The ute that was at the centre of the Prime Minister's scandal is "no prize", say car valuers, but at least one expert believes its notoriety could actually increase its value.
The 1996 Mazda Bravo cab-chassis ute with drop-side tray is worth about $4000 "on a good day" say car valuers, a far cry from the flash $60,000 flagship utes offered by Holden and Ford.
"In time it could become a collectors' item," says Keith Wass from Bluey's Ute World. "This is The Ute. Own your own piece of history. It's certainly the most famous Mazda ute of its era," he told Carsales Network.
But the ute expert wouldn't speculate on the possible future value of the vehicle. "Look, they're a dime a dozen. They're bought by young tradies. They're certainly not flash. It's a humble ute better known for its reliability than for its excitement factor."
A quick check of vehicle history books reveals the Prime Minister's Mazda is far from lavish inside, with vinyl floors and wind-up windows. Air-conditioning was an option.
The ute should have close to 300,000km on the clock, if it has done the national average of distance travelled by commercial vehicles.
According to Mazda's history files the Rudd ute is powered by either a 2.6-litre petrol engine or a 2.5-litre diesel (with a whopping 64kW). Neither engine is a ball of fire. A road test of the 1996 Mazda Bravo published by the NRMA in March 1997 said in its usual understated style: "The Mazda Bravo is a competent vehicle that performs well with a minimum of fuss, without really excelling in any particular area."
The report also said: "The door trims, floor coverings, dashboard and roof lining are all monotone grey in colour and will allow for easy cleaning."
Other cabin highlights included "a large speedometer", "two-speed wipers" and "a digital clock mounted high in the centre of the dashboard".
Luxuries included a "retractable two-cup holder" and a radio cassette player.
The 13-year-old Mazda, also known as the Rudd-mobile, was donated to Kevin Rudd by Ipswich car dealer, John Grant. It was used by Rudd as a mobile billboard in his Brisbane electorate in the lead up to the Kevin 07 campaign, and was declared by the pollie when he was in Opposition two years ago.
Earlier this month the dealer told Australian Associated Press he was a friend of the PM and expected nothing in return for the donation: "He's a friend of mine, we're neighbours, we live in the same street and I've known him before he got into politics," he told the news agency.
"I can't see there's an issue, I don't understand why there's so much hype about the thing."
He also said the ute was "on loan".
Grant did not return calls from the Carsales Network editorial team to verify the type of engine the Rudd-mobile had or how many kilometres it had travelled. We'd also like to know if it's now up for sale, thanks to its notoriety.
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