IF i won the lottery, a G Wagon would be near the top of the list!
i wonder, seriously though, if they are reliable enough. No matter WHERE you break down, it is going to take days (weeks?) to get parts shipped in for it!
Other people may have different experiences, but my 2017 G63 that I bought new has had zero issues and is currently at 38,000 mi. It has been incredibly reliable and maintenance has been easy too. Diff oil and engine oil changes, air filters, front brake pads, and an auxiliary battery replacement. I do all maintenance myself. Always get a funny look at the parts counter picking up parts for DIY service. Some can be a bit pricy, like $75 per HALF liter for diff fluid, and the front brake pads were $500. When I heard that, I told them I did not need rotors too. They said no, that is just the pads. The rotors are $2500. It sounds like reliability wise, they are pretty solid for the first 100k miles.
Yes the initial purchase price is high, but so is a 200. G wagons also have excellent resale. I just got an offer from a dealer to buy mine for close to what I paid new for it, 5 years ago. That, coupled with section 179 expensing (business vehicle write off), means I am money ahead on this if I sold....which I won't.
Makes me wonder if people have watched that youtube video of the mechanic going through all the common failure points on G-Wagons. Also, aftermarket support? You don't see many G Wagons in the overlanding world and none of our favorite custom fabricators seem to make parts for them.
There is surprisingly decent aftermarket availability for them, with everything from steel front winch bumpers, steel rear swing out bumpers, lifts, castor corrected radius arms, extended panhards, etc. The only thing I have not found is a set of frame mounted sliders. Those would have to be a DIY project, but there are some decent mounting points on the frame for traditional U bolt connections, and then add a few rivet nuts and you should be set.
At the end of the day, if I had to choose between the G and 200, no questions the 200. But if there were no 200s (or 100s, 80s, 60s, etc) then the G would be my off road vehicle of choice.
