NEW G IN THE HORIZON!
Just got info back from mercedes-benz of mayfair about a new G320 CDI LWB.I am thinking of trading in my clk55 amg cabrio for a new G.My good mate shakir suddenly put the idea in my mind on saturday and having owned a G for 23 years and drive one in north cyprus i am still smitten!Well they are quoting £40000 plus vat which isnt bad when compared to whats available second hand eg ebay,caversham,wheelhouse etc.
Price sounds unusually competitive. If ever in RHD, I'm having one!
I've been saying that for a while.
Can't we do a special order for RHD's? Do you think Merc will do something like that?
Nice idea. For scale economies to apply, the order numbers would likely need to be measured in 100s' rather than 10s'. Would need to coordinate orders across the entire RHD world in order to achieve this!
We shouldn't give up on the idea of ever having a G320 CDI in RHD all the same. How to push the right buttons at Daimler-Chrysler?
Surely Merc must be able to put a price on a special order. I know somebody in South Africa who orderd a 5 series BMW with a formula 1 engine, all handstiched leather, atc. I think he was stupid to spend so much on a B-mer, but they built it for him.
Would Merc not do something like this?
I suggest that they could but wont. The G55 shares many of the components with other Gs. If they have a shell with steering etc. routed the right way it should not be too difficult.
They have to work it out exactly how to do it and test it so the answer will always be no. They are happy selling the GL so what is the point.
Visit any MB dealer, they have no interest in the product or the customer, only the cash...
Anyway, I have both a RHD and a LHD and find no real difference, save which door you get in and out of.
I'm moving to South Africa soon, so I have to buy RHD. Maybe I must just get a 300 GDL have the engine rebuild and put a turbo and intercooler on....
Always options
does jesus nkow how many rhd g55's have been produced, that will give us a feel for the figures
I heard it was a run of 100. I can't think that they would make them in tranches. Probably did all the shells and put them out the back then build ot order.
Er,
Not exactly relevent but on our factory tour of the factory at Graz, I was perplexed ( I cannot spell intreguiged) to see that the order for a batch of 20 No. / 25 No. or thereabouts "G"'s for the Canadian army were not being built out of a face, some were mixed up through the line at apparently random, some were parked up complete, yet it was all one order and I would have expected that the batch would have had consecutive chassis nos?
Someone correct me if I took this up wrong.
Perhaps they do not want their workers getting bored ?
But the RHD G 55AMG's were apparently converted from LHD by AMG, so could indeed have been built to order, the specific odball bits for the 100 No. conversions having been bought/built at the same time and stored.
Marcus
I have not been on the tour so you know better than me, but I think they do mix the vehicles up (read it somewhere).
As to conversions to RHD, I do not think this is the case because to do so you have to do quite a bit of welding and cutting, bulkhead, where the wiper spindles go through etc.
The have the bits because you can presumably order a new bulkhead for a RHD 463. I guess they just put a number of body shells together and then build them as required.
I think to own a new G is the essence of the topic i started, you guys are getting all technical, maybe you should start a new topic in the technical department!You are all great G fans and wish you all have the chance to own one someday,unlike most we see in certain media and papparazi headlines.As for prices i recieved today; G320CDI CAB=£47,873,G320CDI SWB=£43,903,G320CDI LWB=£47,238,G55 LWB LHD=£77,565,and wait for it...G55 LWB RHD=£102,336.
I think to own a new G is the essence of the topic i started, you guys are getting all technical, maybe you should start a new topic in the technical department!You are all great G fans and wish you all have the chance to own one someday,unlike most we see in certain media and papparazi headlines.As for prices i recieved today; G320CDI CAB=£47,873,G320CDI SWB=£43,903,G320CDI LWB=£47,238,G55 LWB LHD=£77,565,and wait for it...G55 LWB RHD=£102,336.
£47K includes VAT? That's really not too bad.
As far as I know it was 200 RHD G55Ks and yes they are converted from LHD to RHD after they leave the factory.
MB will provide virtually any car in RHD - its just that I think the surcharge is £25k for the privelege... there are other companies who will do it too.
Converting them must be a massive job?
Yes maxwell,that includes vat,but you want to see the optional extras list!
The 320 is pretty basic in standard form when compared to the 400 or 500. However, having had experinece of a 280 and newish 500 I would suggest that a standard 320 reflects the true nature of the G and is true to the design. The truth is that putting a 300 or 500 hp engine in a vehicle that was designed for sub 100 hp is not a particularly good match.
If I had my choice I would opt for a 320 or the current 270.
Converting them must be a massive job?
From what I understand it involves recasting various bits and bobs amongst other things. Plus they strip the G apart first.
Personally I'd rather save the £25k....
But I would have thought all the RHD bits are available, for instance the steering box has not changed for years. Wiper spindles will be 463 versions. It is more welding up the holes where they go that is the problem.
Why don't they just get a shell and make the mods there and then send it back to the factory to have all the basics put on?
But surely AMG did not make that white rhd G that was on here at some military show.
I think that the reason for not making RHD GWagens in the Graz factory is that Mercedes can't be bothered.
If they can make G55K RHDs offsite that means that they have all the parts for the new MY 2000 console in RHD version, at least for the G55. Same would apply for the G500.
The turbo models are a different kettle of fish given that these engines have all the inlet/exhaust manifolds, including the turbo, right were the RHD steering should be and MB aint' going to invest a buch of cash in figuring out how to overcome this issue and then ending up selling 15 RHD Gs a year.
In 1999, Mercedes produced the 290 GDT in RHD, but they did not make the G300 Turbodiesel in RHD because there wasn't room in the engine bay of this one to install the RHD steering. But how many 290 GDT's did Mercedes make and sell? Just a handful, with a bunch of different bodyworks and different badging (Mercedes and Puch). Altogether, I don't think they made more than 25, 13 of them Puchs for the West Sussex Fire Brigade. This proves the point that as far as the G is concerned there is total flexibility in manufacturing to produce as many units as they think they can sell. But the problem again is that the G has never been understood or valued by the British car market. Hencem the poor demand.
Going back to the £ 25,000 surcharge for making a RHD G-Wagen... this is only so because those Gs are not made in the Graz factory. This is perhaps because it is not Graz who is taking the risk for the RHD production but AMG. In the late nineties, the RHD was treated an any other option that the client could specify when ordering his/her G and that G went into production with all other Gs, civilian and military in the same production line and at the same time. The option would typically cost € 500, though Max Macarthur, then sole imported of the G into the UK would price the G some £ 25,000 more than its price in the continent. Today, the £25,000 can perhaps be justified on the grounds of all the work that the RHD conversion entails and the loss on disposal of the LHD parts.
Scroll down to see the Super G>
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/content/emergency-services/west-sussex-...
JOIN THE GWOA
This website and forum are provided for the benefit of enthusiasts and owners of all Mercedes Benz off road vehicles, in particular the G Wagen. The costs of development, upkeep and provision of the site are met entirely by the annual subscriptions of club members. If you are using the site and are not a member of the G Wagen Owners Association please consider joining. You will have access to areas on the site that are not open to non members, to club trips and meetings and to technical assistance. In addition your contribution (only £25 annually) will help us maintain and develop our website for future users.
Who's new
- Roscoe25
- RozzaTS
- Awon
- f.ecoheat
- ImportBry
To be honest my G is lhd and if anything is great to drive due to high driving position plus these trucks were built to left hand spec so even the gear change feels ok once you are used to the wrong side steering.!