09x04 - Renault Alpine A310

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, our mission is to

save classic cars
that are past their best.

I track down the motors.

And I work day and night to
give them another chance to shine.

And then we sell them on for a profit.

Well, we hope.

Now, this time I'm
grinning because we're on

the hunt of one of my
favourite all-time 4x4s.

This car has been in continuous
production for decades.

The G-Wagon is a one-off.

Hand-built in Graz, Austria.

Designed originally for military use.

It's been one of the
world's most successful

4x4s throughout its
32 years of production.

The Gelandewagen, that's
German for cross-country vehicle,

uses the rock-solid Mercedes
petrol and diesel powerplants.

It survived expeditions in minus 65 degrees
and won the Paris-Dakar rally in 1983.

This rough, tough car is now very
popular with rappers and Hollywood celebs.

Perhaps that explains
the astronomical prices.

A 2012 model cost around £80,000.

Okay, look, here's the
first bit of advice if you're

ever going to go searching
for a Mercedes G-Wagon.

Please, please, make sure you
have the world's deepest pockets.

I just can't believe how
much this car holds its value.

It's like putting your
money into Fort Knox.

There's a car here,
£90.99, and it's £27,000.

What does the G stand for in G-Wagon?

Does it mean gold?

Now, I'm desperately trying
to find something cheaper,

but I'm actually coming
up against Comical Cars.

Just look at this one for £7,500.

A 1989 diesel car with
tartan cloth interior. Yuck.

But with a bit more searching, I have come
across one that actually does interest me.

It's just under £12,000.
It's black. It's a 93 car,

the G300, and that's a
good year for one of these.

It's got that lovely Mercedes
straight-six 3-litre petrol

engine with the automatic
gearbox, full-service history.

And that combination is attracting me.
Time to give them a call.

The seller spent months
searching before he bought this car.

He knows the G-Wagon's
scene well, and he's getting

me excited about this
high-spec 90s classic.

Bye-bye.

Well, I've got to tell you,
I'm very interested in that.

The owner says for this car he wants
£11,800 for it, which seems a bit dear,

but now he's given me a bit more
detail, I really do want to go and see it.

So I'm going to hit the road and fast.

Now, the one thing that I really like
about this G-Wagon I'm going to go and see.

is it has a fantastic reputation
for being a good off-roader.

So I want to make sure I give it a
thorough going home from top to bottom,

because I don't want to get
caught out buying a bad one.

Very nice indeed.
This looks like the place.

Now, unfortunately, Matthew,
who owns the car, he's not here.

He has to go to work, and I'm not
surprised to pay for this, I would imagine.

But his wife apparently
has got the keys for me.

Let's go and meet her.

No barking dog, that's always a good sign.

Hello there. Hello.

Are you Juliana? Yes, I am.

Hello, I've come round to see the G-Wagon.

Oh, yes, I've got the keys for you.

I don't know anything about
the car, though, I'm afraid,

so I'm just going to let
you have a look around.

Fantastic, I'll be back in a bit.

OK, bye.

Wow, there it is, the G-Wagon.

I tell you what, doesn't it look smart
with these wheels on it and this side step?

Very nice indeed.

Now, he told me on the phone about
this front bumper, let's have a go...

But he didn't tell me about that.

That's going to need doing.

But the front bumper
is damaged at the front,

and it's been hand-painted,
so that needs addressing.

The grille's nasty.

Somehow, the front of this car
needs a bit of a facelift, doesn't it?

But the interior looks smart, look at that.

Very nice indeed.

Wow.

Look at that interior.

Absolutely glorious.

I love Mercedes from this period.

Look at that headlining.

Absolutely superb.

And I can guarantee every
knob, switch and button in

this car will feel like it
was installed yesterday.

Let's give it a go.

Nice, crisp, precise, positive action.

Exactly what you want out of your motor.

This was the golden age for Mercedes.

They certainly knew how to build them.

Now, inside, it looks all right.

Rear seats are good.

Passenger seats OK.

The carpets are good.

The centre console, that's a
bit damaged and a bit scratched.

People have put bunches of keys
down on there, so that will need doing.

And this driver's seat is
looking a bit worse for wear.

There's some Mark and
damage up there, and this bolster's

got some damage in it,
and that will need repairing.

Let's see what it sounds like.

Oh, listen to that.

Well, it says 140,000 miles on there.

Let's have a look.

Ah!

Well, look at that.

Yeah, it does look like it's
possibly done 140,000 miles.

It's absolutely filthy.

But it does sound sweet, doesn't it,

that Mercedes straight-six
engine just purring away?

You can see there's evidence
of corrosion all over the pipes.

To be honest with you,

it's not really going to tell me
much, just because it's so filthy.

