Pope's Old Car Makes More Than £128,000 on Ebay

He might be a new Pope but there is no doubting his second-hand value. Last night a VW Golf that used to belong to Benedict XVI was sold for almost €189,000 - about £128,000.

The auction of the Pope's old car finished with a bid from a US buyer from Austin, Texas, of more than 13 times what student Benjamin Halbe, 21, paid for it earlier this year.

"The winning bidder is someone who has often purchased unusual items in the past," said eBay spokeswoman Daphne Rauch.

Mr Halbe, from Olpe, in west Germany, put the vehicle on eBay a week ago. He bought it in January from his local VW dealer, only discovering the identity of its previous owner when the registration papers arrived. Since the sale his life has been transformed, with more than 6.5 million people logging on to his eBay advert.

Potential customers from across the world, meanwhile, have bombarded Mr Halbe with more than 1,000 emails. In a weary note posted next to photos of the vehicle - a grey Golf with 70,000km (43,500 miles) on the clock - the student pleaded: "I have already received more emails than I can answer."

The Pope bought the Golf six years ago when he was merely a German cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger. His private secretary, Dr Josef Clemens, who imported the vehicle from Germany to Rome in 1999, drove it back to his home town of Siegen and sold it. The VW dealer who sold it to Mr Halbe said nothing about its former owner, telling the Guardian last week: "We didn't let on about the vehicle's history because selling cars is all about trust."

In his advert, Mr Halbe writes: "Unbelievable! This is not an ordinary car. Your driving will always be save [sic] and blessed in it. You won't believe it, but the former car-holder was our new Pope, Benedict XVI." He adds, apparently without irony: "The car looks as if it was new due to the care it god [sic]."