Bad feeling about purchasing Merc Van

[ibrar]

Hey there guys,

I went to view a Mercedes Sprinter 311 MBW van, 65k on the clock, "Full Service History" 55 plate, HPI clear. The guy is a van dealer, so I felt safe however, I noticed that they were respraying the vans white in the garage and checked the van I was purchasing and noticed it had been resprayed. I questioned the seller and he said that they do it to all their vans to improve their look, obviously this isn't done with a private use car. The outside looks spot on expect a cracked mirror and the odd bulb. The van drives superbly, no smoke etc.

The only exceptions are that ESP and ABS lights stay on, "supposedly a sensor failure", that the inside looks like it has been through a hurricane (looks like a builder had been driving it prior to hand, due to the amount of dirt inside. The other factor is the "Full Service history". The book had 3 stamps, all from Gerard Mann Mercedes Darlington.

So I decided to phone up Gerard Mann Mercedes in Darlington to only find I couldn't get a number for it. So tried a few other commercial dealers around the area and they done have the van on record or know of any Mercedes dealers in Darlington. So I then called the main Gerard Mann dealership in Birmingham and they said they have never heard of or seen of (in the MB dealer directory) a Gerard Mann in Darlington.

Have any members seen/heard/been to the Gerard Mann in Darlington or wish to give me any advice on the situation?

I'm still interested in the van, its for a reasonable price too!

Thanks in advance

Ibrar

 

[Adam230K]

Dude if you cant verify its history i'd strongly advise you to walk away, regardless of what kind've good deal you think you're getting. You could be purchasing a real dud.

 

[gt-83]

leave it.........plenty others out there

 

[Smiley]

If the service history is stamped by a non existent dealer and a 55 plate van has been re-sprayed what does that tell you about the mileage? I would pay a bit more and get a proper 'un - and not from that dealer either - should send big alarm signals about the checking they have done.

 

[imadoofus]

If this dealer can afford to respray all his vans, and still turn a profit on sale, then he must be getting them very cheap.

Run for the hills, say I.

 

[glojo]

Congratulations on doing the research but if you are doing this, then please act on what you have found out!

Are you 100% certain about the dealership stamps? If so then this is illegal and I would definitely contact the local Trading Standards Office.

Regards
John

 

[jeremytaylor]

It's not unusual for used vans to be sprayed, I wouldn't worry about that.

I would worry about the ABS light staying on. It might be a sensor, but it might be a faulty ECU - there's a world of difference in the cost of fixing the two faults. And ABS light is an MOT fail, so you can't ignore it.

I would also worry about the inconsistent service history.

Look elsewhere.

 

[nick mercedes]

Congratulations on doing the research but if you are doing this, then please act on what you have found out!

Are you 100% certain about the dealership stamps? If so then this is illegal and I would definitely contact the local Trading Standards Office.

Regards
John

It would be nice to think Gerard Mann might take an interest too, give it's their name of the stamp?

 

[davidjpowell]

If they are going to fake the service history you would think they would use a dealer who exists in that location rather than one who does not!

David

 

[Uberwagon]

So they go to the hassle and expense of spraying it but don't give the back a proper clean?

Walk away, they are hiding something.

Dave!

 

[jaymanek]

Van spraying is common.. they pick up a lot of marks and a lot are given a flick of paint before resale...
nothing to worry about.

Of course all the dealers went through rebranding recently. It could be that there is/was a Mercedes dealer near darlington that has now changed its name?

Worth a bit more digging as I know used mercedes commercial vehicles arent in plentiful supply at the moment.

 

[Maxi4]

Hi,
I bought my previous car from what used to be Gerard Mann in coventry. I think they had changed over to MB of coventry by then (2004). We used to get all our company cars serviced there, wasnt aware of another one in Darlington. So...something isnt right here. I'd second everyone else's opinion here...walk away.