mercedes your opinion

[Hughmer]

Ours is a year 2000 Hymer S660. Based on a MB412 chasis wih Auto 5 cyl Euro2 engine. I previously had a Peugeot based Burstner and provided funds allow will stick with MB. Even though not as swish as modern interiors the general feeling of quality build still impresses me.

 

I travel at 55 mph or occasionally up to 70mph on flat m'ways with a following wind.

 

The MAM is 4.600kg and irrespective of whether we travel full or partially loaded we achieve 21mpg.

 

 

ONE THING THAT BUGS ME ABOUT MB as a firm:

 

Travelling around the UK & Europe as we do, I would like to have a printed list of dealers , - or a POI file for TomTom. It would be handy for planning routes for getting spares or servicing. The only way you can get a dealer location is by going ont MB's website and entering the address or postcode of where you are. It'll return dealers within a 75 mile radius.

 

I've pressed MB abut this and they say "the information is not available". I have argued that this must be tripe because it clearly exists in the database to which the site refers.... It is just that they are unwilling to make the information available as I would prefer to se it

 

When I explained to MB that this sytem relied upon their clients having acces to the web they offered an international freephone number 00800 9 7777777 which connects you to a sometimes not so willing call centre. But the operators will provide the names of dealers in an area.

[Dave G]

Wooie - 2012-07-25 9:09 AM

 

How many times did you click Submit then ??????..........LOL

 

Twice but I may have sssstutterd. :-S

[Clive]

We are on our second purchased coachbuilt motorhome and both are / were Merc based. I would not have it any other way. The base vehicle is quite simply engineered better. The last base vehicle I would chose is actually the most popular, the Fiat Peugeot Sevel vehicle but history shows that they have gone from one problem to another as the vehicle has been developed. Rust and water ingress, battery flooding, gearbox 5th gear, gearbox & reverse gear, alternator brackets braking off, etc. But they are considerably less expensive than the comparable vehicle from other stables and the deal Fiat offer converters is stunning.

 

Its your money and your priorities. Being realistic a motorhome seldom does anything like the mileage that white van man will do but unlike white van man a motorhome conversion effectively travels fully laden all the time. Peace of mind and a feeling of smug satisfaction when the rear wheel drive gets you off the flooded field comes at a price.

 

Good luck

 

C.

 

[Mike88]

duetto owner - 2012-07-23 7:27 PM

 

corky

 

thank you for the reply, we haved just returned from a long drive to marquis and back, ............................ took a test drive dealer not keen on a test drive untill your ready to sign the dotted line but went out anyway.

.

 

Blimey. I don't blame the dealer not being keen on a test drive as you are not even buying a vehicle this year.

 

The Mercedes panel van I drove (admitedly for only a few miles to a commercial vehicle auction) was nowhere near as nice to drive as the Fiat in my opinion. As a former Duetto owner for 7 years I can also confirm the Fiat (160 multijet) auto is a far nicer drive than anything Ford has produced.

 

Where the Ford gains is the relatively low cost of parts. Fiat's are an absolute rip off as I suspect - but don't know - are the price of Mercedes spares.

 

The Mercedes is not worth the price premium.

[Guest peter]

Mike88 - 2012-07-25 11:37 AM

 

Snip

 

The Mercedes is not worth the price premium.

Well a lot of people, myself included might beg to differ.

But if all you plebs can only afford a misley fiat, at least it enables you to buy a motorhome of sorts. :D (lol)

[Clive]

Ouch!!

 

[rupert123]

peter - 2012-07-25 10:01 PM

 

Mike88 - 2012-07-25 11:37 AM

 

Snip

 

The Mercedes is not worth the price premium.

Well a lot of people, myself included might beg to differ.

