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Full Version: What do people think about this D in the states
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I've been looking at this car that's not sold again on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Highly-Or...v4exp=true

What do people think to it? The condition seems good (looks as good as new), especially considering the age. Engine looks clean, and from the description implies it runs well. Not sure about the frame, but again I thinks its in good shape. I'd prefer a grey interior, but maybe beggars can't be choosers.

What do you think about the price/condition etc? Seems like the guy selling has good links as well.

Mark
I think you're not the only one with an eye on that car 8) Though my desire for a grey interior over black is stronger than yours, so I don't think you have competition from me! I saw some pictures of the frame and it seemed to have some surface rust at the edges, but nothing catastrophic. There is a thread on this over on Eurotech mentioning the seller has some history with DeLoreans, so it's likely to be above board.

It's been "won" a few times with non-paying bidders, so you might be able to get it at a good price if you submit the right offer Smile
Yeh, I did see the post on dmctalk.org, not to mention a few on the eurtec forum. Seems like people like the car. Seems strange that people haven't purchased. I'm not 100% sure its the car for me, but the more I look the more I like it. Its getting the funds together this side of xmas that might be my downfall. was going to save for a few more months. Maybe thats the same problem with everyone else.

On the grey/black interior I'm still with you. Somehow the grey interior seems to age better. I do like the dealer stripe though (strangely), not to mention the older black background wheels.

See its listed again now, but with a best offer and Buy it Now price of over 22K......
My only input to this is that I originally wanted a grey manual car. Then I viewed LEX. She won my heart very quickly. I'm now glad I have a black manual car. Maybe you should consider that whatever car you get, you'll be bound to love it for what it is, grey or black. Looks a nice car. For me, being a manual is more important. Personal choice.
Very nice car in fact. Not too far behind LEX in Vin#.
Gas flap and grooves. Nice :-)
Clock. Thumbs up.
Grey wheels. More individual.
Looked after, but with scope for putting your own work in for completeness.
All the things I wanted when I was looking for my car.

I'd buy it.
Cheers Rissy. Yeh, tell me about it. She's calling to me. Lol. Might put in an offer this weekend, see what happens. liked the car as soon as I saw it on eBay. Not sure why, just seems perfect.

How did you get Lex over to the UK? Was it a bind? Oh, and what's the best route for payment if I do take the plunge. Any ideas? At least she's over in Florida, might make it much easier.

Mark
The only further thing i'd say is, that my opinion is based on the positive comments about the chassis being true.
Normally you would hope to see pics of the chassis yourself, in order to ascertain the extent of ageing and degradation.
Florida cars, due to the damper climates, unfortunately, tend to be on the worse, rather than the better side of the spectrum.
However, just cause the current owner worked for the Florida DMC outlet, and the car has been kept there more recently, doesn't mean that the car has necessarily spent most of its life there.
Also, you would think that being a representative for the company, that he wouldn't want to be driving around in a bad example of the car. So my gut feeling would be that it probably is ok, but with room for improvement, which is a nice balance I think. (Cost v's completeness)

I didn't actually import my car over. Martin Gutkowski did (stunned_monkey on here). He, as well as lots of other people on here can give you the best advice and personal experience. I'm sure all your questions could be answered. There is of course, plenty of information in the form of past posts etc here, which might also go a long way to helping you understand the process and the way to go for a smooth experience of it all.

Good luck if you decide to go for it. (which I personally think you should) 8)
The guy selling that car hasn't been very helpful at all really. I asked him if he would be able to transport it to the port, if he had any better pics of the chasis and if he was able to take part payment by credit card. Pretty simple questions. Got a fairly curt reply along the lines of how he said he wouldn't get involved with shipping, didn't take card payment, and worst of all wouldn't do any more pictures of the chasis. He sent this same pic five times previously, but they are such poor quality you cant see anything. Well very little.

[Image: IMG_0563.jpg]

To be honest its not worth the risk, especially with him being so curt and unhelpful. Seems strange, especially as he's part of the community over in the US, but there you go. Told him to leave it.

HOWEVER:

I then came across this D. August 81, groved hood and gas flap. Black interior (which is in great shape), original radio, working AC. Bodywork in great shape. Runs well, and original owner from 88 (not sure who owned it between 81 and 88). Does need a little work on door seals, maybe things like shocks etc. All original parts at the moment. Passenger window not working. Also has a speedo that goes up to 175 MPH!??

Here are a few pics of the chasis etc. What do you guys think? To my eye the chasis looks ok, but I've not got the expert eye that you guys have.

Really thinking about getting this one, but have to move quickly, in the next 48 hours max. Price he wants is between $20-24K. Too much, or a good buy?

Oh, and I'm working on it being only 5% tax on import now. Anyone had experience of the change to a lower rate?

[Image: front3.jpg]
[Image: interior1.jpg]
[Image: interior2.jpg]
[Image: rear1.jpg]
[Image: speedo.jpg]
[Image: chasis1.jpg]
[Image: chasis2.jpg]
[Image: chasis4.jpg]
[Image: chasis5.jpg]
[Image: chasis6.jpg]
[Image: chasis7.jpg]
[Image: chasis8.jpg]
[Image: engine2.jpg]
that looks pretty good tbh, nice to see the dealer fit stripes.

Obvious things to me are the label is missing off the airfilter box (cosmetic though)
and the coil cover is missing - these are expensive to replace, so see if you can
negotiate a bit.

