Found 2002 G500 for sale....

[Jason911]

So I was digging around the inter webs looking for some unrelated stuff for sale, and in the background of one of the classifieds pictures was a G-class with the hood up. Email asking for some info - got a reply today. I'm going to go look at it this week, but I'd thought I'd ask here for things I should be looking for in terms of wear/tear/replacement/trouble. Never having actually owned a Merc anything before, but I did have ownership of a OM642 3.0L CRD in a Jeep for a number of years. It's also been years since I've owned or driven a gasoline powered-anything, so a refresher would be helpful. Waiting on some more/any pictures. The specs are as follows, and thanks in advance for any help. Congrats to ExPo for 10 years as well - hoping for another 10!

2002 Mercedes-Benz G500 V8
LHD
1 owner, ex-patriot/govt official, owner returned back to home country.
Been in climate controlled storage the last 4 years, has not been driven, but upkeep has been done.
89023.1 miles
all original apparently.

 

[burquedoka]

Of all the years of the G500, 2002 has the most reported potential issues. It all comes down to how well it was maintained and what was, or was not replaced yet. Do some internet searching for 2002 issues and you should be able to come up with a list of things to be ready to look at and ask about. It should not be a deal breaker, but the price must be looked at closely and the maintinence needs to be looked at especially closely.

 

[Metric]

Check the short shaft between the tcase and transmission for any vertical play. The grease in those CVs tends to get chunky over the years. Rebuilding the shaft is possible but may not buy you much time and a new shaft is about $900 I think.

If you can get the front axle in the air, check the wheels for play and any noise.

Those are the 2 big issues to be aware of with any w463.

The 2002 will have window regulators that go bad frequently unless they've been upgraded.

I see you're in Wisconsin. Check for signs of rust around the rear door area...the bottom of the door, behind the spare tire, and the bottom of the door sill. Also check at the bottom of the passenger door sills.

 

[Jason911]

Thanks for the info, and I'll report back on what I find. Sellers current asking price is high I think, but in a effort to actually see it I haven't told them so. Will get to see it this Thursday. It's in a warehouse in Madison, WI.

 

[Titus Pullo]

ask for service history and records.

 

[Jason911]

Thanks for all the info...I opted not to further the sale. Seller indicated they were inflexible in their asking price of $36900, and as such I did not further my interest in the vehicle. I honestly felt the price was too high for the vehicle, more so since that was about what I paid for my 2014 Jeep EcoDiesel.