Nice dogs

my wife loves dogs too

We have a great dane and a beagle

both are rescue dogs and are to be fair mental

The dane is good now but the beagle we have had for 3 weeks is not normal

He is a lunatic

As for your g conquest just ask for advice

This is a good site with good people, there are very few assholes on here

                      G

They appear to have two long-wheel-base, 5-door versions, but can't see the 3-door you mentioned:

http://www.britanniacarsuk.com/used-cars-in-sheffield

It's possible that someone here may recognise these cars. However, the petrol G500s are generally trouble-free and reliable, particularly pre-2002, when they still have the top build quality, which some argue was somewhat diminished with the later versions, based on the c-class interior and electronics.

My preference would be for the second one with lower miles, without the Brabus Kit, which personally, I don't like the look -of, with the exception of the wheels. (Just a matter of personal taste- some people on the other-hand, though, pay very good money for that more aggressive styling)

However, what is more important is the condition of the chassis, suspension and absence of rust. Those things need to be checked first hand, but one would hope that the lower-mileage one may be in better condition in this respect. Service history with dealer stamps, and supporting MOT history with recorded mileage would be nice to see.

Both seem to have similar extras, like rear parking sensors and both are of similar age, so I would say it's down to general condition, supporting documentation, and styling preferences.

(i wold not be happy about the missing spare wheel on the second one, but this should not be a major factor, as it can be replaced and hopefully the dealer would make an allowance for that)

Hello,

I think that on either of the two, there is room for haggling on the price, particularly as they are left-hand drive and with today's Euro exchange rate, prices are cheaper in Germany. If they were right-hand drive, those listed prices may have been more appropriate.

This is is a LHD 3- door and therefore probably not what you are looking for, but it has remained unsold for months:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-53-Mercedes-Benz-G-WAGEN-WAGON-G-270-CDI-...

As for this missing spare wheel, some people remove them to change the appearance of the rear and also to make the rear door lighter to open and close.

I notice that someone has stuck a 'bling' mercedes star in its place, and the is also some additional bling in the interior with the chrome switch surrounds, which are not original fit, but could probably be removed as easily as they were stuck on

The 'Astaroth' wheels, as fitted to that one, come up on eBay occasionally for around £150 in good condition. Their new list price is about Euro-400, and I'd try to get at least this price off from the listed £28k for the vehicle.

The 5L petrol engine is great in many ways, but fuel consumption is not one of  them. Perhaps you might consider one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-Mercedes-G400-Limited-edition-silver-auto...

Same or very similar performance to the 5L petrol, but  will get to 26 mpg on motorways and about 20 - 22 around town.

The 270 CDi would be the most economical. If you don't really need 5 doors, then the white 270CDi above is very nice.

The rear seats on all of these fold forwards and up, giving a very large boot area. However, if you do this on the SWB (3 Door) it restricts how far back you can have the front seats, which may not be comfortable, if you like to have a lot of front leg-room.

However, as mentioned above, one or both of the rear seats can be removed completely, if you don't usually take other passengers. This is not something you would do on a regular basis, though, as they are fiddly and very heavy to remove and replace.

I have always had SWBs, as I like the look of the shorter length and it makes them more manoeuvrable and easy to park around town.

The 270 CDi, ( either as 3-door, SWB or 5-door, LWB) however, achieves almost twice the MPG of the 500 petrol. The 400CDi is somewhere in between, but without sacrificing any real-world performance. I have a 400 CDI and I love it, but it's a much more complicated engine and some early ones (pre-2002) had some issues.

I am sure LPG conversion is possible ( budget around £2k), but you will end up with a large gas tank in the boot space you require.

The 400 CDi was Mercedes first V8 diesel -at least for cars in recent years.

It was designed initially for the Mercedes S-class and made its debut in year 2000 / 2001. As such, it was a technical tour-de-force, very high-tech, no-expense-spared, engine. Unfortunately, the early ones were fitted with electronic engine control units containing faulty (50 cents) components, which gave problems that were difficult to diagnose and this gave them a bad reputation for unreliability,  since the result of the faulty ECUs was random and intermittent stopping. The good news is that by 2002, these issues were resolved and the engines also received some other improvements. There are plenty of cars in Germany, including Gs with these engines having covered over 300,000 km, so I would not say that they have any major issues, particularly those built after 2002. Just look on www.mobile.de 

The 400 CDi  engines have around 560Nm of torque which is actually a lot more than the 5.0 petrol engines and have the same if not better performance in some cases. Almost a case of having your cake and eating it.

The downside is that they remain complex engines (twin turbos, with variable guide-vanes, variable fuel-delivery pumps etc) and so can be potentially more expensive to repair than the petrol engines if they go wrong. There is very little spare room in the engine bay, so working on them is tricky. These engines also weigh about 100kg more than the 5.0 V8 petrol and this extra weight is a little noticeable up front.  It's a very quiet engine when cruising, but not at idle.

But you do get the fuel economy and probably better acceleration than the V8 petrol.

(The V8 petrol engines are normally, aspirated, non-turbo and simpler by comparison.)

Another notable point is that whilst the G400 CDi is hampered by the usual exhaust recirculation valves, for NOx emissions control, it does not have a particulate filter, as on the new V-6 diesels, which can cause big issues when they block up. Interestingly, Mercedes eventually replaced the 400CDi with the 3.0 L, V-6   G350 CDi, blue-efficiency, which is not as powerful, but may be easier to maintain. On the other hand, it does make the G400 somewhat rare.

