Mercedes Diesel Gwagen (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 22, 2007
Threads
83
Messages
536
Location
Beaverton, Or
Hey all, I'm in the market for a '90s 5-door diesel Gwagen or a '90s 5 door Defender. Any experience with Gwagen diesel and where in the world do I start to look?

I can find Defenders all day, Thanks in advance.
 
I had a 1988 300GD SWB a number of years ago. It is still the most fun vehicle I've ever had and I desperately wish I still owned it. Parts for the older W460's aren't super easy to come by in the US and tend to be very expensive compared to other makes. Since you specify a 1990's model I am assuming you're looking at the early W463's instead of the W460, and I suspect that a lot of parts will cross over to the NA spec G's from the early 2000's and will be easier to come by.

Imported G-Wagens are definitely harder to come by than Defenders, and I don't know of a particular place to look for them. I see them pop up on Craigslist or eBay from time to time, and occasionally on some of the Mercedes forums (pointedthree.com, clubgwagen.com, etc.) Eco-Offroad @Eco 45 has had some in the past as well. The other option would be to engage the services of an importer like MERCEDES G FOR SALE EUROPE (CARS FOR SALE SUGGESTIONS) - Busman - https://busmaneurope.com/buy-it-for-you-4x4-vans-for-sale/mercedes_g/

The killer for older G's is rust, and since most of them come from rust-prone areas of Europe it is hard to find a clean example. Diesel engine options are all pretty good from a reliability standpoint (most are excellent) but they're almost all underpowered except for the turbo G300 and G350 models. Mine had been swapped to a mildly built OM617 turbodiesel and got around pretty good, but ran out of steam at about 70 mph. The build quality and engineering in these older G's is second to none; I have yet to see a 4x4 SUV with a comparably robust chassis and suspension.
7X4A5444.jpg
 
Thank you!.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom