ct probably has temp tag options if you want to get all legal and stuff. check also for "one way delivery plates"

some states have delivery plates that you tape in the window that you can get with insurance and a vin. i doubt ct does though. used to get them all the time in mo. they would scrawl origin and destination on there, and it would be good for the trip

easiest hassle free option with grey area legality?
insure the wagon, pull the plates off the green sedan, bring em down with you for the trip and slap em on the wagon.

even if you get pulled over, cops will see 80 something mercedes 300D on the registration, read that plus one other letter on the trunk, and see your good insurance card. you will be fine.
i survived an entire incident with the nyc bridge toll authority doing just this, and despite wanting to beat me senseless for other reasons (no cash to pay toll), they never caught on to the old mercedes i was driving wasnt the exact old mercedes the plates were registered to.

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A few thoughts:

I've driven "new" cars home from far away a couple of times. My feeling is that however nice the car, you never know until you get it on the road. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The tires and wheel alignment are no biggie, if that's all it is. You don't need a dealer, any front end shop can handle it.

You'd have to send him the cash, get the registration materials, and get your plates before you go down. Not sure if FL has "transporter" or temporary registrations, especially for out of staters--check with DMV.

As for transportation, planes to FL aren't expensive.

If you want a transporter, there's a company in Harrison, NY that does a lot of business hauling cars back and forth to FL for snowbirds...it's called Clark's Towing, 914-629-2908. I think they only do open transporters, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Yup, according to this site, FL gives temp plates to out-of-state car buyers. Here is what they say:

here's another link:

http://www.taxcollector.com/docs/CIP/DMV/TemporaryPlate.pdf

You'll post pics, right? Promise?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Will definitely post pics! My spidey sense is starting to tingle... I think the seller may be getting cold feet/getting higher offers than asking price. Will let you know what happens no matter what, of course. I wouldn't be surprised if he backed out. We've been calling people all over the country and every rust-free wagon seems to have a line of people looking to buy it.

You, Sir, are a bandit.

And it sounds like there's no clear cut way to deal with legalities on the way up. Will just get in touch with the DMV (ugh) and the insurer and see what's what. I'm going to find out which of these things are legal options for me or not, thanks for telling me about them though, I'd have no idea they existed otherwise. But I just know that if I drive it back and all the loose ends aren't tied up, some jackass will rear end me.

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1983 300TD 240k Thistle Green Auto (Euro) [sold]
1984 300D 240k Petrol Green Auto
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