What I'm going to have to
do is wait until the test drive.

Well, I've been hooning
around a bit in this G,

and I've got to tell you,
I'm really enjoying it.

This straight-six engine up front is
silky smooth, and it pulls really nicely.

And the gearbox, that's brilliant, too.

The kick-down, oh, that works lovely.

There's no funny noises coming from
either the suspension or the steering.

Do you know what?

It's one class act.

It's really important in a classy
car that the bits you touch feel right,

and unfortunately, the steering
wheel in this car doesn't look.

The rubber's gone, it twists off the wheel,

and we'd have to address that.

It's horrible.

Well, I think it'd come as no surprise
that I really do want to buy this G-Wagon.

But what's it worth?

Well, he's asking 11,800 quid,

which, to be honest with you, is a
bit too speculative in this market.

But I still want to buy it, so what I'm
going to do is nail it back to his house,

jump on the phone, and
see if I can crack a deal.

Hello, Matthew, it's Mike Brewer.

Well, it is a shame that you're not here.

Dealing on the phone is never easy.

I prefer that face-to-face human contact.

On the other hand, it does mean
it's easy to go in with a cheeky offer.

I don't want to be too
hard on you, but I think

in the current climate
and the way the car is,

I think it's only worth nine grand.

You could push me a little bit more.

I'll give you 9,500-pound cash.

Go on, have a deal with me. Come on.

Yes, we have?

Perfect. Fantastic.

Yeah, I'll be in touch.

Bye-bye.

Brilliant!

Just bought myself a G-wagon.

A fantastic G for less than ten grand.

But I'm not underestimating
what lies ahead.

Mercedes parts cost a fortune,

so if we want to make any money,

I'm going to have to box
clever with this German giant.

I've just spent nine and a
half grand on a G-wagon.

I know it sounds crazy, but
believe me, it really is a bargain

for a car that's capable
of driving in the Sahara.

or the Arctic Circle.

Luckily, I've just got the 50-mile
drive back to the workshop to complete.

It's all in around this dual carriageway.

You can feel just how good this motor is.

It doesn't feel like a great big 4x4.

It feels like a proper Mercedes cruiser.

This car is all about one word.

Quality.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

Nice car, but how are you
going to add any value to it?

Well, if you look at the current
model of the Mercedes G-wagon,

it's fundamentally the same as this
one, with a few subtle differences,

like the grille at the
front, the lights are

different, and some
other little bits and pieces.

And the good news is all of that stuff
is interchangeable with this older model,

so we can bolt it all directly to this
car and make it look a lot more younger.

And I reckon if we get it right, we should
be able to sell our G-wagon for 13 grand.

Well, not long to go now, and this
merge has been a real pleasure to drive.

I'm absolutely won over.

I just hope my
long-wheelbase mechanic feels

the same about this
short-wheelbase merge.

Oh, look at that.

How you doing?

Sound your way.

All right, mate.

This is cool, isn't it?

Oh, you like it?

Well, yeah, it's very rugged, isn't it?

It's very kind of urban
and, I don't know, tough.

I'm glad you said all those words.

These are so in at the moment.

The Mercedes G-wagon,
they're really in vogue.

I'm so pleased I got us one at last.

Is there much to do?

There is a little bit to do.

This car's had a little
bruise once or twice in its life.

There's one down here on the front bumper.

Okay.

Unfortunately, that's a double-skinned
bumper, so you can't repair that.

So you're actually going
to have to replace that?

I think you've got to
replace the front bumper.

Maybe a little bit of paint
and stuff could be done.

Exactly.

And I think while you're there,

why don't you,

because you've got the front
of the car coming off, obviously,

why don't you change
this grille at the front?

Okay, and give it a bit of a facelift.

Give it that little mod lift.

Okay, that's quite cool.

And what about the headlights?

Do they do an uprated one of those?

Headlamps are the same.

Unfortunately, this
one's a little bit loose.

Okay, so let's fix that as well.

Okay.

Yes?

Do you want to see under the bonnet?

I wouldn't mind.

You won't be so happy.

I'll be honest with you.

Here we go.

Okay.

You ready?

Yeah.

Oh, mate, that is in a right old state.

I think there's quite a few things
that are going to need attention in here.

I mean, straight away you can see
kind of radiated hoses of paint and stuff,

but I think once you've
blasted off all the dirt,

you're going to find
loads of other stuff as well.

Now you won't.

Now you won't.

Look, the German army, they
drive these around, you know,

and they don't drive them around if
they're going to break down, do they?

They are rugged, strong and reliable.

Just give it a clean,

get it looking sparkly,
because I'll tell you what,

to sell this car on to top dollar,
and they do make some good money,

we're going to have to make
sure all this looks nice and bright.

