Earlier this week I looked at a ex-military Mercedes G-Wagen in a 1987 240GD. Today is another 1987 ex-military G-Wagen but this one is setup to…
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We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.Tag: W460
If you are shopping for a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, you have a couple choices. Those choices range from the military-spec models with steel floors and 65…
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I have a love-hate relationship with the G-Wagen, the 4×4 from Mercedes first introduced in 1972 as a military vehicle. I think that the contemporary, blinged-out AMG versions driven by celebrities and Hollywood moguls are an abomination, a crime against motoring humanity. But on the other hand, I’m quite partial to the older, more humble trucks on which they’re based. (I clearly have a thing for boxy old SUVs: I adore vintage Range Rovers, and used to own a Jeep Cherokee XJ, though the less said about that the better.) The original trucks are honest in a way the modern behemoths are not. The G-class was never supposed to be nice to drive, luxurious or a status symbol of wealth and conspicuous consumption. It was a spartan, utilitarian vehicle intended to transport soldiers across inhospitable terrain or, when sold to the public, farmers across boggy marshes.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 280GE on Hemmings
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I love the G-Wagen. From the military-spec W460 to the Kardashian-spec W463, I love them all. The do-everything utility SUV from Mercedes-Benz that’s brash but can also be handsome in its own sort of quirky way. Designed by a team who were only allowed to use straight-edge rulers, the G has been kicking around it’s same basic shape since 1979. Everything from tiny four cylinder diesels to massive twin-turbo V12s that are more valuable than the GDP’s of some small countries have been in this thing. Unfortunately, Mercedes never graced the US with it’s G-Wagen gifts until 2002 and unlike almost every other mass produced Benz, the G seems to depreciate to a certain point in the mid-$20,000 range and never go any lower. The dreams of picking up a 2002 G500 for $9,500 will be just that — dreams — unless you are conformable buying half a G, in which the other half was involved in a large fire.  So importers have loading up the ships with handfuls European-spec Gs, spray painting the under body with three coats of black paint to hide the rust, throwing them on eBay with vague photos and descriptions then hoping the winner has a bad back and can’t crawl under it to check it out himself. Today’s featured G doesn’t seem to be that case. A wonderful 3-door 280GE located in Delaware could be a great buy for someone. As long as they don’t enjoy using drive-thrus.