Talk to me about......Vitos!

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Tombola

Active Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2016
Messages
87
Location
Hampshire, UK
Car
C63 AMG
Hi all,

Looking at getting a van as I am doing more and more bike trackdays so need to be able to get around and not rely on mates!

Have been told by a good friend of mine the VW and Merc are the way to go for a reliable van, and that lead me to Vitos.

So, please tell me, whats good, whats not and is there a peach of an engine to go for?

Looking to spend around 5-6K. Little more is possible if its low mileage etc.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Avoid anything pre-2005 as they weren't galvanised and often rust. One major plus for the Vito is that it's just under 2m high so goes under car park height barriers.

The peach engine is definitely the 3.0 V6 (Vito 120 and later 122), but you'd probably have to spend a bit more than that to get one.

Vitos come in 3 sizes - Compact, Long and Extra Long. Long is the one to go for IMO as the Compact doesn't have an under-slung spare wheel carrier, so you need to carry a spare inside somewhere. There's no such thing as a 'LWB' although you see this all the time in adverts. The Compact and Long have the same wheelbase - the additional length is behind the back axle. The Extra Long is extended in front of the rear axle as well so that one does have a longer wheelbase.

We've had our 120 for nearly 10 years and it's been great. 200+ bhp and an auto gearbox makes for a rapid and relaxing drive. Aircon was standard on all the V6s.
 
Fwiw I believe it was 2007 that they addressed the appalling corrosion issues that blighted earlier Vitos. The later versions are not immune to the tin-worm, but will not be shedding flakes of chassis & bodywork at every speed bump.
IMHO you should go for a LWB (the standard version) rather than the "compact" version.: As well as the spare being tucked away underneath, the extra space gives just enough room for 2x bikes + wheels + generator etc....
Here's mine, bikes in & ready to load with all the kit.:

Anything you want to ask Tom, I'll do my best to answer based on what I've learnt about them so far.

Two%20bikes%20loaded.jpg
 
Cheers for the replys, and I'm off looking at vans at the weekend!

Current trackbike is a K7 GSX-R750. Got the bug at the beginning of last year, and ended up at Cartagena last November! Having to rely on mates with Vans is getting annoying, and a pain having to load up early in the morning. Having my own would be ideal, but i'm only 23 and am already using the insurance no claims on the other Merc!

Insurance is looking to be about £680 with my dad a the second driver.

Just need to find a few more pennies down the back of the sofa that haven't been spent on tyres ;)

Another thing that is drawing me to the Vito is the double sliding doors. Will make loading the bikes a lot easier!
 
Take your time and don't rush at it..even although you have the money to burn.. I saw 6 vans before settling on the Carbon Black one that I own now.. I love it, drives a dream, good on fuel.. is in need of a little TLC (unemployed at present) but bodily she's totally sound and last summer I Dinitrolled all the inside behind all the panels and doors so that she shouldn't rust. Its a 2006 111CDi and it is the LWB body.. there are plenty of lemons out there so get used to walking away.. remember from cold they have an inherent 2/3rd gear - a good one shouldn't feel notchy or stick from cold and the change should be smooth - if it has this the you could be looking at a large bill. Also see this and walk away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BtcpzbseI

A common problem, easily rectified but can be costly if you don't know.. RUST has anyone said this? Early ones are prone to this - I saw a "minter" in Manchester in Air force blue metallic a rarity in dead (sorry deed) I had it inspected and it came back clean... went to see it my self and every panel had a blister as big as your hand and the bonnet was separating from the frame.. so be warned! They do eat front discs and pads for some reason but then its wear and tear, also tie rods inners and outers.. but apart from that love mine to death.. better than my old T4...

P.S Drivers seat bolsters are rotten.. a very common problem and getting a good replacement is like rocking horse doo doo.. so be warned..
 
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.....Another thing that is drawing me to the Vito is the double sliding doors. Will make loading the bikes a lot easier!
I like having the double sliding doors, but it does not help with the loading really.
In fact, if there was no door on the right I may well load the bike on the right up against the bulkhead rather than having to have them both in wheel chocks.
As wu56Shoozz points out, there are a lot of potential issues so it will pay to be cautious. (Unless you buy one cheap with the problems, and sort them all yourself taking up lots of valuable track time).
Enjoy the Gixer, and good luck with the van hunt mate.

Oh, and may I suggest you take a look on here.: http://www.trackdayriders.co.uk/tdr/forum/show-us-your-trackday-van_topic62179_page1.html?KW
http://www.trackdayriders.co.uk/tdr/forum/trackday-van-choice_topic63034_post792524.html?KW
;)
 
IMHO you should go for a LWB (the standard version) rather than the "compact" version.

