Wright <ryanpwright@xxxxxxxxx>]

We need a lot more info to determine if that's a good buy. What's the vin #?

The body is almost always great. Interior almost always good. Miles
almost always low. That doesn't guarantee much in the world of
DeLorean ownership.

Check for frame rust. If the frame is rusty, you're in for a world of
pain. I wouldn't touch a rusty frame DeLorean with a 10 foot pole.
You're looking at countless hours and sums of money to fix something
like that. Has the car been updated in any way? If most of it is
stock, plan on spending a minimum of the following to make it
reliable:

-- If you have your own garage, stocked with tools, and do your own
work, ~$3,000-5,000.
-- If you pay one of our vendors to do it, ~$5,000 - ~$10,000.
-- Don't pay your local auto shop to do anything. It's not really an
option unless you can find someone who is honest and has DeLorean
experience.

I bought a nice, one owner DeLorean in excellent condition last year.
Here is a short list of some of the things I've replaced to make it
reliable:

- New hood struts (~$45)
- New louvre struts (~$45)
- New driver's side door switches (~$5)
- New forward interior light (~$35)
- New power antenna (~$70)
- New power mirror switch (~$60)
- New fuel accumulator (~$110)
- New fuel tank baffle system (~$65)
- New radiator hoses throughout entire car (~$125)
- New A/C pressure switch, new valves at compressor, A/C recharged
(~$250, much of it labor)
- New Michelin Pilot XGT tires (~$450)
- Misc stuff bought locally the first month of ownership (~$150)
- New three core brass radiator with metal fittings (~$280)
- New plugs, wires, cap & rotor (June 2004) (~$150)
- New air filter (June 2004) (~$15)
- New louver latch point (metal "U" piece on engine cover) (~$10)
- New air intake hose (~$35)
- New brake pads, cleaned & flushed brake system (~$50; I already had
brake pads)
- Replaced both door lock solenoids with liner actuators ($100)
- Rebuilt door lock controller: New relays, replaced resistors &
transistors for lower standby current (~$30)
- Replaced otterstat with lower temperature unit (on @ 196F, off @
185F; original is on @ 207F, off @ 196F)
- Recovered headliner (front "T" section & rear) (~$10)
- Rewired A/C panel lights to only come on with headlights ($0)
- Cleaned & soldered all joints on driver's side taillight board ($0)
- Cleaned & soldered all joints on passenger's side taillight board ($0)
- Cleaned, lubed & repaired mode switch ($0)
- Properly glued rear view mirror back on ($0)
- Added manual bleeder to upper radiator bleed hose (~$15)
- Added auto bleeder to rear coolant bleed lines (~$25)
- General leather maintenance & cleanings (~$10)
- Replaced trailing arm bolts with Toby Tabs (~$80)
- New clutch master cylinder (~$1,000 total for all clutch stuff, below)
- New clutch slave cylinder
- New stainless braided clutch line
- New clutch system: Clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot bearing,
throwout bearing & clutch fork grease seal
	& turned/machined flywheel down
- New rear main seal
- New transmission front seal (bellhousing seal)
- New transmission front housing gasket, o-ring, and roll pin
- New clutch fork boot
- New transmission gear oil (Valvoline SynPower 75w-90)
- New driver's side carpet (floor, DMCH) ($160)
- New fuel filter ($18)
- New heater control valve & all new rubber heater lines in the rear (~$80)
- New belts ($20)
- Replaced two small water pump hoses ($20)
- Replaced radiator fans with John Hervey's pancake fans (~$350)
- Added relay for headlight switch to prevent meltdowns ($10)
- New floor mats (DMCH) ($140)
- Rebuild mode switch again, this time with new parts (DMCH rebuild kit) ($40)
- New door seals (both inner & outer seals replaced) (~$400)
- New suspension (DMCH Eibach springs/shocks kit) (~$700)

I'm afraid to add it all up. And I did 99% of the labor myself; only
paid for some A/C work and had some awesome club members help me on
the suspension. Oh, and tons and tons of great advice from the great
people on this list and the DMCForum list. If you don't want to do
your own work on the car, double or triple most of the prices above.

And remember, I bought a nice car that had been decently taken care
of. The vast majority of this stuff just had to be replaced due to
age. I mean, it's 24 years old. It's going to fail. You start driving
that car even a few times a week, and all that original stuff will
start failing left and right. Thankfully my water pump & my power
window motors - two decently expensive items - had already been
replaced by the previous owner. I still need to spend $250+ on a new
alternator one of these days, and various other misc things; not to
mention the ~$250 I'll have spent by the end of this week on front end
bushings, some clutch linkage parts, and a few other needed items.

I'm not trying to scare you away. Just want to make sure you're
prepared for this. If everything on the car is original, you're in for
some significant near term expenses. Unless you want to store it in a
garage and just look at it like the current owner, then you don't have
to spend anything. ;-)

Now the good news is, I've been driving my car every single day since
the day I bought it, and the outflow of cash has dropped significantly
as I get further into ownership. Most of this stuff is good for
another 10 - 20 years now that I've replaced it. So it's not like
you'll be spending yourself silly for the rest of your life. But at
first, you'll probably need to. Then as more and more parts on the car
are replaced with new, things will start to settle down.

So, the price. My opinion. If the car is all original, $14k is
reasonable. I'd offer him $12k and negotiate from there assuming
you're prepared for many of the expenses I listed above. If most of
this stuff has been updated and you don't have to do anything to it
other than a bit of routine maintenance here and there, then it's
worth $18k-$22k. Again, this is my opinion, others will tell you
differently.

-Ryan

On 6/15/05, Terence M. Frewen <terryfrewen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I am getting ready to make an offer on a Delorean. It has been stored
> for several years and has less than 9,900 miles.  Body is great
> interior is Good.  Seller is asking $14,000  Is that a good buy?  My
> wife says it's too much.  What does everyone else think?  Thank you
> for the input and I hope to post many more messages as my new Delorean
> ownership begins.




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