Mercedes G class ute VS 79 series Landcruiser.

We get quite a few ADF military vehicles coming to town as it is smack bang in the middle of a route to use for training drivers new to different vehicles. As I said in an earlier post we've also run into a few groups on our travels and us having an ex RAAF vehicle they often come over for a chat.
Initially when speaking to the ADF mechanics the G wagons were tagged "not to be used in any offensive/defensive or humanitarian situations or shipped outside Oz" due to the ADF staff not having access to diagnostic systems as Mercedes retained the only access for X amount of time, not sure whether that has expired yet or diluted a bit but for the first couple of years at least any problems the vehicle went back to Mercedes. They had a couple that died or went into limp nearly every trip. When loaded a lack of grunt was the biggest complaint and reliability wasn't the staffs worry as the just got another one. My question was who made the decision to buy vehicles that were obviously unfit for use with such conditions with retaining diagnostics etc. If they give so much trouble when brand new the chances of them working after 30 years like the Landrovers do is not good, which I guess is the way the whole automotive world has gone.

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

It might get you a warm bedpan, on the other hand.........:eek2::eek2::eek2:

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My wife worked at Eventide for 20 years , with the cleaning contractors. The nursing staff deserve a medal, for the job they do. I have a friend living there , John, played rugby for University, hooker. Played a couple of games for QLD., was responsible for starting rugby in Cairns, years ago. Co ordinated the British Lions tour of North Qld, again years ago. Top bloke, what he doesn't know about Qld rugby is not worth knowing. Worked for the Qld Government, indigenous housing. During an inspection tour of Torres strait housing , picked up a bug in his spine, paralysed his legs, had to have them cut off. When the LNP was in power they decided to remove all residents, and have Eventide as a rehab. facility full time. Well, the grey Army of Sandgate protested, as best we good, it wasn't a violent protest, and we didn't lock ourselves to anything [ we would have lost the keys] but the LNP were kicked out, [ not because of us, but we will claim it as a victory for old farts] and old mate remained where he wanted to be. Having said that, I haven't seen him for a while, I'll drop in this weekend. I guess that's about off topic as you can get, over and out.

Back on topic. Alan Whiting, from Outback travel Australia, tells it as he sees it. Independent , can't be bought. This is his assessment of the G Wagon, warts and all.


Mercedes-Benz G-Class

And, to be fair, his assessment of the 70 series.

Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series

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Originally Posted by bob10

Back on topic. Alan Whiting, from Outback travel Australia, tells it as he sees it. Independent , can't be bought. This is his assessment of the G Wagon, warts and all.


Mercedes-Benz G-Class

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Nothing whatsoever in that report to make me want to trade my 79 series in on a g wagon.

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Originally Posted by trout1105

Nothing whatsoever in that report to make me want to trade my 79 series in on a g wagon.

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Did I say there was?

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Originally Posted by inside

New all-terrain 4WD ambulance allow emergency services to go off road - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory

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Looks like the S-E Qld, AULRO organised, day outings will be forced to look for a different source for "Vehicle Recovery" training on an ambulance ? [bigsad]

I can understand this measure being taken by the government, as the Toyota version was a classic case of "Not Fit For Purpose." Well, in my opinion from an experience in the scrub.

*Manufacturers such as Mercedes commonly do the restricted access to diagnostic tools, manuals, or limited manuals, and certain work having to be done by technicians. This falls into line with poor service and support for customers. "premium brand" now days simple means unreliable, poorly assembled, poor customer support and expensive to repair. With the exception being Lexus.

*Toyota on the other hands will supply genuine full diagnostic equipment, full diagnostic manuals, repair manuals, other procedures, updates for repair and the prices for such equipment isnt even over the top.

*One of the great things with Jaguar Land Rover is being able to get access to all the technical data, repair manuals etc. Its access is only limited to how much you want to pay for the info. As in you can get access to one model for a day or all models for a year.

*The Perentie has been in service for over 30 years to date. I really doubt any other vehicle is going to achieve this.

FWIW a mate of a mate works for Qld Nat Parks and uses both the G and 79 Series at work.
There's certain tracks the G's overheat on that don't phase the 79-Series.
Just saying, and he loves his German vehicles, has a few 2002's kicking around, and 'rok as a daily driver

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Originally Posted by bob10

And, to be fair, his assessment of the 70 series.

Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series

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The litany of problems highlighted in this article makes the previous Defender sound virtually problem free! ...There’s no way on earth I’d buy a V8 cruiser! What a hotch-potch of bandaid Non-solutions!

Land Rover Defender 2020 (read down for previous models)

If you read these two articles in full now, the hype over 70 series compared to Defender at least since 2012, has been so over blown it’s ridiculous. Defender was clearly a far superior vehicle (except adapter shaft) and an absolute bargain as well ($50k)!

Lets’s hope the new Defender is similarly problem free. [thumbsupbig] (the price was never going to remain that good).