Anyone own one of these and if so can share what they are like to run and maintain.
I'm looking for an older one so any hints or tips would be welcome.
If you know of one for sale too that'd be good!
Jim
I've never owned one, but have looked at a few with a view to buying......I'm yet to see one without any rust.
The back end in particular seems very prone to the tin worm. In fact a fabricator friend of mine makes a decent living welding them up and replacing suspension mounts.
Non turbo diesels although slow will run for ever, and with all diffs locked they'll climb a wall.
Still fancy one, but finding a good one is proving difficult.
Had one in almandine red back in the early 90's really liked it, much better than the RRover, think the current one is LHD only and quite pricey.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I found myself chatting to a guy at a dinner once who was involved in production at Mercedes. He said that the G Wagon was without a doubt the best made car they produced, far superior to even a modern S Class. I don't mean specification, but the overall build quality of hinges, doors, etc.
Many of the older ones are LHD, with the RHD being rarer. Short wheel base do seem more available than the (IMHO) better looking LWB.
I toyed with the idea myself too, as many seem to be converted to look like a modern G63 etc.
I did once race one in Dubai, and drove one, and can attest the G65 AMG is brutally mind-bendingly fast. I was also overtaken by one once when we were driving out on a long straight desert road. We were not going slowly, and I'd estimate the G Wagon must have passed us at well over 160mph. The sheer force of it pushing through the air buffeted our 2.5 tonne car more than I'd expected!
Maybe in 10 yrs the UK versions more recently released will be at a more palatable price!
Good luck though and please update us if you get one!
You can get a current RHD version, but they are extraordinarily expensive.
They're really quite terrible to drive, mainly because they're a mid-70s vehicle which has been updated but is still the same basic design, plus lots of them now have huge rimz n low-profile tyres. You feel pretty much every bump. The brakes aren't really good enough, and the steering is laughably poor.
Costs? Well, you're pretty much immune from depreciation for an older one, but that's all the good news. Parts are really only available from Mercedes (read: expensive) and are for a specialist car at that (so not always available - often parts are on back order until they make another batch). Anything specific to that car (like a wiper motor, something like that) will be extraordinary money. Obviously they drink fuel like there's no tomorrow, but not much worse (though slower and a lot less pleasant to drive) than a Range Rover.
An older one may well be a lot cheaper, but rust is your enemy, and body repairs are far from cheap. There is no such thing as a cheap G Wagen
To give you an idea of total running costs, a new one (the 'sensible' diesel version) is estimated at about 175p/mile over 30k miles, so about the same an S-Class.
Honestly, unless you absolutely need one, then don't get a G-Wagen. Instead, spend a few grand renting a new one, then hand it back after three or four days thanking your lucky stars that you didn't make the biggest automotive mistake of your life.
175p per mile!
I was watching an episode of Wheeler Dealers yesterday when they did up an old one and sold it for £12k. Might be worth looking it up.
If you want a fast car get a sports car or executive barge. If you want a mobile housebrick get a Defender and live happily ever after.
To be fair Mrs Draft’s first husband was a director of a Mercedes dealership and she had a few Gs over the years. She claims they have been her favourite cars, but she quite likes our Defender.
My other half recently drove a G63 AMG for work, said it was a bit of a pig to drive.
^^^ This, an old one may make sense as a classic depreciation proof 4x4 (LR Defender too).Originally Posted by bonzo697
^^^ This. 5th gear drove one and it was shocking. It is very definitely an off roader, no matter what AMG throw at it it'll always be a mud plugger as was developed for the Austrian Military.
Indeed could take an Uber everywhere for less and not worry about parking !175p per mile!
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Will they take stuff to the tip?
I had a quick look around and sit in a brand new RHD G-Wagon AMG55 on Saturday, amazingly solid built object.
Totally mad really, and just under £150,000 on the road.
There is a nice old one near where I live and I missed one a while back.
I would love a nice old one too.
Brand new 55?
Are you sure it wasn’t a 63?
We only make a 350d and 63/63s nowadays.
I had a 350d for a weekend as an incentive from work. They drive horrible but they’re a beast and EVERYBODY stares.
A good friend has one, built like a tank but horrible as a passenger. Everyone at work says it’s a pimp wagon, his is white.
