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Great birthday week. New fleet members
After six months in a tin can Prius and 4 record store openings with my new job, I was rewarded with a company car with all expenses paid. I had a decent budget with stipulations. No luxury branded vehicles for appearances. Something large enough to haul people and product (no sports cars), and preferably large and safe. My Prius was badly damaged in a coyote hit and I never felt safe in the thing to begin with. Initially, I wanted a Yukon or Suburban, but couldn't believe the insane prices of them new. Went with a nicely equipped GMC sierra SLT 4x4 instead. Trucks have come such a long way in comfort and ride. Since I'm not worrying about gas mileage anymore it's a perfect addition to the group. My first big trip was to 900 miles and 13 hours to Farmington, New Mexico. Did the whole trip in a day without pain. In the Prius, I am sore all over after the 2.5 hour drive to KC. Those seats were designed by a moron. During my first stint in Farmington, I got a phone call I had been waiting for almost 10 years to get.
My first job was in 2002 at a country club tennis desk. I bonded with alot of the members in the few years I worked there through high school, and kept in touch with many of them. One was a Japanese-American retired Radiologist who owned a mint 1991 560SEC. At the time I was driving my 1985 500SL almost daily and we made a point to park next to each-other and often chatted, admiring our cars. We joked about trading keys for a week but never did. During college and my dealership years, I still played occasionally at the club, eventually joining for a period. Around 2007, I started asking him for first rights should he ever choose to sell it. Sometimes he would come close, usually during some mechanical failure like the AC or starter. I remember he gave me a price once of only $7000, which back then sounded kind of pricey to me (crazy I know), but at that time I wasn't well positioned financially to purchase it.
Fast forward to last week, and he calls me finally ready to let it go. The AC performance was not good, the car was riding all bouncy in the rear, and all the instruments had failed. Of course he had the means to fix it, but decided at his 80 years of age, he didn't want the trouble of having an old car. I couldn't wait to get home from New Mexico and have a look.
The coupe has only 72,000 original miles. He purchased it in 2000 with 30,000 miles after selling his 80's Porsche 911 (tired of stick a shift). I had never been to his home before, but immediately recognized it. One of the more architecturally significant homes built in Wichita, which he custom built in 1989. He was gracious enough to give me a tour. Unbelievable Asian art collection. Every detail in the house thought out right down to placement of every marble floor tile. He wanted the white to peach to roll through the massive entryway like waves on an ocean. Also a fantastic motorcourt/court yard complete with Koi pond. He said some of the Koi were as old as the house; they were huge.
With the exception of a few bumper scuffs, the coupe was as pristine as I remember. I was very quick to jump on it. The instrument cluster was just a fuse. AC service and charged brought it back to full force and seems to be holding. Rear accumulators fixed the rough ride. I have a few nit picking things to do to the car along with the timing chain tensioners, but what a joy to drive. I already swapped the peeling chrome stock pancake wheels for 15" 8 holes that match my 300SD.
I had already been considering selling my beloved 1994 Roadmaster estate, and with my truck taking over all the practical aspects, and the 560SEC needing garage space, I think it's time to let go after 5 great years. So many memories, but with 130,000 miles and some condition issues, it's not worth stashing away in the garage as a collector car. The 560SEC makes a much better case in that aspect.
After the purchase, I returned to New Mexico for one last work stint, and took two days to return home. Woke up today to the Southern Colorado rockies, returning home just in time to wash the 1997 S500 and take the family to dinner for my birthday. Delightfully my 2 year old daughter has taken a big interest in the cars. We had a somewhat rational argument about which vehicle to take to dinner. She wanted to ride in the truck, I wanted the S500. She relented when I told her we would go to the movies in the truck later. After dinner we played in the kiddie pool, then took the truck on its maiden voyage to the drive in movie theater. Great birthday.
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