Man rejects 1.5 million liras offer for his vintage car

AMASYA

An automobile mechanic has refused to sell his 70-year-old vintage car despite the offers of up to 1.5 million Turkish Liras ($81,500).

Residing in the northern province of Amasya, Kemal Bektaş said he bought the 1952-model car 41 years ago for 2,000 liras ($110) and he only used it to lead wedding convoys, while paying attention not to drive in extremely sunny, rainy and snowy weathers.

Noting that he received offers up to 1.5 million liras for the BMW-marque car, Bektaş didn’t sell it as it deserves a higher price.

“I looked around a lot but I could not find a similar one in Türkiye,” he said.

“Its second-hand versions exist in Germany. Even its scrap is priced at 30,000 euros,” Bektaş added.

The 67-year-old pointed out that the doors of the car are opened in the opposite direction (known as suicide doors).

Fascinated by the pearl-white car, Aslan Kelek, one of the passers-by, said, “I have seen a lot of classic cars, but I never seen such a beautiful and different one.”

Gönül Yıldız, another passer-by, got behind the wheel and took a souvenir photo with her husband, saying, “The owner took good care of the car, it’s like a part of history.”

“The car is my mom’s age. If I was him, I would not put the car on the street, I would take it away and hide the car at home,” she added.