It might just be one of the craziest ways for a person to get a new car. All you need is a lot of free time on your hands and to be content with sitting for days on end.
By the time this story was published, four willing contestants had been crammed into a car at the Saskatoon Mitsubishi dealership for six days, 10 hours and 55 minutes as part of the Moving into a Mirage contest.
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“It’s very tight,” said Amber Burton from the backseat. “I’m only five-foot five and I can’t fully stretch my legs.”
“So it’s cramped, the guys are really cramped.”
They’re not allowed to have cellphones or open the car doors. They’re also sleep-deprived and the oldest contestant is 50-years-old.
“Sometimes I have to do some babysitting,” laughed Dean Longworth, who said his own stubbornness is keeping him in the game.
Sounds simple enough, right? But as with any contest, there are even more rules. These four car contestants only get a 15-minute bathroom break every three hours and they can’t shower.
“The worst part is not being able to wash my hair,” giggled Jenna Elliot, a mother of two girls.
The contestants are provided breakfast, lunch and supper each day, which can be both a blessing and curse. On Tuesday, all they were allowed to eat was Mexican for all three meals.
“I have farted in it, just nobody seems to notice it smells so bad in here,” Burton said, roaring with laughter.
Ryan Mazzei, who was re-positioned to the back, described what it was like to “take a bird bath” in the dealership’s bathroom and that things have gotten better over time.
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“The hardest part of this whole thing was the first three minutes. I got in here and my knees were jammed against the glovebox and thought, ‘I don’t think I can last to the first break,’ and then I just started to think about all the people that have shown me support.”
That’s his driving force. For Burton, it’s her two young brothers.
“They’re sharing a car that’s pretty much as old as they are so it would be great for them to have a way get to work, a way to get to school, something reliable for when they’re working late at night.”
The contestants can keep the 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage, valued at over $16,000, which will be extensively detailed before the keys are handed over. They can also sell it or upgrade to a different vehicle on the lot and pay the difference.
It’s been no feat; they’ve been pranked throughout the week, including Monday morning when they had to sleep through a car alarm from 1:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.
They’ve also been offered prizes including a trip to Las Vegas, gift cards worth $1,500 to Wyant Group for car washes, winter tires or towards the purchase of a vehicle.
Lastly, they’ve been offered $1,000 in cold, hard cash to consider for one hour, but no one budged.
“All four are still here, so there’s going to be a random draw of sorts, we’re going to have some fun with it but there will be one winner at the end,” said Zoe Zassos with Cruz FM.
That will take place Friday, Aug. 24, at 5 p.m. When asked what the contestants will do first when this is all over, a hot shower, a cold bath, or in Dean Longworth’s case, a road trip to a wedding will be in order.
Although each contestant said they’d feel disappointed if they didn’t win the brand-spanking new car, what they’ve come away with is friends for life and no amount of money or a car can replace that.
To watch the contestants live, click here.
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