Well, I did it. I've wanted a Mercedes-Benz SEC for over 30 years, or about half of my lifetime, ever since I saw my first one in California all those years ago. So I did it. Sight unseen, except pictures over the Internet. Yes, I know. The car has issues and a CARFAX that says it was involved in a rear end collision and it has some wee patches of rust in a couple of the usual areas. Yes, I know. But it is exactly what I wanted and it has some provenance. This car was once owned by the late, great Johnny Carson. YES I KNOW! Now, I've never met Johnny Carson, but I did watch the Tonight Show back in the day. I have met a few celebrities in the past, mostly when I lived in SoCal, but I've never thought of them as extraordinary. Let's see, there was Chuck Conners, Jay Leno, Bruce Willis, Linda Blair, Clint Eastwood, Lance LeGault, Tommy Smothers and Murray Langston, just to name a few. Not that any of them would know me from Adam either then or now. Not that that has anything to do with this car.

I've been watching the car on eBay for awhile and today it was relisted due to a non-paying buyer at what to me was an attractive Buy It Now price. So I bought it! Well, not quite. I'll consummate the deal on Tuesday assuming all goes well. I've talked to the seller, Mike, who seems like a nice personable guy. He even told me his wife began to cry when he told her the car was sold. I suspect she will stop crying when she sees the check.

So that's it for now. The deal will close and then I'll go out and collect the car on one of my layovers next month. My plan is to take it to a local independent Mercedes-Benz specialist nearby and have all the fluids changed and given a thorough once-over in ready for a cross-country excursion. Yes, I am going to drive it from LA to VA, with a stop or two in Texas to visit my daughters and an old Air Force buddy.

Wish me luck and stay tuned.

1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC