Hey...

My friend fell in love with my 240D so he purchased one for himself. He is picking it up tomorrow (saturday) from Georgia which is a 14 hour drive. The car was maintained and seems to be in great condition. Heck, it a manual something he has wanted.

Aside that he is flying on 9/11 he has 48 hours to bring the car back to Jersey before he has work again. It should not be more than 15 hours MAX; just my speculation.

What should he bring with him or what should he purchase upon receiving the vehicle ? Obviously you cannot bring screwdrivers, hammers etc. in your carry on bag on the plane.

Has anyone ever done anything like this ? One more thing-he has never driven a diesel before.

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Audi TT

I would take a cab from the airport to the nearest auto store nearest the car and buy some antifreeze,oil,a spare belt, fuel filters, a metric toolset(don't go crazy,just enough to change a belt or filters. Maybe a can of flat fix. Without that you'd have to be a very trusting person. I'm sure there's something I'm missing.

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1981 240d
Newport,RI

An AAA membership?

Make sure he gets a 'primer' on starting the diesel... wait for glow plug light, wait 3 seconds, whatever. It's a different process- reading about it in the manual while sitting in a parking lot is no fun.

Put a post-it note somewhere about filling up with DIESEL..... not regular gasoline. A late-night stop when tired/distracted can be costly/ embarrassing.

Drive the non-interstate to get familiar, check the tires/hubs after a while before going for high speed travel (check air pressures before).

If he's buying it from "one of us," I'd hope it's been cared for and offers little risk.

Road trip!

got that.



yes, he did buy it from one of "us".

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Audi TT

In all seriousness, a little verbal primer on 'how to drive a diesel' above and beyond 'wait for the glowplug, and use the green pump' would be a nice thing. It sounds stupid, maybe, but you probably know what I mean

Depending on the severity of troubles encountered, maybe better to have an AA membership instead?

I just checked the Car For Sale section and saw the car in question. It looked good when I saw the ad the other day- hope it's 'all that' and more! If disaster strikes y'all in Atlanta, I'll be glad to help in whatever way.

a rust detector

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

In addition to what is already mentioned I would take all fluids-coolant, trans fluid ,etc. and maybe a container of ps stop leak. I brought a car home with a leaky ps pump and had a heck of a time getting back. stop leak, if it really works would.ve at least gotten me home where it could be fixed right.

A good look at the belts/hoses will determine if you need to haul them too.

Also, check the spare tire and make sure it's good. got a flat with a "new" car once and now I check.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Cheers,

Bill

One thing i forgot to mention--benz has a roadside assistance program no matter how old the car or who the owner is. # is on the glovebox lid on mine.

cheers,

Bill

I can call the roadside assistance # and still get help? Schweet.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

Tell him to not drive over 60 or 65 mph till after owning the car longer and has had a chance to check it out further. This car has a max listed speed at redline of 87 mph, and even at 65 mph the engine is really buzzing.

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'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

As far as license plate goes and all that legal stuff what do you guys suggest ? He's picking it up tomorrow and was just going to use my plate and hope not to get caught. He'll bring his current car insurance just in case.
Any thoughts on this ? I know it is stupid and illegal but what can you do.

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Audi TT

Kamil,
That is a highly stupid idea!
He should check with his ins., many states allow for newly accquired cars to be automatically covered and give you 15 - 30 to tell them about the new ride....

See if the buyer can dig up a "dealer" advertisement tag, something like "Billy Bobs Auto Lot and Pawn" At least in the south the cops won't think twice. If you drive without a tag you'll be busted. The seller MAY be able to get him an offical Georgia DMV temp tag......

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Over 21 years I owned several:
w108
w110
w111
w115
w116
w123
w124
w126
w212

Every car I have bought and driven home was fine with a "Just Pruchased" sign taped in the back window... check local laws for the states he'll pass through, but I don't see why he should'e be able to do the same thing, esp. since he'll have posession of a freshly-signed over title to prove he just bought the car. (IL titles, at least, have a date of sale line) Maybe he ought to have the seller type/write up a bill of sale with a date on it, too.

Ins. Co. should probably cover the car for the drive home; mine (USAA) does. Your friend ought to call & confirm this, and have his policy card and phone # with him in case the police do stop him and need to confirm he is a current policy holder.

If your friend drives safely, he probably won't be pulled over at all. If he is pulled over, a decent attitude with the officer ("yes sir/no sir," etc...) goes a LONG way. Simple decency and respect will get you a long way with the law!

Wish him good luck for us all,

Chris

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)