Yeah.

Okay, fine.

Fair enough.

Cool.

Have a look inside.

There you go.

What do you think of that, then?

Well, it's kind of basic,
but it's definitely tidy.

You like it, yes?

Good.

Well, I'll tell you what, I
absolutely love it in here.

There's something about
the period that I really like.

Everything inside this car works.

One thing, though, that does
let it down is this steering wheel.

It's come away.

Yeah, so the foam's actually
separated from the steel center,

but I mean, looking at it,

maybe there is a more
modern kind of wizzy

version that we could
actually replace this with.

The seats, they're a little bit dirty,

a little bit threadbare, but
they can be cleaned, can't they?

Yeah, yeah.

We could do something with them.

There's a little Nick
down here, isn't there?

So I think we could, you know,

sort of do some repair
work on that as well.

Carpets are good.

They just need a clean up.

One thing that does let it down
is this center console down here.

This has been scratched and damaged,

and I think you need to take that out
and really give it a good old buff up.

Well, the thing is,

woodwork isn't exactly my forte, but
if it is genuine wood, like solid wood,

then maybe a French
polisher could sort it out.

A French polisher on a car show.

There you go.

It's a first, isn't it?

Right, let's show you
something down the back.

Cool.

Well, Ed, if we're going to make
the front of this car look more youthful,

we need to do the same round the back,
and one of the ways we can tackle this

is with the rear lights because
you can buy an LED kit for these.

That would be very smart, actually.

Very cool, mate.

Yeah, cool.

Actually, we've got quite
a few jobs to do after all.

There is quite a few jobs,
but if we're going to drag

this 20th century dinosaur
into the 21st century,

you need to give the
front of this car a facelift.

Sort out the engine, mate.

You need to sort out the interior
and change your steering wheel,

and you're going to have
to do these rear lights.

But I know if we get it
right, we can maximise the

amount of Deutschmarks
we can earn out of this motor.

Better get it in the workshop.

Let's do it.

Cool.

I always get a bit concerned when
Mike brushes over something on a car.

Fair enough, it was parked
on grass when he looked at it,

so it wasn't so easy to check for oil
leaks, but I wish he tried just a bit harder

because this vehicle's only
been on the ramp a short while,

and there's already a small
pool of clear oil underneath it,

and that usually means trouble.

A 19-year-old car is always
going to have a few little leaks.

But this one is growing fast.

I need to find the source
and troubleshoot the problem.

Looking around under here, the car
does at least look very solid and clean.

No signs of off-road
use, which is good news.

Not so good is that the oil leak appears
to be coming from near the transfer box.

Now, at first glance, that
could be pretty bad news.

This is the transfer box.

It's a pretty important part of
any four-wheel-drive vehicle.

You've got the drive coming from
the engine through the gearbox,

then through a little driveshaft at the
top there, then into the transfer box,

then through a series of cogs and gears.

That's then distributed to the rear axle
and the front axle, so pretty critical.

So to see an oil leak could mean

you end up with some pretty
expensive repairs ahead.

The oil is clearly on the transfer box,

but that doesn't necessarily
mean it's coming from the box,

and a bit of further investigation
reveals the real source.

Now, coming around this
side of the transfer box,

I can clearly see where
the oil is coming from.

It's actually washing off the
dirt that's coming out so much,

and it's coming off the speedo drive.

So clearly there's some oil seals, perhaps,

that may have failed inside there.

Before I start taking it apart, though,

I think I really should
give it a bit of a clean.

The speedo drive measures
revolutions within the transfer box

and translates them into the speedometer
reading you get on the dashboard.

If the oil seals in the drive are worn,

then they'll need replacing.

Thankfully, it's a much cheaper
and less time-consuming job

than swapping a transfer box, which
would have taken me about ten hours.

I need to disconnect the speedo drive

to really understand
what's going on under here.

Well, the speedo drive is out of
the car and a little bit cleaner now,

and you can see inside here the little gear
which can be driven by that transfer box.

Ultimately, it's going to end up going
to the speedo via this little sender here.

Just pull this apart and undo that.

Obviously struggle with
access on the car itself.

Now just pull that shaft out there.

There we go. So there is actually a seal,

and there seems to be
one just on the top here.

It does look slightly deformed,

so just in case I think I want to try and
replace that just because you never know,

there might be some
oil leaking out of there,

but there really
should be another seal.

So let's have a little look.

There we go.
So there's actually one inside here.

I can see a little
slot, like a kind of a

gallery, which is where
an O-ring should live,

but there is no O-ring.

And I'd be pretty sure that that's why

so much oil is actually
leaking out of this part.

So if I can get hold of
that seal and the other seal,

I reckon we can fix this.

