Mercedes quality - fact or phantom? (1 Viewer)

[busby]

well I have just returned from my first trip out in the sprinter, its mark 1 with three hundred and forty five thousand miles on the clock, its still pulls like a train and I have just worked out my MPG for the trip, at a steady 65-70 mph it returned a sterling 30 mpg :thumb:

You cant beat a good old un.BUSBY

 

[cbrookson]

Our old 410D based Hymer got through the last MOT with no advisories - but it was a 1992 van before Mercedes had quality issues. My E Class from 1996 had rust appearing within 2 years.

The one good thing is spares, even for ours we can get parts within 24 hours through our local Mercedes Truck dealer. Not sure if that would be true for many other base vehicles.

Cheers

 

[outkast]

euro car parts stock just about everything for the early mercs and at very good prices, paid £42 for a set of front discs :thumb:

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[pneumatician]

Our Sprinter (316CDI) based Van is now almost twelve years old. My only concern is rust under the screen due I believe to have had two new screens fitted. One mineral lorry and one strimmer.

Not sure what to do about it other than keep squirting WD4O up the drain holes.

 

[Peter A Forbes]

Haven't had ours that long yet, but for a 1999 vehicle that has been used outdoors an neglected it isn't bad.

Most of the body issues could have been caught early by the previous operators, but we haven't got a big list, mainly window surrounds and wheelarches, plus some rusty power steering pipes where they pass through the front wheelarch right in front of the wheel, not terribly good design.

The engine is the Euro 3 OM904LA 4.25 litres 136hp with 5-speed manual box.

The chassis is huge and the vehicle had underseal from the factory. I have the build sheet from MB and it states clearly that underseal was applied.

Peter

 

[DiggerJon]

I feel in lowly company with my Ford Transit based 2.2 TDI Tribute on a motorhome chassis I had waxoyled from new. Car like to drive (loathe the deeply buried instrument panel so you can's see the instruments - officer!). What are mechanical issues? Never had one in four years; I get 27 mpg overall and parts are almost over the counter (so I am told as I've never needed them!). Mercedes - they signed a pact with the devil when they merged temporarily with Chrysler when the bean counters took over and quality plummeted. That and EU emissions laws, fleet operators - oh, you know what I mean! Compared with my 1997 Fiat rust bucket and mechanical nightmare, my Tranny is bliss!

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[Snowbird]

Well things have moved on a bit since this thread started. I recently replaced my 24 year old Merc 410d based RMB with a relative youngster, a 16 years old Merc Vario 814d RMB. The dowager served me well and it was a tough decision to get rid of the old girl. The youngster seems to be performing well since purchase last June and is happy pulling a train weight of around 10,000kgs and still returning around 20 MPG. I would expect the MPG to get better once the tightness has gone and she has loosened up a bit as she is still under the 300,000km mark. I will report back next year when she hits the 300,000.

 

[Portland]

I have a 15 year old E220 cdi estate old 4pot engine it will go for ever and as it only comes out every other Stoke wakes the body is excellent, its only done 52,000 miles. The only trouble has been with the electrics ( BIG) money. When we had our business I ran 3.5 ton luton vans and nothing would beat the Transit, VW? couldn't pass a thing including fuel stations MEGA expensive to repair, Mercs Would'nt do the job rotted away whilst you loaded them.

 

[injebreck99]

I have a 1993 MB 190 petrol,car, absolutely love it, I was told that if you want to get a MB to keep, get a 190, they ate built to last.

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[Abacist]

I had a C250 5 pot turbo diesel estate which was the most expensive car I ever bought and I was expecting outstanding quality of build, performance and reliability. The car's performance in terms of acceleration, handling and ride were excellent. Fuel consumption was also pretty good over its life.

However it let me down many times and was very expensive to repair and service. There were 2 instances of fuel starvation which left me stranded and both were misdiagnosed on both occasions. First time it was suggested that all the seals on the fuel injection system needed to be changed on a car less than a year old. Second time it was eventually diagnosed as a fuel tank sender unit that had failed. The car had twin fuel tanks mounted like saddle bags over the propshaft and diff and full starvation occurred when one sender unit went kaput and the fuel level still showed 25% full. The car used to get through glow plugs with regularity.

Once we arrived at the CC site at Chester Fairoaks with the caravan in tow in a cloud of steam which turned out to be diesel spraying over the hot engine. Mercedes came out and I said I thought it was a snapped fuel line under the locking nut on number 5 cylinder. This was poo-pooed by the technician who said that the car must have had a history of fuel injection problems which was cobblers. He tried to tighten the nut on the injector pipe and you could tell he thought it was going tighten up easily but he actually hurt his hand as it didn't budge a fraction. When he undid the nut the end of the injector pipe fell off! Never ever seen that before he said - well I had but on a Bedford TK lorry!

The rear exhaust box fell off on Sky and I had to drive home without one fitted and the back end melted and sagged! Need a new light cluster, bumper, valence, mounting frame and spraying at over £750 according to Mercedes. The local plastic surgeon took it to bits and just replaced the mounting frame, light cluster and put it back together for less than £200.

