Should it stay or should it go
 

I just got struck by a thought this week and seriously consider to sell my WG and all the relevant parts incl the lift kit and buy a car which is more reliable. After all what I went trough so far and others reported too, there is no way to fix this things if you are in the middle of nowhere and the electronic starts to act up.
And getting this rig to a level where I would be happy with it, will take time given that I am now working full time again and have only the weekends. It so much to do that I do not even now where to start.

I am considering buying a GQ or a Defender instead with way less electronic and even a manual gearbox which is a huge pain in the ass in this rig. And one which has all the parts I am looking for already installed so I dont have to go thru the hassle.

I wonder what others took the decision to keep this car although ti sounds everyone of you has faced issues in the past as well.

I went looking at new cars on the weekend.

I'm going the new car route, mainly because the piece of mind of warranty.

I've owned Jimmy's to a gq and gu and the jeep would be the perfect vehicle if it was reliable. But is not.

I'm going the Mitsubishi route I think, I'm not crazy hard core, I generally take the easier track so nothing it won't handle.

Remember the older they are they still need the up keep! I know a few blokes with Landy's. I'd stay clear.

So its the big problem of when the next thing to go wrong will happen, and it will happen and I am not just talking Jeep , its really all vehicles. Or at least all vehicles I have owned, and that has been quite a few in over 50 years.From your posts you have had a lot of bad luck and problems with this WG, and some indiviual 4x4s are just a problem from previous lack of owner care etc. My WG is really reliable now since I got all the bugs out of it from when I first got it. But that is pretty much the same story with all the previous 4x4s which were mostly toyotas. So for me the answer is when the problems/bugs/breakdowns start to get more frequent. The other thing that crosses my mind with this decision is if you go back older it will have more wear and tear, older and simpler might equal more reliable, but will be higher fuel consumption too. Then again if you go newer diesel, it will have a DPF and these can be very problematic in jap 4x4s, nissans and toyotas and expensive to fix. If you are not doing big kilometres, switching back to petrol might be the go, petrol engines are easier to maintain. So good luck with a tough decision what ever you end up doing...I hope my Jeeps will last out till I can go electric 4x4, when ever that will be.

Thanks both for your input. I hear what you are saying.

Even if change the rig, I am sure there will be other issues coming along. I have a 1982 Benz Diesel and there was enough to take care of. But the difference is that all of it is mechanical, and if you keep maintaining the engine it runs almost forever.

I agree that a petrol car is easier to maintain and potentially to fix, but again the older engines are rather simple and a Diesel if well maintained and looked after will serve for a very long time. And even if I have to take out the engine, I will not have to remove all the cable and electronics. Looking at the engine bay of the Benz there are very little things I have to remove to get the engine out. And when I have to put it back in, there is no reprogramming needed. Plug and play and off you go.

I am not so much concerned if I drive around where I live, there will be always some cars coming along which can help. It is more like when I really want to go to places where I might not see anyone for days. If the electronic may act up, even if I call RASQ (if I have any reception) or other help they might not be able to help.

And there is the ICU is in the back of my head. If this thing gets fried have yet another issue to solve, if I even can. I heard from other CRD owners that they had to retired their car just because of this issue alone.

I am confident that I can solve losts of the mechanical work but electronics if a different level. And since it is MB I always need special parts which I cannot necessarily here locally for a decent price.

To be fair, electronic problems do arise, and the nasty ones come from failed engine wiring harnesses.

Retiring a whole car because of electronic issues happens due to the lack of competent mechanics/electricians or lack of cheap parts.

For such emergencies, you can always ask a friend that lives where CRD parts are cheap :D

Anyway, I'm on my second CRD, the first one has been a basket case because of neglect from the previous owner...

Hey Joerg...only thing your gonna get that doesnt face the same underlying issues your concerned about are pre 90's...if you can afford the fuel bills then its your only option...obviously you have the mechanical skills to own,drive and maintain a pre 90's vehicle...but...finding one needing less than 20k spent on it to replace ALL the rubbers/bushings and every bit of the consummables that have just plain worn out...its a tough call

I had a 1980 300D. it did 2 million km before I retired it. Got a 84 one cheap, did a few 100,000km & its still in the shed. Its the end of the series with 280E lights. They go for nearly ever.