But if all you plebs can only afford a misley fiat, at least it enables you to buy a motorhome of sorts. :D (lol)

 

Well you may be correct here Peter but on a personal note I am unwilling to pay a £5000 premium for a badge and a badge that is fixed to an inferior product. As an example the Fiat X250 has a completely galvanised chassis and all metal body parts so rust a thing of the past, Mercedes does not. The Fiat 3.00 ltr engine/auto box is better than anything Mercedes can offer. The Merc may do half a million miles in its clunky tractor like way but who cares, most M/H's do less than 100,000 in their life and any white van base will do that. Where exactly is the quality all you Merc fans talk about perhaps you could explain in detail. I understand that having been conned into paying the £5000 for a badge that you will defend them, your choice, but give the rest of us some real reason to believe the quality bit rather than vague comments.

[onecal]

Hi,,

It's all a matter of opinion , but having said that drive one and see,,,,,

Regards,

Brendan

[rupert123]

onecal - 2012-07-26 2:36 PM

 

Hi,,

It's all a matter of opinion , but having said that drive one and see,,,,,

Regards,

Brendan

 

Oh I have Brendan and I do not see. Please explain it to me, the Fiat goes better is quieter and i have no reason to believe it is any less reliable. Body and chassis is also less liable to rust. What else is their.

[mirage]

I stepped into an Merc Based Coachbuilt once had to grab the handrail as it lurched over due to the soft suspension must be interesting on roundabouts. Looked in a Merc Based Panel van so narrow overhead lockers were OK for a pair of knickers and not a lot else. Dashboards look as if they belong in a truck. Most Commercial Merc Panel Vans over a few years old seem to show signs of rusting on the premature side.

I agree they live up to their name sprinter and engineering is probably better, whether they are worth the premium is I would suggest debatable. I`ve been impressed with the look and apparent ease that the new Renault Master seems to be driven around!

[Guest peter]

The reason the fiat is galvanised it that it is a third the thickness of the merc. I had a close look at the chassis of the fiats waiting for conversion at th pilot factory on my recent visit. I couldn't believe how flimsy they looked and nowhere as deep as the merc either, so far less torsional stiffness. And rupert I think you will find that the premium for the merc is way in excess of the 5k you mentioned. For a start it's rear wheel drive, just as a large heavy vehicle shoud be.

 

Come on Clive, help us out here, we are under attack. (lol)

[Corky 8]

.

duetto owner - 2012-07-23 9:26 PMcorkysorry a bit lost on your reply is yours auto or manual? we too cruise at 60 on a motorway only go up to 70 if in a hurry[rarley] and take our time when driving around london and country roads etc. grew out of boy racer mode many years ago.apparently we need a special hose adapter to fil the water tank from a tap is your like this?

Sorry for the late response K-1, the Sprintshift as its called is an Auto gearbox with the Facility to shift gears manually ,IE if I,m in top gear and want to drop a gear to overtake I can tap the gear lever forward and it will drop to a lower gear, or I can select first gear and keep tapping the gear lever back to select a higher gear each time I tap it up to sixth gear.or just leave it in the Auto mode and it act as any Auto would.  My Autotrail has a standard Water filler with lockable cap but I have bought a cap with a hozelock Type fitting on so I dont have to hold the hose in place when filling the fresh water tank,

I have worked on Engines  from an early age  from Austin 7s to Scammells to  Volvo F70 , I have stripped and reassembled  gearboxes. Back in the 70,s On my then Bedford CF autohomes Bedouin I stripped the four speed manual gearbox then reassemble it with the Mainshaft from a VX490 and a Laycock de ville Overdrive unit, which worked really well ,      I like others was put off by the Premium price asked for Merc based Motorhomes so went for and had the "New Fiat" 2.3 Ducatto back in 2008 under a Burstner Aviano 684i, with all the associated Reverse Problems and more as well all on the Base Vehicle, and the Tripe Fiat tried to hoodwink the owners with, So I committed myself to my first choice of a Merc and I have never looked back,The habitation side of the Motorhome is nothing to do with the Chassis That's down to the designers and the choice is your,s what you buy, Mine has the Heavy duty suspension which I find very stable. There is no one out there that would convince me that any other Base vehicle is built to the standard and Mechanical finesse of Mercedes, be it Private car or Commercial vehicle, Mercedes have got the commitment to Quality throughout the range.  and thats my take on things .

