Finally for sale: 1985 300GD Gelandewagen
 

Ebay link: click here
European VIN# 46033217040180
First licensed: 11/20/1985
Country of make: Germany
Country of origin: Spain
Previous owers: 2
Mileage (KM): 164,577 km (102,263 miles)
Title: clear Florida title
Price: $13k for PP members ONLY

The story:

I bought this Gelandewagen from a heavy equipment company that had been using it for surveillance purposes in the mountains of Spain. After refreshing all fluids (transmission, differential, engine oil, P/S, clutch) I drove it for 600 miles to Wichita, KS. In Wichita it got some rust repair and minor mechanicals; from there it was shipped to its current location in Tallahassee (FL), where it had a few more minor repairs done (fuel gauge, dash lights, braking system bled, headlight doors). Despite not being a rocketship, it can cruise comfortably at 70+ miles per hour with astonishing stability. Still, keep in mind this bank vault on wheels is a heavy industrial vehicle, and not a sports car. It has some minor modifications (stereo, recaro seats), but all mechanicals/suspension are bone stock. As it is, it would be a perfect candidate to modify into a compact expedition rig, or invest some money in making it perfect. Most, if not all parts are readily available at Eurotruck Importers in the USA.

Body:
—Rust: no chronic rust in this G-Wagen. The tail-lamp panels are still solid and presentable, but should you want them to be perfect, they are $200 a piece at Eurotruck.
—Some parts show some body filler repairs, especially under the windshield and under the rear side windows. Still, these are flat metal panels that are easy to repair.
—Driver's door takes some effort to close due to a bent hinge. Previous owner was a 300-pound bear of a man, he must have leaned on the door.
—Frame is as solid as it can be. There is absolutely no rot or piercing rust, perhaps some oxidation that can easily be brushed off.
—Car comes with all 5 stock G-Wagen alloy wheels and the correct size tires in perfectly useable condition (drove 600 miles with no problems).
—Some of the rubber trim is beginning to show cracks, yet the headlight doors are brand new from Mercedes-Benz.
—Glass is all intact with no cracks or chips. The truck also comes with a factory tow hook and a front skid plate!

Mechanicals:
—The absolute smoothest NA OM617 diesel I have ever heard in all my years of looking, owning and restoring old Mercedes diesels. New valve cover gasket.
—Four-speed manual transmission shifts fine, and has a new clutch master cylinder, hose, and the entire system bled with new fluid.
—There is some wetness around the oil pan, normal for a 30-year-old vehicle. In 600 miles, it did not need any oil top-offs.
—All lights (front, rear, sides), instruments (odo, fuel gauge, glowplug, temp) and dashboard indicators work as they should.
—Rare factory A/C system is all there, but I am not sure on its operating condition.
—Factory lockers need a hydraulic hose rebuilt to be operational.

Interior:
—Previous owner replaced the original front seats with Recaro seats. They are very comfortable for long trips. Rear seats are factory plaid bench seats.
—Dashboard has some cracks, but comes with a set of level gauges and a reading lamp for your copilot.
—Headliner is fine, as are the door panels and rubber mats in the truck.

Final Assessment

As I said earlier, this Gelandewagen is not perfect, and I do not expect it to sell for the price of a new one. Should you need more detailed pictures, you can find them in this album. As it is, you can drive it anywhere in North America and perhaps make some friends at the local 4x4 event. Should you want to make it a forever-truck, invest in some minor bodywork, give it a shiny coat of new paint, fix the air conditioning system, address the locker hose issue, replace some gaskets, and perhaps swap the interior for W463 leather. My life priorities are changing and I have no use for a 4-wheeler. I hope this Spanish Gelandewagen (nicknamed 'Olivo') will find a suitable owner who will take good care of it for many years to come.

Photos here: Photobucket album

Nice write up. But couldn't you at least turn on the A/C and tell us what happens?

edit: OK I see you said 'fix the A/C'

if only it wasn't 13k.

Good luck with the sale
 

Nice truck. After two years of looking for one of these to handle our forest and gravel - washout - pothole backroads here in BC, I broke down in January and got an almost new F150 with 4WD. 6,000 km on the clock and one year old.

So regretfully I am out of the 4x4 market now. To be quite honest I am enjoying the reliability of newer vehicles, altho' I'm quite confident my F150 will not be running in 20+ years time!

Good luck with the sale.

Ha, saw it on bringatrailer.com, congrats!

Nice looking G for a reasonable price. If I didn't already have one I'd consider it, A/C is pretty rare on the W460. Good luck with sale.

Bidding is currently at $10,000 with 5 days to go. Looking like you might get close to your asking price, but you never know.

Very tempting! Only 5 hours away...

What is the condition of the suspension bushings and the rest of the rubber for that matter?

Quite good

Relisted due to joy-bidder!

Mercedes Benz G Class Short Wheelbase SWB | eBay

Are you kidding me?

paul, meet ebay....ebay, this is paul:)

I've never sold anything on ebay. Is it that bad?

Thank you for the VIN decoding! Here's a walk-around video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5bSRtwfRtE
Smoothest N/A OM617 I've ever driven!

And yes, eBay has worsened lately. They only protect the buyer.