Hi everyone,

I might be looking to buy a new work truck within the next 2-3 months.

I live in Florida (nice wide, straight roads) and work on roadway construction management, so I spend probably half of my day at the office, and the other half either on the highway or offroading thru the jobsite. I drive an average of 40K miles per year.

I've always driven F-150's for work (probably the best pick-ups on the planet) so my original thought was to buy a new Raptor (bad *** truck); however I am a Benz guy so I figured: "Why not?".

I like the GL and ML classes but I just can't imagine pulling up in an ML to the jobsite and not feeling like I borrowed my "wife's car", if you know what I mean.

This is when I started thinking about buying a low mileage G550 or G55. I have found a couple of mid 20K miles going for arounf $70K which is my absolute top budget for a work truck. However, I stopped by my local Porsche dealership this weekend and found out that I could buy a brand new Cayenne Diesel (fully loaded) for the same amount of money I would pay for a 2008 low mileage G-Class.

With this being said, here are my questions:

1. Would you buy a G-Class as a daily driver? Considering that I will do some off roading, I will also spend 80% of the time on the road.

2. If anyone here uses this car as a dd, what are the "compromises" one has to make in order to live with this beautiful beast? (For example, I own a C63 AMG that I mostly drive on the weekends to take my wife to the mall or go out for a movie. I love the car to death, it is scary fast and it sounds amazing but it rides a little harsh and the bolstered seats are a pain to get in and out of, so I don't know If I could live with it on a daily basis if I lived on a bumpy road area).

3. If anyone here uses a G-Class as a dd, how about maintenance costs? The Cayenne was really tempting at first until a buddy of mine had to pay $1500 for a routine 40K mile brake job.

4. For anyone that owns one of these cars, how reliable are they? Considering I will put on it about 40K miles per year, would it hang in there with me? (As an example, I have own three F-150's and I have put 150K miles on them before trading them in but they never failed me. Other than regular oil changes, brake pads, tires and batteries they never broke down on me).

By the way, gas consumption is not an issue I have to worry about when buying a car.

Any additional input from anyone driving one of these gorgeous trucks will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

MercsDude

 

I have a 2010 G500 SWB and it is almost my daily drive and I love it. the car is reliable and comparing it to the G55, it is more comfortable.

Wishing you all the best.
Moses

 

Thank you for the insight Moses. What is it with the G55 that would make the G500 more confortable?

Ride quality perhaps?

 

I've driven both and currently own a LWB 2012 G500. I believe that this is the perfect vehicle for my needs of 80/20 on/off road. I did enhance it's offroad prowess, but without hindering it's onroad performance (wheels, tires, shocks, protection, bumper, winch). Hard to do that on the Cayenne.

Cayenne is fantastic for 100 onroad...the second you go offroad you will suffer...even in the mild desert conditions here in Dubai.

 

The suspension on G55 is more stiff because of the performance expected from the car. The G500 is more softer and comfortable on long drives specially, as I understood from your post earlier, you do lots of driving.
To add on what DiscoDino mentioned, Porsche is a beautiful car but not for offroad

 

Actually the Cayenne performs well off road. I had a Cayenne (turbo not Diesel) and G55 at the same time. The Cayenne is MUCH more comfortable and a great vehicle. If you think your C63 rides rough wait until you drive the G55. I swapped the g55 shocks for g500 shocks which helped but its still a rough ride.
Both vehicles are very reliable.

Funny thing is I was still drawn to, and prefer, the G55 over the Cayenne. There's just something about it. However, my wife much preferred the Cayenne due to the ride. Make sure you drive both before making a decision.

 

Thank you Moses and Disco for your valuable insight. Do you mind if I ask how many miles have you accumulated on your rides to date? I'm hoping I can rack up 300k miles on it with proper maintenance.

 

I have about 43K on it. Mostly off road. Check my gallery if like

 

Good point G55K. I did drive the Diesel Cayenne over the weekend and it does feel like a DOG. It has tons of torque but one can feel it loosing air on the highway. Extremely nice and comfortable on the inside though. I will try to find a G-Wagen to test drive this week, those are not so easy to find readily available for obvious reasons.

