New Cribs ride: Mercedes-Benz E350

My parents purchased a one-year old Mercedes-Benz e350 a couple of weeks ago. For those of you that don’t know them, that probably sounds fairly normal. A couple nearing retirement, living in an affluent Bay Area neighborhood, no longer financially-supporting their two grown sons. Pretty standard, right?

For those of you that do know my parents though, I’m sure you realize how crazy it is that they would do such a thing.

My dad is the kind of person who seemingly spends just enough money on himself to make sure the retail industry is still working properly. The ‘word’ shopping has absolutely no meaning to him. His largest personal purchase that I can remember is pistachios from Safeway. His thriftiness isn’t a chore, that’s just how he is. It’s a trait he took on from my grandpa and that I often share.

My mom is the kind of person who obsesses about every single purchase that she makes. She constantly questions every item she buys and scours for deals on EVERYTHING.

When you put the two of them together, it’s no surprise that their motor vehicles of choice the last 20+ years have formed a list that clearly belongs on a celebrity TV show. Imagine this lineup in the driveway on an episode of Los Altos Cribs:

• a yellow Dodge sedan
• a white Chevrolet Chevette (hatchback)
• a gray Oldsmobile ‘88 sedan with red velvet bench seats (all of my high school friends will remember this one)
• a sky blue Ford Windstar minivan, and a used tan Buick sedan
• an $18,000 1996 Chevrolet Camaro (for my brother)
• a 1999 Nissan Maxima (with leather!), and
• *gasp* a 2000 Ford Explorer (that they only purchased because of an $8,000 credit from Ford because the minivan exploded).

Also along the way, they came to this country with a few hundred dollars in savings, worked their asses off for decades, raised two (fairly decent) kids into their mid-20’s, moved into a 40-year old Los Altos home (for us), and kept driving a litany of crappy rides way beyond their reasonable lifetimes.

Needless to say, I think they’ve earned the right to splurge a bit and roll in a shiny silver e350. If anybody deserves to slap some spinning 20’s on their ride, it’s my parents - hmm, that’s a Christmas present idea.

I’m excited and proud for them, because I know how happy they are about it. Now if I can only get them to take it out of the garage and drive it.