Everything's in place, I'm flying into KC and the seller is picking me up at the airport at 10 next Saturday AM so I can drive my "new" 300td back to Wisconsin.
I'm REALLY excited! I've never even driven a diesel before! Anything stupid and simple I need to keep in mind? I'm sure the current owner will give me a crash course in starting, etc.
This is the Inca Red one with Ivory leather interior which I posted questions about before...mostly dealer maintained, with most receipts and records available, 246k with a dealer-installed tranny at around 200k.
I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Hey!..I live outside of kansas city...I hardly ever see TD's around....Being from here, did you check out the "rust" situation?...My 300D came from kc, and mechanically, I've had good luck with it...Good thing the owner's meeting you at the airport..it's a ways out from the main part of town..Can I ask what you had to pay for this fine auto?

later
sean

Sean,
The car is actually in Excelsior Springs or thereabouts...It's coming with almost every receipt and service record, most of it at Aristocrat. The sellers are the 2nd owners, the first owner was supposedly a contractor in KC with some $$$. I've seen good pics of the car and it certainly looks great. The owner tells me there is some minor bubbling of paint near the wheel wells but no penetration and the undercarriage is OK.
I was able to cut the deal at $4500, which to me was worth it as it has much paperwork, a CD player, and the metallic paint and leather interior. Everyone's a little different, though, and I realize that some people may not pay that much.
I would certainly not want to buy a total rust bucket but, then again, I hear that there are plenty of drawbacks from buying in the Southwest, too- namely that every rubber or plastic part will need replacing because it's so dry...

yeah..."Aristocrat" is a very reputable dealer...I see their lic. plates on the front of a lot of "nice" cars...I've heard they're very expensive..Good luck with it...and btw, it's not really that dry here at all...You need to go a little more south..

good luck
s.

Sean,
Certainly I know Kansas is not dry, my point being that there are drawbacks to buying car from just about anywhere in the US- I've heard that the sheet metal on the cars from NM and AZ are in great condition but every rubber item on th car is shot and needs replaced
I think buying my car from Kansas is a good bet- at least you guys aren't in the rust belt like we are up here

Greetings Larry,

They do use a composite of sodium on the roads in this state, but the key to a rust free car here is pressure washing it down within a day or so after driving in the mess of melting snow and salt on the road. The best bet for a Benz owner is not to drive their daily ride until the roads are dry again, generally a day or two depending on the snowfall. These last few years have really been good to us and we really only received two major snow storms I can remember, and if you left your Benz at home those days it was a saltless Winter for us. Most people drive around with the salt residue on their cars here for a week or longer after a salt down, and if they were thinking straight, they'd drive into the car wash and pressure wash it off the second day and they'd be fine. Personally, I think the price is too high for the year of vehicle as I sold mine for less than $2500 and it's an '80 with less than 169000 on the clock and was originally a CA. car that wasn't ever driven in the salt here last Winter. That's what the 4x4 truck is for. Just my $.02 worth

Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Hey Shawnster:

I'm very excited for you. Having not driven a diesel before, think about driving a tractor; heavy, consistent, vibrating and safe.

Regarding the price, you beat me by $500 as I popped for 5k and I have some underneath rust. I'm happy a year later though with 20k miles. That price gets lower and lower the more miles you apply. No sweat.

I believe Charles made a point that you can find them for less, but I was not fortunate enough to do so.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed