The Road Benz: Nov 2020

As I mentioned in my last President’s Letter, the Wichita Section continues to monitor the state rules regarding our activities in light of the Covid-19 virus. As a result we‘ve had to plan our events a little differently to ensure we can be as safe as possible. We’ve focused on doing a lot more outdoor activities and on being flexible with our event planning.

I want to thank one of our section members, Jeff Siebels, for hosting a garage crawl event this month. Folks really enjoyed checking out his garages and I really appreciated Jeff helping us put together a club event in a very short time. I also wanted to thank the Kansas City Section for inviting us to their Oktoberfest Car Show. Four Wichita cars participated and some of us were able to get our cars certified in the Silver Star Preservation class.

Our club officers and directors are starting to plan many more events for 2021. Some of these were postponed from this year and others are new. Stay tuned for further updates on section activities.

Until then, get out there and drive your car!

Lee

The Wichita Section conducted an electronic election this year. The current slate of section officers agreed to serve another term in their respective offices. No other officer nominations were received by the end of August, therefore the current officers have been nominated were selected for another two year term.

Our newly selected club officers are:
President: Lee Elrick
Vice President: Will Tobin
Secretary: Deana Gaffney
Treasurer: Vin Kissick

Thank you all for agreeing to serve in an officer position for another term.

The club is always looking for people who might be interested in helping set up an event or to serve in an officer position. If you have any interest in these opportunities, please don’t hesitate to ask an officer how you might be able to help. Any help is always appreciated.

Section Cars and Coffee, Saturday September 19th

We had such a good time at IL Primo in June that we decided to have another cars and coffee gathering there. Sixteen members and eleven cars came out on a beautiful morning to enjoy some coffee and gobble down donuts provided by Lee Elrick. We all greatly appreciated the cool fall weather.

Oktoberfest All German Car Show, Sunday October 4th

The Kansas City section hosted a wonderful all German car show and invited the Wichita section to participate. Here’s a link to their event report. Four cars came up from Wichita to take part in the show. It turned out to be a beautiful day and there was an exciting selection of German cars to view. Additionally the Kansas City section organized a Silver Star Preservation class and then conducted reviews of qualified cars as part of the Silver Star Preservation process. Several cars were able to qualify for this designation which recognizes cars which are 25 years or older and are actively used and maintained in their as close to possible original state. We had a great time at the show and we really appreciated the Kansas City section for having us over.

Lunch Gathering at Prost, Saturday October 10th

We are so lucky to have a great German restaurant with a nice outdoor space to gather and enjoy great beer and food. Kudos to Prost for hosting a wonderful lunch! We had 11 members and guests arrive to enjoy a crisp fall day and swap car stories.

Garage Crawl, Saturday November 7th

Wichita Section member Jeff Siebels and his wife Diane hosted a garage crawl on this beautiful Saturday morning. Jeff is a keen car collector and a skilled restorer and we were so fortunate to check out his garages. We started the morning at his first garage in Andover. After enjoying some coffee and donuts, Jeff gave a tour of his many cars in this garage. He had many makes and models, with a focus on cars from the early to mid 1970’s. Of course being the Mercedes-Benz club we particularly enjoyed his 1969 280SL, 1972 350SL, 1979 450SEL 6.9, and the 1989 560SEL. We next traveled to his second garage in Park City. This was Jeff’s working garage and we got to see his many tools and restoration equipment including a small paint booth, a powder coating machine, and a small oven. Jeff is in the process of fixing up a 300SEL 6.3. He also had some more cars stored at this location. The section had a great time checking out these garages. Thanks Jeff!

Here’s a link to Jeff’s YouTube channel, American Dream Garage

1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL, $75,000 OBO

This 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL convertible is a European-spec example that was reportedly sold new in Germany and later imported to the US, prior to its acquisition by the seller in Kansas in 2016. Finished in Silver Metallic with a black soft top over a black MB-Tex interior, the car received a repaint just over 5 years ago. Power is supplied by a 2.8-liter inline-six mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. Factory Bundt style 14” forged aluminum wheels are wrapped in Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. Sporting a newly installed soft convertible top and dash pad, this W113 is now offered with a color-matched hardtop, records from the seller’s ownership tenure and a clear Kansas title in the seller’s name.

More photos may be found at The Sixty-Three Collection website.

