Buying my first G 500

Hello to you from across the Pond,

I would aim for the 2005 - G500.

I very sure this will give you no problem's, the engines aren't the problems as do last forever as long as you feed them the right stuff at the correct levels.

It's the Electrical issues that were pointed out for this certain facelift model around (2001-2004-early). List is so long a boring!

P.s You mentioned your not wealthy! Dosen't matter we all come from differen't walks of life - Maintain it, lookafter it and it will lookafter you in return. I would Stick to the 2005 personally. But I know things happen and maybe sometimes you will have to shed out some money as it is a 'G' after all.

Regards
G

I am drafting you and indepth answer to your question but her is a quicky answer.

Check for excessive wear on wiper spindles, firmly shake the wiper arm at the spindle up and down, there should be no play or up and down movement.

Check out the centre, rear and front diff locks.

Check all doors open and shut, checking for the door alignment to the rest of the body work. Whilst opening the doors and tailgate in particular, not to see if the door drops, indicating hinge wear or in the case of tailgate, merely out of adjustment. Check all door locks with the key, not forgetting the tailgate key hole. In the latter G-Wagens, not all door handles have key holes. If your G-Wagen is not going to be in daily use, i.e left standing for two or more weeks between use, you will need to keep the batteries on a trickle charge system, battery consumption is high and battery can go down.

The exhaust system is expensive to out lay but considering its life (some six to ten years or more) and that initial outlay spread over that life it is not expensive. Over time the outer skin of the exhaust boxes corrode but not necessarily leaking. The exhaust hangers corrode away quicker, it is quite normal to have these rewelded or refabricated during the serviceable life. One can opt for replacing the system with a stainless steel one.

Tyre life can be anything between 18,000 to 26,000 miles depending on driving habits and service habits, have the tyres swapped every 6,000 miles front to rear helps extend tyre life; tyre wear is extended to a point. The front tyres do wear excessively on the outer tracks, a trait of power assisted steering.

Check for service history, regular oil changing is very crucial to extended engine life.

The brake discs or as you call them rotors have a life of 36,000 miles when replacing these, it is usual the front brake pads are also to be renewed, you can gauge brake and disc wear looking through the front wheels, if there is a lipped edge on the end of the disc you can be sure to be looking at the cost of replacing these.

The front head light self leveling can pack up due to leaked fluid from the system unless they have gone to an electrical system. The rear coil spring are prone to breaking and difficult to check. I suggest by a measure of finger width inbetween the the tyre and wheel arch gauge the gap there. A broken coil spring side will have a dropped body and should show inbetween the gap mentioned, check all sides.

Driving the vehicle, check to see how it drives, handles and brakes. The gear changing and smoothness, kickdown function. Notice for abnormal noises, in particular steering pumps, belts or air conditioning fans, note coolant temperature during driving, in traffic and pattern of temperature rise from start up. Preferably, start the engine from cold, i.e. the first start of the day if possible. Note for excessive smoke at start up, under hard acceleration and idle situations.

On a cold day the G-Wagens can emit a lot of smoke which should be condensed exhaust don't be confused. Smell the plum of smoke it should not smell of burnt oil.

During the road test, check out the heater, air conditioner and heating, turn the temperatures up and down, does the control react accordingly?

Digital lights are becoming common in modern vehicles and extensively used in displays and instrumentation, it is expensive to replace these instruments if these lights or part of the display fails, check to see if you have all the digits working properly.

Check all switches for the power windows at all respective doors and the remote cluster on the drivers door. The front door handles are a weak point at the top part of the handle, these do break, can be strengthened but passengers and your self will need to adopt a habit not pulling hard at the top of the handle but to pull from lower down.

Do check the front centre console wood paneling for cracking or dislodging. The rear end of the panel is usually loose due to poor dismantling, these are expensive to replace and the skill of the parts department comes into play when ordering the replacement of these parts, if at all available they can take up to three weeks to order.

Check the tailgate check strap, these can break at the floor end. Further, check the wiring loop and conduit runing inbetween the tailgate door and the rear pillar.

On the engine front, the air mass sensor can fail, be aware of it but don't be overly concerned by it.

Feel for any vibrations in the vehicle, if felt through the body work, it could be worn uj's on the prop. shafts, these should be regularly greased and more frequently in the case of offroading or Fording. The steering wheel vibrating is indicatives of steering damper weakness. The seat heater elements can fail, do check these out, each element is fairly expensive to renew.

There are other checks which involve the jacking of the vehicle and inspection under the vehicle, these are checking for the front wheel bearing play, steering links tie rod play and steering box excessive play. Transfer box slight leaks are common, excessive leaks need addressing, hence the need for oil level checks. If you have drum brakes at the rear, the rear hubs seals have been known to leak contaminating the brake shoes; there is a bleed hole at the back of the back plate at a six O'clock position under the driveshaft tube, these do get blocked up and must be kept cleared.

I think that the jist of it. 

Cheers

wow you just went in bro ... Ill be greasing al, the joints on my g tomorrow now !!! I wonder if you can advise me ?!?

I'm new here I just bought a 300 ge in metallic green  I always wanted a g wagon and am so happy to finally have one it's a 1990 model I have been trying to make it less dated I have changed the big bonnet indicators to LEDs and also changed the rear clusters for the newer style although I want to keep the metal bumpers as they are in my opinion way better then the new fibreglass ones. Inside I have put a screen but I hate the interior of the car it's got that beige horrible fabric. Has anyone had there g wagon re upholstered in leather ?!? If so who did you use and can I see pics ?!? I know it won't be cheap and I want it done properly as I plan on keeping the car for ever also the car was sitting for 8 years and still seems to run a tad rough I have changed ht leads , part of the exhaust spark plugs and oil filter engine wise it got a bit better after a long run but are there any other simple things I could gamble doing to make it more responsive ?!? I got a new air filter hopefully on the way 

Thanks for any help