A purple 1999 Ford Mustang convertible purchased by Eminem with his first royalty check has found a new home in Courtney Wittenberns’ garage. Now she just has to wait until 2006 when she’ll actually be old enough to drive it.
“I’ll just sit in the garage and listen to music [in the car] and wash it,” the 12-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resident said of the car that she and her family bought in an online auction for $27,900.
Earlier this summer, Eminem traded in his ride to Russ Milne Ford in Macomb, Michigan. The dealership decided to put the car up for auction on eBay and donate a portion of the profits to charity.
As heiress to a multimillion-dollar health club empire started by her father, Courtney had little problem finding the money for the car. Responsible for worldwide branches of Lady of America, Ladies Workout Express and Health Clubs of America, the Wittenberns family saw the purchase of this car as a chance to not only own a piece of music history, but also to make a charitable contribution in their name.
Courtney heard about the auction while listening to Miami radio station Y100, her father recalled, and knew she just had to own one of her favorite celeb’s cars. The Wittenberns bid on eBay until they hit their personal limit of $27,000 and were beaten by a bid of $30,000. As luck would have it, Russ Milne Ford could not confirm the winning bid and offered the Wittenberns the chance to buy the car.
Courtney’s father expressed similar excitement at his daughter’s ownership of a piece of music history. “I think Eminem’s great,” said Roger, whose favorite Eminem song is “Without Me.” “Especially in the last couple of albums he’s made himself a little bit more kid-friendly,” he continued. “I thought that was really important.”
Roger’s approval of Mr. Mathers was clear in the price paid for the car. The Mustang was finally sold to him for $27,900, with $10,000 of the proceeds donated to the Macomb Literacy Partners, an organization that teaches adults to read. “We thought [it would be] a nice charitable contribution,” Roger said of the sum. “Plus it’ll be a killer car for Courtney…. I think it’s a great little story.”