Up until 2001, there was a company called Europa International in Santa Fe who was the only G Wagen importer in the United States, and brought them in for people willing to pay over $100,000 to get them, and there was a small but steady demand.
Then Mercedes started to import them and sell them through its dealers
Click
www.richmondmercedes.com to look at some pictures of a nice one for sale. It's evidently a '94 with the good w117 V8 motor (like in the 560SEL) and it's up for sale by a licensed California dealer who has imported Gray Market Mercedes for over 25 years, and knows the process inside out.
I have personally known the owner, Barry Taylor, since 1985, when I met him at the time he had just certified and imported a new 1984 500SEC AMG coupe for a man I knew, and shortly after that I drove that car from San Francisco to Denver for the customer who was vacationing there.
Mr. Taylor is thinking of retiring pretty soon, and has a huge inventory of AMG parts in his shop. The heart of his business, though involves his trips to Europe where he cherry picks up slightly used Mercedes exotics (usually company executive cars) like Lorinser K50 S class sedans, AMG coupes and sedans and cars specially sought out by US customers back at home, and handles all DOT and EPA conversion processes involved with the cars.
He's been doing this for over 25 years and has gotten hundreds of Mercedes cars certified since he started. Through his business and family connections in Europe he has access to a wide source of cars, and can shop in Germany, Italy,Switzerland, Holland, Belgium.
He tends to cater to the carriage trade, and so the prices are high, but many of the vehicles are ultra rare, or one of vehicles tuned by Lorinser, AMG, Brabus, or Kleeman.
The website shows a 1994 Brabus G Wagen customized by Brabus in Germany in an unusual color, 69,000 miles on the clock for $45,000
His dealership and shop is located in Richmond, California, just across from San Francisco in the East Bay near Berkeley (close to the BART train stop)
and the website is
www.richmondmercedes.com
I think the phone number is 510-235-3990 PST. Barry isn't a super internet or email enthusiast, but he's been heavily involved with the MBCA (Mercedes Benz Club of America) and he REALLY knows Mercedes cars, the process of importation and certification, and personally knows people such as Hans Werner Aufrecht, one of the founders (Aufrecht is the "A") of AMG and is VERY well informed and super interesting to talk to.
This isn't the only G wagon specifically he has imported, as I have seen another black one he brought in, but this one sounds like it would be worth a look. I don't know whether it has been through the EPA and DOT process, but I think it probably already has been.
Are you on the East coast? I trust Barry and think he does a good job, I have ridden in several of the cars he's brought in and seen several up close and they are really exotics.
You might want to think about calling. In any case, good luck in your hunt, I am sure you'll find a nice G wagen eventually