I want to buy a Delorean

[RichardH]

Hello All,

I am Richard from Halifax, I have been a silent visitor to this site for some time and I joined the club about 3 weeks ago.

Now I have gathered together some money, I am looking to purchase a Delorean - Basically I am after a manual car in good condition (not bothered about interior colour), I am looking to spend about £17-18k

I haven't seen any for sale in the UK at the moment, I am not sure how often they come up so I am here for advice really if anyone knows any for sale in this country or is importing the best option?

Thank you all
Richard

[Outatime]

I am not sure if Chris's LHD is still on sale... but it's still on the club website:

http://www.deloreans.co.uk/features/car ... rsale.html

[RichardH]

I have seen this yes - Reading further into the advert though it appears that Chris no longer wanted to sell the D (I don't blame him)

Quote:
VIN 5255 is no longer for sale

[Darren C]

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the Forum.

You should get a good car for £17-18K.

Three are listed today on ebay if your keen on importing one, the 3 1/2K miles looks good but has a hidden reserve. The 80K miles looks like a handful, the other with 2K miles looks ok too.

Good cars in the UK don't hang around for long! If your able to hold a spanner, with your budget I'd be looking to import one for £10-12K and put a few grand aside to sort out the VAT and any niggles. If your not the least bit technical then hang on for a UK car to turn up.

What ever way you go I wish you good luck.

Best Regards
D

[hana 5284]

Hi richard and welcome to the club ,have you tried pj grady that is where i brought my car from really nice lads to deal with .i have brought plenty of second hand cars in the past and these guys are the first ones that hasn't felt like they are ripping you off i have had my car for nealy a year now and haven't had to spend any money on her yet .WISH MY WIFE WAS AS CHEAP TO RUN anyway all the best on finding one
Tyson...

[Guinney1971]

just to echo Tyson's comments, give Chris and Darren a call, they give
excellent impartial advice and can help you through the buying process
even if you dont buy a car through them.

They can also give you an idea of whats available 'Stateside' and they can
supply a car refurbished to your price and specification

Having dealt with them myself, I can vouch for what a professional company
they are to deal with and would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Cheers,

[RichardH]

Thanks for all your response so far.

I have been looking at ebay US and there are a few interesting ones for sale, links below so you can have a look and tell me what you think!

I havn't tried PJ Gradys as yet, however I have been emailing Martin from delorean.co.uk and he says he can import to order - with me working all the time I would much rather pay someone to do it for me if I can!! I don't know if PJ Grady do this service

Here is what I have been looking at on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DeLorean ... 260339382&

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DeLorean ... 246585145&

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-DeL ... 251718425&

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-DEL ... 226037269&

They all look very good and reasonably priced - Id be tempted with the first one

[Guinney1971]

PJ Grady (UK) are linked to to P J Grady in New York - I think Rob Grady was one of the original DeLorean vendors in the US? Not sure, but Chris and Darren can confirm.

First car does look good - wont take much to straighten out that front fascia.

Remember to add around 30% of the sale price to the vehicle to cover shipping and import costs though - if that 1st car sells for $23000 USD, then it will make it over £15000 GBP once it arrives in the UK - also be careful of Ebay scam's, there's been quite a few involving DeLoreans that members on here have spotted over time.

[PJ Grady (Europe)]

Hi Richard,

Yes, we do import to order - we prefer to talk to a prospective buyer and find out exactly what configuration of car they want - and then import to order from the collection of cars available in our New York workshop.

Have a think about whether you want an automatic or a manual, an 1981, 82 or 83 model (subtle differences), grey or black interior, etc...

We mostly sell fully restored cars (so you won't need to get your hands dirty if you don't want to).

I haven't looked at the cars listed on eBay, but it's a bit hit and miss - some good, some bad. On average, a top quality Delorean (in the UK) costs around £17-18k. Importing and restoring one that you buy from eBay to the same level won't save you that much money.

We're here to help - so drop us an email and we can talk further....

Or better still - come to the Eurotech event in June - have a look at the cars and get an honest opinion from all the club members....

Darren

[RichardH]

As tempting as it is to click 'buy it now' on ebay I am not going to, I have never spent that much money on ebay! - however those auctions may be of interest to other readers of this post

Darren - thank you for your advice and I certainly will be giving you a call in the near future

Anyway I better get back to my job now, or I won't be able to buy one atall!!

[hana 5284]

Hi Richard yes i looked at the four pictures you listed on ebay ,mate i wouldn't touch the forth one if i where you i think it has been sitting there for a while as you can just see how the tree root has grown into the passenger side of the car..

[bozzzydmc]

I would add that pictures of cars and in particular DeLoreans do not always show the cars bad points, especially ones taken in bright sunshine.

You really do not want to part with the best part of £15k to someone with little or no feedback on ebay, for me i dealt with a recognized classic car dealer in the US and based on recommendation / with a viewing from someone on the DML in the US. Even then it was scary enough waiting to see the car in the flesh for the first time.

You need to see a lot more pictures of these cars... in particular the chassis and suspension parts etc.

If you need any advise just drop me a line.

Regards

Mike

[Chris Williams]

RichardH Wrote:As tempting as it is to click 'buy it now' on ebay I am not going to, I have never spent that much money on ebay! - however those auctions may be of interest to other readers of this post

Darren - thank you for your advice and I certainly will be giving you a call in the near future

Anyway I better get back to my job now, or I won't be able to buy one atall!!

Hi Richard,


As per our phone call, it does seem to be that demand in the UK is outstripping supply at the moment. One of the reasons why importing is very popular, that and the £-$ is still very good. I know your a fair way away but a trip down to Eurotec event would be a good grounding for you. Lots of cars to look at, people to talk to inc Chris & Darren from PJ Grady, and you would get to see cars in some version of bits and pieces! All together it's a very good weekend, failing that a trip down to P.J.Gradys is very worthwhile.
Chris

[TheOriginalMrP]

Hi Richard.

I think it's good to suss out a genuine reason for sale in the first place, because if the car is that good, why get rid of it?

One or 2 of us has been stuck with a lemon a few times (not just talking DeLorean's), and in the motor trade we see it all the time... people part exchange cars that are supposed to be well serviced, and most of them are fit for the scrappy.

Buying a vehicle from abroad is always dodgy unless a third party checks it out first. In a few cases, the vehicle doesn't even exist. You may not part with £18K just like that, but it's only the 5% deposit to "secure the car" that the scammer is after.

I wouldn't mind £900 for making up a couple of bogus DeLorean adverts using other people's pictures. It's so easy to do, except I'm not that dishonest.... :wink:


Good luck on your mission.

Ben

[Chris Williams]

To be fair, if you were looking at importing, it would be worthwhile registering yourself on a couple of the US forums. Usually someone would either know of the car or be willing to view it for you to get an impartial opinion. Or if close enough a call to one of the US vendors to check it out would not hurt.
Chris