Thread: Test Drove a G-Wagen

Originally Posted by PAT303

Naks how do you know they are making a loss on the defender?

From [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_Defender"]Land Rover Defender - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="image"><img alt="Question book-new.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png[/ame] so not sure how reliable/accurate:

New methods of building the Defender have made the model profitable again (since the 1990s, the hand-built vehicle had been made at a loss), so its replacement has been less of a priority. Total replacement will be needed by 2015, when new regulations regarding crash safety for pedestrians will render the current design obsolete.

They probably did in the 80's but that was 30 years ago,they didn't make much on the RR TD also because VM charged top dollar for thier POS engines,it's the reason the Tdi,Td5 etc were born.LR would make money on the defender,if they didn't they wouldn't be bringing out the new one.If you ever get the chance have a good look over the workmate LC and see what ''quality'' you get for $72,000,making the new defender on the disco platform will give it a quality above and beyond it's competitors but to me it won't be a defender. Pat

I guess one of the big advantages Mercedes have is that the company is fully self supporting and owns everything in its production cycle.

Land Rover have suffered as part of the Rover group, then British Leyland. They got a bit of a boost when BMW owned them with most of their current crop of good vehicles developed in that period. Then they got manhandled by Ford, and now Tata. I mean, we currently have a Defender with the engine from a Ford Transit, and air vents from a Ford Fiesta! God only knows what parts bin Tata will raid to save money when they produce the next one.

At least you know that any standard parts on a G-Wagen have only come from another Mercedes and were designed to fit from day one.

I had a look at the list prices of the Gs here in the UAE as quotes by one of the car mags today and it makes you laugh at how much Merc AU & the Australian Government is really ripping off the average punter who is buying vehicles in OZ.

The G500 comes at around 95k and the AMG G55 goes for about 138k.

So to put it bluntly the top of the range AMG supercharged G55 sell here for less than 20k cheaper than the cheapest spec oil burner they are flogging in OZ.

Couple that with the strong AUD compared to the euro someone is making a killing.

Originally Posted by Naks

The same reason no one would buy designer wear if skinny supermodels did not display them on the catwalk.

IMHO a lot of people only buy a D3/RR/RRS/REvo because the ancestor is a Defender - they like the emotional appeal of the Defender in the African bush but would never give up the comfort/bling.

The poor rep of the Defender is of no concern to LR, they have been making a loss on it since the 80's (when the UN switched to Patrols & LCs) - it is simply the skinny supermodel LR uses to attract customers

Certainly not the reason I bought my D4. Having driven lots of Military 110s, and old Series trucks, I was pretty aware of what they are like.

But the thread is accurate....to a point. A LR's ability offroad was a key but for me having owned 'luxury' sedans (meaning Berlinas and the like...LOL), the D4 was the difference between owning one or two cars. I go camping alot and often get it dirty. It has quite a few scratches and torn mudflaps. I don't care if that isn't considered 'Hard Core'.....if I needed that, I'd have two cars!

I could have bought a Nissan or a Toyo but the combo wasn't there...the D4 surpasses on the 'Sedan' front and we know they aren't too shabby off-road either.

If I bought a Deefer and another car as my daily drive, the Deefer would be loved but extremely under-used.

Makes no sense at all.

Cheers,

Kev.

Quote
New methods of building the Defender have made the model profitable again (since the 1990s, the hand-built vehicle had been made at a loss), so its replacement has been less of a priority. Total replacement will be needed by 2015, when new regulations regarding crash safety for pedestrians will render the current design obsolete.

With the amount of recalls and warranty claims since 2007 and relatively small sales base I doubt the Puma model Defender has been overly profitable........

Originally Posted by Tomo

With the amount of recalls and warranty claims since 2007 and relatively small sales base I doubt the Puma model Defender has been overly profitable........

True that.

Considering the average Puma requires 3 rear diffs, 2 vacuum pumps and 5 clutches

Originally Posted by rijidij

Apparently this is the first ‘civilian registered’ G350 in Australia.

and other than price, there is one other major reason why I would never buy one (assuming I could ever afford one)....they are fugly.