Do you mean Long (which is the same wheelbase as the Compact), or Extra Long (which is LWB)?
 
Fwiw I believe it was 2007 that they addressed the appalling corrosion issues that blighted earlier Vitos

It's obviously based on build date rather than when it was registered, but it was definitely before 2007 ... 2005 I think. The galvanised ones had a 12 year bodywork warranty so you should be able to tell from the leaflets etc. in with the handbook. The front wings are plastic of course (up until the 2010 facelift).
 
Do you mean Long (which is the same wheelbase as the Compact), or Extra Long (which is LWB)?

As I understand it, the "LWB" (aka "Long" ) was the default size for the w639.
The Compact was the shorter bodied version with the spare wheel stored inside the load bay, the XLB was the extended wheelbase version.

Mercedes-Benz-Viano-3.5-2003-5.jpg


It's obviously based on build date rather than when it was registered, but it was definitely before 2007 ... 2005 I think. The galvanised ones had a 12 year bodywork warranty so you should be able to tell from the leaflets etc. in with the handbook. The front wings are plastic of course (up until the 2010 facelift).

I appreciate that Mercedes introduced the corrosion treatment before 2007. However I was simply trying to make my advice pertinant to the OP's enquiry.: When I was looking round for myself, I found that there were a great many 2006 registered vehicles that were blatantly made prior to the improvement. Therefore as advice "2007" seemed to be a safer proposition.?
Hth.
 
I've seen up to 2011 plates with rust, white vans are the worse by a long chalk, so buy the newest you possibly can.

Gearboxes start going notchy around the 100k mark, first and second gear.

Black Death on injectors common until roughly 2010 so keep an eye out for that.

Window cogs are made out of plastic and wear out, the passenger side being the usual cupprit.

Side loading door runners aren't the best and tend to go loose making it hard to open and shut.

Dependant in what age/mileage you go for aim for the 115, the 109 in particular is underpowered.

Overall though I'd strongly recommend going for a facelift, the early 639s were a pretty poor van for their original list price.

I'm sure this won't be well received on this forum but, in my experience of buying and selling hundred of commercial vehicles, for your budget there are better, newer and more frugal vans out there that are a lot more comfortable to drive, the big selling point about Mercedes vans is the power units available, they are at the top of the tree in that regard.
 
As I understand it, the "LWB" (aka "Long" ) was the default size for the w639.
The Compact was the shorter bodied version with the spare wheel stored inside the load bay, the XLB was the extended wheelbase version.

There was never a default size - Compacts are very common (for some reason - I can't see the point in them personally!). The previous W638 Vito only came in one size, which was equivalent to the Compact W639 (actually slightly shorter).

All I'm getting at is that "LWB" is ambiguous - properly it would mean Extra Long, but many people really mean Long by it. It's far clearer to use the right name in the first place.

Regarding rust, limiting to 2007 onwards could rule out a lot of galvanised vans. I wouldn't go earlier than an 05 plate but as mentioned you can check for the 12 year warranty document to be sure. An ungalvanised one is likely to be obviously rusty by now anyway.
 
Window cogs are made out of plastic and wear out, the passenger side being the usual cupprit.

Dependant in what age/mileage you go for aim for the 115, the 109 in particular is underpowered.

I had the window regulators replaced on my 2007 under warranty, a couple of years after buying it. They've been fine since so I assume the replacement parts were revised/improved.

The 109 also has a lower ratio back axle as standard, so it has the worst mpg figures of all the 4-pot versions. Definitely one to avoid!
 
Cheers guys. Looking at insurance, I can't go for the V6 as it is too expensive, so was looking at the 111? Any particular reasons not to look at them?
 
Other than what I've previously said no.. go for it! Have a look at the BHP/Performance figures though just to be on the safe side.. there are various power bands and the 111CDi can be remapped to 180BHP through my mate Martin at Pendle Performance if needed... just remember about the gear change though.. they can crunch on 2nd to 3rd and be notchy from cold.. another thought is the glow plugs and glow plug relay, after it starts you may get the glow plug symbol staying on for a few seconds the goes out, this is the glow plug relay and needs replaced...

Driving experience is great though almost car like.. be warnd that if your tall and on a long journey they can be sore on the hips. ask me how I know... other than that .. Enjoy...
 
The optional comfort seats make a big difference, if you can find a van with them. I've gone from Eurotunnel Calais to the in-laws near Stuttgart non-stop a couple of times ... that's 6-7 hours behind the wheel. I'm 6' 1" so not a midget :D
 
Hmm .. I have some pictures of the rear (centre row) comfort seats, but not the front. I'll see what I can do over the weekend if nobody else can help.
 

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