Seven seater advice and G Wagen

[hunt_the_fox]

Dear all,

With the onset of multiple children and the need to lug huge amounts of stuff and kids friends to lug around we think that a 7 seater could be on the horizon.

I am personally drawn to the G Wagen as a weapon of choice but would welcome any other suggestions.

Spec- around £25k, 7 seats, not a people carrier, capable of a long haul to Alps in some sort of comfort (ie not a Defender)

I also have a few questions about the G Wagen, firstly I have never driven them but have read write ups- how are they on the long haul? What are they like handling wise? How would I find the transition from an X Type estate?

Also a couple of technical questions that Google is resolutely unable to answer (with my very basic skills)-

- Have there been ANY exterior upgrades to differentiate between the 1980's and present G Wagens?
- What are they like for reliability? Have read mixed things on the forums- wondered if there are any owners out there who could share their experiences.
- Are there any things that you should look out for buying a used examples? Any weak points/upgrades?
- Are there any particular mileage intervals where jobs need doing or things are prone to go wrong?

Thanks for your help in advance!

HTF.

[Krikkit]

A bit mumsy compared to the super cool G-Wagen, but how about a Disco3/4? Easily within budget and being based on something far more modern likely to fulfill your needs better.

[longblackcoat]

Very expensive to run, more like driving a tractor than a car.

I'd suggest a good look at a Discovery 4 for that sort of money.

[Bill]

AFAIK the G Wagen is similar in comfort etc to a Defender, but substantially more expensive (if better built...). D4 seems the sensible choice, although I'd urge you to try an SMax as they're surprisingly good to drive.

[qureshia]

Hi
£25k won’t get you a lot in the world of g wagen, perhaps a 15 year old RHD or a 10 year old LHD
I have only driven a late 90’s rhd, it drove pretty well, however on the motorway it was more a kin to driving a transit than a Discovery 3/ Volvo xc90.
If you are looking for something different that can do long cross European journeys and with 7 seats have you thought about a Merc GL ??
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3602770.htm

[JonnyO]

Long haul to the Alps? In a G Wagen? I really don't think you want to do that. You'd be worn out by the time you got there.
I'm afraid I'd be looking at the Disco or XC90

[rmaurer]

Audi Q7?
e.g. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3924654.htm

[Bayerischer]

If you're taking 7 people on this Alps trip, most of these cars won't leave a lot of space for luggage

[Pablo16v]

I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. If the 7 seats are only for occasional use, and even though you appear to be against them, I’d heartily recommend an S-Max (my wife has one). We tried a few 4x4’s and the S-Max was by far the better drivers car, has loads of room inside, and for less than £20K you can pick up a 1 year old fully loaded Titanium X with the 240hp 2.0t engine and Powershift dual clutch gearbox. We’re averaging over 32mpg out of ours, which appears to be better than most big diesel 4x4’s, and the tax is cheaper too. My wife was quite snobby about cars and would never have considered a Ford, or even an MPV come to think about it, so I was amazed when she jumped out of the S-Max after the test drive and said she wanted it.

[Bayerischer]

Pablo16v said:

I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. If the 7 seats are only for occasional use, and even though you appear to be against them, I’d heartily recommend an S-Max (my wife has one). We tried a few 4x4’s and the S-Max was by far the better drivers car, has loads of room inside, and for less than £20K you can pick up a 1 year old fully loaded Titanium X with the 240hp 2.0t engine and Powershift dual clutch gearbox. We’re averaging over 32mpg out of ours, which appears to be better than most big diesel 4x4’s, and the tax is cheaper too. My wife was quite snobby about cars and would never have considered a Ford, or even an MPV come to think about it, so I was amazed when she jumped out of the S-Max after the test drive and said she wanted it.

and what did she think of the S-Max?

[Pablo16v]

Badoom tish! I'll set them up, you knock them down

[JamesK]

It's boring and it's not trendy but the answer to these threads is nearly always an S-Max if you stick to the criteria you actually need and not the car you secretly want to meet them (but never does). I can fully understand anyone saying they don't WANT an S-Max as I sure as hell didn't, but it does the job amazingly well without making you hate sitting in it and driving it. New ones no doubt better than mine too...

[ewenm]

Disco/XC90/S-Max would be on my test-drive list.

[Huntsman]

Mate of mine had one, it drank petrol like it was on its way from George Best's birthday party to Oliver Reed's funeral....

[Caulkhead]

hunt_the_fox said:

Spec- around £25k, 7 seats, not a people carrier, capable of a long haul to Alps in some sort of comfort (ie not a Defender)

I also have a few questions about the G Wagen, firstly I have never driven them but have read write ups-

I'd go and drive a £25k G-Wagen and a £25k Defender. I don't think you'll find much difference in comfort.

Your budget won't quite get you a 13 year old G-Wagen with 140,000 miles, but it will get you a virtually brand new top spec Defender 110:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[Ali2202]

Just bought a MY08 LR Discovery 3 TDi V6 with many toys for £22K. Full 7 leather seats.Harmon Kardon etc.

I am REALLY impressed! (especially since a £400 remap has transformed it into a monsterously quick small planet! )

Incredibly good Forum on all aspects of ownership here - www.disco3.co.uk

Makes a G-Wagen feel like a Willy

Edited by Ali2202 on Friday 22 June 13:49

[fmcnasty]

Discovery 3/4 all day long. I have had two Discovery 3's now and as an allrounder I cannot find anything to match it. Our current car is an HSE, all the toys, sat nav, leather etc it can be used for all types of occasions and will carry 7 adults with ease.

Not mine, but I think this looks fantastic

[Amateurish]

XC90 seems an obvious suggestion

[Krikkit]

fmcnasty said:

Discovery 3/4 all day long. I have had two Discovery 3's now and as an allrounder I cannot find anything to match it. Our current car is an HSE, all the toys, sat nav, leather etc it can be used for all types of occasions and will carry 7 adults with ease.

Not mine, but I think this looks fantastic

I regularly see a very similar car (lighter silver, standard coloured wheels) with the same gear on it... Brilliant looking thing, apparently known at the local woods for a spot of laning too.

[blindswelledrat]

Poor hunt the fox.
He desperately want a g-wagen, largely because they are just about the coolest cars ever.
He wants you all to say "buy a g wagen-they are brill" and you are all saying "Don't buy it. Its ludicrous for your needs. BUy a ford".

Get Gwagen HTF.
YOu buy a 10 year old one for £25k. What will happen is as follows. YOu will buy it and love it. You will do family stuff in it and you will feel on top of the world and you will sneer at all the millions of smaxes you crush in the street. And then over time you will start to acknowledge the impracticalities of the G-wagen. After about a year or so you will realise that it probably wasn't the best choice and you will seel it and get one of the others.

BUt, and this is the good bit. You will sell it for exactly the saem money you bought it for, and you will have owned a g-wagen and need never frustrate yourself about them again.

Alternatively you can spend £25k on a new s-max. Drive it for a year. THink 'this is really practical but dull as st. I want a g-wagen' Sell the s-max for 3950 and buy the gwagen. Effectively it will have cost you £22000 to own a really really dull car.

Edited by blindswelledrat on Friday 22 June 16:38