SpyderSenseOC

dgoldenz

G wagons hold their value better than just about any SUV out there. I used to think they were ugly, now I love them. Just not for $200k....I bought a 392 Wrangler for $75k and can't see a G wagon being worth $125k more. The 392 is ****ing awesome.

Bents

No, I didn’t.

Absolutely. But I don’t think it’s a 100k swing market to market within the US.

Omeezy

FACTS...

DrainsWalletsFast

We got one for my mother so maybe I can try to weigh in on this. They truly are stupid cars in some ways but also are like nothing else on the road. On the negative side the interior space isn't very good. They still don't have CarPlay. And then there's the image that goes with them (plus for some, negative for others). On the plus side they do actually drive quite good. I'm not saying it's going to ride better than a Range Rover because it very much will not. But there is a lot of character to the car. The noise they make is great with the side pipes bouncing off the pavement next to you. They're quite capable off-road coming with triple lockers from the factory which is quite rare in a production car (irrelevant to the majority). But despite its weird quirks it truly feels like a high quality item. There are things you get on a car that starts at $139,900 where you can feel the quality and expense and specialized engineering that went into it. The things people love like how the doors feel to open and close, the sound when they lock and unlock, etc. It's sort of like how some people love fancy mechanical watches that if you evaluate them just as something to keep time are actually quite poor and overpriced. Nobody else makes a "truck" that starts at that price. It's a unique experience. Everything else is relatively similar. An Audi/Bentley/Cayenne/Urus are all the same platform. And when you close the door on your car even if it's an expensive luxury car these days many of them have a cheap thunk to them that just feels like cost cutting or weight savings. Anyway I'm droning on but hopefully I've shed at least some light. I don't blame anyone who says they're stupid or ugly or not a sensible buy. But there is a certain charm to them that you can't get anywhere else. I will say I have driven some old ones and we have a new one and I never really saw the appeal until the massive update and new model came out. My friend has a couple of older SWB ones and they're quirky and look great but mostly feel like fancy tractors.

Anyway a Land Rover Defender can get into the six digits especially with that rowdy V8, but it's based on a car that starts at $53,400. The Range Rover starts at $106,500, but when you close the door it still isn't going to feel massively different from a Discovery. A Cayenne starts at $72,200.00. If you've ever driven a Shelby Mustang GT350 it may have a great motor and handle nicely, but at its core it's still based on a $27,470 rental car. Compare that to even a Corvette let alone a nicer Porsche and there is a big difference in what it's like even if performance may be on par.

People have different definitions of what makes for a luxury item. For some it may be a pillow soft air suspension and something that has CarPlay and the ability to mostly drive for you. For others it will be all those little touch points, sounds, and quirks I mentioned above. Remember this is a body on frame vehicle. And as we come back to the point I'm driving home on starting prices, what other body on frame truck or SUV in its lowest trim starts around 140k? There isn't anything close. Most of them start under the 50k mark. The closet you'd get is a Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX around 80k (though we don't get the new Land Cruiser anymore). This along with the rest makes this a fairly unique vehicle that you just can't get anywhere else. It's truly a bit of a boutique item produced by a major manufacturer (or for them).

I've rambled on quite long here, but just because someone doesn't "get it" or thinks it's not a sensible buy (it's not), doesn't mean it doesn't hold massive appeal to some people and not just for the wrong reasons but good ones as well. If there is a funny stereotype of the Porsche driver who dailies some form of Toyota truck, there are also quite a few Porsche guys who love their G wagons as well. Take it even from Chris Harris who loves to say he hates SUVs and explains some of it more eloquently.

Actually G Class Mercs have held their values considerably well since their release especially compared with other luxury SUVs you'd compare them against like a Range Rover.

All this to say is despite it looking sort of heinous I'd buy the hell out of a 4x4 squared G wagon at MSRP if I was made of money. But I'd be one of the handful of people to actually go make use of the wonderful portal axle ground clearance and have a ball wheeling it.

usctrojanGT3

Yeah I can see how the Type R is a JPM ricer's wet dream but those buyers are gonna get hit a lot harder in the downturn than Porsche buyers so those ADMs won't be long for this world either, just a matter of time....tick tock. When the used car market keeps falling along with car interest rates going higher as the Fed keeps raising rates that will put pressure on the new car market and the Golf R and Type R will not be immune.

nineball

just got a call from a dealer i had spoken to about 9 months ago. offered me an order (not wait list) for $30k over on a gt4.

usctrojanGT3

They are dialing for dollars...no one is paying $30k over for a GT4.

MEM82

Can someone explain this as well? My brother in law bought a RR lwb SC through his business because of the weight.
My wife's x7 lease is ending soon and if I can write off a large percentage I'll purchase something heavy through my business

PiB993

I can see the association with mechanical watches. G-wagons were cool to me 10 or so years ago. Locking diffs are a big plus. I've been stuck on a John Deere tractor and Jeep and you turn on the rear locker (and front) and it amazingly pulls you out of trouble. Try that in a lexus hybrid suv. Probably good snow cars where one of my small homes is a certain neighbor has one for the wife and I always scratch my head. Just too common in big cities with smooth roads. A status symbol.

MaddMike

I would still buy a Land Cruiser / LX 570 as long term those hold their value and are built like tanks. They can go everywhere a G Wagon can go without looking as much like a wannabe influencer and for about $100k. Terrible gas milage but that would be the keys I would grab in a zombie apocalypse.

usctrojanGT3

Under the tax laws that were passed under Trump, businesses can take bonus depreciation (aka 100% of the cost) for reasonable business equipment or vehicles (they must be 6,000lb gross carrying weight which is the weight of the car + weight of the passengers when the car is full). Someone in a sales/service business like a realtor can reasonably argue that a vehicle is necessary to perform their work hence they can expense 100% of the cost of vehicle that meets the 6,000lb gross carrying weight requirement with no limit of cost against their business income (so long as the income > cost).