Worth importing this '82 D as a project?

[Darren C]

Ben, If you wouldn't part with your car for £25K, but would for £30K, then your love for it is lost over a measly £5K.
Maybe it is time for you to let someone enjoy it for what it is, rather than just seeing £5k in your pocket :wink:

[Chris P]

I don't think that price is at all outrageous , for a very good, well sorted car. Better value than some of the stuff out there. And a fine investment for the future for somebody.

We all get to points in life where we have to re-asses our priorities. Especially with a young family, perhaps a mortgage etc. and all that that brings.

I vividly remember my time with a wife, 3 young children, a mortgage etc etc. On a regular lowish paid job- things were tight and things have not got any better in 'real-terms' for most young people today.

At least if you do go down that route Ben, you can look back and say….we had one of those…when the kids were young.

Only last night, with my 40 year old 'kids' around the dinner table..I said that, when we were talking about my old 1934 Morris Ten 4, in which I drove my Mrs to the hospital in..to give birth to our youngest. (which I was daft enough to buy back about 5 years ago….and found I couldn't bend my old body behind the steering wheel any more! ….its gone again now)…things move on.

And Darren, I don't want to get into a slanging match with you…but there are loads of folk out there who could only ever dream of getting their hands on 'a measly five grand'. And no i'm not a communist .

[TheOriginalMrP]

Darren C Wrote:Ben, If you wouldn't part with your car for £25K, but would for £30K, then your love for it is lost over a measly £5K.
Maybe it is time for you to let someone enjoy it for what it is, rather than just seeing £5k in your pocket :wink:

Yes, I get your point... and no my love stretches way beyond 5 grand... :-)

But with 30k the car will have virtually doubled what I paid for it, running and maintaining costs aside, because all cars have to be maintained. So it's a good return, and 8 years of pleasure, plus the knowledge that it will be loved and used like it should be, as mentioned in earlier posts. The financial gain wasn't the intended purpose but it tips the balance like it does for most people.

And no doubt like most I would sell and wish I'd never... 30 k would not be used for anything, except to purchase something else... Something like the Testarossa I've droned on about for 5 years...

I'd probably hate myself for it, because my entire collection would have to go towards that one car ( Yes I'm still on a young man's wages at 41 but I got my delorean the same way)...

Different times different goals.

The previous owner of my car has recently sold his car he bought as a replacement for the D 8 years ago, but he hasn't doubled his money...

Anyway, I don't know why I'm even talking about it, we all have phases like this I'm sure! But if you are confronted with an offer you'd be stupid to refuse, then maybe it's time for pastures green and all that!

Oh, and sometimes a car can cause relationship problems especially if you was with someone else when you bought it :wink:

Good comments guys, talk me out of it lol

Mr p

[Chris P]

I went down the 'stupid offer thing' 9 years ago, when this chap offered me extremely good money for AXI 1698, as I had a couple of other DeLoreans at the time I thought why not? Again, I doubled up on what it had originally cost me..so what the heck.

As time passed I realised i'd made a serious mistake..the car was a bit special and it was my first car…but I had taken the money and ran.

I couldn't believe my good luck, when a few days before our Dorset even this year…he phoned me up and offered it me back, with only 270 odd miles on the clock more than when he bought it!! Yes, I had to give him a 10% profit, which I was more than happy to do. Funny how things turn out….

DONT DO IT BEN!

[Chris Williams]

You would miss it to much, don't do it! More importantly how's the little one doing now???
Chris

[TheOriginalMrP]

Yes but....

AXI is a RHD so a different league for starters ...

16327 is probably the equivalent of Backy, though not as straight and sorted to the trained eye... You said yourself that was the best driving delorean you've owned, probably because it was a late VIN Wasnt it 20xxx?

My car had a lot of the earlier modifications like the ed euding springs and shocks, strengthened arms, refurbed calipers with drilled discs, to mention a few. Spratty was an enthusiast who loved to modify though it might not be everyone's preference. Everything looks stock though, apart from what I've added. Everything he did improved it and I trust it to go anywhere at any time, although it always seems a chore.

I've got a similar dilemma with my XR2 as well... I paid 2k for it 4 years ago and similar examples are on eBay with asking prices between 5 & 7 K ... Old Ford's seem to be fetching good money too but where will it end?

