Subject: Automobile
Keywords: BMW
Date: 04/24/1989
Headline: University auctions off infamous BMW, parts with Keller's 
Chrysler New 
Author: Campbell, Allison
Page: 1


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ERRORS:00000 University auctions off infamous BMW,parts with Keller's 
Chrysler New YorkerAllison CampbellStaff ReporterThe infamous 
University owned BMW was auctioned Saturday, and the University 
recovered a large chunk of the costs it had incurred.
    The car, which momentarily gained celebrity status last winter, 
was auctioned off at the Fleet Services auction Saturday for $7,000.
    The 1977 BMW 733i originally cost the University $7,790, a price 
which included repairs and transportation from its California home.
    Before the bidding began at 11 a.m., a prediction that the BMW 
would sell for $6,000 was made by Matt Jaren, the Institute of 
Agriculture employee who acquired the car for the University.
    "It's a world class automobile," he said.
    The U.S. government seized the car from drug dealers in San 
Francisco, and shipped the car to the University along with 30 trucks 
from a military installation in March 1987, Jaren said.
    The BMW was originally acquired because John Weaver, a chemical 
engineering professor, wanted a car for his 20 researchers' frequent 
trips to Madison, Wis. to conduct superconductivity experiments. He 
was spending $3,000 a year of his federal support money to rent 
University vehicles.
    After two years of looking at federal government surplus lists, 
Weaver found the BMW.
    The U.S. government gives surplus items to universities for free 
if they're used in federally funded projects.
    Repairs on the car were supposed to cost $1,600, but after paying 
$990 to ship it to Minnesota, University workers found the car did 
not run.
    According to a self described St. Paul farm shop worker who 
refused to give his name, the BMW arrived at the University with many 
of the engine parts dumped in the car's trunk.
    University workers could not repair it, so Metro Mazda 
BMWCar8Car1rebuilt the engine for $5,800.
    After the sale, an auto consultant said she would have paid only 
$2,500 for the BMW, but many of the approximately 250 potential 
buyers in the crowd seemed inexperienced at assessing car values.
    "It's 12 years old, and you don't know how it's been treated," 
said Cheryl Maloney of Autowoman.
    Before the auction began, Jaren commented that the acquisition of 
the car last winter created "unwarranted controversy," because "now 
someone in Minnesota is going to buy a real nice car for wholesale."
    Bidding started at $3,000, but quickly accelerated as people 
competed for the metallic gray car that featured a leather interior, 
headlight wipers, and an odometer reading of 110,852 kilometers, or 
about 65,000 miles.
    The successful bidder was not identified.
    Among the many vehicles sold Saturday was a beige 1985 Plymouth 
New Yorker, previously the official car of former University 
President Ken Keller. Because of its former driver, the car is a 
"collector's item" according to auctioneer Kelly Conger.
    The car originally cost $14,000, but was auctioned for $6,200.