Luckily, I've got a Merc dealer nearby,

and the parts are very easy to come by,

but they're twice as
much as I'd expect to pay.

Our brand-new seals have turned up.

Only took a couple of hours.

Did cost £15 though, but they are genuine,

and they are going to solve our
problem, so well worth the money.

The first seal is simple to
locate inside the speedo housing.

The second gets a good
coating with all-in-one oil,

and it slides into place quite easily.

But it's a tight fit, designed to seal,

so here's a good bit of advice.

I'm using an undersized
socket and gently tapping it

to force the oil seal evenly
into the speedo drive.

Building the drive back
up, it's soon ready to bolt on.

The job's taken me just an hour,

and this has been a lucky escape.

But I'm slightly worried though.

Mike missed this oil leak.

Is there anything else he's overlooked?

Well, that is a real relief.

We've sorted out our oil leak for £15.

Now, if we'd had to
replace our transfer

box, a second hammer
would have cost £1,000,

so we've definitely got
off lightly with this one.

I'm at an old factory
estate in Buckinghamshire,

not too far away from the
workshop, and I love these places

because you never know
what's going on in these units.

There's probably some craftsman making
something to send off round the world.

However, I'm after a guy called Andy Roberts
who hopefully is going to breathe life

into the scratch centre
console of our G-Wagon.

This looks like the place.

Are you Andy?

I certainly am.

Andy, I'm Mike.

Hi, nice to meet you.

Smoked you on the phone.

How you doing?
This is right in at this place here.

Not bad, not bad.

Fantastic.

Right, okay, this is my centre console

at the Mercedes G-Wagon
I was telling you about.

As you can see, it's scratched and damaged,

and it's a big lump of wood,

and I was hoping you could,
well, make it look like new again.

Yeah, sure.

What I can do to get rid
of all of these scratches.

is I can flat them out
with wet and dry paper.

and then re-lacquer over the
top of the Polish that's on there.

So that's where the shine
and the luster comes from.

It's a lacquer, not a French Polish?

Okay.

No, you wouldn't French
Polish on something like this

because it wouldn't stand
up to any wear and tear.

Right, okay.

All right, well, do you
want to crack on with it?

Yeah, sure.

Let's have a look.

Okay.

Right, so what's the first job then?

Well, the first thing
we do is start flatting

it to get all of these
fine scratches out.

All right, you don't mind attacking
it, then, with a bit of sandpaper?

Okay.

Well, you clearly know what you're doing.

How long have you been doing this?

Oh, about 30 years or so.

Thirty years?

Yeah.

Wow.

Do you do car parts often?

Yeah, it's pretty varied.

Most of the car parts I've
done previous to this one,

I've been out of cars that
are quite a bit older than this,

like old Jags, Rolls
Royces, things like that.

I'm a big fan of specialist
restorers like this.

You can get a great job, and
it's usually really good value.

Right, Andy.

God, look at the state of that.

It's a bit like one of Ed's restorations.

It always looks worse
before it looks better.

Yeah, yeah.

So you've completely flattened it off.

Yeah.

So what's next?

The next process will be to put a spray,

a coat of cellulose lacquer on it.

How long does that take to dry?

Well, once it's been applied,

it'll only take about
15 to 20 minutes to dry.

And how much is it going to cost?

You're looking at around about 150 pounds.

150 quid, which when
you think to replace that on

a G-Wagon today is going
to be a fortune, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah.

The lacquer goes on
fast and dries fast too,

but it needs about four layers to build
up a shine that's suitable for a Mercedes.

Between each of those coats of lacquer,

Andy will flap back the surface.

In all, it would take two
days to complete the work.

This G-Wagon is all about
keeping the parts' spends really low,

and I think 150 quid is
good value for money.

I'm really looking forward to seeing that

center console back on our
car in a couple of days' time.

I'm going to leave Andy to it.

I've done well to keep the quality high
but the spend low on the center console.

Big challenges lie ahead as we shell out
on a potentially costly front-end facelift.

Let's hope the road ahead isn't
too bumpy for our galanda-vagon.

This is our mud plug-in,
green Lane-loving, off-road icon,

a short wheel-based G-Wagon that's shiny
on the outside but filthy under the bonnet,

and we'll never sell it on for 13 grand

if it stays in that state.

It spent the last few
years living in the country,

so it's time to wash
away that farmyard muck.

Now, looking under here, it's pretty clear

that our big G has been off the
beaten track a few times in its past.

You certainly don't get this
much muck on top of an engine

by popping down to the
shops or doing the school run,

so it's my job to make sure
that the inside of this engine bay

is as spic and span as
the outside of the car.

The engine bay is going
to be drenched with water,

so this battery needs to come out.

