When looking for stories to warm the cockles of the heart, pro sports typically aren’t the best place to begin.
Usually, stories involving people and cars in professional sports include young athletes using overpriced wheels to flaunt their multimillion-dollar contracts.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just what we’ve come to expect.
This story, though, turns what we expect upside down.
During his last day as a coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, defensive backs coach Ray Horton surprised a cook at the team’s cafeteria by selling him his ’99 Mercedes SL500 with just 64,000 miles on the clock. According to DealFinder the approximate market value for such a car is around $17,000. The sales price in this transaction, though, was a mere 20 bucks.
According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the cook, Maurice “Mo” Matthews had always admired the car, and when Horton was saying his goodbyes, he asked Matthews how much he had in his pocket. Matthews said, “I got $20.”
Horton took the money and said, “Sold for $20,” and handed Matthews the keys.
Mathews was quoted in the paper as saying,
I’m still in shock. I don’t think it has hit me yet. I still pinch myself. I look out the window when I bring it to work and I just go, ‘Man, that’s mine.’
Horton is off to join the coaching staff of the Arizona Cardinals, where you can be sure cafeteria workers everywhere will be sure to compliment him on whatever ride he chooses to replace the SL.
Come to think of it, I work with a guy who drives a 2010 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG. Maybe if I play my cards right and be sure to keep a crisp Jackson in my wallet at all times…
What’s the best deal you’ve ever gotten on a car?
-tgriffith