My DeLorean Journal

This morning I decided that if I was going to get the DeLorean I better take my wife to see it and make sure she was ok with getting it.

First thing I did was call my Credit Union. After going through all the info that they needed I find out that they don't give loans for used cars older than 1999. What good is that to anybody!!

So I called my main bank, gave them all the info they needed - asked for a loan. I wanted to get a 6 year loan so my payments would be as low as possible. When the lady asked what year the car was I said 1981. She said they could only do a 3 year loan for that old of a car. I told her it was a collectors car and worth a lot more than the guy was asking for. She said she was going to put it through as a 6 year loan and see if it worked.  I asked her when I would find out if I got the loan, she said I would know by tomorrow (Friday) morning.

I called my wife and told her I wanted her to take a look at it so she could see anything I overlooked. She said she wanted to and I found a sitter for our son (boy, 3 years old).

So we drove the 30-40 min drive to where the guy lived in Boulder. I hadn’t ever seen a DeLorean in person before but I recognized it from a distance! We pulled up to it and the owner came out. My first impression was "this car is in great shape!" The body panels are straight with no dents, the paint on the front fascia was flaking (big deal). Opened the door - doors open good but the gas shocks are bad, (easily replaced). First thing my wife says is "This is a really cool car!"

I sat in the car - there is some heat damage to the dash, bad cracks on the gauge hood (binnicle), passenger seat is tore up pretty bad, but the driver seat is in ok shape. He tells me we can take it for a drive. I’m excited but nervous, I haven't driven a clutch in a while. My wife gets in and she is excited about how cool the doors are and how neat the interior is.

I push in the clutch and turn the key, the engine started up right away. I make sure I’m in first and we head off down the road.

Talk about a fun car to drive! Both my wife and I are impressed with how smooth a 25+ year old car is going down the road. We notice the looks from cars driving by. I turn into a camp ground to turn around and everyone there turns and notices it. People pointing and smiling, this car gets a lot of attention.

On the way back my wife says, "We HAVE to get this car! Its sooo Cool! Are you going to get a loan?" I have to say I was shocked at her reaction, and extremely relieved that I wasn't going to have to choose between the car and a happy wife.

We get back, look over the car some more. I tell the guy I want to get it. I told him I would hear back tomorrow morning about the loan and that I might not have the money until Monday. I asked him if he could hold it for me and that I would call tomorrow morning and let him know if I got the loan. He said he would, and that he had got some offers on it - one from a guy in France who wanted to ship it back there, an offer from a guy in California, and one from a guy in Ohio - nothing local though. I told him thanks and I would keep in touch about the loan.

We drove back home talking about how unreal it was that we just drove a DeLorean! I started getting nervous about the loan, what if I didn't get it? I had to tell myself not to think like that! I would get the loan and it would work out!