I'm going to be using a
steam cleaner, but I don't want

to get any water into any
of the electrical systems,

so what I'm going to
do is just try and protect

the most vulnerable areas with
some plastic and a bit of tape.

Areas like the distributor
cap need protecting,

and five minutes spent wrapping
them now in bin liner and tape

may save hours coaxing a
soaked electrical system back to life.

A liberal coating of
engine degreaser will give

the steam cleaner extra
purchase on all this muck.

The steam cleaner I'm using is a
top-of-the-range powerful model.

If you want a higher one, then
they're around 30 pounds a day.

And now for the fun bit.

The dirt is certainly shifting,

but it's not until I've
got the car dried out

that I'll get to see what condition
the engine bay is really in.

Well, now we've got the
murk back in the workshop,

it's clear to see that that wash and
brush-up has made all the difference.

Unfortunately, as I expected,

I can now see loads of
stuff that needs further

attention, and this battery
tray is a case in point.

A little bit of acid may have leaked out
of the battery, is eaten through the paint,

and then started to
corrode the steel beneath.

Now, thankfully, it can be saved,

but first of all, what I need
to do is just remove the

worst of the rust with a
brush and a bit of sandpaper,

then I'm going to go
over it with some rust

remedy, and then,
just for a final top coat,

a little bit of stone chip.

Now, you might think
renovating the battery tray

is just a cosmetic improvement,

but it's a vital part,

holding a valuable and
potentially dangerous power source.

If the corrosion on the tray
had been allowed to spread,

then pretty soon we'd
be looking at cutting it out

and welding in an
expensive replacement part.

An hour's work now means it's soon
looking good and working well once more.

Now, another thing that needs attention

is this top hose here.

You can see that it's quite perished,

and, of course, when the engine's
hot, that's going to be under pressure,

and if it was to burst
because it's too perished,

then, of course, you
end up overheating,

potentially, and you might
even damage a head gasket,

which is not cool, so it
does need to be changed,

but the advantage of that is it's also going
to complement our nice shiny engine bay.

Now, if the top hose is gone,

chances are the bottom
hose might be at peril,

but, actually, it looks rather like
it's been changed more recently.

If I was to take this top
hose off straightaway,

then, of course, the
coolant that's inside

would then end up spilling
all over our nice clean engine,

so rather than do that, I pop
this container just through there.

I'm just now going to sacrifice this pipe.

because I'm also going to Chuck it anyway.

Hopefully, this way, I
won't get too much spillage.

With the coolant drained, I can loosen
the Jubilee clips and pull off the pipe.

The new top pipe cost £19.

Not bad for an original Mercedes part.

No point using anything aftermarket
on such a vital engine component.

Now, we only lost a small amount
of fluid when we took that pipe off,

but just to be absolutely sure,

I'm just going to check the level.

You certainly don't want it running out.

Now, the last little
detail, which is rather

bothering me, is the
top of this rocker cover.

It should be a nice even
black all the way along its top,

but, unfortunately, back here,
you can see this kind of looks like,

it's almost like a kind of varnish that's
gone off, and that's kind of what it is,

because when this car
came out of the factory,

Mercedes covered
it in this kind of waxy

lacquer just to protect
it from the environment.

Of course, some of it is on the engine,

and now, as it's got a
little bit old over the heat

from the engine, it's
discoloured and gone a bit crispy.

It just looks a little bit untidy.

So, rather than actually
rubbing it down and painting it,

I'm just going to try and clean it
off with a bit of cutting compound.

Now, I'm no fan of
over-prepped engine bays,

but I do think the work
I've done this morning

has made a big difference to
the sales appeal of the Jeep.

It's the kind of thing you can do at home,
but don't overdo it with the satin black,

because cleaning up an
engine bay is all about subtlety.

Mike always says that
when he opens the bonnet

of a car, he wants to
see an honest engine,

and by that, he means something that hasn't
been cleaned especially for the sale.

Now, I totally agree,
but in here, it was so

filthy, it was bound
to scare off any punter,

so I'm really chuffed
that I've managed to cut

through all of that muck
that made this engine bay

look like something from a
filthy old tractor and revealed

what it truly is, which is the
business end of a capable car.

That's what I like to
see, a man hard at work.

How you doing, buddy?

I'm all right, actually.

Just kind of admiring the results, really.

Well, I'll tell you,
they're great, aren't they?

The results, look how clean the engine is.

Please tell me that when you
got rid of all that farmyard crud,

that underneath, our Mercedes
engine was 100% fighting fit.

Well, the engine is actually fine,

but when we drove this
car into the workshop,

it did develop a bit of a
pool of oil underneath.

Wow, I don't remember seeing that.

