[DML] Hands on review: DeLorean on eBay

["Derek" <derek.grozio@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-DeLorean-ONLY-9-000-Miles-
DeLorean-
DMC_W0QQitemZ4569025222QQcategoryZ31830QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVi
ewItem

I had a chance today to take a look at a car being sold locally on 
eBay. I was requested by a fellow car enthusiast to look it over, and 
was happy to do so. He later informed me that he decided against the 
car, but I still wanted to take a look at it myself and post what 
will hopefully be helpful to another soon to be owner. 

The car is being sold by a large dealership in Orchard Park, NY 
called Towne Automotive group. I contacted Scott as listed in the 
auction to see the car. He is very friendly and seems like a great 
person to purchase a car from.

Now lets dive in?the stainless steel is absolutely amazing. I could 
only find one small blemish above the drivers side wheel well that 
was no bigger than a centimeter, and looks like it was just rubbed 
with something. No scratch, just a slight shine where the grain 
should continue through. Any owner would be proud to have such 
pristine stainless panels. The bumpers were in great shape, and the 
car has the stainless DeLorean inserts on the rear. The front grill 
has no rust, and the radiator shows no front end damage. The tires 
are original, and did not look like they were rotting, but I did not 
take one off and look behind. The louvers are a bit faded, and on a 
scale of 1 to 10 (ten being extremely faded) these were about a 3. 
Note that I was in a shaded garage, and know they can look different 
in the sun. 

The struts on the doors are sagging, but they will be replaced when 
the car is sold. Also, the battery is dying, and will be replaced 
also. The interior is in great shape also, as well as the engine bay. 
You can definitely tell the car has low miles on it. The frame was 
one of the best I have looked at, and I could not see any rust 
forming, nor any cracking near or around the engine. Right behind the 
front wheels there looked to be some deterioration, which seems to be 
normal with all D's, as I am told water seeps in there and sits. 

The car drove really well, did notice that there was no coolant in 
the overflow bottle, checked oil and it was good. Much different for 
me, as this was my first automatic D to drive. Idle seemed to jump 
for a minute then lower when sitting rarely, not sure if this is 
normal behavior for an automatic. Cooling fans worked, air needs a 
recharge which Scott is going to handle before the car is sold. Had 
good pickup, shifted gears smoothly, all lights worked that I 
checked; only ones I did not check were reverse lights. Brakes seemed 
a tad bit soft, probably just needs new fluid and a bleed from 
sitting. Scott said that he has driven the car half a dozen times in 
the past month with no issue.

Now, as I am anal and note anything I see wrong with the car, the 
following list will be long. Please be aware that everything listed 
below is to give a perspective owner the work needed to make the 
car `absolutely perfect', and is not always a bad thing, just my list 
of observations. 

-	The engine light clear shield is missing
-	Original coolant bottle looks good, no major cracking or 
heavy discoloration
-	No throttle cover ice shield recall
-	Bolts missing from the air intake compartment (not sure of 
the technical name for it, the black compartment with the DMC logo 
that sits on the engine)
-	The engine lid is saggy, needs bolts on latch tightened, and 
new prop
-	Struts on the louvers are good
-	Slight cracking under louver 2 from the top on support brace
-	No air bleeder kit (didn't seem like PO did any updates)
-	Engine light switch is stuck down
-	Car has power rear antenna
-	DeLorean stainless name plating on bumper
-	License plate frame is present (not in the pictures on ebay)
-	Car has been towed, tow hooks are bent
-	Hardly ANY frame rust that I could see (while looking from 
behind, under car, no lift)
-	Bumper has been cleaned (in ebay picture, there is white 
residue from a previous bumper sticker)
-	Coolant hose under car on drivers side is weeping (seems to 
be a normal thing with age)
-	Has original fuses/relays. NO fuse box melting.
-	Original tires (wear on front doesn't seem to be fully even, 
but I am not a tire expert)
-	Car has an aftermarket alarm in the engine bay, I did not 
test this
-	Needs new "outside' weather stripping for both doors as it 
has peeled off (still present) and ripped on the drivers side, the 
part that glues to the car around the windshield and follows down to 
the foot sill
-	Leather is in great shape
-	Window button labels are worn (more so on passenger side) but 
defrost is good
-	As with most automatics, the shifter label is missing
-	The a-pillar is pulling away from the windshield on the 
drivers side
-	Headliners were not sagging, all good, both driver and 
passenger side had small marks on them (nothing big or highly 
noticeable)
-	Missing exterior black cap on drivers side that covers the 
seatbelt bolting
-	Bonnet struts need to be replaced (not sure if Scott is doing 
this)
-	Stripping on hood near windshield needs a reglue
-	Drivers side speakers did not work
-	Front dome light was out (guessing bad bulb)
-	Binnacle needs the black frame reglued

In my opinion, nothing mentioned above that needs to be done is 
terribly expensive, and cosmetically and mechanically, the car is 
sound & solid. If I were to guess I would say it is worth at least 
$17-18k, possibly higher. Hoping this nice car can go to a good home!

-Derek #10084









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