Let me answer your question of being able to afford a Bricklin. I am mostly
in love with the "D" (DeLorean DMC-12). I, when I an 16 will probably get a
junker for minimum coverage on insurance, and have the DeLorean be a
"classic" which means I can only drive it 5/7 times a week, at least in
Minnesota. But insurance on a "second car or classic is cheap." I
recommend you to call your insurance agent and ask them about having 2 cars,
a junker and a classic. Visit me at http://www.deloreans.com and at
http://www.deloreans.com/cars.html and tell me which your favorite cars are.
-Phil
philf@ssesco.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John T. Blair" <jblair@exis.net>
To: <Bricklin@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 1999 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: hi
> At 02:16 AM 10/10/99 EDT, Casey Simpler wrote:
> >Hi, my name is Casey Simpler, I am 16 years old, and live in Longview
Texas,
> >and just saw a Bricklin for the first time. I love these cars, and I
want
> to
> >purchase one.
>
> Casey,
>
> Glad to see a young man interested in these cars!!!! We need young blood
> in the club and coming into the car hobby.
>
> >1. Are Bricklins somewhat reliable? This will be my only car and I need
> >something that will not break down very often.
>
> They are as reliable as any other used car, and a reliable as YOU make it.
> Keep in mind when you buy a used car, you are buying someone elses
problems.
> This means a couple of things:
> 1. You will need a mechanic that you can trust. To find the best mechainc
> in your area look in a mirror! You are the only one that cares! If
you
> don't have any tools, or any mech. knowledge now is the time to start
> learining.
> 2. If you do your own work, you can look at doing a job right since all
you
> are paying for is parts. In other words, if you are going to put a new
> caliper on the right front wheel, get 2 and do both wheels, If you
need
> to change the dist. cap, replace the cap, button and plug wires, etc.
> This will help make the car MORE reilable. If you only do the min.
> required
> to fix the initial problem, it will surface in a short time do to
failure
> of another part in the same system.
> 3. If you don't do your own work, expect to spend about $500 everytime you
> take it to the shop. If you only have to have the car worked on a
couple
> of times a year, it is cheaper then payments on a new car.
>
> >2. Why is the mileage so low on all of the cars for sale in Classifieds?
>
> A lot of people purchase them, and then for one reason or another had
> problems with the car and parked them. Some people were speculating,
hoping
> the car's value would skyrocket. But NOT all Bricklins have low milage.
> In many cases a low milage car can be worse than a high milage car. A
high
> milage car has been driven and many of the problems worked out. The low
> milage car was parked because of a problem and that problem still exists.
>
> >3. How many miles should I try to find one with? I am very concerned
with
> >the price(under $6k-$7k).
>
> The price you pay will depend on several things, NOT just the milage:
> over all condition, repaires needed. If the car does NOT have air doors,
> deduct $1500 to do the conversion. You can get a driver in your price
> range. The next question is how long do you want to keep it? You may
> drive it for several years, then have to restore the car, or start by
> restoring the car and then driving it. I would suggest that you drive the
> car for at least 1 year if you can. You will need the memories to help
> you over the rough spots during the restoration. I've never driven mine,
> and I've owned it since 88, been restoring it since 95.
>
> >4. What kind of mileage do they get? I will be driving around town
alot.
> >And will probably be putting quite a few miles on it.
>
> Approx. 18 mpg. If you truely want a driver, you can increase this some
by
> putting in a hotter cam, a better carb, a new rear end, and or and AOD
> transmission.
>
>
> >5. Would you recommend a Bricklin as a good daily driver?
>
> I hope so! I'm planning that for mine. For a young fellow like yourself,
> you can figure that you will be in a couple of accidents as your driving
> skill are honed. The Brick. is a VERY safe car. You can't ask for much
> more in safety. The area you are going to have problems is getting
insurance.
>
>
> >6. What are the insurance rates on them? I will be paying the insurance,
> and
> >I will definately want full coverage.
>
> It will be pretty expensive because of your age. My guess based on my #1
son
> is about $1500 or so a year! Not trying to discourage you, but you might
want
> to think about only driving your parents car and be on their policy for a
> couple of years. This will reduce the cost. But if you have 3 drivers
and
> 3 cars, then one of the cars will be "assigned" to as a full time driver
and
> your rates will go through the roof. When my son started driving, my
rates
> went for $450 a year for my wife and I on 2 cars to over $900 a year for
my
> son to "occasionally" drive either of our cars. Good grades is a real
plus.
> If you are an honor student you usually get a nice discount. For my son
> it was $125 a year! After 2 years, you are supposed to get a small break
> based on your driving record.
>
> As to "full coverage" this is a missnomer, if you are hit (say only
requiring
> a new fender - $400ish) the insurance co. is going to want to total the
> car.
> Currently it is very difficult to get insurance of an older car for what
it
> is
> worth. Insurance companies have what they call "Actual Cash Value"
> policies.
> This means they don't care what you have in the car, they go by the worth
in
> the Blue Book. Unfortunately, the Bricklin probably hasn't been listed
since
> 77 and the ins. co. will tell you that ANY car that is 25 years old isn't
> worth
> more than $200! I've published an article about insurance companies in
the
> last Brickline (quarterly magazine for the club - Bricklin International -
> which I suggest you join). I'm hoping to do at least one more. I'm also
in
> the process of trying to find insurance for my car. When it is on the
> road, I
> will have about $15,000 in parts for the restoration, and 1500 hours
> working on
> it. I will value the car around $16,000.
>
> >7. Is there anything else I should know about them?
>
> Read the FAQ on the web page. Try to find someone in your area with one.
> Where do you live? I might be able to help you find one in your area. As
> pointed questions as you can think of them. General questions like those
> here are hard to answer as they cover a lot of ground. For long
conversations
> about things, call someone that owns one. You can get more info quicker
on
> the phone than here on the net.
>
> Hope this has helped Casey. Don't give up the dream. You can get one, it
> can be made reliable. If you do the work, you'll learn a lot, generate
some
> skills and have fun and meet some nice people.
>
> John
>
> John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
> Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
>
> 48 TR1800 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V (B1109)
> 71 Saab Sonett III (71500840) 75 Bricklin SV1 (0887) 77 Spitfire
>
> Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
> Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
>
>
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