Cars always seem more interesting when there are stories that go along with them, and does this car have stories! The seller bought this DeLorean recently from the original owner, a 90-year old friend of his, who bought it in 1982 because his daughter liked the car and the color. That’s right, it’s a painted DeLorean. There’s more to the story, and we’ll get to that, but for now find it here on eBay with bidding almost to $25K with several days to go before the auction ends. And if you’d like to see it in person, it can be found in Morgan Hill, California.

How does a 30+ year old DeLorean come out of long term storage in a barn looking brand new? And how does it get to be red, when these cars were sold with unpainted stainless steel bodies? That last question is easy: nobody knows. The best guess is that the DeLorean dealer painted the car before it was sold, maybe to help it sell. The red paint certainly looks good on the car. But why was such a good looking car stored in a barn for 31 years? It seems the owner’s knees couldn’t take the movements needed to get into and out of the car. Seeing as he’s slowing down now at age 90, he decided to sell.

The car has recently had work done to deal with the 31 year layoff, and it runs and looks great, but there are potential problems with the documents, the VIN, and license plates that might not be as simple to deal with as the seller suggests. Since the car has lived in California it would be wise for a prospective buyer to check out the paperwork and the car’s status carefully with the DMV.

With only 981 miles showing it’s not surprising that the car would look virtually brand new inside, but the underside also looks like it just underwent a complete money-no-object restoration. Since this is billed as a unique, ultra-low mile car, potential buyers will need to judge the car’s appeal against the stories about the car’s papers and the well-known limitations in the DeLorean’s drivetrain and design. Do you think the car’s low miles and good looks make it worth buying despite those potential issues?