Well, I was really worried it
was going to be the transfer box,

but it turns out it was just a couple of
seals on the speedo drive, so we're okay.

Oh, dear, that's a lucky save.

Can you imagine how much a
transfer box would be for one of these?

For instance, you know that bit of the
wooden centre console you give me?

How much do you reckon
to replace one of them?

I reckon, genuine Mercedes, maybe 500 quid.

500 quid would be quite
expensive, wouldn't it?

Well, you could almost double that.

900 pounds.

You're joking.

Tell me you haven't bought one of those.

I haven't, but I've done something else.

I took the one that you give me to a wood
restorer, and look what he's done to it.

He's flattened it off, polished it.

It looks lovely, doesn't it?

That is really lovely.

It looks actually almost as good as new.

How much was that?

That was only 150 quid.

Now, that is a bit of a bargain, isn't it?

And that means I had some money left
over so I could do the grille on the front,

get a replacement, and those
LED lights down the back.

So I got my next job.

Cool.

I've wasted no time in getting.

the front-end facelift
parts to the paint shop.

Well, on a mission to
facelift our Mercedes,

and Mike has managed to
source the main bit to do it.

This is a current-model grille.

It's much more contemporary
than the 19-year-old

model we've currently
got attached to our car,

and it should bolt straight on.

I'm going to get it painted,

that lovely metallic gray
that the rest of the car is,

and while I'm at that,

I thought I might as well do
these front-headlight surrounds

because they were looking a bit
tired, but also the original rear bumper.

Now, you can see they've all
been primered ready for the top coat.

I've got one more addition just here,

which is our replacement front bumper

because the original one
was a bit too mangled to fix.

Now, the idea is to paint
them all exactly the same gray

so you get that lovely color-coded look
that should really freshen up our Mercedes.

Well, it's all ready.

I'd best get it out of their way.

Mr.
B has spent £299 on the new front grille.

For once, he's decided to go for an aftermarket
part because it's about £100 cheaper.

Errol's just putting on a
special coat of plastic primer

onto our front grille because
it's never been painted before,

and we need a special
layer of adhesive material

to go between the top
coat and the plastic beneath.

The car looks black in some lights, but the
actual color is a kind of graphite gray.

It's got a lovely metallic quality
which gives the car real class.

Now, in the old days,

metallic paint used to cost about
50% more because of the lacquer,

but nowadays, they actually
put lacquer on solid color as well,

so really, it's only just
marginally more expensive.

Together, this paintwork will
probably cost around £500,

but it's going to be the bling
that hopefully lands us a punter,

as Mike would say.

Well, Errol's doing well, but
I'm going to leave him to it

because I've got loads more updating work
to do on our G-Wagon back at the workshop.

Now, our G-Wagon sports the
older, more traditional light unit,

but luckily, we've managed to source
this rather natty-looking LED version.

You can see it's a lot tidier to look at,

but also, it gives a
much better quality of

light, so you get style
and safety in one unit.

So, as we'd expect, behind
here, we've got the bulbs,

and what would normally happen
here is you'd take all that out

and there'd be some kind
of connector to disconnect,

but actually, with this new
system, it's quite clever.

You've actually got these
kind of bayonet fittings

that you'd normally
expect to have on a bulb,

and they go straight into
where the bulbs would

go, and then that way,
all your wiring's done.

How clever's that?

With the battery already disconnected,
I can set about the fitting process.

If you're a G-Wagon owner,

you'll be glad to see that this is a
job that you can easily do on your car

if you want to shell out the £260
we paid for this illuminating upgrade.

Look at that. They fit perfectly.

Nice bit of bling as well.

All I need to do now is reconnect
the battery and then I can test it.

It's that moment of truth once again.

OK, Paul, can you put
the side lights on, please?

Look at that. Very smart.

OK, now the brake lights.

Quite literally brilliant.

And now the indicators.

Fab.

Look at that. They all work. Brilliant.

Now, while I'm waiting for the
new parts to come back from

the paint shop, I thought I
might as well just crack on

and remove the old grille
and the damaged bumper

so when the new parts turn
up, they can go straight on.

I'm expecting the freshly
sprayed light bezels, grille

and second-hand bumper
to arrive at any time,

so I'm keen to get this
stripping down done and dusted.

But there's always one
bolt that refuses to play ball.

Well... It's all
going well until now,

but it seems this
little chap doesn't want

to budge, so I think
perhaps a bit of heat.

Access for tools is good.

The G is a heavy-duty hand-built motor

and I love it because anyone with a
decent tool kit can get to grips with it.

Sure, parts prices are high, but if
you can tackle a job like this at home,

then you can save at least £100 on labour.

That's much better.

All right, Paul, nearly there.

Can you give us a hand, please, mate?

