click above image for more pics of John "Bo Duke" Schneider and his General Lee
When we first posted that John Schneider, aka Bo Duke, was selling his personal 1969 "General Lee" Dodge Charger used in the cult classic show "The Dukes of Hazzard" and various other productions, the bidding on eBay Motors was at $2.3 million. The Autoblog team immediately started arguing whether or not the car was worth that amount. In the end, we were all wrong, as the eBay Motors just ended at 1:00PM EST with a winning bid of $9,900,500.00! The auction was stopped once to remove fake bids when the price hit the $6 million dollar range, but after that, bidders were required to register before making a play for the car.
According to this CNN article, if the winning bid holds, the "General Lee" will be the second most expensive car ever auctioned behind a rare 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royal Sports Coupe that was sold by Christie's Auction House in 1987 for $11 million.
Auctionistas inteviewed by CNN are astonished, with one stating bluntly, "There is no basis in my experience in the collector car world to justify that kind value". We're sure Schneider could care less, as his purpose in auctioning the car was to raise money for a sequel to his self-financed movie "Collier & Co., Hot Pursuit".
Whether or not the car is worth nearly $10 million is certainly up for debate, but there's no denying it's one hella cool car. Schneider actually owned the car before it appeared on "The Dukes of Hazzard" and leased it to Warner Bros. for use in the show. It's even scratched! Schneider put a nick near the driver's side window once while performing his trademark through-the-window entrance. He left the scratch figuring it would only increase the car's value. Considering that auction experts claim the car is actually worth about $150,000 to $200,000, we'd say he was right.
Thanks for the tip, Peter!
[Source: eBay Motors via CNN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
David45 @ May 4th 2007 2:26PM
What is wrong with these people? 10 million? I mean do they buy it for 10 million so in 10 years they sell it for 20 million? How much higher can this car go? Only a new money person spends like this. Investors with brains would not lockup 10 million on this.
Joe @ May 4th 2007 2:27PM
If that Dukes of Hazzard movie had not come out in 2005 this car would not have sold for this much.
Stacey @ May 4th 2007 2:32PM
Imagine you had 5 large suitcases full of cash sitting in your house. You would be terrified of someone breaking in. Or imagine walking around with a 1000 dollars in your pocket. You would be scared of getting mugged. Yet this car will sit in some guys garage or whse. Ten millions worth. Not money in the bank or in real estate but a car in a garage. He better put a CLUB on the steering wheel. Or better yet, hire a guy at minimum wage to sleep next to it.
John @ May 4th 2007 2:36PM
Kids, just say no to crack.
Oscar @ May 4th 2007 2:36PM
Guys,
You know what this reminds me of? The Real Estate craze of a few years ago. People overpaying for real estate because everybody else was, now look at all that got caught up in the hype, glad I'm not one of them; Or the Dot.com scam, I mean boom; or ______ you fill it in. In a year or two this fool won't be able to sell this CAR to anybody for a very small fraction of what he paid.
fizzandpop @ May 4th 2007 2:38PM
Utterly retarded. Someone mentioned before how this car was a "Piece of History". If crap from a seventies kids show counts as our history, then we aren't leaving behind a much of a legacy are we? Please, couldn't that ten mill have been sent on body armor for troops, and entire neighborhood for Catrina victims, or a whole bus load of hookers for me? The rich just keep getting more repugnant by the day. Now, I have to go off and sue my drycleaner for $65 million.
Bonita @ May 4th 2007 2:42PM
Either this guy thought he was getting Jessica Simpson with the car, or else he's as stupid as a Florida Democrat.
Mr. Smith @ May 4th 2007 2:50PM
#6 fizzandpop: Your comment is right on the money. Good one, made me grin.
Mike @ May 4th 2007 2:56PM
"The Real Estate craze of a few years ago. People overpaying for real estate because everybody else was"
You are utterly clueless to the real estate industry.
"couldn't that ten mill have been sent on body armor for troops"
Talk to the democraptic senators/congressmen about this one. Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, Murtha, et.al.
"entire neighborhood for Catrina victims"
Talk to Nagin about this one... and the memorial bus pool.
fizzandpop @ May 4th 2007 3:00PM
#9 Seriously, who should I talk to about getting a bus load of hookers? What's their email?
Oscar @ May 4th 2007 3:01PM
I am, huh? funny you don't even know who I am or what I do to make such a statement...pretty brave although ignorant comment.
Matt Bateman @ May 4th 2007 3:11PM
I'm going to bet that in a few days we'll all find out that this bid won't actually be legit. I'm sure we'll hear about someone's kid who got access to daddy's computer. The winner is a man who runs an online eBay store selling pocket knives. I'm doubting he has $10M to sink into a well-used TV car. I'm sure it will eventually sell for about $750,000 to $1,000,000 in the end.
Mike @ May 4th 2007 3:12PM
The ignorance drips from the sentance of yours I posted.
Would you care to enlighten us as to why you are not clueless about the RE market?
Webster @ May 4th 2007 3:20PM
If Schneider “could care less”, let him. The correct phrase is “couldn’t care less”. Think about it and tell a friend. I’m just doing my civic duty. If you also need me to slap the buyer of this General Lee, I’d be more than happy.
Oscar @ May 4th 2007 3:24PM
Why should I explain myself to you? there are very few prople that I explain myself to and you are not one of them, no disrespect to you.
Shawn @ May 4th 2007 3:28PM
It's a movie memorabilia...when did that ever make any sense? You guys are taking this way too seriously. $10 mil is really not a big deal to some one that has hundreds of millions. This makes no more sense than someone buying a comic book for $3000. However, if someone has the money to pay for it, good for them.
It's not my thing, but I don't care if someone else lusts after it to the tune of $10 large.
Nick @ May 4th 2007 3:32PM
"Talk to the democraptic senators/congressmen about this one. Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, Murtha, et.al."
Uh, no, the President vetoed the spending bill. Talk to him.
jalopyjunky @ May 4th 2007 3:39PM
....sadly the final bid was in Confederate dollars, which works out to about 47 bucks
Mike @ May 4th 2007 3:48PM
"Uh, no, the President vetoed the spending bill. Talk to him."
Hey, Al Queda... wait till October, then it's all yours.
Surrenders truly,
Democrats
mj @ May 4th 2007 3:53PM
I'd say this makes more sense than that Bugatti purchase. This car is a star, it's recognizable by virtually everyone. It's unique - leased by the star to make the TV show, and then sold by him? 1 of a kind. Plus, it's a 69 Charger. Waaaaay better than a Bugatti.
Whoever mentioned an investment, get a grip. Collectibles (art, antiques) are hardly ever a good investment. These things are generally for showing off. Some people make money doing this stuff sometimes, but all this stuff is a bad investment. Any decent investor knows this.