So, at $20,000, current exchange rate around 1.62.... thats about £12,350 .... sounds
good but work on a 'worst case scenario' with your shipping and taxes just in case.

Once its here, change the headlights, get the fog light mod done (rather then tacking on a
fog light to the rear fasica), and fit Euro height springs to the front.

Also, with that mileage, and with everything being 'original', I'd budget on replacing the tyres,
to keep costs down you can put 225's on the rears, as they are cheaper and easier to find
then 235's. I'd also budget for overhauling the brakes and fuel system just in case they require
attention. The window could be a switch, it could be a motor, it could be a fuse.

Do you know if the car drives ok? Any running issues? Do the fans work? Does it overheat?
Does it change gear smoothly? You need to know this because if you then need to start
pricing up a clutch, or injectors, the bills will start mounting.

Is it a private or dealer sale? Is there someone stateside who can check it over for you?

I think if you can get it for $20k or just under, its do-able, but any more then that, if it was
my own cash, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable.

Anyway, thats just my 2pth, I'm sure others will be able to give you advice too.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
Cheers Claire, great advice. I hadn't noticed the coil cover, but for some reason I can see it on another picture, in the back. Not sure why its there. Yeh, the missing label on the air filter is a bugger. Shame thats missing.

[Image: net.jpg]

I was thinking just under 20K as well. Its being sold by a dealer, who to be honest has been great so far. Think its a case of this landing in his lap and him not knowing what to do with it. Therefore plucked a price off the web. He's offering to throw in free shipping, but thats if I buy it at 25K! Shoud think so to.

I'm going to back to him today with some more question, especially about the engine, clutch etc, then probably offer around the 18K mark max.

Will keep you posted.
20-24k too much for an unknown quantity.

As for the other car I dont think it's unreasonable for the seller not to ship it, normally the UK shipping agent would be able to sort this for you. It is difficult dealing with US buyers (I know I have had a few sales fall through) Bank transfers are better for a seller rather than a credit card as well.

Chris
1st Car: A bit weird the guy being unhelpful. Maybe just wants to put you off purposely since he can't be bothered with the hassle of shipping the car back to the UK.

2nd Car: Looks quite nice too, according to the pics. Probably about the same condition, roughly, as LEX, except the Engine Cradle looks to be in much better condition, and the bumpers/trim look nicer. Not an expert on shipping cars, and who's reasonable responsibility etc it should be for shipping arrangement/payment, but yeah, maybe some scope for getting the price down £1000-£1500, maybe £2000 (at a push). But as you say, if this guy has had the car land in his lap, and just wants rid, simply, then could be an easy bargain with him. Interested to know how this comes along. Keep us informed.

P.S. 175mph Speedo. Weird. Mine is 170mph. Don't think I've ever seen a 175mph Speedo? Maybe another Porsche variant or something. Might be even more unreliable than mine. My speed gets more and more out the faster I go. I think, by the time it's showing 70mph, I'm actually only doing 64mph according to the GPS (2 of them, and both reading the same). So I guess at least it judges too high rather than too low, so I shouldn't ever be speeding and not be aware of it. I can imagine the 175mph Speedo, judging even higher by relative terms by my reasoning. Driving a DeLorean, you always think you're going faster than you are anyway, being that bit closer to the ground. 8)
that 175mph speedo doesnt look right at all, the 'font' of the numbers doesnt look right
compared to normal DeLorean instruments.

I'll find out how much it cost Phill to ship #6772 from the East Coast (New York) - it was
a fraction of what I paid to ship #2292 from San Diego (as a non runner). IIRC, mine was
about $1300 (around £900 at the time), that included picking it up on a trailer, taking it
to Long Beach in Los Angeles, and the ship paying to use the Panama Canal. I did save
money however, by my car sharing a 40ft container with 2 others, so that always helps.

Anyway, good luck, I hope you get the answers you want and get the car for a good price.

Oh, and good news on the coil cover being in the car too, thats saved you a couple of
hundred dollars Smile
Thanks both of you the great advice. Just been talking at work about how helpful everyone is in the community. Hmmm interesting what you say about the 175 mph instrument Claire, and something to think about Rissy if it's going to be a pain in the neck. Mind you, I imagine they are available, or it could be a "quirk" which makes the D one of a kind.

I've got a quote from a shipping company in Bristol (the name escapes me but I know Will down there is known to people on here). They are shipping two D's at the moment and have quoted £800 from Baltimore. Bargain! Lot less than I thought. They'll also do all the customs stuff for £200. Really good news.

I've put forward a starting offer of 17-18k yesterday, but as I've not heard a thing yet. Probably too low for him, but we will see. Not going above 20k for it, especially with the things highlighted.

Keep you all posted.
I'm surprised that the 1st guy is being so unhelpful. He is pretty well known in the D community, and with two or three sales/oops no-sales, I thought he would have been keener. He knows how important frame pictures are.

But then again maybe the previous "winning" bidders have been overseas guys also, so he is just tired of that.

Personally I think the rarity of the 175mph speedo would be overcome by its lack of accuracy. The arc of even 10mph is really small, making it hard to see the difference between 60 and 70 mph, say.

But I wouldn't worry about that, you can always replace it with a standard one for a couple hundred.

As for the missing air box sticker, just look at it as an opportunity to upgrade to the SS versions.
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