Viano purchase help!!

[technodiv]

Hello all,

So it's been a while since I introduced myself and I have been in search of a Viano since early January loaded with the help and advise from MBCLUB members (thanks lads). I thought I had found the perfect Viano, a 64 plate with 37000 on the clock. I booked an independent vehicle inspection from a trusted company. upon the vehicle being inspected, two electronic fault codes were found and there were issues with the steering (future MOT failures). I got a ball park figure for repair and or replacement of the parts and it was anywhere between £600-£800 (repair) and £2000 supply and fit replacement parts from a MB main dealer within half an hour of the technician finishing his inspection. I involved the seller with the final report from the technician, Which I didn't have to do and offered him £1000 less than the agreed selling price. (This is where it get's mental)! The seller wasn't keen on this suggested offer and then continued to tell me that he was now reluctant to sell the vehicle at the agreed price because he thought the vehicle was worth more than what he was asking and he may get more money for it if he waits a little while longer! he asked if I would budge above our agreed price closer to the original one he had advertised the vehicle with, to which I declined. To say I was annoyed is an understatement! however due to past experiences of putting actions in front of logical thinking, I remained calm and politely expressed my disappointment of wasting a full day (600 mile round trip) and approximately £400 (fuel and inspection cost). I would love to name and shame this particular seller but again logic is fending me off with cattle prod! however I would be happy to share the report that I received to any member of this forum who is on the hunt for a Viano so that they know what they're getting in to (of course I would only do this with the consent of MBCLUB.co.uk)

ADVISE TIME PLEASE!!! So I've found an alternative Viano, it ticks all the boxes that I want to fill bar two. one of them being the seating option that it has, which isn't a major drama but the one that concerns me is the mileage on the vehicle. it stands at 110500 and the vehicle is approximately £15000 on a 63 plate. does anybody think that this is excessive mileage for a vehicle of this age and if so are there any issues that I should expect if purchased? any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GWhittell]

Might be worth listing a bit more info about the 2nd Viano:-

Engine 2.2 / 3.0?
How many seats does it have (does it have the rear table as these are expensive)?

At that mileage one has to assume it’s been either a taxi or chauffeur’s car. How many stamps, what’s mileage between stamps, where was it serviced? It’s been doing long journeys on the motorway I wouldn’t be bothered about the mileage, properly maintained Viano’s should get to the moon...

Sunroof?

Rear air-con?

All these influence the resale value...


07 Viano 3.0

 

[technodiv]

Thanks for the reply GWhittell,

The Viano is a 3.0 v6 Avantgarde on a 13 plate with 110500. and the following extras;
heated front seats.
Two 3x bench seats in the rear (no table).
panoramic sunroof.
DVD.
sat nav.
Telephone Equipment (Bluetooth Interface).
cubanic silver metallic paint. (not seen this before)

email conversations with the seller have confirmed that it has been used as a taxi for executive travel. From 2016 -2017 the vehicle had covered 45k and thereafter to now it has covered approximately 13k each year. The last MOT was a failure for insufficient water from washer jets and advisories on tyres, pads and discs. the vehicle then passed with the same mileage, suggesting that the washer jet problem was rectified at the same place where the MOT was carried out. The seller has had new tyres, pads and discs for the sale.

I'm yet to ask for confirmation on the type of mileage i.e round town or motorway and ask about reversing camera, electric door command from cab and rear air con. The seller is also gathering the service history. I'll be scrutinising the service history especially for the year 16-17.

I hope the above info helps you out with your views on the vehicle.

 

[GWhittell]

If it’s the one on Autotrader for £15,500 with 110,500 miles it’s looks well cared for. From the photos I would say it doesn’t have electric doors as the outer switches don’t appear to have legends on them.

If the services stack up then I’d buy it if I was in the market.

It’s an unusual colour but I like it...

But, it’ll be you driving and paying for it so it has to tick your boxes, not mine...

Good luck!


