Jay Leno was stunned by what Jennifer Aniston bought with her first 'Friends' paycheck: "Now you are..."

"It was a lemon, and that's why it had been sitting there," the 'Horrible Bosses' actress reacted to her purchase years later.
PUBLISHED MAR 23, 2025
Jennifer Aniston on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Burbank, Ca. 9/5/01. Los Angeles. (Image Source: Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Jennifer Aniston on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Burbank, Ca. 9/5/01. Los Angeles. (Image Source: Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The cast of 'Friends' had a walk down memory lane when they appeared on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' in 2004. During their fun-filled conversation on a set recreated as the iconic 'Central Perk,' Leno quizzed them about how they splurged their first paycheck. While Matt LeBlanc had famously admitted to buying himself a warm dinner, it was Jennifer Aniston who caught the veteran host's attention. Aniston revealed that she rewarded herself with a vintage white 1969 280 SL Mercedes, which cost around $13,000. Leno, a car enthusiast himself, exclaimed, "We should go out. That'd be great, yeah... now you're really attractive to me." According to The Things, the television host's eyes lit up with the mention of the automobile because he knew its current value would be worth $180K. 


 
 
 
 
 
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As per People, in 2023, the 'Murder Mystery' actress revealed the fate of her 'lemon' car and confessed that the Mercedes convertible turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. "There was a little white 280 SL Mercedes, and it was there for a long time," Aniston disclosed while adding that it was parked alongside Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles with a 'for sale' sign. "I mean, it could have been over two years. And I always was like, 'I can't wait, someday, someday [I'll buy it].' And one day I bought it, and then I drove it, and then drove it again, and it never drove again."



 

"It was a lemon, and that's why it had been sitting there," the 'Horrible Bosses' actress said, revealing that she had been thugged out into buying a defective car.  "I didn't know any better to get it checked out, so that was just a nice 25-year-old mistake." However, the incident didn't create any major dent in Aniston's bank account since the cast earned approximately $22,500 per episode. During the candid chat with Leno, Courteney Cox disclosed that she spent her first paycheck on a Porsche, while Lisa Kudrow admitted to buying $38,000 worth of Acura Legend, a mid-size luxury car. 

Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox-Arquette, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston sat down with Jay Leno on 'Tonight Show' 2004.(Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Vinnie Zuffante)
Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox-Arquette, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston sat down with Jay Leno on 'Tonight Show' 2004.(Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Vinnie Zuffante)

According to LadBible, Warner Bros. earns roughly $1 billion (£820 million) from the reruns of 'Friends' episodes per year. The staggering amount is enough for the entire cast to pocket approximately $20 million (£16 million) a year. It has been reported that they currently earn two percent of the entire profit. The show ended in 2004 with 10 seasons, and the main cast was earning $1 million (£820,000) per episode back then.  “Were we worth $1 million? To me, that’s such a strange question,” LeBlanc told HuffPost Live in 2015. “It’s like, well, that’s irrelevant. Are you worth it?"



 

“How do you put a price on how funny something is? We were in a position to get it. If you’re in a position in any job, no matter what the job is—if you’re driving a milk truck or installing TVs or an upholsterer for a couch—if you’re in a position to get a raise and you don’t get it, you’re stupid," he concluded. Schwimmer added that he was grateful for the opportunity because it is 'the gift that keeps on giving.' 

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