1989 Mercedes-Benz 300GD

We are pleased to offer for sale a short-wheelbase G-Wagen, now some 30+ years old and fitted with one of Mercedes-Benz’ familiar diesel engines. The 3.0-litre motor is neither the last word in either refinement or power, majoring instead on durability and longevity. Oh, and as it has covered a mere 115,000 miles, it is barely run in.

Our seller bought the G-Wagen just over a year ago at auction to add to his already considerable collection of cars. He liked the idea of owning a proper off-roader, not one of the many pretenders that now populate the market.

The vehicle was without an MoT for over a decade and the seller suspects it may have been used on a working farm. Other clues lay in the fact that it was covered in a fine layer of dust both inside and out. Don’t worry, our valet team has done a great job!

Our seller spent some time and cash sorting out some of those niggly jobs that normally get overlooked and all is now complete apart from the inoperative fuel gauge. We’ll gloss over that and anyway, there’s a low fuel light to stop the embarrassment of being stranded.

Our seller has now realised that he is not likely to use the G-Wagen as he intended, so is happy to let it go to someone who will appreciate it more and put it to good use.

A spot of green-laning perhaps, or maybe towing a classic race car to a track. Whatever asked from it, be in no doubt that the G-Wagen will complete the task. Not quickly, but you knew that anyway.

For a vehicle now well into its fourth decade, the Astral Silver paintwork is in remarkably good condition and cleaned up rather well. Is it original to the car? Who knows, but it looks smart…

We note a small area of rust on the offside rear wing and a spot of bubbling below the lower hinge on the rear tailgate.

The bumpers are both somewhat battle weary and would benefit from some cosmetic fettling.

The black plastic wheel arch extensions are similarly tired and could do with some attention.

The alloy wheels are perhaps a tad out of keeping with the G-Wagen’s utilitarian demeanour, but they are in reasonable condition, with just minor marks in places.

We are pleased to see All-Terrain tyres from BF Goodrich fitted to each wheel. These are widely acknowledged to be the best off-road tyre produced and they do so without compromising a vehicle’s on road behaviour.

As we always like to point out, premium matching tyres is always a sign of careful and considered ownership.

With a rather plain exterior, somewhat Germanic if one is allowed to say such things these days, opening the door is rather a pleasant surprise. No dull grey cloth here, instead rather natty check fabric adorns the seats and front door cards.

If they are the originals, then they are a testament to the durability of the factory cloth.

The sides of the seats look a little battle-scarred and we note some screws on the side of the instrument binnacle where we suspect something was previously affixed.

The gear lever has been improved by the recent fitting of a new gaiter.

Carpets are aged and tired in places and some new mats would lift the interior considerably.

The door jams show some early signs of corrosion, and we would be inclined to deal with these at the earliest possible opportunity.

The boot area looks to have had a hard life and would benefit from a little tlc.

We have included plenty of pictures of the G-Wagen’s underside in our picture gallery. There are some signs of scrapes from off-road use, not entirely unexpected. There is also some surface corrosion, but nothing we suspect of any great significance as the last MoT was passed with no advisories.

We would recommend getting the big ‘G’ up on a ramp, cleaning all those nooks and crannies and then liberally applying plenty of good quality underseal.

We also note some rust appearing on the underside of the bonnet. The sound deadening material fitted is rather grubby and might well be added to a to do list.

The engine itself looks quite presentable and there is a newish battery to aid easy starting. You can hear it run on our video clip and it sounds like a normal Mercedes-Benz diesel motor of the period. We didn’t detect any unusual smoke or noises.

We are pleased to see that the G-Wagen is still accompanied by its handbook and original service book. The latter is full of stamps from its early life.

As previously mentioned, the vehicle was not MoT'd from over a decade, but when it was tested in July 2020, it passed with no advisories. It failed its latest MoT (on 12/07/21) on a few points including the prop-shaft, wheel bearing play, suspension bushes and drag-link end ball joints needing to be replaced. 

We would like to think that some servicing was carried out during that extended period, but we cannot be sure. There are some bills for parts and those lovely tyres were fitted too.

Amongst the smaller jobs attended to by our seller was to get the rev counter working again.

He reports that the vehicle drives as one would expect and that everything works apart from the fuel gauge. He has used it a little off-road, engaging low ratio gears when required.

The Gelandewagen has a huge appeal. Rugged, dependable and shorn of unnecessary fripperies, it is a proper off-road tool.

The new owner will doubtless fall into one of two camps. The most likely one will accept the vehicle as it is – tidy, well shod and ready to show those unreliable old Defenders how to handle the rough stuff!

Less likely will be the person who wants to restore it to pristine condition as a pampered plaything.

We don’t mind what camp you may fall into, but we do anticipate the G-Wagen will attract a huge amount of interest. We know that as we’ve sold them before…

So, check the piggybank and place your bids without delay.

We anticipate a sale price of between £16,000 and £18,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, within government guidelines of course. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’