TAMPA (FOX 13) - Moms are getting all sorts of chocolates, flowers and cards for Mother’s Day, but one Tampa mom received a gift she never in a million years imagined she’d get.
A shiny red 1985 Mercedes Benz was waiting for Annette Sanchez in the driveway. It’s the exact car she grew up with in New Jersey.
To Sanchez, it holds a lot of cherished memories. It’s the car she drove when she met her husband Julio.
When they decided to start a family, they had to sell the Benz to buy a bigger car.
For 21 years, they wondered where it went and if they’d ever be able to find it again.
Julio made it his mission and sure enough, he tracked it down in Inverness and then surprised his wife on Mother’s Day.
“I love the red, the interior of it, and it’s exactly the way when we got rid of it,” said Annette. “They haven’t changed anything to it that I can see.”
“It all came together from finding the car, to having it fixed, to having it ready for this day,” said Julio.
The woman who sold the car to Julio still had all the old paperwork and knew all about its history.
She was so touched to hear about the surprise that she wants to meet Annette in person.
No word on if a meeting will take place.