Looking for Merc. Vito ... any tips?

fofeg101

I'm considering converting a Merc. Vito to a campervan, is there anything mechanical I should be looking for when I view a vehicle? Thanks.
 

sparrks

Don't know about the mechanics, but when I was looking to buy one they were right rust buckets.
 

AuldTam

I had thought about a secondhand Vito a few years ago...but they are bad for rust and I was warned that the fly wheel (or dual fly wheel) can be a very expensive repair on high mileage vans.
 

alexander160

Merc vito reliability

I run a merc vito i have had two up to now one on 55 plate and one on ten plate first one i did two hundred thousand miles not a single problem.currently 10 plate ninety thou and no probs ,55 plate did rust a bit from stone chips but otherwise fine.ten plate no rust yet after 3 years
 

sparrks

I had thought about a secondhand Vito a few years ago...but they are bad for rust and I was warned that the fly wheel (or dual fly wheel) can be a very expensive repair on high mileage vans.

The Dual Mass Flywheel is very common now on both vans and cars and is expensive to replace. typically £1.5 - 1.8K at a dealers, but are on the whole pretty reliable, although mine went at 41000mls. (Peugeot)
 

m1cxf

Get the newest one that fits your budget as the later ones I have been led to believe have a galvanized body. Also look for extras such as cruise control, comfort seat, arm rests etc., They are all extra cost options but have little impact upon used prices.

TJ
 

Deleted member 951

The Dual Mass Flywheel is very common now on both vans and cars and is expensive to replace. typically £1.5 - 1.8K at a dealers, but are on the whole pretty reliable, although mine went at 41000mls. (Peugeot)

My first DMF went on my Sprinter at 100,000 miles and I had it replaced at a Merc dealer at a cost of around £1200 (no new clutch fitted). My clutch master cylinder went at around 200,000 miles and as it was inside the gearbox I asked a local garage to replace it, and the clutch and the DMF while they were at it. Total cost I cannot remember exactly but it was less than a grand.
 

Touringtheworld

Our 2008 115cdi at work done nearly 90,000 from new - just had a mot and got a advisory for osf track rod end. The first thing it will have replaced from new.

Apart from servicing, tyres and a windscreen that's it.

As said before get as many toys as possible, ours is auto and has ac, cruise, speed limiter, comfort seats, electric windows, electric heated mirrors.

No sign of rust or paint problems anywhere.

Most of our lot think it should have had clam shell doors instead of a tailgate. I think they are quite rare.
 

geebus

On the W639s (2004 +).
White ones rust worse - I got a white one, it badly needs some attention now (I badly need some spare time.)
Track rod end has been replaced on mine and another ball joint for last MOT (forget which, cost me £40 so let the MOT place do it as I no longer have access to a lift - I knew it needed it because steering was feeling slack).
Keep an eye out for the gearboxes. Mine felt fine on the test drive, but has got worse over time.
Someone has a guide to help, including using a very specific oil.

Stiff to get into second and may jump out of first.
 

Ron Bones

They do rust like nobody's business but I know of a clean one near me for sale; Kirk langley, Derby. Its a friend of mine selling it. I had a nose around it the other day and was impressed. I can get you details if you like? PM me.
 

Anne Daynes

The Mercs are all so known for injector seals going , do them as a service item every 80k to 100k and save getting the black death that is far harder to do and three times as expensive , a set of seals fitted as a service item would be less expensive than a cam belt change on a van that had a belt that the merc has not ,
 

mandrake

only two words relevant with these vehicles FORGET IT they are rot boxes and totally crap mechanically when the go wrong and they do you have to put up with Mercedes prices and if they have air suspension run dont walk away buy a tranny preferably an older model there cheap and reliable
 

mandrake

The Dual Mass Flywheel is very common now on both vans and cars and is expensive to replace. typically £1.5 - 1.8K at a dealers, but are on the whole pretty reliable, although mine went at 41000mls. (Peugeot)

you can buy a conversion kit expensive but worth it . still your better off looking round for an older van spend a few quid on it and you wont have half the trouble
 

sparrks

you can buy a conversion kit expensive but worth it . still your better off looking round for an older van spend a few quid on it and you wont have half the trouble

You certainly can, but you get a more lumpy tickover and I've heard that they can cause failures in the driveshafts and gearbox. How true I don't know.
 

mandrake

You certainly can, but you get a more lumpy tickover and I've heard that they can cause failures in the driveshafts and gearbox. How true I don't know.

i dont know much about these conversions .mind you i am not into newish cars or vans .give me the old tech any day .best merc van was the older version before they brought out the sprinter 408 i think, old type snap on van, flat front short bonnet one, diesel slowish but they will run for a million miles no probs. fraid mercedes now are poor tack to what they used to be
 

Seannachie

i dont know much about these conversions .mind you i am not into newish cars or vans .give me the old tech any day .best merc van was the older version before they brought out the sprinter 408 i think, old type snap on van, flat front short bonnet one, diesel slowish but they will run for a million miles no probs. fraid mercedes now are poor tack to what they used to be
You mean the T2 (above 3,500 Kgs); the T1 (the equivalent up to 3,500kg model) was/is also brilliant with none of the modern gubbins that go wrong. Saw dozens of them still on the road in France earlier this year - made me sorry I'd just sold mine after 20 years faultless motorhoming in it (and I had one previously too).
 

mark61

Forum Member
I must be lucky, the handful of Sprinters I have had, have all turned out to be as equally reliable as the legendary T1's. True they don't have the same solid feel to them, dashboards in particular, and certainly now there is a lot more to go wrong. Barring my latest Sprinter, all were work vans, not pampered MH's. I do keep my fingers crossed though. lol
T1's went up to 4.6T
 

Seannachie

Thanks for reminding me, Mark, my poor old memory's letting me down these days. The best T1 was the version with the 5-cylinder OM602 engine - from memory a whole 92bhp at the clutch, as opposed to the 4-cylinder OM601 which had only 70bhp, I think. I should know, I had a 307D (OM601) and a 310D (OM602) for nearly 25 years between them but, as I say, my memory's letting me down these days, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

:D
 

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