Wasn't there someone on ebay selling Flux Capacitors and time circuits?
At 1200 miles it ought to still be capable of reaching 88MPH.
Small world, I used to live a 10 minute walk from there.
I won't buy a car that hasn't been driven, especially if it's 30+ years old. Low mileage chassis is nice but low mileage drivetrain way less so.
If this was after Doc made it a hover car it wouldn't show that many miles.
I mean they mostly just drove it to the mall.
The cool thing about the DMC-12 is that it's built from stainless. But the engine is atrocious, the worst V6 ever made.
There is a documentary about the DeLorean... something about it having the crappiest brakes and unsafe car, etc. I mean they look awesome and have a huge nostalgia going for them... much like the Lamborghini Countach. Who wouldn't drool over either of those cars?
But yeah they may not be the best quality engineering for the buck. There is a place that builds *new* DeLoreans now, and there may be some coming:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a30641441/new-delorean-dmc-12-confirmed/As for the price, $58,000 US is a lot of money. Take a look at some the listings on DeLorean's site:
https://www.delorean.com/inventory-used.htmYou can find a bunch with low mileage for under $50,000.
Other than the look/style, mechanically those cars were atrocious. If they do decide to bring them back, it would make sense to upgrade it and make it all electric like these guys did with this conversion.... now that is something that would be worthwhile. Upgrade the brakes and give it an acceleration that actually matched the futuristic look of the car:
Now the Vector W-8.... that was a car... just look at the computer/electronics in that thing, would make you salivate:
https://www.supercars.net/blog/vector-w8/
The cool thing about the DMC-12 is that it's built from stainless. But the engine is atrocious, the worst V6 ever made.
Well, stainless steel sheet
on top of fibreglass, on an ordinary steel chassis.
A classic case of a Sheep in Wolfs clothing
My neighbour owned one. He sold it as dreaming of owning a film icon vs real life ownership were very different experiences, and not in a good way
Fraser
From an economic standpoint, the best time to have owned a DeLorean is.... NEVER.
The price in 1981 was $25,000, which sounds like a great deal... until you realize that is equivalent to about $70,000 2019 dollars. Given you can buy a practically mint low-mileage DeLorean today for about $50,000, I wouldn't say that was an incredibly good investment for a "classic car" (considering your other options). Then again, most cars do depreciate... and people don't own DeLorean's for economically-sound reasons alone.
There are however a number of other cars out there that are worth quite a bit more today. A quick search at movie cars shows the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Firebird (used in "Smokey and the Bandit" movie) was about $5,500 in 1977 dollars, which makes it around $23,000 in 2020 dollars. Good luck finding any that cheap today... they are well above that value and for an actual muscle-car that could do the business.
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1301646/1977-pontiac-firebird-trans-am-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601This is practically a steal, look at the interior, likely owned by a lady driver:
https://www.gentrylane.com/s/domestic-inventory/1978-pontiac-firebird-trans-am
Think that's the best pics I've ever seen of one, can really see the shine of the stainless. That is one skookum looking car. If I had the money, the room (big heated garage), and time, it would be awesome to get one and convert it into an EV. From my understanding there is a company that still makes them. Not cheap though.
My dad used to be a salesman and they had one in the show room, there was a sign that said not to touch because finger prints would show up easily on it. One guy was asking what it's made of and my dad said something to the effect "stainless steel, just like your kitchen sink at home" and the guy was "what were you doing in my house?".
A friend of mine had a DeLorean for a while, he's always buying and selling weird random cars, fixes them up, drives them around for a while, some he keeps, others he sells or trades later. Anyway he said the DeLorean was somewhat disappointing, it was underpowered and not very exciting to drive, not very practical either however it sure does look cool. Those PRV V6 engines were dogs, Volvo used them for a while and their reputation was marred for many years after that. They built some really excellent engines of their own but chose some of the worst 3rd party engines they could find for some models. The V6 was thirstier, less powerful, less reliable and harder to work on than their turbo 4 cylinder. The first time I saw one I thought some incompetent gearhead had done a ridiculous engine swap, the thing sat far forward with a huge gap between the engine and firewall.
I don't think anybody buys a vintage 1200 mile car to drive it, that DeLorean will be a garage or trailer queen.
I loved my DeLorean. Eventually I'd like to have one again. I like the 81 more then the 82 or 83 though. You do certainly want a manual if you get one.
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1218 miles and they're only asking $58,000 for it? It sounds like one of those "Too Good to be True" deals.
It was only driven from time to time.
I believe it was Top Gear who did an episode on the DeLorean, and after watching it, I had no more interest in ever owning one
My recollection is that the drivetrain was criticized from many different angles - underpowered, not forward looking in any way (like the rest of the car was supposed to be), etc...
I believe they even did a 0-88mph test? Now I have to look for this episode
It seems horrible to own such a low mileage car. You can't quite drive it around as you'll ruin the one thing that makes it unique and valuable. The prudent thing is to keep it pristine and that's not that thrilling.
It seems horrible to own such a low mileage car. You can't quite drive it around as you'll ruin the one thing that makes it unique and valuable. The prudent thing is to keep it pristine and that's not that thrilling.
It only has value to collectors.
Age is just as hard on many of the vehicle's systems as miles. All of the rubber/plastic/etc in the vehicle is still outgassing and will start to fail soon if they haven't started to already - Maybe one of the reasons it isn't driven much! The engine/transmission seals have a very finite lifespan, measured in time, same goes for the rubber suspension bushings, seals in the shocks/struts, etc. This is a difficult concept to explain to sellers when you find these guys who have this 20 year old car that has "only 60,000 miles on it!" and they are treating it like a new car. Explaining to them why they won't be able to sell it for the ridiculous prices that some of them ask is nearly impossible, they just won't hear it
I have never seen the point in preserving a vehicle like this unless it's for a museum
If I had the money, I'd invest it in a "DeLorean'd up" Tesla CyberTruck.
I think the next Back To The Future reboots (you know they are coming) will probably feature CyberTrucks:
Apparently Elon Musk tweeted that the CyberTruck was in fact partly influenced by the look of his Lotus S1 Espirit (the one featured in the James Bond film) although you'd think the choice of sheet metal finish was a DeLorean inspiration. Who knows... maybe a combination of both:
Giorgetto Giugiaro did design the body style of the Esprit and the DeLorean. The DeLorean also had a Lotus designed double Y frame, so it is all pretty similar.
Dave is probably going to kick my ass but I still think the time machine DeLoreans are as cliche as General Lee chargers. Love the movie, loved the show when I was a kid, but the cars have been done, and done some more, it's nice to see a nice stock restoration once in a while or some other customized project.
Can't kick your arse for stating an objective truth.
I did hear they were actually crappy in terms of performance, but if I bought one, it would probably be a project car to eventually do an EV conversion. You don't need a big battery pack since you can just keep it charged with the flux capacitor.
I kind of need a nice big heated garage, the money, and skills first though.