Just bought a TD, now what?

[phidauex]

Hi,

Fortune has smiled upon me, and I'm now the owner of an '84 300TD. Or rather, I will be very soon. I'm in Missouri, the car is in Texas, and I've sent a deposit. Next weekend I take a train down to pick it up and bring it home. It is a very nice example, excellently maintained (the PO is a tech at an MB dealership), and the worst thing that can be said about it is that the paint is a little tired looking (totally forgivable), even the A/C (134 converted) and CC work! Its got 240k on the clock, and in the last 30k its had a transmission rebuild, a new hydraulic pump, new timing chain and tensioner, and scads of other general work. It even has CLK wheels and tires and a CLK stereo and battery installed.

However, the car isn't what I'm worried about, its this whole 'getting a car from far away' business. I've never bought a car before (my previous transportation has always been motorcycles and scooters), and certainly not from any great distance.

Here is what I'm wondering... For the drive home, the car won't be registered to me, and I won't have insurance specifically for it (though I currently carry Progressive liability insurance on my motorcycle, if that counts for anything). I'm not even sure if it will have plates, since its possible that the PO will be transferring them to another car... Should I find out for sure if he is doing that? And if so, what should I do (besides drive the speed limit and act inconspicuous )?

Second, what is a good set of basic tools to bring in case of trouble on the way home? The PO is tossing in a full set of fluids, so thats handy, and it has a good spare and lug wrench, but if you could choose a small bag of basic tools to bring, what would they be?

Any more advice for a first time long distance car buyer? I've talked with the owner a lot, and gotten a very good feeling about the sale, as well as having seen lots of pictures. However, I'm leaving myself a good 'out' so I can turn him down if I need to, and just catch the train back. Anyway, the car seems fine, and I'll be putting it up on the lift at the dealership to take a look around myself before bringing it home. Its just all the details of buying and registering an out-of-state car that I'm not very familiar with. I just know that a lot of people have bought a LOT of MBs (hope I don't become one of you... ), and thought you might be able to offer some advice for a new purchaser with a long drive ahead of him.

Thanks!
Sam