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- Der Tigra ist einfach keine Familienkutsche: So sieht es Joanna, die Verlobte von Firat Demirhan. Die beiden verkaufen das Auto über Ebay, weil sie bald Eltern werden. Der neue Wagen soll auch einen Blitz tragen.
Firat Demirhan‘s advert on Ebay.
Firat Demirhan has shot to stardom in Germany by writing the longest Ebay advert ever. Originally, Demirhan only wanted to sell his Tigra after being pushed by his pregnant girlfriend – thus starting a huge media frenzy. Newspapers from all four corners of the earth, publishers and TV stations are all trying to get a piece of Demirhan. Tomorrow (February 24) he will appear in Stefan Raab’s “TV Total” on Pro7.
“I am sitting here and writing this advert to sell my car while my well-rounded girlfriend is getting ready to go to see Shades of Grey.”
Excerpt from the advert
Demirhan’s popularity is not only based on the pure length of his advertisement (six A4 pages). It is mainly a result of the content: The forthcoming split from his beloved Tigra (“The car of my dreams”) led to the fervent Opel fan spilling his heart on Ebay. Everything off the cuff, including frustration, heart, lots of humor – and an extremely honestly description of the state of the Tigra, initially registered in 1997.
Opel Post spoke to Firat Demirhan about his recent experiences and which Opel he has got his eye on now.
Mr Demirhan, when did you first notice that your Ebay advertisement was going through the roof?
I checked the online edition of „Stern“ magazine, like I do every day, and suddenly I saw an article about me and the Ebay auction. It knocked the wind out of me. Later some friends contacted me and told me that Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann had just addressed me on Twitter. That is when the penny dropped and I realized what was happening. My mobile phone was smoking – later on my head was too. The response is really crazy.
What made you write such an epic advertisement?
(laughs) Well, people who know me will tell you that I am always up for spontaneous, unusual things. One thing just led to the other when I was sitting in the living room writing the ad. Starting with the fact that I love my Tigra but I love my well-rounded fiancée even more. Furthermore, I have always been interested in the comedy and tragedy of everyday human life – obviously, including my own. Therefore, I just put down everything that was going through my head. The fact that some people are now claiming that I established the car advert as a new genre does make me rub my eyes in disbelief.
“Have fun bidding. If you have any questions, fire away. I will forward them to my girlfriend because she always know everything better anyway.”
Excerpt from the advert
You are attracting a lot of interest at the moment. You are being bombarded with requests and offers. How do you react as a father-to-be who only wanted to sell a car?
I have both feet on the ground. I am from the Ruhr District you know – and I have also have Joanna (Editor’s note: the fiancée) at my side. So there is no way I will get carried away. Obviously, the last few days have been unbelievable. The Huffington Post published an article about me and I am getting calls from journalists from Japan and Turkey. The Facebook page that I created especially for the fans of the Ebay auction has racked up more than 2,500 likes already. I have been invited to TV Total: Now Opel has given me the chance to test drive a car for a week and even threw in a fuel voucher. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next but I won’t go into the fast lane.
You previously have a Kadett and then the legendary Tigra “Color Line Rio Verde“. How are you connected to the Opel brand?
I have very close ties. My grandfather worked for Opel for 30 years after moving to Germany from Turkey. My father drives Opels on a regular basis. Manta, Rekord, Vectra – I grew up with these cars. The Tigra accompanied me for many years. And I want my next car to have the “Blitz“ on the front too. I would love to buy an Insignia OPC but I will have to talk to Joanna about that first.
Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann also reacted to Firat Demirhan‘s Ebay auction – on Twitter.
The auction for the Tigra will finish next Wednesday – honestly, do you feel more regretful or more relieved that this relationship will be over soon?
In the meantime it is actually more speechlessness but in a positive sense. I thought that euro 700 would be the most I would get for this dream car when I put it on Ebay last week. But now the Tigra is kind of famous. And at the moment the highest offer is over euro 4,000 (Editor’s note: on Sunday evening). Let’s see how much cash we have in our pocket when we head to the Opel dealer to get our new family car.
Photo: Marc Vollmannshauser / BILD-Zeitung
Firat Demirhan, a 29-year-old civil servant from Hagen, wrote an Ebay advert. What’s special about that? A lot! The title already suggests that there is more than meets the eye: “OPEL Tigra – Fully equipped – Girlfriend says I have to sell him.”
The reason for Demirhan having to sell his Tigra is a happy one. “I am over the moen because I will be a father soon.” But the space in his Opel is limited. Therefore, he need a family car – at least that is what his pregnant girlfriend says.
The ad text clearly shows that the Tigra driver is not convinced he is making the right call. He is looking forward to the next chapter in his life but is also sad to see the beloved Tigra go.
Demrihan wrote down his feeling on six A4 pages. And created an over-night media frenzy. Numerous people have praised his style of writing and the honestly of the advert. Some fans are even calling for him to write a book.