Dear John Z.,
I would challenge you to find a DeLorean enthusiast who is also NOT a fan of the "Back to the Future" movies. I doubt a person like that exists. I for one, became a DeLorean fanboy because of Back to the Future!
"Are you telling me....that you built a time machine....out of a DeLorean??"
Without a doubt one of the best one-liners from an 80's movie. And also from one of the best movies of the 1980's. So it stands to reason that most...if not all...DeLorean fans would also be fans of the Back to the Future trilogy. I mean who wouldn't love to cruise around in a replica of the DeLorean time machine? I know I would. But what's that worth, and to whom???
It seems as if one Texas man is banking on having figured that out. A recent search on Ebay Motors revealed a "DeLorean time machine". Built to resemble the vehicle from the Back to the Future film. At least that's what they were aiming for. The asking price for this beauty is a whopping $49,999.99...OR BEST OFFER! Problem is: this car has been for sale on Ebay Motors plenty of times before, and for some reason it continues to fail at finding a buyer. The current $50K asking price is also a drop from the asking price in past listings. Kind of amazing when you think about it. So why can't the owner find a buyer for this super cool "time machine" wanna-be? I think it's not too hard to figure out.
First: $50,000 is A LOT of dough for any DeLorean! Period. I mean think about what else you could have for $50K with as much "cool factor" as a DeLorean. You could have your choice of a nice used 1st generation Dodge Viper, a nice used H1 Hummer, an ACCURATE 1969 Dodge Challenger R/T "General Lee" replica from 'Dukes of Hazzard' fame, or perhaps something more exotic like a used Lotus Esprit Twin Turbo or maybe even a later Esprit V8. All of those vehicles equal the coolness factor of a DeLorean in my opinion.
Second: $50,000 is A LOT of cheese for a REPLICA of a famous movie car. And not even an accurate one either. If this were an actual vehicle used in the filming of the movie, I could justify spending $50K on it. But this is a replica....and it's still lacking a few key components of the movie version. This replica is built around an automatic with gray interior, whereas the movie car was a 5-speed with black interior. The digital speedometer in this replica isn't functional but "could be" says the owner. The outside of this replica is still minus the outside hardware that adorned the front & sides of the movie car. The owner states in the listing that these parts will be added once a "significant deposit" is received from the buyer.
Third: You're going to spend $50,000 to buy a car that still needs work! If you're like me, and you want to own a replica of a famous movie or TV car....you probably want that replica to be as accurate as possible! So why do I want to buy this DeLorean for $50K if I'd have to wait for the owner to add the outside decorative pieces and then pay skilled professionals to replace the interior with a factory black interior? And something tells me that while I might find somebody who could hook up the digital speedometer and make it functional, that the job itself will cost a small fortune. Usually any time you rip the dash apart and start messing with gauges the costs quickly rise.....and that's with a normal car. Skilled DeLorean mechanics probably cost a pretty penny!
Fourth: The owner seems to be basing the asking price on a little local media attention and a couple photos of celebrities sitting in it. He sells you on this car by trying to convince you that you'll make lots of money renting this car out for appearances at shows and corporate events. He even states "You can make $1000 a day" renting this car out. Well that may be....if you live in a large metropolitan area such as..say Dallas/Ft. Worth??? An area that a lot of corporations maintain a headquarters of some sort in, and also an area that a lot of companies use for corporate conferences. But I'm pretty that kind of demand doesn't exist in an area like say...Madison, Wisconsin! And really....how many people in the current economic climate are going to spend $1,000 to rent out a famous movie car replica that isn't even accurate?
I'm sure the owner is a decent guy, and I applaud the work he has put into this vehicle. I wish he would finish it and then list it for sale! If everything else was accurate, I could forgive the automatic transmission. It's probably a better choice if you actually want to drive this car anywhere. I can imagine trying to drive this with a 5-speed and getting frustrated while trying to shift without knocking my elbow into the time circuits switch handle all the time.
If this car was finished off and accurate minus the transmission, I would love to own it....but not at $50,000. You could have an accurate replica built for less than $50K I'm sure. It may take some time, but I'm positive it could be done. Of course I can sit here and afford to be critical because I don't own a DeLorean, and I don't have the money to buy one. So my time is spent discussing them instead of experiencing them. This may just be me, but I see an actual selling price of this replica being more in the neighborhood of $30-$35,000. But I'm pretty sure the owner is hoping to find somebody that has more money than common sense, and I'm pretty sure his best bet to find that is in Texas.
-BTS
"DeLorean fanboy"
0 comments:
Post a Comment