You got it?

Our parts are back from the
paint shop and they look great.

If you compare the old
front grille with the new one,

you can see there's definitely
a marked improvement

and this is going to
take years off our motor.

But also, I really love that lovely
colour-coded front bumper look as well.

Very chic.

Paul, give us a hand.

The front bumper is first on.

It was a second-hand
part but still cost 500 quid.

But I sold our old one to a green laner
for 50 quid, so I made a bit of money back.

Next is the facelift grille.

I'm slightly nervous this non-merc
part will need a lot of fettling,

but it goes on like a dream and I
sold the old grille for 40 pounds online.

Well, that looks very smart.

The freshened-up light bezels complete
the look and the G is ready to roll.

21st century style.

Well, look at that.

At first glance, it would seem that
our G-Reggon is a current-year model,

so whoever buys this
vehicle is going to end up

with something that looks like a
brand-new car for a lot less money.

But I've still got loads to
do, so join me after the break.

when I swap out that nasty steering wheel.

and deal with that tired interior.

Across the world, the
G-Wagon is in vogue today.

In the US, celebs are queuing
up for the privilege of driving

this capable off-roader around
the mean streets of Beverly Hills.

This car is all about one word.

Quality.

Our G-Wagon has been freshened
up and facelifted to attract a buyer

who wants all the glamour
of a G for less cash.

And now Ed is turning his
attention to the stylish interior.

Well, this interior has definitely
benefited from a bit of a vacuum clean.

The carpet underneath
is in pretty good

condition, but unfortunately,
that centre console,

as you may remember,
was looking a little bit tatty,

which is why Mike had it
stripped and re-lattered.

But look at it now.

Looking very smart indeed.

Mike had this restored at a cost of £150,

and it's relatively easy to refit.

So if you want to spruce up
the wood finish on your car,

what's stopping you?

It can be done fast and cheaply,

and the results are great.

It all clips together really nice and easy,

just the gear stick mount there.

That, and then just two
screws hold it in place.

This is very tidy indeed,
much better than before.

Now, something else that's letting down
this interior is this old steering wheel.

It's seen a few miles, and what's happening
now is it's starting to break down.

If you actually grab hold of this,

you can actually spin the
foam outer around the steel core,

and that's not supposed to happen.

Clearly, we have to change it.

Now, I couldn't get hold
of one from a G-Wagon,

but did manage to find
one from an old E-Class

because they actually
have the same fitting

pattern, which is fantastic,
and it was only £50.

Removing it is quite a straightforward
job if you follow my easy steps.

So first top tip is to make
sure that your steering wheel

is heading basically dead
ahead before you take it off,

and that way it's going to be
easier to align with a new one.

Next top tip is to make sure.

you don't take the
nut all the way off first.

So make sure, again,
you've got your steering wheel

straight, and then get
your legs behind if you can,

and then this way, when
you pull off the steering wheel,

you're not going to
smack yourself in the face.

Now I've loosened off
the wheel, I can finally

remove the retaining
nut and lift off the old part.

The new leather-bound steering
wheel is a real step-up in quality,

giving the driving seat experience
a much-needed freshening up.

I'll just check the horn still works.

Well, this feels and looks much better,

and talking of something that looks much
better, it's just turned up at the workshop.

Now, these seats were
covered in loads of marks and

snags and even some
slightly more serious damage.

Now, we're never going to get them perfect,

but I did manage to find a company on
the Internet who do seat refurbishment,

and they did charge me
300 quid, but they've done a

pretty good job and they
saved me a whole lot of time.

Remember that some 90s
cars had multiple airbags,

so if you're thinking of swapping out a
steering wheel or removing seats, check first

that you aren't going to
set off the airbag system.

Well, the facelift on the outside
of this car was a huge success,

and I'd say the same
for the interior now too.

Everything is showroom fresh
and ready for a new owner.

The G-Wagon is Fertig.

The G-Wagon is currently enjoying
massive worldwide popularity,

and our classic version has been updated
to benefit from that same on-road buzz.

Whoever buys this car better
be used to causing a scene.

I started the ball rolling
by knocking over two grand

off the asking price
of this high-spec motor.

Brilliant! Just bought myself a G-Wagon.

Ed liked what he saw when I bought it back,

but I was soon in the doghouse

when oil started pouring
onto his pristine workshop floor.

Luckily, it was a Speedo drive seal,

and not the pricey and
complex transfer box.

The G had clearly been
off-road at some point,

but the new owners wouldn't
want to see the evidence

staring them in the face every
time they opened the bonnet,

so Ed steam-cleaned the engine
bay and did some necessary tidying up.

The big job was to turn this 1990s front
end into a face fit for the 21st century.

