Off to pick up my new 1982 240D in Georgia. - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JimmyL · #16 04-03-2007, 10:47 PM

Very good Dave. I guess we'll wait 'till you get back to see the pics......
Have a safe and fun day tomorrow......

biobenz240d · #17 04-04-2007, 12:45 AM

Be sure to keep track of your fuel mileage and oil consumption. We'll have to compare notes, I'm leaving Thurs. nite for the Fl . Gulf coast in my '83 240D, from western New York. Round trip about 2900 miles on 100% biodiesel. The trunk is stuffed full of cubies about 60 gals. Hoping to find about 25 gals. of commercial bio to make the trip totally bio.

Jadavis · #18 04-04-2007, 12:55 AM

Just past Greenville, SC. That means Spartanburg or Gaffney. Watch for the giant peach mooning you from the left side of the road in Gaffney.

-Jim

http://www.gaffney-sc.com/Waterpeach.htm

asnowsquall · #19 04-04-2007, 08:40 PM

Made it to Harrisburg PA. 700+ miles total so far. Car is running great, little buzz bomb. Starter messed up one time where basically nothing happened. I took a screw driver and went across the solenoid. Working now. Cross the fingers on that one. Nice thing is that the starter looks easy to get too if I need to pull it out.

So far looks like I'm getting about 28 mpg.

About 8 hours and 493 miles left to go. Drove by Spartensburg, SC and the BMW welcome place, will most likely kick myself later on that one. It was early in the am and I didn't feel like stopping.

But hey, I saw the peach and got a picture as I was driving by.

Dave

JimmyL · #20 04-04-2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asnowsquall

So far looks like I'm getting about 28 mpg.

Dave

That is pretty much the mileage I'm getting out of the Squash. All city though....

BTW, your signature doesn't appear up to date for some reason.....

asnowsquall · #21 04-05-2007, 04:29 AM

Hotel is too close to the highway so early am start today!

nhdoc · #22 04-05-2007, 07:25 AM

It can really be a fun experience buying a car sight-unseen and driving it halfway across the country. I bought a '82 240D on ebay from a seller in West Palm Beach Florida (99K miles, beige, rust free) back in early 2005 because I had some rather large Zenith antique radio cabinets being refinished in South Carolina and didn't want to have them shipped home. I figured I'd drive by and pick them up on my way back, and have an adventure to boot!

I flew in on a cheapo ticket and picked the car up straight from the PBI airport. The seller picked me up and their place (a small used car dealership) was just 5 minutes from PBI. The car was more or less as I expected it, which was VERY lucky (though I did have a local mechanic give it a PPI before I got there and he declared it "safe").

I then checked into a hotel for the night and remember thinking to myself "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" But I trudged on and early the next morning started driving north. The car performed fine, getting better every hour it ran. By late afternoon I had arrived in Rock Hill SC, just outside of the Charlotte area. 650 miles and the first leg done.

I met the guy who was doing my cabinets and we had a nice supper (another internet friend who I had never met in person before). We loaded the cabinets (a large floor model console and two large table top cabinets) into the car and the next morning I drove all the way home, about 900 miles more.

By the end of the trip the car's mileage had increased from 25 to over 30 and so I did the whole trip on about 55 gallons of fuel. When I got home, one of my buddies saw the car in my driveway and said "I always wanted one of those 240D Mercedes"... so I let him buy it for my cost plus expenses...about $3400. Basically it cost me nothing but two enjoyable days of driving to get my radios home and my friend got a nice, rust-free 240D which he enjoyed driving until he sold it just a few months ago. All in all it was a great experience seeing the country and meeting people.

I've never gone that far to buy a car since, but have gone back to Charlotte for a '72 280SEL and down to Philly for my '98 E300, and both cars made it back to NH without incident. Lucky, I guess!

#23 04-05-2007, 09:14 AM

I bought my 240D from a forum member in NJ a couple of years ago. Flew to Newark, picked up the car and drove 2000 miles home. Didn't even have a tool box because I didn't want to bother flying with it. It was a nice 2-1/2 day drive, no significant issues. The worst case scenario was that it could break down and I would have to have is towed home, big deal.

engatwork · #24 04-05-2007, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Starter messed up one time where basically nothing happened.

