Im looking into buying a g wagon for my wife. I dont know much about them iv always had the v12 sedans. Just need general advice on what years to avoid, known problems, any updates for certain years that are worth it. I personally would rather buy an older cheaper g wagon, mainly because the wife wont know any better lol. She just wants a suv and likes the way it looks. So would my best buy would be like an 03 g500? Or should i spend a little more to get a newer model that may be more dependable or what not. feel free to give me your advice. Also feel free to post a pic of your g wagon.

 

Hey there,
Well first thing is first, have her test drive one, make sure the one she test drives is close to the year she will intend on driving, because the newer one have more comfortable shocks but still overall rougher than your typical Range Rover since G wagons still run spring suspension system. 2003 is a an alright year, I would surely recommend the newer the better. If you are running on a budget then 03' 04' should be fine. I would aim for a low mileage one. I have 03' G55 with 58k miles and even with the low miles there will always be maintenance to be done. How dependable the car is will always be dependent on the maintenance records the last owner has to show they actually took care of the car, cause it can either be a nightmare or not. The more they have to show for, the better. I would Carfax the car and stick to G wagons that have been residing in snow free areas such as California. Whats else... Check the undercarriage, make sure the transmission oil pan is dry, the areas where the shafts meet, and the differentials. And also check the swival ball axle. Make sure there are no leaks at these areas, especially the axles. The others aren't a big deal, but labor is expensive. If you come close to buying one, I would spend that extra $$$ to have Mercedes Benz inspect it and do a diagnostic test to be sure nothing major is wrong. As far as body, just the usually checking for dings dents chips rust and pitting on the windshield. Check the roof, sometimes you miss damage on there cause dumb people hit the clearance bars. Make sure the antenna is intact, cause if its broke, you have to replace the whole dam thing. Also inspect interior and make sure the leather and trim is in good shape, test the chairs cause some G wagons chair controlers get messed up and don't work correctly. Look at the air vents on the dash to make sure they aren't cracked. And also test the windows and sun roof, make sure the regulators don't sound like they are about to give out, cause for example, each window could cost you at least $1,200 to fix at the dealership. Last but not least, engine area, check for any leaks in the area. Other than that, make sure the tires are good and that brakes have a while till they need to be done and stuff. I hope this helps you, but make sure your wife is set and loves the car before buying, I have bought two in the past from husbands who bought it for their wives and they didn't expect it to be the way they are and ended up reselling shortly after buying it, but if yours love it then she must truely love them and hopefully she will have the pleasure of owning one soon. I hope this helped you and gave you some insight.

 

Thank you for the info, didn't the 05 g55's get a big hp boost?

 

Yeah they did, 2005 is when they started kompressing the engines, so 03' and 04' are just normal 550 size engines without the kompressor and then they added it on the 05' taking it from 349HP to 469HP and then every year or so it continuously got closer to 500HP and right now I think the G63 is a little above 500HP maybe just shy of it.