A new grille and bumper and colour-coded
paint job did the job up front.

New LED lights bought the rear up to spec.

Finally, Ed put the class
back in the classic interior,

fitting the polished wood,

upgrading the steering for one with
leather trim, and sorting the seats.

But all this work hasn't come cheap.

What's the final cost?

Well, I did get a good start
with that low purchase price,

but the facelift parts
were well over a grand.

And when you add in the
paint and the interior costs,

we're looking at a total
spend of just under £11,500.

Ed, how you doing, buddy?

I'm good. Are you all right?

All right. I'm ecstatic.

Look at the Glender bag,
and it's absolutely superb.

Do you like the new-look front end?

I like the new-look front end. I love it.

When I went and bought the parts,

I didn't imagine it would
turn out quite as good as that.

That's ten times better
than I would have hoped.

It's a lot more saleable as well.

That's fantastic.
I mean, the interior is pristine as well.

In fact, I've given this
GMAG a lot of care and

attention, and I really
love the end result.

Well, how do you fancy me and
you taking our roughy-toughty 4x4 out

on a special test drive so we can
see what the big G is capable of?

Well, it sounds interesting,
but you've got to promise me

we're not going to get it muddy,
because this car is 100% ready for sale.

No, I don't want to get
it even a little bit dirty.

Come on, Ed. Trust me.

This is Mercedes-Benz World,

a high-tech facility where owners
get to learn how to drive their cars fast.

But we're not testing the G here.

Oh, no, we're going across the road to...

Huh?

Muddy World, where the water is axle-deep.

There's one in four inclines to tackle.

And rucks you could lose a car in.

Come on, Ed. We couldn't
let a legendary off-roader like

this go without giving it a
proper bit of mud plug-in.

So I do apologise, because this immaculate
motor is going to get pretty dirty.

Well, it is a lot of fun
being bounced around

on this specially
made off-road circuit.

So I don't mind too
much, but on the way home

we will be finding a
garage with a jet wash

and it won't be me
doing all that big clean-up.

I totally agree. I'll get Paul to do it.

I'll tell you what, although this vehicle
is getting on for nearly two decades old,

everything we're throwing at it,

it seems to go for it with ease, really.

Except for that.

Oh, my word. That's like a wall.

That is a wall.

This is never going to get up there, is it?

I reckon it might.
I think you'd give it some.

Yeah? OK, well, let's give it a go.

Nice and steady. Nice and gently.

Let's use the power of
this fantastic Mercedes

four-wheel-drive
system and the engine.

Come on. Come on, pal. You can do it.

Look at that. Look at that.

That is brilliant.

Look at that.

It feels like you can go anywhere.
It's awesome.

You could conquer the
world in this G-Wagon.

That was brilliant, wasn't it?

That was very good. I love it.

Well, Ed, this old
G-Wagon, I'll tell you what,

it's epic off-road, but I
did give you a mission

to make sure it's got
some street cred, too.

And I've got to tell you, with
the upgrades you've done,

I reckon you've pulled it off.
It's brilliant.

Well, we didn't want
to go all gangster with it.

We wanted to keep it nice and subtle.

And that new grille, the new lights,

and also that kind of
colour-coded front end,

I think it's really going to make
this car stand out in the marketplace.

But the question is, are we
going to make any bucks out of it?

Well, you know, G-Wagons are ever popular,

and a car with a fresh
face looked like this one,

I reckon it's going to attract attention.

So what kind of money are you
thinking of pitching it at, then?

Well, I reckon we could go for mid-teens,

and you never know, I might find somebody

who's prepared to give a bit
more than that for it as well.

Well, that's great, and what a great day.

All we need to do now is
find a garage with a jet wash.

Or go through this water
splash one more time.

Come on!

Well, we did get the big G polished up

after that day of mud plugging.
Doesn't it look great?

Do you know what? I thought at £13,000,
this thing would fly out the workshop.

But to be honest with you,

the calls have been a
bit thin on the ground.

I've had four offers so far, and they
range between £9,500 and £10,000,

and that's just not good enough.

When I was beginning to lose a bit of hope,

a little ray of sunshine
popped into my inbox.

I've had an email from a guy called George.

Now, George lives in
Cyprus, and he's offered me

£12,000 for the car, with
a £2,000 cash deposit.

And you can't say fairer than that.

So I've got some good news for you, George.

The car is yours. The G-Wagon is sold.

A sale price of £12,000
gives us just over £500 profit.

I hope for more, but at this
stage, I'll take any profit I can.

And I wish this chap George in
Cyprus all the best with a cracking car.

If you want to see us
tackle more big challenges

turning rusty ranks
into shining classics,

then join me and Ed
soon on Wheel Of Dealers.

Tala!