Mercedes G55 AMG

[stuckmojo]

Yes, 2008 model year. The foglight is part of the mods that ShipMyCar will do, @2 minute job

[stuckmojo]

It seems ShipMyCar have some experience with these, so i am confident. Fog light willbe just a swap with the reverse light, dead easy. I might keep the bull bar in the garage. I have ordered the blanking plates for the holes, not from Mercedes, they're just trim, alitrade was good enough

[stuckmojo]

Quick update, the container has arrived at Felixstowe, car should be with shipmycar by Friday.

All being well it should be with me within 4 weeks. Can't wait!

[stuckmojo]

Update time.

The good bits. The car arrived at shipmycar and it started on the button.

Edited by stuckmojo on Wednesday 2nd October 12:32

[stuckmojo]

_Nathan_ said:

Sorry to hear this. Hope they pay up

Was it in a container or roll-on-roll-off ?

Dedicated container. Which was taken to shipmycar to unload the car first, so I have photo of the car still strapped in, visible damage. We'll see

[stuckmojo]

Rich135 said:

How annoying/frustrating for you. I wish I had brought my Jeep Wrangler back with me, but I sold it to a mate so I still get updates on how much fun he is having.

Any more pics you can share?

I won't share those with the damage as I am too annoyed to look at them. So here's one I like

[stuckmojo]

Lovely Landie with great provenance. !
Yes, RTA during Ramadan are a test for one's resilience and willpower...

[stuckmojo]

Update, finally the G is back with me.

It took forever but in the end I managed to bring it home.

I'll do a proper write up probably tomorrow with some photos.

In short:
- MOT/DVLA/NOVA - it all worked well. No issues there
- shipping company damaged it but paid me back - so it's off to a body shop for minor corrections and to fix a couple of niggles
- Shipmycar did an acceptable job. Nothing more.

Ah, on the trip home the fuel consumption was 19MPG. Better buy shares in Shell.

[stuckmojo]

She's back



Great to have the car back. It feels huge on UK roads. In Dubai it was average size. Interestingly, it works well with parking spaces as it's a fairly narrow car.

I have bought a pensioner litter picker to use the work car park. Watch me drop the card outside the window and having to get off - go around - get cursed at. Multiple times.

While I'm at it I'm having some other work done:

- spare key (thanks MB for only charging 240£...)
- full wheel alignment and balancing and looking around for perished bushings. These things ride rock hard and the North East roads aren't quite like the smooth Dubai roads
- new antenna - already fitted
- UK DVD for the sat nav - not that I'd use it but I hated the blank screen.

I also want to have the steering wheel refurbished. Two things are wrong with it: the leather on the left side is worn out. Possibly the previous owner was wearing a knuckle duster 24/7 or had calluses on his hands as abrasive as sand paper - only one hand though. The other is the Air Bag cover, which is a bit messed up. This is easy to understand. Imagine an impatient Arab hitting the horn as hard as he can to clear the road from peasants.

Happy to have it back. Now I need to fit the bike rack attachment to the tow bar and buy some Adidas tracksuits and hair gel to blend in with the Slavic mafia types who drive these things.

Edit. Shipmycar were too lazy to remove the bull bar and fit the blanking plates. MOT wasn't an issue so the bar is staying for now. Wife prefers it this way.
Second edit. Here it is in its natural habitat, the petrol station forecourt:

Edited by stuckmojo on Saturday 21st October 13:11

Edited by stuckmojo on Wednesday 2nd October 12:33

[stuckmojo]

Update time. The car is with me, MOT done, tidied up the bodywork, sorted out a few things - including a bh of a starter motor that died on me.

Happy to have the car back and use it on a daily basis.

urban MPG - something I never considered in Dubai - I wonder why? - is single digits...

on a run, probably 15MPG. Good job my mileage is fairly low.

I can't wait for a tonne of snow this winter - I know, now that I have a proper 4x4 it won't snow.

In the meantime, I'm using the car as intended:





I did a trip to the tip too, perfect opportunity for me to get rid of old carpet, masonry, gardening st etc. Tip guy was bemused.

edited to try and fit the bd picture

Edited by stuckmojo on Thursday 23 November 11:28

[stuckmojo]

dave_s13 said:

Cool car.

Mercedes we're recently offering sat nav map updates on older cars for £99 (I think).

Yep...have a look here

https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/bein...

It being foreign might scupper that though.

Edited by dave_s13 on Thursday 23 November 20:38

I'll check on the sat nav. I reckon mine is too old. I have working 2017 maps though, it works quite well - better than I expected. I even have the television to self-tune to UK channels, which was unexpected.

I've already spent a bunch at my local Mercedes - just parts. They are not renowned for being good at repairs, especially on anything AMG.

[stuckmojo]

Final update on my ownership of the G55. I am moving on from it. Sad times.



Car is off to pastures green and I'm quite sad about it. I've had it for 4 years and it lived in 2 continents with me. No major faults and now that it's somewhere on SOR I am missing the practicality. it was great to hang my KTM450 on the tow hook on one of these bike carrier systems. Quite a few surprised faces at the motocross track

I need the estate space but long journeys and working away means low teens combined MPG isn't a great thing. I am looking at a 330XD estate - or maybe an Alpina D3 touring F31 (I have an E90 D3 as daily and it's ace!) - Ah, and a Macan diesel for the wife.

All things considered, the car gave me a better experience than I anticipated. It was perfect in Dubai and worked beautifully for the last 2 years here in the UK while doing low miles. I felt vindicated for having it during the Beast from the East storm.

[stuckmojo]

Ninjacj said:

Awesome car, definitely on my list of "own one one day for the sake of it!" Not a fan of LHD over here unfortunately, and getting a RHD one seems to add a massive price premium!

That's true, RHD is easy a 20% price premium and these are cars that have lived here on salted roads for years, so possibly very rusty underneath.

To be fair, the only time LHD has ever been an issue is with McDonald's drive through. The rest of the time, not noticeable.