You have to be more specific on which model you speak of and a wealth of knowledge and experience will spring forth from this forum....
Anyway the reliability of any vehicle is directly related to the maintenance and knowledge of the machine. This holds true for any vehicle, however you are ahead of the game dealing with one of the finest made.
I myself am a diesel person... clean fuel & clean oil = reliability, power + fun
As far as a daily driver, most well maintained Unimogs are very reliable, but like any vehicle, the rustier and more mistreated they are, the less reliable they get. I wouldn't worry near as much about the mileage on these trucks as I would the condition and maintaince. I've had Mog's with 300K and 400K KM on them and no problems, and I had one with 30K on it and it was broken every time I used it, so it just depends. Beware of unimogs that have been sitting for a long time, as they are a pain to get back into shape for a reliable daily driver.
That being said, I've used 416's in the past as daily drivers, and for about a year I used one with a crane to deliver used engines around our Metro area here. You must understand that these aren't fast (top speed or acceleration wise), and the cab noise on the non-SBU diesels is intense. I hear that the SBU series trucks are much more comfortable than the older 404, 406, and 416 models, and easier to deal with as a daily driver, but I have no first hand experience with a SBU ( I get mine at the end of this week :-)).
Cheers,
Ben
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People freak out when I drive into the shop with a perfectly good Mercedes, only to start cutting it up for parts. I just tell them that something has to die inorder to keep all of the other Benz's running.
404's are more than reliable. They are flat out one of the best vehicles to get from a-b in. That being said, it sucks daily driving them. If you have a fairly stable 404, you will always make it to work, you just never know when you will get their. They are very slow, and seem to get slower every day you drive them. 404's are a ton of fun as a run to the store truck etc, but I dont suggest them for any trip over about 5 miles on a daily basis, if you have to look nice once you get their. You will smell like gas, your going to be tired from the fumes, and your legs will be sore in about a week from getting in and out.
X2. If it is well maintained, the issue is not going to be reliability. If you can live with driving any 2 ton truck from the 60's, you will probably love it. If that isn't your idea of fun, because of the type of driving you need to do or whatever, then you won't.
I love driving my 416 occaisionally, but 80% of my daily commute is on a freeway where the traffic is going 80+mph. While I take the 416 to work several times a year, I wouldn't consider it on a daily basis.
I tell people that ask that my 406 is better than driving a back hoe, but not as comfortable as a dump truck. So, if you'd drive a dump truck as a DD, you're probably in the game.
404's are more than reliable. They are flat out one of the best vehicles to get from a-b in. That being said, it sucks daily driving them. If you have a fairly stable 404, you will always make it to work, you just never know when you will get their. They are very slow, and seem to get slower every day you drive them. 404's are a ton of fun as a run to the store truck etc, but I dont suggest them for any trip over about 5 miles on a daily basis, if you have to look nice once you get their. You will smell like gas, your going to be tired from the fumes, and your legs will be sore in about a week from getting in and out.
But Damn I love my 404's
As far as reliability goes I wont have to worry about it breaking adown alot? I really dont care about the creature comforts. I just want the baddest offroad vehicle in town that wont be on the side of the road alot.
The thing you have to remember about the 404 is that there are very few things to break. If you start out with a well maintained truck that isn't leaking fluids everywhere and has a tight engine, ect you should have good luck using it as a daily driver. IMO if I were to use one as a daily driver, I'd go through the brakes, replace the ignition system with some more modern parts, and rebuild the carb and fuel pump (these parts can be had for reasonable money, and installed fairly easily). The thing you have to remember is that these trucks are 40 years old and original brakes, ignition, and fuel system could all be potential parts that could leave you stranded on the side of the road.
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