Mercedes G Wagen...Can't be that bad!!

[fishman307]

BMW ran a 3 ser for a Million miles non stop to test Mobile one ??? oil, When stripped after trial engineers said they could find NO discernible wear.! At won time i ran a pair of 2.8 troopers mine did about 360.000 with last two years with bonnet catch broken, Still running about now (four years on) My partners did about 420.000 no real probs with either apart from brakes, exhausts, radiator, clutch, Some injectors ( testing alternate fuels ) for a year or two LOL

[bwildered]

There's always the high mileage ones around. That one did a steady 85 mph on a rolling road. 4,600,000 km as a Greek taxi has to be pretty good, too. I saw that one in the Suttgart museum myself a couple of years ago.

[jerbal]

Why do you need to look at Mercs and BMWs, there was a Mondeo in the news for covering 1 million miles as a taxi earlier this year.

[cbr6fs]

Driven a fair few of the old G wagons in my time, first thing that comes to my mind is this:

[Cultcollector]

jerbal I dont think it's a status thing as a few have mentioned the comparable vehicle was 80s reg.
That period up untill mid 90s the mainstream motor industry was dominated by mercs & Bmw in relation to reliability .
But you are right about today's standard looked after , broken in properly then many marques could do it.
An intresting aside a radio had a competition to find the vehicle with highest milage on original parts.
The winner at 730k was a vw golf mark 1 gti.

[leealanr]

Great Story and regardless of age, a great car, well driven by a man who knows what to do...

Alan L.

[jdm61]

Cool story. Having grown up around 70's and 80's Mercedes diesels from an old 1969 220D to the last of the 350SD's. I can tell you that they can be slow a molasses, but they will last forever. IMy dad's original 22D would only top out at about 85 mph, but it would stay pegged at that speed until ti rain out of fuel. I think that I could deal with the somewhat glacial acceleration of one of the inline engine diesel G-Wagens like the 300 or later 290.. I have heard that the later 4 liter V-8 M-B twin turbo diesel was somewhat of a disappointment in all applications. Too bad. That could have been an almost perfect engine for the LWB G-Wagen.

[Ratel10mm]

The Aussie military are moving from Land Rover to Mercedes. However, my RAAF mechanic mate has switched to aircraft to avoid the Merc's. He reckons they're not up to the job in their current guise & wasn't about to put himself in that much grief.
Remember that the Aussie DoD has a history of upgrading vehicles - ie the Perenties, a Defender with an Isuzu diesel engine. So maybe they'll get the Merc's to suit them better eventually.

[gregs656]

This is a high mileage story that stands out for me, 3,000,000 p1800

http://wot.motortrend.com/volvo-p180...nes-87367.html

500k in america is nothing really, I never heard anyone talk about the milage their car had done.

[roestalker270]

Seems like an elaborate tax dodge to me.....

[Cultcollector]

No doubt that unless you get into serious cash that today's merc engine , can't stand next to the 82-94 year engines.
The w124 was considered the best ever production engine the 500E was a handbuilt by porsche top marque using the w124 chassis as a template.
But don't think they are not able to produce the goods just wont be so economically over engineered .

[fishman307]

Wish i could buy half a dozen G wagons at say five years ago prices , Unbelievable prices now, The top of the range models with walnut / leather Etc are fetching as much money as new, For me the 280 was a cracker.

[jdm61]

Before MB started bringing in the V8 powered G-Wagens to the US, there was an importer in Santa Fe, NM that imported and federalized them for a number of years, so we would occasionally see 280 petrol and 300 diesel models, almost always in the long wheelbase version. I grew up in Miami where, in the 80's, you could find almost any fancy foreign car made anywhere in the world regardless of whether it was being imported into the US. I remember one day in around 1984 or so driving through Coral Gables and seeing a G-Wagen with a for sale sign on it sitting out in front of some doctor or lawyers office. That is the first one that I had ever seen in person and it was pretty impressive.

[jdm61]

jerbal I dont think it's a status thing as a few have mentioned the comparable vehicle was 80s reg.
That period up untill mid 90s the mainstream motor industry was dominated by mercs & Bmw in relation to reliability .
But you are right about today's standard looked after , broken in properly then many marques could do it.
An intresting aside a radio had a competition to find the vehicle with highest milage on original parts.
The winner at 730k was a vw golf mark 1 gti.

BMW did not have the reputation for reliability that it has today in the late 70's and early 80's, at least not in the US. Mercedes and to a lesser degree, Porsche, were about the only German car manufacturers that spent the money and did their homework as far as how to meet the new US emissions laws and still build a reliable car. BMW had some problems until they killed the older 2 liter and 3 liter engines and replaced them with the 1.8 liter 4 and "new "big block 6 and even then, it took them a little while to get things worked out. Their original small block 6 that showed up in the US in the 3 series briefly as the 323i, was am unmitigated disaster that had serious problems with the head warping. They got better, of course, and I am on my second 3 series having finally gotten over the traumatic experience of owning a 1979 320i. .