Looking at a G-Wagon

Welcome to gwoa tom. The link you have posted does not seem to work. Please be so careful of scams and of being offered vehicles by people messaging you or sending unsolicited e mails etc. Please read the buying guides which are a sticky. You are doing the right thing posting up any vehicle you are considering as the members may well know the vehicle and be able to assist. A member nearly lost 4 k a few days ago to a scam on piston heads for a lwb g wagen that was too good to be true. He had sent the money to the scammers but his bank put a hold on the transaction. Please be careful . G wagens are fantastic vehicles and will be a pleasure to own . You just need to buy the right one.

Hi tom , yes that g has been advertised on this site by a forum member (they were not a full gwoa member) the seller had the name 'speedracer'. The 280 petrol engine in a lwb is horrendously thirsty a 500 V8 petrol is better on fuel. However this g looks very good in the pictures but the advert has been around for ages .If it is still for sale get it inspected properly and beware of any scam type stuff of being told owner is aboard ..transport company will deliver to your door.. A lwb g 280 will do 14 to 16 mpg and 12 mpg or worse if towing a trailer. lovely vehicle to travel in though.

It has to be a 461 290 turbo diesel lwb , if you are travelling abroad a lot then a lhd version may be an option.

Have a look on mobile.de   there's loads of 461 professionals on there, mostly white, as the German and Austrian utility companies tend to use them a lot (like British companies use Landrovers over here)

Start your trip in Russia and buy a G whilst you are there.

With the collapse of the Russian currency the pound is now worth nearly twice what it was a year ago against the Ruble. So with the current exchange rate a used Russian G can be bought very cheaply over there compared with what it would cost in Western Europe.

here are a few examples....

http://www.gwoa.co.uk/content/cheap-russian-g-wagons

Before you decide anything try and calculate the mileage you intend doing on an annualised basis, if you intend doing say 5,000 miles in a ge280 auto at 14mpg; then that works out at 357 gallons at the current figure of £1.05 a litre multiply by 4.55 result is £1707. Then subtract a figure based on an estimated figure that a diesel might give you say 23-25 mpg for a 603 a little better for a 606a, & the earlier diesel the 617 gives broadly similar figures. Add a small percentage for the price difference and the more frequent oil changes that the diesel needs so 5,000 miles divided by 24 = gives us 208 gallons, these are more expensive at £1.15 per litre or £5.23 per gallon multiply by the fewer gallons gives £1087.

For a ge300 in a 463 work out the fuel consumption at 17/18 mpg and 22 for a 603 diesel

Total difference is in the region of £600 but doesn't include the extra costs of frequent oil changes but if you do them yourself its just the filters and oil. The cost of a proper conversion to a 606a could well run to £7,000 so it would take 10 years before you get your money back. If you intend long term ownership and these vehicle with care should  outlast anything a LandRover can do then go ahead. However bear in mind that fuel duties can change and there is considerable and growing concern over diesel particulates, so it is not inconceivable that the petrol/diesel balance may be altered at some point in the future. If you intend fewer miles the cost is more problematic, more miles its a better proposition.

LPG has been mentioned, this doesn't work well on the older ge280 unit with auto partially due to having the basic k-jetronic bosch fuel injection system, the ge300 has ke-jetronic which is better, it is also possible to install a decent sized fuel tank on the left hand side of the cars chassis, avoiding the loss of internal space though it does mean shortening the exhaust to exit on the right and removing the large and convoluted rear exhaust box.

To sum up you do have quite a few options some very radical, others that will maintain the vehicles authenticity if that's an issue for you, take your time, look at as many as you can get the feel of the different engine units, good luck

if you mean the one with the camper body

 http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/mercedes-benz-g-290-zuna/201689544.html?lang=de&pageNumber=1&__lp=2&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=17200&makeModelVariant1.modelId=156&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT&categories=OffRoad&noec=1

it looks to be a very good price and should suit as a sleeping area

Importing from EU is very straight forward. 

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/vehicle-importing/vehicle-importing.asp

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview

 

Appears to be a nice G270

 

Brentwood charge me £130 a year for my ge300 limited mileage, but comp cover

 

Hello Tom,

i have aver a nice G-wagon for sale, use it everyday for commuting and family use.  Maybe you might like it.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C539027

 

​kind regards

Goochie

Thank you mate, I run her everyday. The first w463's are built sooooo well.

regards

G