Advice needed: w463 400cdi - as daily driver for long commutes
Hi all,
I have been lurking a bit here on the forum, an have been caught with the G-bug for some time. I will be replacing my BMW 530d estate quite soon and am looking for a replacement in the form of a used G400cdi 5-door.
What the forums are saying is the early models have some engine issues (timing chain), but that these have been solved in the later models but also in the earlier models by a MB recall. I am looking at full maintenance history examples, so I am not too worried about the technical issues.
The question I do have is the following: how is the driving comfort on the 5-doors > my daily commuting distance is about 200 miles. I know my current car handles very well, but it's also "too" fast, giving me too many tickets. Main reason for switching to 4x4 is pulling a large horse box & some off-roading. My wife has a VW Touareg, which is nice enough but too boring for me.
Look forward to your feedback.
Cheers,
Liam from Rotterdam (NL)
Hi Liam,
Can't tell you much about the reliability record of the 400 as i've never owned one. there was a chap near to us who had one and he did have issues but i dont know the details. however, on the daily drive, i drove my G300 (petrol) on my daily commute of 130 miles round trip: it is a very comfortable car to drive over distance. in fact, it was because i felt that it was so comfortable that i got rid of my land cruiser and land rover overlander and got into full-time g-ownership. instead of going for a 400 with questions overhanging the reliability, what about a 320 V6 petrol or 500 V8 and then converting it to run on LPG? - i've always found that there seem to be many more lpg stations in the netherlands (compared to here in teh uk) and from an economy point of view - with a 200 mile daily commute - the cost of the coversion will probably pay you back within the first year of ownership and thereafter fuel costs will be much cheaper than with the diesels.
good luck /ph
There a few on here that can actually give you ownership advice for a 400, other than what you already know, but your fuel consumption will more than double, anyway the tow rag cab pull the horse box can't it ?
stay far away from 2001 2002 & 2003 models. You will have more worries than the engine!
worse reliability ever in a MB (mine was a 2002 G 270cdi)
"The question I do have is the following: how is the driving comfort on the 5-doors > my daily commuting distance is about 200 miles."
Much better than the 3-door short wheel base. Also seeing as you're in the "mainland" and in a LHD country, you really should open up your choice to neighbouring countries, the G market in Deutschland is quite large and perhaps more varied than NL?
The only thing the 400 has over the 500 is 2 turbos and a bit more torque, but I think economy-wise, almost all Gs are the same, whether 20 years old or 2 years old, with the most uneconomical being a 55 AMG, but then again that won't help your speeding at all if you are having trouble with a 530d! The exhaust note is pure evil, a very bad addiction. *insert appropriate smiley*
Hello and welcome.
I use my G500 as a regular family and work car. I will do a commute of about 140 miles once a week down to the office and find the LWB 463's perfectly comfortable, the wide open windscreen give fantastic vision as does the ride height. You will have better road holding with your BMW though........ until it gets very wet or snowy and you get used to the higher centre of gravity!.
The advantages of the 463 is that you get WOOD AND CARPET and a level of sophistication that the 460 and 461's's can only ever hope to achieve (lol) and even though my G500 is almost 10 years old, I have leather, elec windows, CD etc etc so any later models will come fairly well stacked with all the modern comforts that should easily compare with any BMW goodies. The LWB will sit on a motorway and very happily cruse along, and with the V8 you would hardly notice the strain! We have on occasion hooked up my sister in laws horse box and various trailers and there is no problem for the G what so ever. From testing some SWB on the road I find the LWB is less 'choppy' and will handle ruts/pot holes/ road damage less efficiently as the LWB. You also will have more space for luggage in the LWB. My advice here is to get a LWB G with the fold down seats in the boot - especially of you have kids - they will love it!
Fuel consumption is never going to be great with a G, however the 4ltrV8 400 is a nice sounding car. On ownership you best bet is to drop Goouchie a note as he owned one for a while, though I think you do have to be careful on which model year you get, as has been pointed out.