[TheOriginalMrP]

Chris Williams Wrote:You would miss it to much, don't do it! More importantly how's the little one doing now???
Chris

Hi buddy

Yeah, not bad... A lot of plusses but a few negatives also. Bearing in mind she's 1, technically she's only 10 months ( Born 20th Sept 13 but not due till Jan 6th 14)

She's a happy bright little thing but is showing mild signs of CP

Then again it could be a whole lot worse. You will get to see her in a couple of weeks anyway, be good to catch up...

Been a busy time as we've moved again, so will be good to catch up. Better lay off the drink this year too, don't want to scare all these new members and owners off the stand!

:-)

[Darren C]

Ben, don't chop the De in for a Testarossa, I had a 1985 on a C plate years ago, they are as fragile as a house of cards, cost me £8K for a timing belt service and that's almost 20 years ago when £8K was more than it is today.
The only good thing about the Testarossa is the noise of the Ferrari 12 cylinder engine, everything else is rubbish. You'd be better keeping the De and playing a tape of the Testarossa's engine. :lol:
Didn't keep mine long as it was a real liability...trouble is once it gets under your skin any other engine sound just doesn't do it. That's how come I ended up with my Daytona and the 330GT, just couldn't live without that 12 cylinder Ferrari symphony :wink:

Hope all goes well with your daughter, despite all the car talk, kids are the most important thing in life.

[TheOriginalMrP]

Darren C Wrote:Hope all goes well with your daughter, despite all the car talk, kids are the most important thing in life.

Thanks Darren. I have sort of put my fleet on the back burner this year only keeping them insured, and not going to any shows etc because of my little girl.

On the whole she is doing remarkably well seeing as this time last year we almost lost her...

Advice about the testarossa is taken on board, I've been given a stern talking to in the past on servicing costs of supercars.
Even though the DeLorean falls into that catagory in most people's eyes, the cost involved in keeping it going is no greater than a V6 Renault espace in the real world.

I always fancied a Plymouth Fury / Belvadere kitted out like "Christine" but far harder to get hold of and an even less populated forum and owners club.

I'm a coward when it actually comes down to parting with it anyway, it will only take a trip down the unit, and to uncover the stainless beauty only to realise it would probably be a grave mistake... Thanks for talking me out of it!

And maybe for the close -to-Ferrari sound, I will have to upgrade my M5 to the E60 V10 550BHP model, just because I can actually put the family in it and I won't have to sell my D to fund it!

[88mph]

TheOriginalMrP Wrote:in the real world.

Utttt oh, now you've done it!!! :lol:

[Darren C]

88mph, some incident in the past must have created an alternate “Real world” for you; but Reality for everyone else!

[MikeWard]

Darren C Wrote:88mph, some incident in the past must have created an alternate “Real world” for you; but Reality for everyone else!

:lol: Darren

[88mph]

Darren C Wrote:88mph, some incident in the past must have created an alternate “Real world” for you; but Reality for everyone else!

:lol:
Maybe its just some other planet, where the term 'real world' is offensive & £5000 is measly. :lol:

[Darren C]

As much as this is great fun, were going around in circles here 88mph.
I think you misunderstood my £5K reference.
Ben said he turned down offers on his car of £25K.
We could therefore rightly agree that he wanted more money to part with the car than £25K
He then said he’d sell for £30K in a flash (The idealistic current market value for a Delorean with MOT)

The point I was trying to make, is that if you were truly enthusiastic and smitten with your car, you wouldn’t sell in a flash at market value. I don’t intend to sell my car at all, and even if some one offered me twice the market value I’d still have to seriously consider it before jumping straight into a sale.

The £5K was Ben’s tipping point over his rejection of the £25K offer price. So in effect all it took was the £5K to instantly convince Ben to sell.

My point is that (in the scheme of things) this is a measly figure to change a true enthusiasts mind (especially as it is now the basic market value of his car, and adds nothing to any profit above that market value) this is NOTHING to do with the actual value of five thousand pounds sterling, which you seem to think that I refer in my alternate off world planet. :wink:

[TheOriginalMrP]

Lol....

It all depends how you define a "True Enthusiast"

Darren, I can tell you have owned many cars over the years, therefore assuming you have been a True Enthusiast of each marque... This is an assumption of course because I don't buy any slightly special car unless I'm an enthusiast.

But you have gone on to sell some of your previous cars for one reason or another. This must be because you lost enthusiasm for them perhaps? Or you physically run out of space to keep them all, and that's a large factor too besides income.

You are right in what you say though, if you want something bad enough, with willpower it's easily achievable no matter what the circumstances.

Anyway, I'm not selling my delorean for a measly 30k....

Price has just gone up to £30,250.... ;-)

Ben