Sweeeet ride man!

 

Although I don't own either...I have driven both, and IMO the Cayenne is a much more refined vehicle - it will be quieter and much more comfortable. It is also going to be 5 years newer. I would extremely strongly push for the Cayenne. It will most likely not get stuck with mildly off road terrain - and that certainly isn't enough of a reason to get a G.

 

Thanks MercsDude

 

I have an ml63 here in MIA ... forget a G man... Ml63 was built for florida lol you get renntech lowering module get some new shoes and ur rdy to go. I take corners at the same speed as my 911 no stress

 

Man...I never thought about the ML63 but after your message I started paying attention to them and I Just got one yesterday

It is not new (2010) because I wanted one with the naturally aspirated engine,....found this one with every possible option, full service records and only 21k miles.

I love this thing! It feels like a tank and it is fast as hell.

 

Having owned and driven both a G500 and the Cayenne Transsyberia off-road, I can tell you from personal firsthand experience that the G500 wins hands down!

 

Yeah....I did test drive a mint (19k miles) Cayenne Turbo S. It felt as quick as the ML63 but I was disappointed with the quality of the materials on the interior. Pretty sad for a car tgat cost 120k when new.

 

nice bro ... what color?

yeah I got a 2011 and they are awesome... I find the 2012 ugly ... our body looks aggresive , I matt black painted the stock wheels and blacked out the emblens and grill etc... lowered it so its white on black it looks sick... thinking about doing a supercharger mod from weistec...

only thing Is the gas lol you will be at the pump a lot...

 

I imagine yours looks insane, the blacked out trim works very well with white or silver/gray colors. Mine is black with tan interior so Im not sure if it would work out for me as the chrome is what makes the car POP in my case. I've never left my cars stock for too long so I can see myself knocking at Renntech's doors in a few months (or once I recover from this purchase anyways)

I dig the exhaust tune but I miss the growl from the C63. I guess this car is more solid (it definitely feels more vault-like) than the C63.

And yeah this is a thirsty beast, kinda used to it after the Cclass but since the tank is much bigger, the $90 fill at the pump slapped me a little in the face....oh well.....you ain't catching me death in a Prius!

On the other hand, I'm averaging 14.9 MPG which is not too bad compared to my F-150 xlt at 16.2.....and it looks, drives and feels a whole lot better that the truck.

 

...and yes, I find the previous version to be "sportier", although I understand it might be just a matter of personal preference.

With this in mind, I do like the NA 6.20832426 liters better than the turbo-ed. The new one might be faster, stronger and even less thirsty but there is something about pure raw power that does it for me ...... of course ...........until the day I pony up for a Weistec supercharger, but that's a long ways out.

 

Definitely G-Class. Unique car with awesome performance. Also used for the military since decades. Porsche is awesome, but G-Class >>>> Cayenne.

 

Nothing compares to the G-Wagen so I know I will end up owning one eventually. For the money though, at this time, I could either buy an almost new ML63 or a 50k mile G55...so I went the ML route.......for now

 

The Cayenne is a better car in almost every dimension. Speed, Price, Luxury, etc..

However, one important area it loses is looks (and offroad capability): It seems like every other car on the road is a cayenne. There is no prestige/status in owning a cayenne to the average Joe. You will never turn someones head to gawk while driving it.

That is why I own a G. Unique car that turns heads and is almost as good as the cayenne.

 

Get both! I have a 07 G500 and love it. However, I am about to get a manual 08 Cayenne for the wife. Then probably a 09 C4S for me for fun.

 

I already told my wife, "once I'm done paying off the ML63 (in like 30 years) I WILL get me a G".

 

How do you do in order to afford all those cool toys AND a wife at the same time? My hero.

 

Worked smart for years and helped start a few companies. I was fortunate that one of them went public. Cars are a terrible financial "investment" but I spend a lot of time driving so it is worth it.