Buffett: ‘Baby you can drive my car’

Warren Buffett is considered by some as the world’s greatest investor, but this is a rate of return even the Oracle of Omaha would be hard pressed to match.

Buffett’s old 2006 Cadillac DTS selling at a special online auction for $122,500. That’s about $114,500 above the book price…a more than 14-fold profit.

The autographed vehicle going to an anonymous buyer from New York in a fundraiser for Girls’ Incorporated of Omaha, where the Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK-A) CEO’s lives. Buffett’s late wife was a founder of the local Girls’ Club, the predecessor to the current organization, and his daughter sits on the group’s board.

Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke asks “really?”

“I’m not so sure sitting in Warren’s warm spot is worth over $100,000,” he says. “Maybe it is, maybe it’s a really nice Caddy.”

But Yahoo Finance Columnist and car guru Rick Newman says…nope.

“Honestly, that car is a little bit of a dog,” he notes. “General Motors (GM) has basically admitted that it is. They don’t even build it anymore. So he got a pretty good deal for his car!”

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Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task points out there are some advantages for the buyer.

“You are getting an autographed model, and you can pick it up from Warren himself,” he adds. “So this is an opportunity to meet Mr. Buffett and it’s less than people pay to have lunch with him.”

Macke believes these are the kinds of sales that only happen when Wall Street is soaring like it is now.

“It’s kind of a bull market phenomenon,” he notes. “For some reason in bull markets there’s all this good luck associated with people who have traded stocks effectively.  Believe it or not like eight, nine years ago when I was on basic cable people used to rub my (bald) head for luck.  Warren Buffett’s Caddy is the latest for this. We’re going to be buying that on eBay (EBAY) for about $50,000 next time the market goes down 30%.”

Task adds it’s not a good idea to try to get a bargain from Buffett, anyway.

Never buy anything from Warren Buffett because he’s a really smart guy,” he argues. “If you don’t know who’s the sucker at the table, you’re the sucker.”

And forget the Caddy sale, Macke jokes Buffett did even better when the global economy was collapsing in 2008.

“From an overall societal cost, this car is much cheaper than the deal Warren struck with Goldman Sachs (GS) during the financial crisis,” he quips.