Hello all

I'm new to this forum so I figured this would be the right place for my first post.

My name is Dennis. I am 47 years old, very happily married, and father to three wonderful kids (all are now adults / 18+ years old or more). I have been a car enthusiast for ~40 years now I've never really had the money to spend on the cars that most appealed to me. Not much of an issue for me though - I enjoy driving just about any automobile. I also swore off car payments / debt for a car after purchasing my first new car in 1992 Honda Civic Si) . I was happier when the loan was finally paid off than I was the day I bought it.

I have in recent years been driving our 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. A few months back we loaned the Caravan to a family member and during the time it was away it dropped most of its oil - down to 1 quart from 4.5 quarts. The main bearing was damaged while running starved of oil and that was just about it for the van. With 15w50 oil I was able to pull another 2,500 miles out of it before the low oil pressure warning started up again. By this time we'd put 225k miles on it over 8 years. We purchased it from the original owner at 50,000 miles in great condition all around for just $4000. I'd have liked to see it last longer than this but it has paid for itself in service and in its utility in everyday life.

Now for the fun part... I have been looking for another cash car with a planned budget of ~$4000, $5000 tops. I live on a peninsula with either a very long drive or a ferry ride to the Seattle, WA metropolitan area. The lower population (relative to Seattle metro) on this side of the water means that there are less used cars on the market at any given time. While searching Craigslist today I found a 2000 Mercedes C230 Kompressor, Elegance package, with 95k miles, listed for $4450. I mentioned this listing in passing to my good friend and neighbor (also a master mechanic and owner of multiple Mercedes automobiles) and he excitedly and repeatedly urged me to go buy the car before someone grabs it. My wife and I left to go check the car out.

We arrived to find this C230 in near new physical condition inside and out, and seemingly fantastic mechanical condition! (well, the tires are done and need replacing but that is truly the only sign of wear). The seller was the original and only owner and he had all Mercedes dealership service records from new to current month/year! Though not worried about its mechanical condition I brought it back to have my buddy go over the car. He verified that it is most assuredly in excellent mechanical condition with no issues to address. We drove back to the owner and offered him $4250. He agreed. Actually he told us that an even $4200 would be fine. I now have the car, all original manuals and documents (even the showroom brochure), all three Electronic keys, all maintenance records from new to today, and the title. ....and as a small positive aside the tabs are good until March of 2015. Additionally, our purchase price was a little less than the cars trade-in value and $2100 less than its Bluebook value. That's was a pleasant surprise as well.

In the 40 or so miles I drove the car I've begun to get why folks like Mercedes cars so much. It's smooooooth, quiet, stable, handles remarkably well, comfortable, has more than enough power on tap (and wastes no time delivering that power), and breaks quickly from highway speeds. More so, all of this happens in a much more refined manner than the go-fast cars I'm more accustomed to driving. I like it. I like it a lot!!

I look forward to being part of thisd online community and to learning more about the car.