G500 or G55
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 3
GLE 550
G500 or G55
Hello everyone,
looking at buying my first G! Its going to be a weekend driver type thing. Looking to get into an older 01-05 G500 or G55.. I have a couple questions
1. it won't get winter driven much but, I live in northern Alberta and we see below -30*C temps, how are these things in cold weather? itll be garage kept, but if it has to spend a night outside will they start the next day? keep a battery tender on it? anyone ever install an oil pan heater?
2. Besides the Obv abuse / Rust and maintenance records is there anything else I should make a point to avoid a unit if it has ... ?
3. What would you consider to high of mileage for purchase? also if it looks like its been well taken care of, what kind of mileage are people seeing out these before major repairs/failures?
Im pretty mechanically incline rebuilt engines, built boats and helped with a handful of swaps so I dont mind getting in there. Only thing I dont want to deal with is electrical gremlins.. with that being said how is the wiring in these things??
Current Daily 2018 GLE 550
looking at buying my first G! Its going to be a weekend driver type thing. Looking to get into an older 01-05 G500 or G55.. I have a couple questions
1. it won't get winter driven much but, I live in northern Alberta and we see below -30*C temps, how are these things in cold weather? itll be garage kept, but if it has to spend a night outside will they start the next day? keep a battery tender on it? anyone ever install an oil pan heater?
2. Besides the Obv abuse / Rust and maintenance records is there anything else I should make a point to avoid a unit if it has ... ?
3. What would you consider to high of mileage for purchase? also if it looks like its been well taken care of, what kind of mileage are people seeing out these before major repairs/failures?
Im pretty mechanically incline rebuilt engines, built boats and helped with a handful of swaps so I dont mind getting in there. Only thing I dont want to deal with is electrical gremlins.. with that being said how is the wiring in these things??
Current Daily 2018 GLE 550
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,625
Likes: 299
From: Houston, TX
Built 2008 G55 & one big 80 Series LandCruiser !
Welcome - the G's should fair well up there... Nathan at The Gear Shop in Toronto has one and may be able to give color on that, and also has fabbed some parts for them and may know of a clean rig...
Rust is a real issue...especially before 2013... and deferred maint can be expensive - rarely were these ever serviced by someone who cared or knew as the first owner under warranty - but the second owners often bought them for all the wrong reasons and then got sticker shock as the issues built up... things like front axle seals/bearing etc can run triple what an equiv. Landcruiser do...AMG tax is real.
Plans for any mods or use ? they ride like junk until you get rid of the 55 springs and put properly valved shocks in.... not expensive, but utterly transforms ride quality.
the 55's are amazing in their power delivery - and don't need to be regeared even with 35/37's... the gas miles will be single digits around town,
That said, I love mine..... suggest you look at rigs in the South and do a PPI and drive one back...
good luck !
Rust is a real issue...especially before 2013... and deferred maint can be expensive - rarely were these ever serviced by someone who cared or knew as the first owner under warranty - but the second owners often bought them for all the wrong reasons and then got sticker shock as the issues built up... things like front axle seals/bearing etc can run triple what an equiv. Landcruiser do...AMG tax is real.
Plans for any mods or use ? they ride like junk until you get rid of the 55 springs and put properly valved shocks in.... not expensive, but utterly transforms ride quality.
the 55's are amazing in their power delivery - and don't need to be regeared even with 35/37's... the gas miles will be single digits around town,
That said, I love mine..... suggest you look at rigs in the South and do a PPI and drive one back...
good luck !
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 3
GLE 550
Hey thanks for the detailed response!
at this point there's no real plans for one after purchase. Just focusing on finding a clean unit!
I Might have to consider going south of the border! if only our Canadian dollars were worth a bit more...
Cheers
at this point there's no real plans for one after purchase. Just focusing on finding a clean unit!
I Might have to consider going south of the border! if only our Canadian dollars were worth a bit more...
Cheers
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 58
Likes: 20
From: Fredericksburg, VA
2003 AMG G55
Well... I am partial to the G55. I was looking specifically for an AMG model for the higher horsepower over the G500... Without going newer where it gets ridiculous HP and more complicated! Plus I didn't want the auto shut off on the newer models.
I found a well-cared for unit in Oregon that had spent most of its life in the deserts of Utah... So really, no rust to speak of except one tiny area that I was able to fix myself. I know it is there, but you'd never see it unless you knew where to look. I was surprised at the condition of mine. People who don't know G-Wagons assume I bought a new one... It looks THAT good! Only several tiny stone chips on the hood and windshield surround. I touch those up as needed. One day I'll pay all the money for paint correction where they can touch them all up and polish the beast!
Texas is spot on... My G had 3 prior owners with the last one being an enthusiast. Owner 1 is usually a lease for 2 years, owners 2 -5 (the usual) are people who buy them without looking at past service history or inquiring what it takes to maintain them properly. Then they will dump them. It CAN get expensive unless you do all the work yourself. Even then... You may need to pay for a shop to handle some repairs if they require a lift, for example, that you may not have. I will need to bring mine in to have the front axle seals replaced at some point. Until then, I'll keep pushing grease in there.
Try to buy from an enthusiast. I was trying to buy locally and couldn't find anything. I live on the east coast and I work in the field of Auto Finance... So, I also had my dealers looking for me. Most of their units were trashy with no service history. I finally widened my search area and looked for months. I found a little boutique sales & service place... Outland Motors in Bend, OR where the owner of the repair place had actually been taking care of my G for years. So he knew it well and had all the records. Prior records were accurately recorded on Carfax... So, I felt very comfortable buying from him. The G was actually in much better shape than I was expecting. The seller, Outland Motors, was consigning it for the actual seller who wanted to buy a newer G-Class. I looked at a few on my dealers' lots and was totally unimpressed.
