Going to the other side
In my heart I will always be a G driver and my wife will probably always drive her little 230 GE, but Mercedes is making it impossible for me to drive G's any more.
We have decided to move back to South Africa. We are shipping the 230, but I have to buy a new car over here. G wagon prices are just crazy over here and to be able to import a car tax free you have to have owned the car for at least a year. New G’s are absolutely out of the question as my budget only goes to about 60k and they are more than 100k here.
L*%~# R@!â€Â$ has brought out a limited edition Defender, with the original TDI engine. Priced at about 27k it is the best alternative I could find. I considered the various crew cabs 4x4’s, but they are much more expensive and way to soft.
I hope you guys can forgive me for crossing the line, but my budget is my budget.
Christo
Leeu, you have been officaily sent to coventry.
Hi Christo I have mailed you a PM !!!
I feel sorry for you...
A year is not a long time. Can't you buy one here and leave it in the UK for a bit before sending it on?
The car's age has nothing to do with it?
How much is tax? I know it is ridiculous in SA - someone was mentioning a G55K costing something like £160K!
Have you spoken to the SA G club? There are always a few 463s floating about.
speechless
i will forget what you said and ask the moderators to remove your thread and scan your brain :!: :x :shock: :evil:
If you had to chose between the TDI and the new Mitsubishi Crew Cab, Nissan Navarra (worst car I have ever driven) or Toyota (no service in SA)
What would it be?
At least it is not the TD5 at I wouldn't do anything to serious with it.
well christo,to be perfectly honest if you have no choice and a fixed budget the L/R is the only replacement :lol:
lets hope a G turns up soon :!:
Um tough choice. The 300TDi is regarded as the best by LR fanatics though. TD5 more refined but too many electronic problems (they probaly use the same suppliers as Damlier Chrysler!). The 300 certainly goes well, if roughly, only thing I don't like about them is the on off nature of the power delivery when off road (but I guess that's common to most turbo diesels).
Are you sure you can live with the horrific build quality though. Little things like all the exposed screws corroding within the first 2 days, mats that look like they have been fitted by a 2 year old using a blunt axe, leaks (not oil that's OK and normal) it's the water dripping on your head that really starts to grate, sharp edges all around the interior etc.
Don't get me wrong I do have a perverse liking of them and before we bought Marie's 463 she did want one. I went along with it but one drive of a new £30K 110 was enough to put her off for life!!
Only Japanese thing I would consider would be an old Landcruiser or Patrol, especially in SA where they have not self destructed due to corrosion.
I guess you know why they are running special editions? I.E new Defender with Ford engines arriving soon.
That would have been an option to wait for the Ford powerd LR's, but SA being a third world country will hopefully get them in 10 years.
Don't get me wrong, I will still come here to keep the 230 alive and kicking, it is just unfortunate to have to make my everyday car something else.
If it's third world, I'd go land cruiser. the taliban, sudan, saudi, sierra leone, senegal, ivory coast, congo, chad, somalia, afganistan, and any other country with a bank overdraft (except saudi) carn't be wrong.
If you can not get the G then go for a Landcruiser you can not go wrong, I have both and love them to bits.
As my Aussie friend tells me the saying in Australia "you can only go to outback in a Landcruiser or in a Landrover BUT if you want to come back alive then you better go in a Landcruiser"
Just look at UN fleet across the world you will find mostly Landcruisers.
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At the moment there are a few floating, a '95 500 for 58k a '91 GEL for 30k with high miles. A 290 sold last week for 32k with 140k km on the clock.