New prospective owner
Hi all I'm new here and have always wanted a G-wagen. I just happen to be in a situation now that I am able to actively look for one, woohoo!
Anyways I live in Aberdeen, up in sunny Scotland. I'm a transplant from America though lol.
I've been lurking about ebay, pistonheads and autotrader. Are there any other good places to search for a good used G? I think that the LWB would be best suited for what I want. Though they do seem in short supply at a reasonable price in RHD. I think I'd prefer an older model and just upgrade it over time. I have the skills need to do so, as I am a big fan of VW's and do all my own work as I used to be a technician in America.
So guess any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Dan
Der S,
First hi and welcome.
Second: your trolling the best places, though you can also take a look at G Wagen down in Caversham
http://www.ballooner.co.uk/
and there is the place in Malvern, though I can't find the link to that.
and sometimes the odd G turns up on here
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/
RHD G's are usually older and more expensive, and the bigger the engine the less there seems to be around. If you can tell us roughly your budget, what you are thinking of doing/ using it for? (Family car, workhorse, posers car etc) I am sure other members will be able to help and guide you. If you do find one on any of the above, then please post a link up and I am sure you will get loads of helpful points (and in some cases not so helpful pointers) :)
We have number of G's up in the Highlands, who have a vast amout of experiance, so again welcome and best of luck in your search.
TTFN
Spider1V
Welcome Dan,
You will get lots of advice here. Congratulations for choosing a G-Wagen on your intended vehicle. Not to put you off, these vehicles; I am generally referring to are 4X4's and not in particular to G-Wagens'. These can be expensive to run and repair. Consider owning one carefully!
Decide why you want one, for the Off roading or all terrain driving drive capabilities? Petrol or Diesel? SWB or LWB. Comparatively, both (referring to G-Wagens now) drive well, but the LWB does give a marginally smoother drive for the axles being longer apart, giving it less of a roll. I would strongly suggest a LWB if you are grown up family or for that matter a young family. Loading and removing of baby chair can be cumbersome (particularly, rear seat loading) and tedious after the novelty wears off.
The older G-Wagens, whether Petrol or Diesel are not fast but adequate in speed and performance so you do need to be even tempered. If speed is you thing, don't consider the older ones, go for the newer G's - the 500's or so. The W460 are functional but the W463 gives more creature comforts. There are some pitfalls in owning the unfortunate or wrong G-Wagen, so do your home work.
Good luck,
Hello
Here is the link to the Malvern boys
http://www.g-classcentre.co.uk/
Good luck with your search
Hi Dan,
Earlier, I had drafted a reply to you but lost it all, so this time around I'll be very brief.
For your information, Audiominx is a female member of our club, well liked and stands for no nonsense.
G-Wagens are reliable and only a few aftermarket parts are available. Manuals will be difficult to find as a few were imported in.
No factory TD's were made, there were a few STT Turbo conversions but not impressive. For you to have Turbos, you will need to convert for your self, there are a couple of members who do just that; ironically they had an open weekend a couple of weeks ago.
Cheers,
Yeah computers can be a pains sometimes lol.
Apologies if I offended Audiominx with the gents statement.
That is why I had settled on a G. The reputation it has is great. I tend to use only genuine parts for my Volkswagens or atleast German made parts. I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for". I would assume that an manual can be swapped in with minimal fuss.
Thanks for that info. Guess an engine swap is on the cards then....
Regards
Dan
Hi
for an engine swop you need to find an "IMMACULATE" host vehicle
otherwise the cost cannot be justified
and talk to "Axel" on this forum
w460 models very often have very serious rust issues around the rear 3/4 and fuel tank, by the time you have paid for the repairs you will wish you had bought a w463
post removed
..Except there's something just a bit 'freelander' about the 463 ;-)
As Axel says, everything can rust and I think with many 463s its just that they are often almost decade newer - For examples of 'expensive and complicated' to fix, see my summer body off chassis restore project
The good news though is that once this is fixed its as good as new for 30 more years (or probably more if you do the corrosion protection well).
Hi Dan, welcome to the forum. I live not far away from yourself over in Speyside. I just joined the ranks of G ownership a few months ago. You'll find the level of expertise on the forum is unsurpassed so you're in the right place to do your research. Good luck with the hunt!
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Thanks for the warm welcome Gents.
As for what I plan for it is basically an all around beast lol. I have always wanted one since the first time I saw one. I am planning on moving out of the city and into the country. So with how they take care of the roads in winter up here I figure the Gwagen is the best thing. Being a VW guy I prefer German cars. From working on VW for a living in the states I find they are quite reliable.
I mtb and do a bit of hill walking/climbing so think the LWB will be best suited for my needs, plus will give the kids a bit bore space. I figure a diesel would be the best option as I hope to get a bio-diesel plant up and working when I move. I definitely think I want an older one as hopefully get classic car insurance and less electrical crap to go wrong. I've built a few car from the ground up, even a nice old CJ jeep when I was in the states. So, yes I know that 4x4 is not cheap lol. I also prefer to use genuine parts or German made parts on my other cars. For what I gather though a lot of G parts are dealer only. So guess the MB parts guys will start to know me by name too :D.
Going fast is what bikes are for :D
So in short:
Older model - possible needing work but in MOT/Tax (as all the ones I seem to find are down by London, and thats a fair trek to convince my buddy with a car trailer to take)
Diesel (prefer a lager TD)
Manual Gearbox
LWB
RHD
Color?? Hmm guess it doesn't maker as I can get the spray gun out lol.
Price around £7k though I'm about halfway to haveing this on hand.
Guess this is going to be a whole new learning experience, guess it's good I got ocd!
Regards
Dan