“Perhaps the lowest miles original DeLorean on the market today” is the car here on craigslist, and man, is it original. Read on in the ad and you’ll want this 1983 DeLorean DMC-12, whether you need it to get back from the future or not. Pat L. found us this tip, which has the car in West Hills—north of LA. And if you’re cool with putting some miles on in addition to the 1543 already there, you could drive it home. Everything mechanical has been attended to, to make that possible. But when you hear that you’ll leave $110,000 (asking price) behind as you roll away, you might not be so keen to add to that mileage total, because a good deal of the value here is in those low miles.
The seller is demanding about a time and a half what any number of DeLoreans can be had for in the marketplace. The difference is this one’s low miles and its originality and documentation. Even the tires on this one are original (and probably some of the air), though plan to use those only to roll it on and off the trailer for exhibition. Also notice this: everything that’s been changed was sourced with parts from the current DMC Corporation, and whatever was taken off remains with the car. That means that aside from finding a car that someone put away with 47 miles on it (and surely, there’s one out there somewhere), you’re not likely to find a more factory-correct DeLorean than this one. For instance, everything in the trunk is original including the spare, jack, tools, and car cover. There’s also a spare, brand new (still in plastic) set of floor mats. In other words, short of beaming back from the future, you’re not going to find a more desirable, complete, and clean version of this car. And for you document nerds, there’s a window sticker, sales invoice, and more.
So let’s say you can get the seller to take exactly six figures—a cool $100 grand—for the car, would it be worth it? If this is your “it” car, you’re darned right it would be. You’ll have absolutely nothing to do but enjoy, and with inflation and the rise in prices of collector cars of late taken into account, it won’t be long before pristine but greater-mileage DeLoreans go for $100K on an everyday basis. Heck, I remember when a 1966 Mustang was a $7500 car, and that seemed like a lot. The same car is double that now, and more. That’s just the way of this hobby. So to say it another way, or actually two other ways: there’s no time like the present, and if you don’t buy this one, go find another. Tough task.
The only problem will be that if you drive it, you compromise the originality, and that’s going to cost you money. Plus, you’ll be taking away from an historical artifact that should be saved for future generations. That kind of thing used to bother me, but I now think it doesn’t matter. If preserving is someone’s thing, let them preserve it. They sacrifice the fun of driving. But if someone wants to drive, then they should do that. It’s not really going to matter if this car has under two thousand or under six thousand miles on it when the next owner passes it on to a future generation, is it?
Snowmobile…
In the 80’s my buddy paid 600 for a running and driving 66 Mustang. Oh the good old days. BTW if you plan to drive that DeLorean better get a second one for parts.
$110k 🤣😂😂🤣😆
Known as the snowmobile back in the day.
My buddy has one of these I get to work on it and drive it once in a while. It’s kinda a turd. Nothing wrong just don’t Handel or drive that great and really lacks power. And ya can’t see crap out of it. And those little windows. Better make dam sure the HVAC system works . That being said it does draw a crowd and waves from everyone. We took it to home Depot once for a few 2×4’s lol . He bought it right and will never get another one so it stays around. .
Nope, I knew of a lower mileage one. I always look to see if these postings are from the Cleveland area. You may remember the story of the steel warehouse I delivered to in the 80s, just outside of Cleveland. As the worker was unloading the steel, I noticed a car under a tarp up on the pallet racking. I asked what that was, and the guy said, it’s a DeLorean with 7 miles on it. Apparently, the boss bought 2, one he drove, the other he put away. I think they are neat cars. Certainly as unconventional for a US car as it gets. Would I buy one? Probably not, a common theme.
I inherited a DeLorean in Carmel and when found it had literally rotted away inside a leaky garage near the ocean. The stainless survived but nothing else. Put it on a flatbed and hauled it to Pebble Beach concourse and got 22k cash for it. I don’t even want to think of what it would of cost to restore. The foamed plastic dash panel was melted.
Junk when new -junk now.No history of car manufacture in Northern Ireland before or since.Cocaine tax scam.
Poor JD. Wanted to have his name go down in history like Ferrari, Chevrolet, Ford. His name already would have been remembered in history, but only as an automotive history footnote. Is that not enough? He pushed through the GTO for petes sake, is not that not enough? Instead he is remembered for that silly movie that his car starred in and his arrest. He should have taken his ample cash, trophy wife, and quietly retired in Belair. Would have been a lot more fun. Without that goofy flick, would people today remember him at all? Lee Iacocca pushed through the production of the Mustang, but all people remember him for today is the K Car and minivan. 30 years from now when we are all dead, will his name even be recognized? Maybe if John had made a better car, it would have helped. Too much flash and not enough driving pleasure.
I guess you didn’t hear that DeLorean was the push behind the Vega when he was over at Chevrolet…and look what happened to that…lol
They sold over a million of them?
?110k–not unless it has a flux capacitor
No good unless it comes with a Mr Fusion with it.
We have a very pricey car, where should we list it? Oh i know lets put it on Craig’s List.
DeLoreans were/are 100% hype. Back in the day I wanted a sports car, and test drove a DeLorean and a Fiero within a few days of each other. They were equally disappointing. At least the Fiero was priced to reflect its humdrum performance.
For that price, the seller better have a pound of Peruvian stashed under all that paperwork.
When these came out,a guy I knew told me that he’d
bought one.I asked him if I could come by & see it.He said
okay.
I went & looked at it & wasn’t overly impressed.It was
then that I looked over against the wall of his garage,& there
was a Jag XK140! I asked “Do you want to sell it?”,to which
I got the reply – “No,we’re going to finish restoring it someday”.
I kept bugging him to sell me the Jag,but never could.
He & his wife later divorced,& his now ex-wife moved a few
hours away.
Some years later,his daughter came in the store where
I worked,& told me that they’d sold the Jag.That didn’t really
bother me until she added – “And we got $2500 for it”.
All that work to bring it back to driving status, yet this car will never put a tire on real pavement once someone buys it for 100K.
Its worth $35K. Period. It can’t get out of it’s own way….its a turd as far as performance. It doesn’t perform in any way really. It is a rolling refrigerator though…How do I know? I had one, refurbished it, and now my brother owns it.