Looking for advice on a potential purchase

[jamiecruickshank]

Hi folks,
First of all i would like to say hello to everyone on the forums and hope that soon i can say i am a proud member of the DeLorean club when i purchase one :-)

I am looking for your opinions on a potential purchase, i am looking for a project Delorean and have come across one in the USA.
The Delorean is http://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1981-...c-3235.htm.

I can see the car is a non-runner and when i have searched the VIN Number i can see it was once part of a job lot sold as barn finds on another
Delorean forum last month. I have not restored a full car before and this would be my first project, i am no stranger to electronics and mechanics and have
a lot of people around me who will help. I am just wondering what peoples opinions were on this particular vehicle and if it was worth the money.
It does have a lot wrong with the car, such as the windscreen and the bonnet looks pretty bent :-S.
What makes me inclined to use the company is that one of our family friends has imported a couple of cars from them and they deal with all the shipping for around $2000 including insurance.

I am mainly looking for what people think of the car and if they think its good value for money (I wont hold you responsible i promise).

Thanks for your time.

Jamie

[Chris Williams]

Hi, If you search through the forum you will find a few people who have bought cars through BHCC and they are by all accounts very good to deal with and are open and honest about the cars they sell.
The specific car need money throwing at it, as a project car but if you can do the work yourself then more than do-able.
Not sure the bonnet is damaged just the front facia. The windscreens are avilable in the UK the rest is just parts. The engine may/may not be OK either way evrything would need re-commisioning.
Chris

[OllieWilks]

Hi Jamie,

My brother in law and I restored my first car and a couple of things I would say is be prepared that it could take a long time and a lot of money depending on the condition and what needs replacing. Being that you'd have to either fly over to the US or have someone over there take a look at it in the metal it's difficult to know accurately from the out set. Underneath doesn't look too bad to me but doesn't strike me as overly good value when you add on shipping and expenses. I would say take your time to find to the right one and it'll be worth it. Just my 2p.

Good luck with it!

Ollie

[dave t]

Hi ...you have to REALLY understand what your getting into here

Im a car mechanic at the moment I have 3 deloreans in my garage undergoing repairs for customers .
I would walk away from something like this, after you ship it home be sure to pump another £3-5K into it to get it right whereby its running ok , road legal , looks good & reliable. Best car to do is one that's been lying up ...not a car that's been damaged and lying up (double whammy)

screen , facias /painting , dash, seat covers ..theres 2K ... then probably tyres, wheel cylinders , master cylinders, suspension, headlights ,doors struts, fuel pumps/ filters and whatever else it throws at you etc etc... another easily 1-2 K these are definite expenditures you WILL have.

then you have all the maybes shell damage , window regs , door locks , heaters , aircon etc etc the list goes on

after all that you will 'easily' find yourself out 4K .... or you could look at it another way 4K in dollars will go along way to a car that has no damage with most of the above done. No hardship, blood , torment tears...just get in, drive it & fall in love with it.

sorry to put a cloud over your dream...but as many on here will agree you could find yourself falling out of love with the car as opposed to falling in love. ... save a few quid more and get something that when it arrives home you can get in a drive it doing those Saturday jobs one at a time whilst working on the marriage and not the car :wink:

If you decide to buy this car...BE PREPARED !

best of luck
Dave

[jamiecruickshank]

Hi Guys,
Thanks very much for for all your advice and kind words.
What i can take from your replies is that although the car is of okay value and the company is legit i would be best spending a little bit more money and getting a car with much less work.
I am going to keep looking to see if i can find a car which is needing much less work on it.
Dave, i think your explanation really hit the nail on the head. You haven't put a cloud over my dream at all and i completely agree with what you said and have reiterated what i was thinking.
I have a bit more to spend than the car that was listed as its well within my budget but was thinking it may have been cheaper to get the lower priced car to restore than buying one that is of much better quality at a higher price.

I am ideally looking for a running DeLorean that is a little bit tired that could be driven but needs some work to freshen it up (Interior, electrical and some mechanics etc). Do you guys know of any cars for sale in the UK thats like this?

Thanks very much for your time!

Jamie

[Dangermouse]

Jamie, do you have the vin for the BHCC car? I didn't see it on the photos.

They certainly seem to be able to source a constant stream of project cars, but fair play to them, they take a bunch of frame shots so you know what you are getting, or as best that you can without physically being there.

[jamiecruickshank]

Dangermouse Wrote:Jamie, do you have the vin for the BHCC car? I didn't see it on the photos.

Hi Dangermouse,
Yes i do have it, the VIN is SCEDT26T1BD005442.

I have noticed the car was for sale on another forum:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?9955-T...arts/page2

Jamie

[jamiecruickshank]

Just to let you guys know, it looks like that car is now sold.

Thanks,

Jamie