I was dubious about using the G as an 'everyday' car, now I would find it very hard to change, it maybe big to pop out and buy a packet of cigarettes, however that would be the only concern I have. Certainly here in the UK on work campus I am the only G, at the shops I am the only G and on the motorway, I tend to be the only G.......... and if I see another one its more than likely I know the driver! :)
Good luck with your quest!
Spider1V
thanks everyone for your feedback. I will most certainly keep all your advice in mind. I hope to return as a G-Owner within the next 6 months.
Liam
Stay away from ANY MB built around 98-02 and preferably up to 04. The bean counters got stuck in and bodywork is atrocious! My E430 is falling apart like a 70's Lancia and the torgue converter is dead too - as well as every brake line! The engine at 175,000 miles however is as sweet as a nut. What a pity it can't go into a G! Alone with the £3500 worth of "sound" that I inherited with it...
I would say that the 1998-2002 is true of non-G MBs but remember the G was built in a different factory under partnership so a lot of the cost cutting measures didn't occur till later in the G cycle.
Personally I would highly encourage a 2000 and shy away from anything 2001 to 2004.
You can see definite cost cutting measures on the 2001 onwards....
Test drove a late 2004 G400 yesterday with 100k on the clock. It has has the modified engine, so that should rule out a lot of major engine issues and it has 6-months full warranty from a reputable seller, so not too worried in general.
I am, jhowever, looking for confirmation of the cause of the following issues:at about 50mph when going over bumps in the road in felt a shimmy in the steering wheelat 60-70mph there was a shimmy in the steering wheel which went away at 80some searching online suggested the following possible causes: wheel imbalance, trailer arm bushings shot and/or steering damper shot.
Anything I missed here?
Cheers from a (near) future G-owner
Liam
Welcome back.
The front end vibrations are common to Gs, and there is a long list of possible causes, as deep as your pocket, and sometimes it is as simple as replacing a €100 steering damper:
http://www.4x4abc.com/G-Class/vibrations.html
In my personal experience it is often either the damper or front wheel bearings needing replacement or re-tightening/re-torquing according to the workshop procedure (needs some specialist equipment).
Some Gs are also very sensitive to the correct wheel balancing being done. If you can find a shop around the area with a road force wheel balancing machine, even better, like the Hunter GSP9700:
http://www.gsp9700.com/
In my humble opinion if these are the only issues then it is not that bad, as you would probably come up against these problems if you keep the car for a few years anyway, and best know they are fixed properly now than face them in the future. On one G300 we had, front end vibes came in at around 120k kms, on a G500, they came in at 166k kms, if memory serves me right.
With regard to front end vibration on the 463 my experience is that the steering damper lasts between 60 and 100 thousand miles depending on how much off roading you do and what type of tyres are fitted.
I have a set of 325/60/15 BFG A/Ts with a slightly worn steering box which means my last damper only lasted 40,000 miles, however it is not an expensive item and can be easily replaced.
Thanks all for the advice guys; after some soul-searching and wife-convincing , I bit the bullet: I signed for a black 400cdi 25th anniversary edition from november 2004 with 100k miles on the clock. Should be taking delivery soon - can't wait.
It's from after the summer holidays in 2004, so it has the modified engine - I'll keep my fingers crossed for all the other electronics, window regulators, etc.
The first mod is planned: the Dension Gateway lite, to connect the iPod/iPad to the Comand.
Cheers,
Liam
Congrats - looks great! Not many Gs with those alloys around..
Not that he posts on here much but rich sims could vive you some heads up on this engine, do you know what the modifcations that were involved in this engine? Rich sims had a new engine in his 400, it seems the oil pump let's oil drain back overnight, thus leaving the engine dry top end when starting, also it's not good to let these engines poodle along all the time, they need a good thrasing once in a week otherwise they soot up
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Hi Phileas,
Thanks for your comments. I have indeed also been thinking about the LPG conversion, which could work here in the Netherlands, however there are not very many used petrol Gs on the market here; the majority that's available here are the G400s
Liam