[bigal]

rupert123 - 2012-07-26 10:46 AM

 

peter - 2012-07-25 10:01 PM

 

Mike88 - 2012-07-25 11:37 AM

 

Snip

 

The Mercedes is not worth the price premium.

Well a lot of people, myself included might beg to differ.

But if all you plebs can only afford a misley fiat, at least it enables you to buy a motorhome of sorts. :D (lol)

 

Well you may be correct here Peter but on a personal note I am unwilling to pay a £5000 premium for a badge and a badge that is fixed to an inferior product. As an example the Fiat X250 has a completely galvanised chassis and all metal body parts so rust a thing of the past, Mercedes does not. The Fiat 3.00 ltr engine/auto box is better than anything Mercedes can offer. The Merc may do half a million miles in its clunky tractor like way but who cares, most M/H's do less than 100,000 in their life and any white van base will do that. Where exactly is the quality all you Merc fans talk about perhaps you could explain in detail. I understand that having been conned into paying the £5000 for a badge that you will defend them, your choice, but give the rest of us some real reason to believe the quality bit rather than vague comments.

Having owned a Autotrail Cherokee on a Fiat chassis I am now in possession of a CI Cipro on a Mercedes/Benz 316 cdi chassis. I have done around 27000 miles in this since Feb. 06 and I am satisfied that the MB is the better all round vehicle in both performance and engineering. I do not claim to be an "Expert", I leave that to others to judge but I have spent the majority of my working life (40 years) in Automotive Engineering during which time I had the privilege to work as a lecturer in the subject after many years working on vehicles up to HGV 40 tonnes.. The MPG for the Mercedes Benz Sprinter, in my experience, varies between 27mpg and 33mpg depending on how it is driven and the roads used and I have verified this over the past few years for my own interest. Rust is a fact of life where metal is concerned and it is your choice whether to have a galvanised chassis or pay for one of the proprietary rust treatmens available. In my opinion the driveability of the vehicle is the prime consideration. Your assumption that people are conned into paying £5000 for a badge is condescending to say the least everyone makes their own choice on the basis of what they know/can find out. As for the "soft suspension", any vehicle can be made to "roll" if it is driven in an improper manner.

:-S B-)

[David Dwight]

If Mercedes are so good, why is it that Mercedes are in the worst 10 vehicles for reliability?

[Corky 8]

David Dwight - 2012-07-26 9:41 PMIf Mercedes are so good, why is it that Mercedes are in the worst 10 vehicles for reliability?

Depends who,s Reports you are willing to believe, .Remember Fiats Advert  Built for the Future,  Who,s Future   ( thier spares dept no doubt).

[rupert123]

Well ok all you Merc owners keep taking the pills and in the end you will even convince yourselfs they are good. As Peter points out i may have understated the £5000 extra this makes it even worse, lets say £7000 for a badge then.

[Clive]

When businesses look at the overall cost of running a fleet of vans they have to consider servicing costs, purchase cost downtime and residual value. Then there is driver comfort, how much more work they can get out of a Merc van driver compared to a less superior (cough) brand. Time off the road is money and if a repair is necessary then they want it done once, well and fast. The Sprinters are the least costly to own and run when all parts of the package are considered.

 

Then ask yourself

 

What is the favorite base vehicle in the UK for an ambulance? You guessed it a Sprinter cos it goes like stink and keeps going! NO CAM BELT. Like the 3 litre Sevel/Iveco which I agree is a fine engine.

 

Anyway the Fiat galvanized chassis is not, its an Al-Ko and I have just spent two days at the Al-Ko factory in Germany seeing them put together. Even Al-Ko sub out the galvanizing process. Pity about the hand brake though!!

