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Looking for a Car?
July 23, 2008 1:33 PM
By Ammu Kannampilly, ABC News London
If anyone is looking for a new car during these cash-strapped times, here’s an interesting idea. How about buying one of Saddam Hussein’s old cars?
Two of the Iraqi dictator’s cars are up for grabs on eBay. Both of them are Rolls Royce models, each with a price tag of $369,515.
That price is negotiable, says Steven Brown, owner of the Autocontinental car dealership in Surrey, England, which is selling the cars.
Brown tells ABCNews.com that an Iraqi associate of his bought 14 of Saddam’s cars nine months ago. Once these two models are sold, he plans to sell the remaining 12 as well.
The cars were bought at an Iraqi government auction and come equipped with Iraqi government documents confirming their original ownership.
The two cars – one maroon and the other blue – are Corniche sports cars, and they are equipped with a climate control system and heated leather seats.
But they are missing stereos – Brown claims that U.S. soldiers removed the stereos when they discovered the cars inside the basement of Saddam’s palace.
He plans to install new stereos before handing over the car keys to the new owners. The cars are currently waiting to be shipped from Iraq.
But who would want to buy one of Saddam’s cars? And for that price?
“Well, these cars have very low mileage – one’s done 900 kilometers (559.2 miles) and the other’s done 1900 kilometers (1180.6 miles),” Brown says, “so they are worth at least $289,610 in any case.”
And, he claims to have already heard from one interested buyer – “an American colonel who wants to fix SADDAM license plates to the car.”
Furthermore, if any Americans are interested in acquiring the cars, Brown promises a discounted price, “since I can ship them directly from Iraq, so that’s a saving of about 27 percent on U.K. duties.”
The auction for the two cars will end in 14 days – Brown is hoping to sell them to “someone in Japan or the U.S.”
July 23, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (1)
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why didn't they just stick Hussein in one of them and drive it off a cliff?
Posted by: Jazz | Jul 23, 2008 6:08:41 PM
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