The Obama Mobile
Thanks go to my husband, Randy, for this little nugget (or should I say, gold mine) of a blog. In his daily pursuit of EBay fodder for his parts business, he ran across this listing: Barack Obama's 2005 Chrysler 300C Obama Car. The 2005 Chrysler 300C, once owned by Barack Obama, sold on the day of his inauguration, January 20, 2009, for $271,300. The bidding started at $100,000. The car was driven by Barack Obama 2004 through 2007.
This blue Hemi, with gray leather interior and only 20,000 certified miles, was sold by private owner, Tim O'Boyle. Obama relinquished his gas guzzler in the spring of 2007 in favor of an efficient, 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. He switched shortly after receiving flack for owning this type of vehicle while criticizing the Detroit Economic Club. He had been speaking to them about U. S. auto makers having poor availability of environmentally friendly and efficient cars. Tim purchased the Chrysler 300 in February of 2008 from the original dealership, Park Plaza Dodge, in Forest Park, Illinois.
Mr. Boyle put the car up for sale on January 11, 2009. Believing he could cash in on his collectible car, he hoped to sell it for $100,000 to $1 million. The auction was going well until some crazy bidding boosted the price up to nearly a $1 BILLION. Realizing that the bidding war was a sham, Ebay cancelled the contest. The auction was then restarted from zero. Due to the previous erratic bidding, this new auction was created with pre-approved bidders.
Proof of authentication of ownership was provided along with the VIN (vehicle identification number). The car, without the provenance of Barack Obama, would likely sell from $8,000 to $17,000, based on the Kelly Blue Book value and depending on condition and regional market. Needless to say, we were not among the bidders. Just in case you are worried about the new owner maintaining the car after purchase, the Manufacturer's Extended Warranty is still in effect and will be transferred with the sale.
Addendum:
The Obama Chrysler 300C car is back on the auction block...AGAIN! The winner of the second auction retracted his bid making it a no sale. The "Buy it Now" price is $1,000,000 or best offer. Currently, there are 120 best offer bids, all of which have been declined. If you would like to place some action on this car, you have until February 24, 2009. For the full story, go to: http://www.obamas300c.com/.
5 comments:
Does that mean that if you do not offer a minimum bid of one million that you are declined. Yikes, who has a million dollars to spend on a gas guzzler. I do expect it will get sold, but I wonder if it will be annonymous or if someone famous buys it. Maybe it should be saved for when they do his Presidential Library. Funny how "greed" has taken over Mr. Boyle.
You know, if it wasn't *blue* I'd be tempted. Blue is a boring car color.
Who am I kidding we can hardly afford to put gas in the (red) Honda Civic that we own.
I think it will sell for under $1 mill but but I can't tell what amount is being declined. The list of bidders just indicate "declined" by their offer.
Ahhh, crone, I had you pegged for a "Red" girl!
Ronda - don't have a meltdown like my snowman. It's ok if you have a blue car and it's not Obama's. Look out the window, life is sweet. Hug your lover, pet your pooch, breathe deeply, savor it. Poof, it's gone.
I suppose I could always paint it...
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