Boy aged three buys £9,000 car on internet

Press Association
Tuesday September 26, 2006
The Guardian

A three-year-old boy used his mother's computer to buy a £9,000 car on the internet auction site eBay.

Jack Neal's parents discovered their son's successful bid when they received a congratulations message from the website about the pink Nissan Figaro.

Rachel Neal, 36, told the Sun: "We couldn't understand what was happening. Neither of us had bought anything. So we checked and saw it was a Barbie-pink car which we'd bought for £8,999. We flew into a panic."

The following morning Jack woke and told his parents: "I've bought a car."

Mrs Neal, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, told the newspaper she thought she had left her eBay password in her computer. She said: "Jack's a whizz on the PC and just pressed all the right buttons."

Her husband, John, 37, called the seller of the car and explained the mistake. "Luckily he saw the funny side and said he would readvertise," Mrs Neal said.

The seller of the soft-top second-hand car, which has a 1.0-litre turbo-charged engine, said yesterday that he had been amused by the bid.

Paul Jones, co-director of Worcester Road Motors, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, said: "I had a phone call explaining what had happened and as soon as I heard it was a young boy who had done it by mistake I cancelled the bid and readvertised the car, which is very collectable.

"He must have good taste in cars. We've all got children and they do silly things at times, so it was no problem."

It was the first time the car dealership had sold a car on the site, Mr Jones said.

The car, which had been imported from Japan and refurbished, is available on eBay at a starting price of £7,999.

Associated Press