The other thing to note is that all post 2001 Gs moved to an updated interior based on the new c-class of the day. The instruments are different and just about everything is now controlled through electronic modules. This brings the G in line with most cars of the 21st century, and provides a lot of new convenience features, not to mention a braking system with not only ABS, but also ESP, BAS, 4ETS, EBV, (read about those in the brochure), etc.

The two you were looking at originally are pre-2001 and are old-school G, but probably more reliable for it, and with a less creaky dash. They also have the manually-operated transfer case lever for low-range gear selection, whereas this has been replaced by an electronic switch and actuator motor  post 2001, making room for a centre-console armrest, mostly stuffed with  more electronics.

The post 2001 Gs with the updated (and somewhat cheapened) dash will probably also have COMMAND satnav, memory seats and mirrors, indicators in the mirrors, automatic air conditioning/climate control, programmable preferences for each set of keys (electronic infrared keys), electrically adjustable steering wheel, lightbulb failure warnings, "follow-me home" headlights etc. And the occasional electronic gremlin.

I'm afraid that every option here has its compromises.

Hi Sonia,

Welcome to the forum .

I personally would go for an early 500, pre 2000 for its easier maintenance and simplicity, the drive has to be the best drive ever in a G.

No G is cheap to run , whether 500 or 400 or 270 !!!  

The long wheel base a much better and comfortable drive than the short wheel base 

The 270 is a fantastic engine !!! use to love mine

Personally the more original the best 

No conversion will sort the expense of running a G wagen I dont think 

Best of luck in your searches 

Keep asking questions, lots of experiences on this forum

Fred

Hello Sonia,

MPG - Not that great - as Mountain goat has commented between 16-19/20 MPG. It will haul almost just about ANYTHING, and in LWB version will be one of the most practical vehicles you will need for boys, animals and nothing short of nuclear devastation, it will still get you out and about!. The boys will love it, make sure you find a nice G with the rear seats at the back, great for taking 8 kids about and squabbling who will sit 'at the very back'. Bonus feature is if you are in London you can get the congestion charge exemption and LES as its a petrol engine.

I based the above on owning and running my G500 for the past 8 years, things will go wrong and they are generally expensive to fix with MB, but more reasonable if you take a look around, though in 8 years the key ones I have had are: Fan belt tensioner (got mucky while off roading) seizing, new ignition barrel, new break servo, alternator (got grubby and broke off roading ) and new exhaust. Which considering I use my G everyday and pound the road and green lanes, is not bad going. General wear and tear items - sparks' - you will need 16 of them, and if they have not been replaced yet, that would be expensive, as would the High tension leads - they do degrade after a while, no matter what the mileage.

Despite all of the above, owning and running a G is special, great feeling and the chances of seeing more than three in a week is almost impossible, and those you generally will see will give you a flash and wave back,or they can be found here on the forum, the ride height is great, fording is great, space is great, drive is great (though if smooth comfort is what you are seeking RR will do it better................ only on road ). , practicality is great, humping all sorts of stuff is great and in 500 guise you get the best of both worlds power, refinement, luxury, wood , carpet and the best balance of on road and off road power. - But I would say that , 

Sonia19,

If it were my money I would go for the silver one. Sates he has the service history and looks more genuine. Though I am happy to pop in and see it as I am only round the corner.

Spider1V

I can only see the silver one in the link you posted.

However, it looks very nice - apart from the bling stereo, which will probably only work on Japanese radio stations (different FM band spacing). You can replace this with latest version MB  COMAND satnav/radio/phone system for about £1500, if you want. The original COMAND, which has been removed would be slow and outdated and now, anyway.

Japanese cars tend to have little or no corrosion compared to ones sourced from northern Europe, so I would expect chassis and running gear to be almost like new. They tend to be very well looked after there, too.

I find LHD useful as I travel to Europe often, but there are also RHD cars that come from Japan, although these would be mostly 1998 - 2000 versions as after that MB ceased RHD production for a while.

Wheels are latest G-wagen  2014 / 2015 design and a set like those just sold on eBay for £1850. (assuming they are genuine and not replicas).

Yes, agree that a G300E is around 20 mpg in  general and even up to 25, with careful cruising. Must have been in a poor state to get 12.

Hi Sonia,

5 litre petrol did ya say ? = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-G-Class-Brabus-Factory-G55-Widestar-PETROL-AUTOMATIC-2011-61-/181522265914?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a4391f73a

No probably not helping is it ?

Neil.

Nice G55 LHD. Though would suggest taking it or a spin and checking the high/low button works and that the diffs will at least go in. That is the main reason for the G, though the 55 is something else! Be prepared to a) have the dogs turn in to pugs with the rapid acceleration/deceleration , b) the noise will seal you heart when you start it up and c) once up to temp, the kick down is AWESOME!!!! . Be warned you WILL want it! BUt don't take it inless it has some paperwork for the servicing and the stuff mentioned above.

HTH

Spider1V

Glad you posted about that spider! As i was planning on taking a look if its still available in a month or so.

Kahn has a nice looking silver G55 that seems reasonably priced, has had a g63 bumper and a couple of bits done to the interior though.

http://www.kahnautomobiles.com/availableDetail.php?i=733#.VVXWm_lViko

anytime buddy,