need to buy a new van as my head gasket failure has wrecked engine

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mustang

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ml 270 brabus d4,
hi all . i am looking at replacing my 2000 108 cdi for a 07 or 08 vito lwb or xlwb. so whats the van like ? can i get a sheet of 8x4 standing up ? what engine shall i get ? etc etc

looked at the reviews and they slate the vito big time. main problems

rust rust rust no warranty work ( stone chips )
worn tyres
electrics
build quailty ie spain, not being galvinised
ball joints
tracking

dont shoot me im just relying what i have read . i want a vito as i love mercs but if there is a known problem please advise me of it .

cheers all

shaun
 
looked at the reviews and they slate the vito big time. main problems

rust rust rust no warranty work ( stone chips )
worn tyres
electrics
build quailty ie spain, not being galvinised
ball joints
tracking

Ach.. Danne worry...All these reviews were written by Nick...
 
hi all . i am looking at replacing my 2000 108 cdi for a 07 or 08 vito lwb or xlwb. so whats the van like ? can i get a sheet of 8x4 standing up ? what engine shall i get ? etc etc

looked at the reviews and they slate the vito big time. main problems

rust rust rust no warranty work ( stone chips )
worn tyres
electrics
build quailty ie spain, not being galvinised
ball joints
tracking

dont shoot me im just relying what i have read . i want a vito as i love mercs but if there is a known problem please advise me of it .

cheers all

shaun
What's your budget and which Vito have you been looking at? 109,111,115 or 120 CDi?
 
hi all . i am looking at replacing my 2000 108 cdi for a 07 or 08 vito lwb or xlwb. so whats the van like ? can i get a sheet of 8x4 standing up ? what engine shall i get ? etc etc

looked at the reviews and they slate the vito big time. main problems

rust rust rust no warranty work ( stone chips )
worn tyres
electrics
build quailty ie spain, not being galvinised
ball joints
tracking

dont shoot me im just relying what i have read . i want a vito as i love mercs but if there is a known problem please advise me of it .

cheers all

shaun

First of all there are only two wheelbases. The Vito Compact and Long have the same wheelbase - the Long's extra length is behind the rear axle. The Extra Long has a longer wheelbase.

Early ones were not galvanised and had a significant rust problem (like the previous 638 Vito and many other M-Bs then). From approx. 2005 all steel panels are galvanised, later 639s can apparently get some rust on the tailgate but it's not widespread. The 639 Vito is identical in all but trim to the Viano, which sells for up to £42k before options.

They do wear the outside edge of the front tyres, but my first set passed the MOT after over 27k miles so not a show-stopper IMO.

They are built in Spain, not sure what the relevance of that is though. The Nissan Primastar (their version of Nick's beloved Vauxhall Vivaro) is also made in Spain.

Window regulators do fail, mine were replaced under warranty so I don't know how expensive this is. Not heard of electrical problems, the 638 was renowned for that though (dashboard electrics particularly).

They're not particularly fuel-efficient ... read the official consumption figures. IIRC the higher-powered 4-cyl versions do better mpg than the lower power ones ... different engine mapping I guess. We have the V6 auto which is great but only averages about 25 mpg, 30 on a long run. However we knew that before we bought it, so no complaints.
 
Everything Bill has said already. :thumb:

I have some corrosion on my tailgate and have to say I'm very hacked off by the MB's refusal of a warranty claim on a vehicle that (supposedly) has a 12, year anti-corrosion warranty. LINK.

That said, the V6, 120 Sport is a great van to drive.
 
dont shoot me im just relying what i have read . i want a vito as i love mercs but if there is a known problem please advise me of it .

They're not very good vans, but if your heart is set on one, make sure what ever one you buy is not too rusty - no matter what year they seem to rust.

From 05 onwards they pretended to galvainse them, but for some reason they still end up with big rusty holes on almost any part of the van, and the rust warrenty is unusual in that it does not cover rust.

For examples of the quality of these vans see:

Viano 2005: corrosion on the doorprofiles - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/attachme...1266785352-mercedes-vito-cambelt-vito-006.jpg

The bonus is that due to rust and the feeble build quality they don't hold their money like other vans, so if having a star up front is important, and you can cope with the rust, bits dropping off and breakdowns, you shoud be able to pick an 05 one up for a couple of grand.
 
Per the other thread, a 2005 could have been ungalvanised (depending on build date).
 
IIRC I read somewhere that they only galvanise spray one side of the panel (inside or outside not to sure), instead of galvanise dipping the panels like i believe other manufacturers do.
 
Get a Transit. Far better van. I can get you a cracking deal through one of my clients. :)
 
andy27168 said:
IIRC I read somewhere that they only galvanise spray one side of the panel (inside or outside not to sure), instead of galvanise dipping the panels like i believe other manufacturers do.

I can believe that. Do you know if they do that with the cars. I was under impression it was a dipping process for cars...
 
I can believe that. Do you know if they do that with the cars. I was under impression it was a dipping process for cars...

They do dip their cars, I have proof, they dipped my old W210 in salt water and then painted over that.

Any van with a V6 diesel, rusty or not, has got to be a bit of a chuckle.
 
I can believe that. Do you know if they do that with the cars. I was under impression it was a dipping process for cars...

I thought they used pre galvanised sheet, but only galvanised on the inside of the panel.
I'm not sure why, but they call it organic galvanising.
 
Any van with a V6 diesel, rusty or not, has got to be a bit of a chuckle.
It certainly is, both from the performance POV and also quietness/refinement. As far as I know M-B are the only maker to offer anything other than 'economy' powerplants (1.9 or 2.0) now. VW certainly dropped their nice 2.5 5-cyl, and I think Vauxhall/Renault used to offer a 2.5 4-pot?
 

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