i am considering buing an '89 280GE with about 100k miles. i have had a couple of land rovers & jeeps in the past, but am a G rookie and was hoping i could get insight from experienced owners before buying.

- are there specific things (typical problem areas) that i should examine closely before purchasing?

- are parts readily available?

- is general reliability of G's comparable to other benz models?

- how does reliability of G's compare to that of Rovers & Land Cruisers?

thanks in advance.

You should look for rust, check door edges, around the windscreen, and in the rear wheel wells.

Another know malady is driveline vibration. Sometimes the driveshafts wear, either in the slip joints or u-joints. You need to keep them well greased. If they go bad they are not servicable and need to be replaced at $1000 US each. A little vibration is OK, shaking the whole truck under acceleration is a problem.

Parts are pretty easy to get. It does depend on where you are. Since you are looking at an '89 I assume you are not in the US.

Reliability is excellent, especially in the older trucks. They are quite simple technically and easy to work on. The are legendary for their durability.

Compared with a Rover, they are nothing short of PERFECT. Toyotas are obviously better than the Rovers. I would choose the G however because it is a much more robust design. Older Cruisers break driveline parts on occasion, G-wagens do not break driveline parts, no kidding.

Good Luck

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1995 G320
1984 280GE
1971 Unimog 416