Stock up on likely parts you will need. Before my G even arrived I bought a ton of stuff. A camshaft position sensor, oil level sensor, LCD screen for the info display (odometer), window regulator for the driver window, oil filters, oil, seals and gaskets. I replaced the rear hinge seals as well as the door handle gaskets and o-rings. I love staying on top of all the little things, so I don't have to deal with bigger things later.
My advice would be to open your search to perhaps go past where you may be looking now. When you DO find a likely candidate... Pull both a Carfax and an AutoCheck. Most people have heard of Carfax but most never heard of AutoCheck. AutoCheck is used by all the auction houses and DMVs in the USA. Between both of them you will get a pretty good idea of what has gone on with your potential purchase. I would avoid any with FRAME, Lemon Law, TMU (True Mileage Unknown), and SALVAGE. These are all current and/or future problems. I would try to avoid any with accident reported regardless of how small them may seem.
Just my .02 and guaranteed worth as much!
I found a well-cared for unit in Oregon that had spent most of its life in the deserts of Utah... So really, no rust to speak of except one tiny area that I was able to fix myself. I know it is there, but you'd never see it unless you knew where to look. I was surprised at the condition of mine. People who don't know G-Wagons assume I bought a new one... It looks THAT good! Only several tiny stone chips on the hood and windshield surround. I touch those up as needed. One day I'll pay all the money for paint correction where they can touch them all up and polish the beast!
Texas is spot on... My G had 3 prior owners with the last one being an enthusiast. Owner 1 is usually a lease for 2 years, owners 2 -5 (the usual) are people who buy them without looking at past service history or inquiring what it takes to maintain them properly. Then they will dump them. It CAN get expensive unless you do all the work yourself. Even then... You may need to pay for a shop to handle some repairs if they require a lift, for example, that you may not have. I will need to bring mine in to have the front axle seals replaced at some point. Until then, I'll keep pushing grease in there.
Try to buy from an enthusiast. I was trying to buy locally and couldn't find anything. I live on the east coast and I work in the field of Auto Finance... So, I also had my dealers looking for me. Most of their units were trashy with no service history. I finally widened my search area and looked for months. I found a little boutique sales & service place... Outland Motors in Bend, OR where the owner of the repair place had actually been taking care of my G for years. So he knew it well and had all the records. Prior records were accurately recorded on Carfax... So, I felt very comfortable buying from him. The G was actually in much better shape than I was expecting. The seller, Outland Motors, was consigning it for the actual seller who wanted to buy a newer G-Class. I looked at a few on my dealers' lots and was totally unimpressed.
Stock up on likely parts you will need. Before my G even arrived I bought a ton of stuff. A camshaft position sensor, oil level sensor, LCD screen for the info display (odometer), window regulator for the driver window, oil filters, oil, seals and gaskets. I replaced the rear hinge seals as well as the door handle gaskets and o-rings. I love staying on top of all the little things, so I don't have to deal with bigger things later.
My advice would be to open your search to perhaps go past where you may be looking now. When you DO find a likely candidate... Pull both a Carfax and an AutoCheck. Most people have heard of Carfax but most never heard of AutoCheck. AutoCheck is used by all the auction houses and DMVs in the USA. Between both of them you will get a pretty good idea of what has gone on with your potential purchase. I would avoid any with FRAME, Lemon Law, TMU (True Mileage Unknown), and SALVAGE. These are all current and/or future problems. I would try to avoid any with accident reported regardless of how small them may seem.
Just my .02 and guaranteed worth as much!
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 3
GLE 550
Tricky Rick,
Yeah I havent found any local at all. There are a couple but they want top dollar thats for sure. I have found one that is about 1500km away from me that is a bit higher mileage but lots of recent work has been done.
Im not jumping at the first one I see and like you said I may have to open my search up to beyond where I am looking now. I have always used carfax but I have never used Autocheck before so thanks for that!
Im a big fan of parts stocking, so I will probably start that right away. At least a window regulator haha..
Yeah I havent found any local at all. There are a couple but they want top dollar thats for sure. I have found one that is about 1500km away from me that is a bit higher mileage but lots of recent work has been done.
Im not jumping at the first one I see and like you said I may have to open my search up to beyond where I am looking now. I have always used carfax but I have never used Autocheck before so thanks for that!
Im a big fan of parts stocking, so I will probably start that right away. At least a window regulator haha..
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 58
Likes: 20
From: Fredericksburg, VA
2003 AMG G55
Tricky Rick,
Yeah I havent found any local at all. There are a couple but they want top dollar thats for sure. I have found one that is about 1500km away from me that is a bit higher mileage but lots of recent work has been done.
Im not jumping at the first one I see and like you said I may have to open my search up to beyond where I am looking now. I have always used carfax but I have never used Autocheck before so thanks for that!
Im a big fan of parts stocking, so I will probably start that right away. At least a window regulator haha..
Yeah I havent found any local at all. There are a couple but they want top dollar thats for sure. I have found one that is about 1500km away from me that is a bit higher mileage but lots of recent work has been done.
Im not jumping at the first one I see and like you said I may have to open my search up to beyond where I am looking now. I have always used carfax but I have never used Autocheck before so thanks for that!
Im a big fan of parts stocking, so I will probably start that right away. At least a window regulator haha..
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,625
Likes: 299
From: Houston, TX
Built 2008 G55 & one big 80 Series LandCruiser !
for the 55's and most G I have to think the US has a much larger supply.... Cargurus shows a few that show promise - but I'd for sure suggest a PPI.... We ended up doing a tranny by skipping that step in our excitement over finding a super clean 08'.... that and the deferred maint were a painful shock.
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