07 Viano 3.0

 

[m80]

Looks fine,
the ride can be a ittle hard, the rear air suspension doesn't help, so I would have concerns about the 19" wheels.
I would confirm what Sat Nav means, as suggested the VIN would give that answer anyway. If it's the MB system it would be Comand and by 2013 should be good system.
The downside is that if you change it, for an Android system for example, you might find (as I did) that the dash clock can't be set as it updates from the Comand.

The extra I would like would be auto wipers.
Does it have a between front seat storage unit? Uncommon but very useful.

 

[DaveE320CDI]

Hi, I recently sold my Viano which was a 2007 2.1 CDI with 185,000 on the clock, i bought it with 150,000
on but it had been owned by a private hospital and well maintained, they really are pretty bullit proof if looked after, but i would not go the 3.0 V6 route for reliability or economy, the 2.1 will sit at motorway speeds all day long and return good economy, also would go manual gearbox too if wanting to do starship mileage,
only my thoughts others may differ? cheers Dave "PS some guys i know have 2.1s that have done nearly 500,000 Miles"

 

[m80]

Strange it has 2 MOT's in 2016 within a week and 600 miles, I could understand if the 1st was a fail, but it passed both.
Next was 45k miles and 12 months, often a taxi requires MOT's more often, like the next at 6 months.

The MOT items are so what, I wouldn't worry,
I would want to understand the history better though.

Ask for the V5 doc number and you can see the MOT locations, this often shows change of ownership.

 

[GWhittell]

I’ve only ever driven my 3.0 and when it works it’s great but it’s mainly a family holiday wagon to pull a big twin axle caravan.

I dare say a 150/163 Bhp would suffice but love the smoothness of the V6. If it’s going to be a mile muncher then expect about 35 on the motorway, it might be better with it being the 224 Bhp engine. Round town expect high 20’s. That’s my guess based on my 204 Bhp V6.


07 Viano 3.0

 

[technodiv]

GW, M80 and Dave, thanks for the advise. It really is a reassuring feeling knowing that there's people out there with unbiased views who go out of their way to help like minded people. I really appreciate all of the help and knowledge that has been shared and I hope that anybody else who is searching for a Viano reads these posts and finds them useful.

I will be back on here when I have viewed this particular Viano (110500 on auto trader) and let you all know how I got on.

All the best, Aiden.

 

[chesterpiglet]

Hi Aiden. Good luck with your hunt. I looked for a year for mine before I bought one. I never thought a fridge & table would be on a wish list for a car! As for mileage, personally I would prefer one with high miles that has been looked after as the chauffeur's cars are well maintained as they lose money if they are off the road. They are MOT'd every 6 months & have a PCO check too. There was one recently on Ebay with 770K on the clock. Rob

 

[GWhittell]

@technodiv, did you make a purchase?


07 Viano 3.0

 

[technodiv]

@technodiv, did you make a purchase?


07 Viano 3.0

Not yet, I'm due to make the purchase on monday

 

[technodiv]

There maybe trouble ahead!!?

The RAC technician called me after the inspection to tell me his findings. Other than the age related marks and telling me the vehicle is mechanically sound, further investigation of the RAC report took me to a link which brought up a page indicating fault codes, these are as follows;

EGS - electronic transmission control.
P0730 - incorrect gear ratio (undtermined)

Electronic Dashboard.
B1100 (stored)

Command.
B210D (stored)

ABS - Anti Lock Brake Module.
C11A5

I have looked on the internet/youtube for explanations into what these codes actually mean ..... unsuccessfully! I called MB main dealers but all they could tell me was £174 per hour!

I'm wondering if anyone has any experiences with these fault codes or has any sound advice. I have read that with the p0730 code that it could be a case of dirty fluid!? As the RAC bloke didn't cover theses codes in his phone call to me, I'm not overly concerned but should I be?

 

[GWhittell]

Is it a trade sale? If so, have you shared the faults details with the dealer? Maybe they’ll sort them before purchase?


07 Viano 3.0

 

[technodiv]

It's a private sale. The seller knocked off £500 for the bits of body work and interior trim and I'm sure if I share the report we may be able to negotiate. But my main concwrn is obviously breakdown and repair cost .....