Insure all the connections are tight/secure including any ground straps.
How is the engine doing on oil consumption?

d.delano · #25 04-05-2007, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a2t

give a shout if you need any help down here...we like dem city boys with the cute mouths

Georgia (the whole south, not on coast) is best place to buy a car, dont listen to those pissants from Unfairtax, VA. After having grown up in baltimore and workng on rusted out peices of *****, used car shopping is just another reason why its better down here

(way down the list from better looking southern ladies)

Yep

asnowsquall · #26 04-05-2007, 04:24 PM

Made it! 1,197 miles. At 44 years of age I can say that was a long drive for me. I'd be willing to bet that I feel about the same if I had driven back a 300SD, its just a long time on the road.
Car performed great. Starter messed up one more time on me in PA just before NY so I just didn't shut the car off again. This time I knocked on the solenoid with a pair of handy dandy vise grips.
I'll have to check on the oil. Last fuel fill up yielded 33 mpg! I'll check the average at some point and also upload some pictures at some point. Car got its first taste of snow. I'm glad it didn't stick. Car will be getting new tires soon.
The route that I took had very little road construction, and traffic wasn't really to bad. Had a truck with a wide load, 1/2 a house go past me at about 80 mph in West Virginia. Guy was flying. The other image in my mind that was interesting was the prision inmates cleaning the center of the highway in south or north Carolina with 2 guards with shotguns watching them. Wish I had a picture of that one, but it came up quick. Also had a 240D pass me in VA and he must have been going about 80 mph.
More soon, need to spend some time with my family,
Dave

junqueyardjim · #27 04-05-2007, 04:30 PM

Two years ago today, maybe yesterday, I went by Greyhound from Indy to Upstate NY to pick up my 85 300D. It was a great trip, I knew the car had some rust, and it had even more then what I expected. But yet, it has been just a great deal of pleasure to run that car around here. It is just a perfect driver, the PO was a MD in NYC and the car did get great care and service. The speedo indicated 212,000 miles when I got it, it never misses a beat, starts every time and uses no oil.
And tomorrow I am going to Nashville, Tennessee to pick up an 84 300 D from BioPete. It is a non runner, and BioPete bought it and another from an independent service shop where both vehicles were abandoned. We think this car might start, but it has not been run for a number of years. So I just put a good hitch on the town car, and I have rented a tow dolly and I am going to go down and pick it up. The info that BioPete has on it indicates it was brought in for a head gasket problem. In the meantime, the radiator has been removed and is missing. BioPete has told me the body is totally rust free. And that is what I am really looking for. So I will let you know more when I get back to Indy with the car. Rust free ones are scarce around here.

asnowsquall · #28 04-05-2007, 08:04 PM

I've got two pages of pictures here
http://asnowsquall.smugmug.com/gallery/2659539/22#P-1-15 and
http://asnowsquall.smugmug.com/gallery/2659539/22#P-2-15 (notice how you can change the size of the pictures)

My crack shot

pj67coll · #29 04-05-2007, 08:29 PM

Nice experience you've had there. Just one thing. Will you get rid of the pin-stripes when you re-paint it? It's a personal preference I know but personally I hate them. I dont think Mercedes design needs to be messed with. Never really understood the American mania for pin-striping them.

- Peter.

asnowsquall · #30 04-05-2007, 08:46 PM

I'm lucky my wife didn't shoot me when I told her that I won it days after the auction ended. I'm very lucky to have been able to experience such a trip.

As far a pin-striping, I doubt I'll put them on. I've never done pin-striping and don't think I'd pay to have them put on. I've got 3 more vehicles to sell so I have time to think about the paint work. Original color or.....
One thing that makes me nervous about white here in this state is how it blends with the snow. The nice thing about the white paint other than the originality thing is that it looks real clean and will show off the clean body that this car has. (think I'm repeating myself) It also hides flaws. One thing nice about painting this rig is that it won't take a lot of prep work. Drivers side door looks like it needs adjustment so that the bottom rear corner fits in tighter, and there is a small bump in on the right rear 1/4 and it has access to bump it out from the trunk, other than this its straight as can be.