A partner at work had a recent E class which got returned as unfit for purpose as it spent 6 months in the garage as it just came to a halt on the motorway. They supplied him with a better loan car.

I had a Land Rover Discovery which never let me down and the same with a Volvo V70 D5 AWD. Mercedes are not as premium as they would have us believe according to my experiences!

I did however have a fantastic track day with them once at Thruxton!

 

[Bertie Bassett]

I ran a small fleet of MB100 vans in Germany in the early 90's, they were awful, unreliable and a nightmare to service. They were screwed together in Spain. They were totally unrepresentative of other Mercedes commercials that I have used/had access to which were all reliable.

 

[barearse]

Haven't had ours that long yet, but for a 1999 vehicle that has been used outdoors an neglected it isn't bad.

Most of the body issues could have been caught early by the previous operators, but we haven't got a big list, mainly window surrounds and wheelarches, plus some rusty power steering pipes where they pass through the front wheelarch right in front of the wheel, not terribly good design.

The engine is the Euro 3 OM904LA 4.25 litres 136hp with 5-speed manual box.

The chassis is huge and the vehicle had underseal from the factory. I have the build sheet from MB and it states clearly that underseal was applied.

Peter

Welcome aboard Peter,I own the older T2 version of yours.An '89 709D converted van with the OM 364.304000 km on the clock, not needed much doing to her in 2 years of ownership. These older low tech girls just go on and on.

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[Peter A Forbes]

Something we have just found is a crack in the body structure, caused we think by the bus door operating mechanism:

Broken Link Removed

Peter

 

[Glandwr]

My van is a 2003 Merc sprinter 616 (5 cylinder 6 tonner) with Hymer superstructure. Done 65k in it has needed atention 3 times, broken disc Milan, injector Angolulem and injector Sicily. All surprisingly reasonable to fix.

Give me Merc everytime. Just sit on the side of the road in Morocco, Turkey or the middle east and watch the old taxis and vans go by. 100% mercs, Fiats zilch, pugs zilch, fords zilch. Got to say something.

Dick

Dick

 

[Campfos]

Our first motorhome was a Rimor Sailor on a sprinter chassis auto on a 09 plate but I believe it was a 07 model. This went very well I had it for 18 months and did about 10,000 miles in it. But in cross wind and passing trucks it wander a bit. Fitted Air suspension to it that improved it a good bit but it could still catch you out a bit. Due to sircumstances changing we had to look for a layout with twin single beds.
So I found a sunlight t66 on a fiat Ducato chassis that matched our requirements. Now this van has the fiat comfort auto box this is not as good as the Merc auto, gear change a bit slow but after you get used to it ok but it broke down after 82 miles. This was three fault codes in the gear box not allowing it to change gear not a good start for a new van. But the RAC man fixed this with his laptop. ( going to local fiat dealership next week to be further checked out as its under warranty hopefully that was just a one off )
Since that I have now done 320miles including a trip on the A66 from Scots Corner to Penrith which I must say the fiat chassis handled much better than the Merc has done, no wander passing trucks it does seem better planted on the road which gives you a lot less stress.
So to date better impressed with the Ducato chassis as long as the gearbox is going to be ok.

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[Gaston aires]

I had a sprinter 160 hp in the last Hymer van 2002, and my car is a 2007 E280. Both vehicles have been perfection up to now and apart from routine servicing I have not spent a penny on either of them (touch wood) so far.
Phil

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Had a few 312 Sprinters, then the 311s, not really had a problem with rust as I looked after any stone chips with white nail varnish, (stop it), mechanically while not bullet proof, not too bad, early 312 Sprinters were naff 1st to 2nd, and they failed on ball joints a lot, but later ones, I never had any problems.

BMW bikes I did courier work on an RS80, steering head bearing made themselves know on the A64 one crisp morning, and also stripped the chrome of the cylinder liners, as did my T3, RT100, seemed to be bullet proof, no matter wat I did to it, later models seemed OK really, again well maintained by me not the dealers time wasting monkey, fave is the GS1100, what a bike, not had chance to try any of the new uns.

 

[joncris]

Our Hymer was a 3ltr Fiat Ducato and we had no problems. Our Current MH is a Renault based Rimor and like the Hymer hasn't given us any problems..... Our family car is a Lexus LS400 and the Missus has a Fiat Punto which she bought new in 2002 and its been great. The 4ltr v8 Lexus goes like the clappers often leaving big engined Mercs and BMW's in its wake. The Punto just goes on and on and on

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[ambulancekidd]

I think its a case of "horses for courses" Back in 2010 The Scottish Ambulance Service bought Peugeot (similar to Fiat) front line Ambulances & they've been nothing but trouble. Crews regularly come out of houses when they've responded to emergencies to find the firefighters spraying water onto the brakes cos they've caught fire! .Many crews all over Scotland have had this unpleasant experience. There are many other issues with the Peugeot wagons & they're now being disposed of long before they normally would. Now at the same time the same ambulance service bought Peugeot patient transport & urgent tier vehicles, these vehicles drive without problems. The crews love them. Now the best emergency vehicles I've ever driven were MB Sprinters, they've all been fantastic . The MB Sprinters regularly clock up half a million miles with no issues at all.

