Baby bidder: Toddler buys car on eBay with dad's phone

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -- A Portland man's daughter surprised her old man by buying him a car on eBay. Making the gift even more shocking is the fact that little Sorella Stoute is just a year old.

Paul Stoute said he got a notice from eBay congratulating him on his purchase. He was the proud owner of a 1962 Austin-Healey Sprite. Total cost: $225.

Only, he didn't buy it. After verifying the purchase, he realized that his young daughter, who really enjoys playing with daddy's smartphone, had logged into the eBay app which can be used to instantly make a purchase.

"Tap, tap, tap and now I own a car," Paul Stoute said.

Stoute had been looking at cars on eBay with the idea of tackling a rebuilding project with a friend.

"Fortunately, she didn't buy the $38,000 Porsche," he said.

Also fortunate is that the Sprite was located in Tualatin. It's now being stored in Milwaukie and is very much a fixer-upper. The eBay ad listed it as a "Frankensprite."

"It comes with two engines," said Christina Stoute, Sorella's mother. "They're both in the back seat."

The couple now hopes to take the eBay mistake and turn it into a very memorable gift. Paul Stoute said his goal is to fix it up in time to present it to his daughter for either her 16th birthday or high school graduation.

In the meantime, they have added password protection to their phones, and uninstalled any apps that can be used to make a purchase.

"It cannot happen again," Christina Stoute said, laughing.