Tim,

Took the better part of a year to get my daughter to master the uphill starts on the manual transmission without actually burning a little rubber in the 240D. I never made that car chirp off the line, but with her for many months it was a regular event. But she got the hang of it and loves the car. Plans to take it and three girlfriends to Seattle in it after graduation (from College), with over 291,000 miles on the clock.

She also had some problems driving backwards, so we spent literally three 90 minute sessions in a nearby parking lot at night, with relatively few cars, driving all over the place backwards. She is a master at that now too. While she grumbled and moaned about how dumb I was making her do it at the time, she is happy to be able to confidently drive backwards better than most of her peers can drive forwards.

If I thought I could get out there I would pick up the car and drive it home without any concerns. I wish we could help you overcome the vibration problem as I hate to see you drop a good car without knowing what the issue is. Good luck, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)