The point I'm making is that its simply a question of experience & personal taste. Our MB Sprinter has performed with no issues at all (touch wood) & we love driving her.

Robert & Hazel.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

They got rid of peugeots because the brakes caught fire, then bought more peugeots, I assume a typo there

 

[Terry]

Hi Kev slightly off subject but liking your self build
terry

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[weejohnw]

Have friend with a MB motorhome. Broke down 11 times in first year - twice around Plymouth within a week while on holiday. He insisted on getting it changed, MB engineer came to look at it and he was offered a new replacement. It breaks down too!!!! Although not as often. He had to sign a non-disclosure agreement about not going to the press etc. He plans to take a year out of it and lower himself to getting a Fiat based model.

 

[funflair]

They got rid of peugeots because the brakes caught fire, then bought more peugeots, I assume a typo there

Non emergency use I think for the second lot.

 

[KUSKUS]

The company I work for run twenty two Fiat Ducato based mini buses on maxi chassis, all fitted with Comfortmatic robotised gearbox's . Vehicles are approx. two and half years old 25000 to 35000 miles.
nothing but trouble from day one, engine management problem, three new clutches, eight clutch slave cylinders, ABS problems , DPF problems, Air suspension problems, Intercooling radiator leaking.
On the plus side the three litre engine is superb.
I have been toying with changing my 2004 Hymer 2.8 Ducato with a newer model but do I want all these problems ?
I think most newer vehicles seem to be more unreliable.

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[funflair]

Too much electronics and the only people that understand it are the guys that design it, the service people certainly don't, good reason to keep our old IVECO, actually talking of which you don't seem to hear of as many problems with the IVECO chassis as you do the Merc.

Martin

 

[ambulancekidd]

They got rid of peugeots because the brakes caught fire, then bought more peugeots, I assume a typo there

No its not a typo, the Scottish Ambulance Service got rid of the Peugeot A&E vehicles but bought the lesser bhp/torque Peugeot as patient transport machines & they seem to run very well. The brakes seem able to resist catching fire when used in the normally calm manner of patient transport crews. The A&E vehicles are now being replaced with Mercedes Sprinters with the 6 cylinder diesel engines.

Oh just as a point of interest, the same ambulance service bought VW LT ambulances around 2006 & if your were sitting stationary with your foot on the brake, the pedal sank slowly right to the floor! We were told by the mechanics that VW said there were "no faults" with these brakes & they were all the same. The brakes worked well enough though

 

[mariner]

No its not a typo, the Scottish Ambulance Service got rid of the Peugeot A&E vehicles but bought the lesser bhp/torque Peugeot as patient transport machines & they seem to run very well. The brakes seem able to resist catching fire when used in the normally calm manner of patient transport crews. The A&E vehicles are now being replaced with Mercedes Sprinters with the 6 cylinder diesel engines.

Oh just as a point of interest, the same ambulance service bought VW LT ambulances around 2006 & if your were sitting stationary with your foot on the brake, the pedal sank slowly right to the floor! We were told by the mechanics that VW said there were "no faults" with these brakes & they were all the same. The brakes worked well enough though

This is an old thread, but as a matter of interest the 2006 VW LT vans you refer to are really Merc. Sprinters with a VW Engine and transmission.
I've had couple of Sprinter based Motorhomes and pedal travel when stationary is a bit disconcerting, when you first experience it, but is in the design and not a problem.
To drive? Merc. vans v the rest? No contest! The Sprinters are a joy, the rest are just vans!

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[tonyidle]

But to be fair, no engine is any vehicle is as reliable as the older models, due to emissions running them so close to seizure point.

Don't understand this at all. Modern engines are built with better materials and to closer tolerances than anything that went before. They have larger bearings and better seals (and normally better lubricants) than early engines. Fuelling and ignition point is more closely controlled than ever before. They hold the same amount of oil in the sump. How does any of that run them 'closer to seizure point'?

 

[Snowbird]

All the old school Merc diesels that were famous for longevity and huge mileages were built with not so tight tolerances as modern engines.
They were slow revving long strokes that were designed to run on mineral oil with frequent oil changes.
They all burnt oil from new, which required frequent level checks.
They were built in a day long before global warming and emission controls and had no electrics or drive by wire. They were slow, noisy and smelly, but they were reliable and built to last, unlike modern engines. If a piston broke up, you dropped the sump and pulled the offending piston out and drove home. You cannot do that with a modern engine.

 

[laird of Dunstan]

You are not alone ours is due in January think positive

ive gone for the 3.0 liter fiat engine rapido , mines due in January too

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