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Jamison
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Seeking G wisdom!
Hello All. Hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday season so far! I would just like to report some good news and ask for some advice and opinions on behalf of my parents who are considering adding a G to the family. After having seen my interest in an older G and having test driven a few on their own, my parents are considering purchasing a used 2003 G500 with 46k miles on the clock for around 37k from a lexus dealership. My parents are pretty much sold on the G as they like it as much as I do but they do have some concerns. I had mentioned the electronics nightmares some members have reported on their '02 G's and they were wondering if most of the issues were sorted out in the '03 models. Also what is a realistic fuel economy they can expect on this vehicle? This vehicle would be for my father who commutes to his office 8 miles away so fuel economy is not the biggest concern however they would like some real world figures. And lastly would you recommend an extended warranty on the vehicle? It would still be under factory warranty but not for long. What are your thoughts? Opinions? Im really gunning for the G for obvious reasons :-) If im lucky the 'rents will let me take it off road haha. Just thought I would share the optimistic news and hopefully they decide to go through and purchase the G! Thanks guys! |
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Merz-Ben
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Aug 2006
Location: Floyds Knobs, IN 47119
Vehicle(s): 230G, U1200, U1250 DoKa, U1300L, U1500, U1700, 416
Posts: 377
| RE: Seeking G wisdom!
Jamison,
The electronics were still problematic on early '03 models, some other members can probably point you in the right direction as what to look for. Definately see if it was serviced at the MB dealer and try to get the service and repair history on it if possible (this may point to a problematic life), the dealer should be able to pull up the records with the VIN. The fuel economy on these G's seem to rest somewhere around 14 mpg (in the U.S.A.), although it depends on the driver to some extent, and it will go down if bigger tires, heaver wheels, ect are added. I'd say go for the extended warranty unless you live in a household of MB techs, it could be cheap insurance if a major malfunction pops up.
Good luck, and maybe if your parents get it you can borrow it from them from time to time 
Cheers,
Ben |
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Jamison
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Thanks Ben. I did a carfax on the truck and it came up clean so im assuming there have not been any major issues with it, however checking with a dealership would probably be a good idea. The mileage was what I was expecting and im sure they will opt for the extra insurance of the extended warranty. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Jamison - 12/21/2006 1:26 AM
Thanks Ben. I did a carfax on the truck and it came up clean so im assuming there have not been any major issues with it, however checking with a dealership would probably be a good idea. The mileage was what I was expecting and im sure they will opt for the extra insurance of the extended warranty.
"Probably" is not the operative word. It is mandatory that you get an MB dealer to run the VIN. It will mean a whole lot more than CarFax.
Fuel mileage is on premium gasoline. Don't bother with regular or mid-rangwe in that vehicle; and with your dad's 8 mile commute, it will probably average around 8-10 mpg.
As to the electronics problems, there was one "fix" made that supposedly helped a lot; and that was an upgrade on the ECU and the instrument cluster. There is a pretty simple way to check if this has been done; and it doesn't require any equipment to do so. It's been discussed here and on the old forum by MarcO. If you can't find the threads, I'm sure Marc can explain the procedure.
Good luck in your quest. Just be sure that you make your purchase with your eyes and mind wide open; and do your research carefully. Be sure that any extended warranty you get is a MBUSA warranty. |
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Jamison
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Thanks for the info Dutch! I will pass it along. If I bring the VIN # to a mercedes dealership, will they run it for me or do I need some sort of documentation? |
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MarcO
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Irvington, NY
Vehicle(s): G 500 SWB, Volvo XC90 V8
Posts: 835
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Dutch is right. You must ask the MB dealer to GIVE YOU the service records. Look for recurrent bulbs out and seat control issues. I will bet you that there have been 4 window regulators at least replaced. What you can do is to leave the key in the ignition with the car off with the sunroof open after it is driven and look at the pictogram in front of the driver below the speedo. If there is a picture of a little person with a graphic of the roof open you have the new ecu and the new display module. If before June 03 build then you have one that they replaced at the dealer. After June 03 they came from the factory this way.
As to the gas mileage and warranty, I, unlike others here, do not favor these. I will pay cash and do not want to have any fudge in the bill. But check with others as there is logic to being protected from disasters. I will tell you that if a good mechanic is around who knows G's they can be almost reasonable to keep. Now to the gas mileage. My 02's never get better than 15.4 and usually 8 to 10 on early morning short trips. Also just a suggestion as I have a father who uses an 02 a lot. Make sure YOU exercise the diffs and transfer case and explain about lubrication of door hinges and other unique G maintenance. I must tell you that if your parents are car people the vehicle is a blast but if they think it is going to be requiring as little attention as my neighbors Honda they will be sadly mistaken. Good luck and happy and healthy new year. |
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mb230s
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: SWFL
Vehicle(s): G-less for now, vintage MBs, FJ40
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
CarFax is worthless for this info. Get the dealer records. |
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Jamison
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Will do on the dealer records. Hopefully this truck turns out to be problem free as far as electronics are concerned. |
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KERR
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
Im one of the one that had issues. After my last brain trans plant i have bee trouble free for almost 20K miles. I still dont have the new ecu that Marco is talking about though.
My milage is bad, but i have a lift and very large tires compaired to stock.
Make sure you get the Inservice date from the MB dealer as well. I think G's have a 4 year 50K mile warranty or which ever is first. I ran out of miles on mine. However most warranty companys will not sale an extended warranty if your out of factory warranty. With that being a 2003 it could have been early one and put in service say Nov or Dec of 02... if so your warranty could be out.
What you want to do is get the vin number and call your local dealer or take it to them and have them prent out the warranty records. If the dealer is nice they will and it will tell you what all has been replaced.
If you have any question feel free to post them up or search.. I have broken just about everthing there is to brake on a G 3 or 4 times by now  but my dealer sucks toooo |
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ewalberg
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Past: San Francisco. Present: Germany
Vehicle(s): 2000 g500
Posts: 1887
| Re: Seeking G wisdom!
regarding mileage, it really really depends on the roads and on the driver. The car uses a lot of gas to warm the engine quickly so if the commute is highway you could still see nearly 14mpg i think. By the way, the digital meter isn't always the best indicator. Mines a little older, but it's always so they might have improved accuracy, but mine has always read about .5mpg worse than actual. I had a 3.5 miles commute and i could keep it in the 12+ range but i drove it gentle. Basically a city commute too, but short lights and sometime timed well. In reality the car gets its best mileage at about 40mph so a city commute could return good mileage depending on the number of lights.
I would want an extended warranttee for the potential for big ticket items that don't have the service history (such as the now motorized transfer case). How much is worth spending on one is a question i don't have an answer to.
37k dollars! Wow. That's a nasty 3 year residual, but great for the buyer who does his homework! I'd love to say that since the 3 year residual on a 2000 was almost 10k more, that we've got such great trucks, but i think it has more to do with how few trucks were available at the time with 3 years on them. This all makes me chuckle to think some people bought a Grand Edition for the resale value. good luck. Just maintain and enjoy!
Edited by ewalberg 12/21/2006 4:30 PM
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