 

C.

[duetto owner]

i am no vehicle expert or engineer. i have test driven a few peuget/fiat motorhomes and hated them, drove a merc the other day sheer bliss. a holiday is to enjoy and a good part for me is the drive, i want a vehicle ii am happy and comftable driving.

 

we all have a favorite and in motorhomes mine is the RWD hitop transit and now added is the merc sprinter its even better than my transit.

 

i would like to thank all who added to my thread with positive and negative comments good to read both views.

 

earlist i can up grade now is oct waiting for the full size fridge. hoping a house move gets going quickly.

[onecal]

Hi,

So all the FIAT owners who had trouble with dodgy gearbox faults ,spare wheel going walkabouts Etc' have to take some pills(as you put it) as that faulty merchandise is still out there and believe that's quite a bitter pill to swallow, Surly all those people that had to put up with very poor after sale service from Fiat  can't be wrong also,,,,or are you saying it does not exist, you say you drove a Mercedes and it's not as good as? F---,,,,,,I really think you have answered your own question Henry, but then again everyone is entitled to their opinion. i think Dennis sums it up quite well, no one should have to put up with that kind of service from any manufacture, so who can blame anyone for paying a little more for quality,now that's the opinion of quite a few,

Regards,

Brendan

[Losos]

duetto owner - 2012-07-23 8:27 PMare the merc auto's thirsty like some automatic cars, the dealer said the fuel comsumption is similar to the manual as they have a new euro v5 engine.can you comment on this point please abit worried going for an auto if its a fuel guzzler.

 

I have a 2010 Sprinter LWB with auto box - from new you will get about 20 - 22 mpg but as the engine 'beds in' it has slowly increased to about 24 - 26 mpg (I am on 12,000 miles now) the higher figure when on auto cruise on long autobahn trips. The auto box on the new Sprinters are a real dream, changes up and down are un-noticeable, and it's actually the same box as the 'S' class cars. A huge improvement on any semi auto box from any manufacturer. You should get a 100 litre tank with a new Sprinter which will give you just over 500 miles range.

 

ETA:-

When I bought the MB Sprinter was the ONLY van with both an auto gearbox option AND four wheel drive which was what I wanted. I maybe wrong but the VW equivalent (Built in the same factory) may NOW offer these two options but the VW hadn't been released for sale in 2010

 

[dawki]

duetto owner - 2012-07-23 9:27 AM

 

we have autosleeper ford hi top transit. hope to move house next year and upgrade to a slightly larger camper van thinking about a autosleeper gloucester only seen on the web so far.

 

anyone got or had one can give an opinion good/bad etc.

 

what do people think of the mercedes as a base vehicle/ never driven one.

 

our transit is excellent drive but there seems to be a lack of fords around and just do not like the feel of the fiat/peugeot vehicles

 

Yes i have a 2007 MERC 2.2 and my advice would be GET IT

[rapido girl]

We have had Merc motorhomes over the course of the last 22 years with the exception of a 2 year interval when we had a Fiat. You can argue til the cows come home about reliability (over many thousands of miles we have had no problems with the Merc) but for sheer driving pleasure there is absolutely no contest- the Merc is in a class of its own.

[onecal]

Hi,

In March 2012 the VW Crafter 4Motion variant was released as an option with one engine BiTDI 120 kW (163 PS; 161 hp). The four wheel drive system is supplied and fitted by Austrian specialists Achleitner. In April 2012 they updated the vehicle,externally, and yes you are right they are built in the same factory to the same high standards, 

Regards,

Brendan

[rupert123]

Clive the chassis you saw at Al-ko is just one of chassis on Fiats. Their own chassis used on most lower price vans is not that one and is galvanized. However it is not just the chassis, the x250 has every panel galvanized which includes door panels inner wings and internal 'crush' zones. When the Merc is a pile of rust the X250 will still be going strong.

[onecal]

(lol) Not  many will fall for that one (lol)