See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Will Bredderman
Brooklyn Daily
In the market for a sleek, pre-owned car with great gas mileage that a little old lady used to drive back and forth to bump into people?
Well, this is your lucky day! An innovative crowdfunding effort by Coney Island’s Eldorado Auto Skooter can put you behind the wheel of your very own quality used bumper car for the low, low price of just $2,500!
At least that’s the idea behind the premium reward for top donors to the Sandy-swamped bumper-car attraction. Eldorado owner Gordon Lee is offering a VIP pass to let you ride free all summer in one of his bumper cars — you can even pick which one.
That’s right! You can bump all you want every weekend this month, and every day from May till November, from noon through midnight — and even as late as 2 am in the summertime — for a one-time donation of $2,500.
“You can ride all day if you want,” says Lee.
But wait — there’s more! The VIP pass gives you the option of picking out one car to call your own whenever you stop by — and you can even customize the vehicle with your name or a crazy design.
“It’d be like a box seat at Madison Square Garden,” says Lee. “If you want me to personalize it, I can personalize it.”
This deal is crazy — but Lee says he hasn’t lost his mind. He’s just trying to raise money to pay for some final repairs to his building and arcade games after Hurricane Sandy swamped his location in Oct. 2012.
So, like fellow People’s Playground entrepreneurs Lola Star of the eponymous Boardwalk boutique and Dick Zigun of Sideshows by the Seashore — Lee has turned to crowdsourcing site LuckyAnt.com in the hope of everything back to normal at his 31-year-old Coney Island mainstay before the season gets into full swing.
“It’s like a ticket pre-sale,” says Lee, who is also offering premiums for donations as small at $10. “We’re hoping to use the social media network to let people know that we’re open, that Coney Island’s open, and we want the public to come and enjoy bumper car rides in America’s greatest playground.”
And no matter what your budget, Eldorado has a plan that works for you. $1,000 gets you 350 rides — a $2,400 value! For just $500 you can take one of Lee’s models for a spin 150 times. The $200 package lets you bump your a-- off a whopping 55 times. You can also get 25 rides for $100, 18 rides for $75, 12 rides for $50, five rides for $25, or two rides for $10.
The $2,500 unlimited-ride VIP pass — essentially a lease on a pre-owned bumper car — really is a good deal. A new one would set you back as much as $7,000.
But a deal this great won’t last long! The offer ends April 29. So don’t miss out!
Eldorado Auto Skooter sits at 1216 Surf Avenue, between W. 12th Street and Stillwell Avenue, in Coney Island. To get your pass, visit www.luckyant.com/project/detail?project=2005.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at wbredderman@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4507. Follow him at twitter.com/WillBredderman.