I managed to get on the first flight out of IAD to LAX its an aisle seat for the trip to LAX. After landing about 20 minutes early I caught Uber to Rafi’s Autotech in Culver City to pick up Johnny. Ronny met me as I walked in and handed me off to Bob the mechanic who did all the work. What a great experience. Bob showed me all the old parts and we had a bit of a chat about the car. They did quite a lot of work including replacing the right side passenger window. Bob showed me the completely rotten window mount and they even saved the old window in the event I may need it in the future. As I said, there was a lot of other items addressed, including the tie rods, steering box, etc., etc. I would strongly recommend this shop to anyone in SoCal needing some work done to their Mercedes.
I headed out initially to Beverly Hills to see if I could get a picture of Johnny at his point of origin, but coming across Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills it was obvious it was a new building and not the facility from which Johnny was delivered. I contemplated a picture anyway, but there simply was not a good vantage point, so I headed out to Fullerton to visit my step-daughter Sherri. At least Johnny had a chance to visit his old stomping grounds in the posh section of LA, albeit briefly.
I can’t say the drive was without its maladies. The weather in LA was beautiful so I rolled down all the windows to enjoy the SoCal air and sunshine. Once I got on the Santa Monica Freeway I went to put the windows back up to cut down on the noise and when I pushed the button for the right rear window the switch fell down into the console. Bugger. That would have to be resolved when I got to Fullerton. In addition, about half way there the car’s alarm system started going off. Lights flashing and horn sounding for 30 seconds at a time and then silent for 30 seconds. I managed to pull of at a local shopping center hoping if I shut the car off it would reset. No luck. I checked the fuse box to see if there was a fuse I could pull. No luck there either. Finally, after locking and unlocking the car a couple of times the system reset. No further problems.
I spent about an hour with Sherri. Seeing as she is going through cancer treatment I didn't want to take up too much of her time. She looked pretty damn good, considering. Unfortunately, I missed her husband Steve as he was still at work.
After fiddling around long enough to close the window I took off for the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, just so I would know where it was to pay a visit tomorrow. As it was well after 4:00 pm they were closed for the day, but while I was outside a gentleman came out, seen the Virginia license plates, and asked me if I had come a long way. He offered me a chance to come inside for a brief visit; however, I declined and said I would be back the next day to have a proper look. Very nice of them I thought.
I managed to find a hotel not far from the Classic Center, had a bite to eat and then sat down to write this short bit. Tomorrow I will pay a visit to the shop and then out to San Antonio, probably stopping in Tucson to overnight and visit the Pima Air Museum first thing Wednesday.
Looking back, it seems like my initial drive in Johnny when I collected the car from Mike last Friday was kind of like a first date. You’re not really sure what to expect and hoping that it would not be complete disappointment. It wasn’t. Retrieving the car today is akin to the second date, which is full of anticipation and although all was not perfect, it was very satisfying. This car still has a long way to go, but I came away very satisfied and I’m looking forward to a long term relationship. At the end of the day I was left thinking this will probably be the best car I have ever or will ever own. Time will tell.
Heading out
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| Ronny @ Rafi's Autotech - Culver City |
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Bob @ Rafi's Autotech - Culver City
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