As a punishment for not hitting your targets?
I drive my 350D most days. It’s a relatively new one and yes, compared to most off-road vehicles, it’s reasonably agricultural. It is, however, much more pleasant to drive than a Defender, especially over a long distance.
I think I’m getting mpg in the low twenties. I drive it hard. Bearing in mind what it’s for the 350 is plenty quick enough.
No rust as yet but it’s only five years old. My previous one (a 500) was about thirteen years old when I sold it and that had no rust either. Maintenance has been minimal other than a replacement engine under warranty after an oil pump failure. The vehicle was technically out of warranty at the time but MB picked up the cost because this is, apparently, a known problem with this engine.
Off road I haven’t found anything that comes close that doesn’t have tracks. I’ve been stuck in Range-Rovers (much nicer on the road but not where it counts) and in Defenders. To be clear, I am a big fan of Defenders, have owned several and still drive one regularly. As good as they are they will never be a match for a G. You just can’t beat having three lockable diffs.
The problem is is the initial cost. I bought mine when it was 18 months old. It was a MB press vehicle and so is fully loaded. I think I paid about £62,000 which would have probably bought two new Defenders at the time. Over the long run (there’s no real need ever to change one of these once you’ve got it) I expect the depreciation to be very reasonable.
If you’re ever near to Norwich you would be very welcome to have a drive.
Join the G-Wagon Owners Association.
http://gwoa.co.uk/
Are you planning on going round the world?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/20...703/index.html
I had a w463 series diesel. It was great fun, agricultural (but no worse than a Defender) on the road, great off road but the wear on the interior and rust really are an issue with cars of this era (mid to late-80's early 90's before they stopped RHD imports). I bought two and cannibalised one to repair the other - parts are available but the prices are eye watering and there are few used/scrap ones. The saddle fuel tank I needed was £1500 for instance and the car I cannibalised was less than that to buy as a wreck. I'd have a newer one in a heartbeat - the biggest issue for me with the older series is that the reintroduced new car drove up prices of used ones massively. With the cost of and complexity of restoration work (especially bodywork - they rust underneath and on the corners) they are costly to buy and run and, to me at least, not worth the money. But a newer one...yep it's on my lottery list as a daily driver.
Love them, had 3 as company cars back in the mid 80's - early 90s.
In action on a rather damp Ridgeway....
I wanted to buy one way back in the early ninties and looked at a few.
They were rusty back then. They were very very agricultural, on a par with an old landrover.
The petrol engined models at the time had a problem with ring/bore wear, started smoking once they'd covered 25k miles.
Became disillusioned looking at the offerings and ended up with a 1988 Range Rover vogue.
Mind you, looking at the current prices of old G wagons i wish i'd have a bought a couple and stuck them away.
Wheeler Dealers did one. As I remember it was one of the few cars they did that they admitted they made a loss on selling. A lot of the parts they needed were stupidly expensive.
Blimey - even with the countless free hours of Ed's labour, that's saying something.
So clever my foot fell off.
There's something very appealing about something designed to do it's proper job so well.
Not at £150000 though
That around the world story is amazing though, great read
Last edited by acg; 11th October 2017 at 13:43.
If you're buying an older one, consider a Japanese import. I looked at a lovely G reg in grey about a year ago which was very clean, no rust at all. I decided against it as it was a 3 door and I really needed a 5. Currently in a newer Disco but still considering a G next. Would love a Defender but can't quite live with one day to day.
I like the G Wagen
This is probably due to the fact that I REALLY want a Unimog.
But I have a hilux 4x4 with lock up diff and low ratio gearbox that does me just fine for knocking about/tip run etc.
May look into an older G for a project one day.
AFAIK they were/are assembled by Steyr DP in Austria ie not Mercedes in Stuttgart so that rather puts a different slant on the comment below. Nasty 1970s throwback military vehicle, an improvement in many ways on a 1960s LR but that isn't really saying a lot. If you like Lemania 5100 chronos on bund straps you will probably like these too.
Last edited by Padders; 13th October 2017 at 08:36.
It was the new V8 Biturbo, so yes it was a 63, just checked the picture I took.
Sorry.
I would love to have a drive in one, but I have heard they not great.
The huge 4x4 G wagen is more stable drive apparently but huge.
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