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Want to buy Obama's car on eBay? Starting bid: $100,000

Associated Press

Published January 14, 2009 at 6:27 p.m.
Updated January 14, 2009 at 6:27 p.m.

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WASHINGTON — A luxury Chrysler sedan that President-elect Barack Obama drove before winning the White House is being auctioned off on eBay. Starting bid: $100,000.

Tim O'Boyle, the general manager of a restaurant in Hillside, Ill., west of Chicago, is selling Obama's steel blue 2005 Chrysler 300C Hemi on the Internet auction site, hoping to cash in on history. The price is a cool $1 million under eBay's "Buy It Now" option.

"In my mind, it's a one-of-a-kind car," O'Boyle said Wednesday.

Obama leased the car in 2004 at Park Plaza Dodge in Forest Park, Ill., and swapped it for a Ford Escape Hybrid in 2007. The vehicle was transferred back to the dealership, where O'Boyle bought it used last February.

Before driving off, "one of the guys over at the car dealership said, 'You better hold onto that thing,' " said O'Boyle, an Obama supporter. "I said, 'Why's that? And he said, 'Because it used to belong to Obama.' "

Gary Hall, finance director for Park Plaza Dodge, confirmed that Obama had leased the car from the dealership and O'Boyle later bought the vehicle.

O'Boyle tried to sell it on eBay in December, but stopped the bidding process when his accountant told him to wait until he had owned it for a year for tax reasons. O'Boyle said the top bid on eBay was $125,100, and another person contacted him offering $150,000.

Anything near that amount would be a coup.

Kelley's Blue Book values a 2005 Chrysler 300C in excellent condition at $15,750. A 2009 300C has a list price of $27,415, but sales of the car took a nosedive in 2008. Chrysler LLC sold 62,352 300C sedans last year, a 48 percent decline over the previous year.

O'Boyle reasoned that cars used by Pope John Paul II and President John F. Kennedy have sold at auctions for tens of thousands of dollars. He said some of the proceeds will benefit the Italian American Executives of Transportation, a Chicago-area charity.

The restaurateur hopes the bids surpass previous offers, but he's not tipping his hand.

"I've got a number in my head and I'm not going to tell you what it is," O'Boyle said. "If I can't get what I'm after, I'm not really interested in selling it."

The car comes "loaded" with a navigation system, a sunroof and leather interior, according to the eBay listing. Obama and O'Boyle only logged a combined 20,801 miles and the sedan is still under warranty.

"Overall, the car is immaculate. If you were to jump inside the thing and drive it, you'd think you're driving a brand new car," O'Boyle said. "Hopefully he takes as good care of the country as he did the car."

Comments

  • January 14, 2009

    7:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Timberline writes:

    Didn't someone already try to sell his seat on Ebay?

  • January 14, 2009

    7:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    NeilT writes:

    LOL!

    It was Craigslist, Cartman.

    Ebay is too classy for Blagojevich.

  • January 14, 2009

    8:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    leavemealone writes:

    I'll give Blue Book minus $2,008!

  • January 14, 2009

    8:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    save_liberty writes:

    IL is the most corrupt state in the Country. I lived there for 23 years and will never go back except to visit family. 10 million people living in agony and the funny part is they dont even know it.

  • January 16, 2009

    6:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ptcruiser writes:

    Let me check with Rezko, that way I can get a sweetheart deal like obama did. Hmmmm...... 35% off actually value and a loan a full 1.0% off the lowest going rate.

  • January 16, 2009

    10:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lorenlee writes:

    This is the original auction:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotor...
    Because of the joke bidders driving up the price
    to $99 million, all the bids were pulled by eBay and now they have
    to be preapproved. I love when the seller says "We really
    appreciate the time everyone is taking out of their busy schedule
    to send hate mail and also bid with money they do not have!"
    http://crazycraponebay.blogspot.com/