Interested parties can contact Errol Luginbill, (316) 648-7321, errol@lifeboatcreative.com

1991 Mercedes-Benz 420SEL, $15,000 OBO

The 1991 Mercedes 420SEL is the last of the great W126 series. This car is a fully-documented exceptional vehicle with only 63,000 miles that stayed with the original owner for 25 years. It took me months to find an example in this great of condition with a history of service records since new. Asking $15,000. Contact Kevin @ 316-640-7217 or kevin@krllm.com.

More photos can be found here: https://krllm.com/1991-mercedes-420sel/

Are you considering buying or leasing a new Mercedes-Benz vehicle? Do you know of a friend or relative who is considering purchasing or leasing a new Mercedes-Benz? We have exciting news to share with you that you may have already read about in The Star® magazine or heard some MBCA members talking about.

Earlier this year the Mercedes-Benz Club of America partnered with Mercedes-Benz USA to introduce a new Member Rebate Program. All active primary members are eligible for exclusive savings, in some cases up to $5,000 on selected 2020 and a few 2019 models on the lease or purchase of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The rebate incentives are available only for active MBCA members. This new member benefit is available immediately upon joining the club. There is no waiting period required for members to take advantage of this new program. As long as the buyer is an active member when purchasing the car, they can participate in the MBCA rebate program.

The new Member Rebate program replaces the MBCA Loyalty Rewards program. The MBCA Loyalty Rewards program is no longer offered and has been replaced with the improved Member Rebate program. Members using the new and improved program can save a significant amount of money when buying or leasing a new Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Certificates generated under the old MBCA Loyalty Rewards program are no longer valid and are not combinable with the Member Rebate program. Members having these certificates will need to obtain a control number by calling (866) 628-7232 | Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 am – 5 pm ET.

Current primary members can take instantaneous advantage of the Member Rebate program. If you’re exploring leasing or purchasing a new Mercedes-Benz, be sure to mention the Mercedes-Benz Club of America program to your Mercedes-Benz dealer to see if the model you are considering qualifies for any savings. If it does, then you need to generate and present your control number to the dealer. The control number is specific to you and cannot be transferred to anyone else.

You can obtain a control number by signing into your member account (https://www.mbca.org/user/login) and clicking on the Member Rebate artwork located on your member profile page. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page and click on the red Generate MBUSA Rebate Number button. Give this control number to your Mercedes-Benz dealer and you’re on your way to driving out of the dealer in a new Mercedes. The control number is valid for the current calendar year, expires on the last day of the year, and is only valid for the purchase or lease of one vehicle. After the control number expires, active primary members can create a new number for the following calendar years.

The Member Rebate incentives may change and update monthly. To view current savings, visit https://www.mbca.org/mbusa-incentives. The rebate program incentive grid only highlights a few models, but more models are included within the program. MBUSA offers discounts on almost every model under this program. To find out if the car you are interested in purchasing is eligible, you should contact your dealer. Please refer to the FAQ sheet if you have any questions about the program.

Here’s how it works:

Each new member who joins the club as a result of direct member or section recruitment activities will receive one free month of membership for each twelve months of their new membership. For multiple year memberships the free month will be tacked on to the membership on the renewal date for each subsequent year.

On the application the recruiting member of the section should write, Baker’s Dozen near the referred by area on the membership application.

Our section currently has 103 members.

Welcome to our newest member: Jeff Adams

Here’s a hearty thanks to all of our renewing members since our last newsletter: William Berger, Tom Beskett, John Rudd, Dwayne Rumsey, Will Tobin, and Icer Vaughn. Thank you so much for your sustained membership.

As you’ve probably noted, our section membership numbers are down. This trend mimics declining membership numbers across other sections. In the past we were fortunate to automatically receive new members from the local Mercedes-Benz dealership but that membership source has all but stopped. This means that we as section members need to make an effort to reach out to Mercedes-Benz owners and let them know about this club. Please continue to promote our club with other Mercedes owners so we can increase our numbers. If you meet someone who has specific questions about our club, please direct them to contact us at MBCA.Wichita@aol.com. If you have other ideas about how to improve our membership numbers, please don’t hesitate to contact me (Kirk Filbey) at rkfilbey@gmail.com.

For our current members, please don’t forget to renew your membership so you don’t miss out on future events. Renewing members are the core part of our section.

Thank you all for your sustained membership and support of the club!