not sure of your locale, but there is no shortage of Vitos at a fleet level here. mercedes dominate the market by a considerable margin.
as a piece of trivia, the largest fleet owners seem to be the fundamentalist religious groups (usually the Brethren) - they get a huge discount from the dealers (minus radios as it's against their religious sensitivities)
never been able to work that one out... I'm guessing one of their flock is a VW dealer..
Hi I am from the UK Bristol area. As I drive around I thought it odd I havn't seen any fleet Vitos , maybe the RAC do use them and I havn't seen any ?
I guess when purchasing a fllet a number of factors come into it.
Maybe the Bretheren get the nod from the Big Man on which vans to buy !
I can't help but think you've been unlucky as well.
I bought my Vito new in 2000, it has done over 180,000 km, has been driven around australia and has never caused me any problems. (that included driving through north queensland tropics and through the top end during the wet season.)
OTOH, I have a mate who was responsible for doing the evaluations for the T5's for a State Ambulance Service and he was terribly dissapointed. He ended up with a Vito after finishing his eval (bought without influence and no discount from the yard)
having had a T5 as a company vehicle when in surveillance, I still prefer the 638.
I dont feel unlucky - only with rust which is VERY common with Vitos and totally unacceptable
Apart from the rust and a few niggling troubles I have had trouble free motoring, but, I would be reluctant to purchase another Mercedes until the metal cancer has been banished forever.........................
only with rust which is VERY common with Vitos and totally unacceptable
I wonder if Vitos in australia are rust treated differently than euro models? I've never seen any Vitos here with rust issues. As said before, mine was driven through the northern tropics as well as the wet season. (it basically monsoon rains for a solid 3-4 months).
probably 2 years in the northern tropics (2 seasons worth of northern monsoons)
4 years in melb (gods gift to crappy weather in australia)
3 years in adelaide at a beachside suburb
I have not had salt corrosion (beachside) which is pretty common on other vehicles of it's vintage.
OTOH, my trusty range rover has got cancer on the rails and wheel arches.
I wonder if Vitos in australia are rust treated differently than euro models? I've never seen any Vitos here with rust issues. As said before, mine was driven through the northern tropics as well as the wet season. (it basically monsoon rains for a solid 3-4 months).
probably 2 years in the northern tropics (2 seasons worth of northern monsoons)
4 years in melb (gods gift to crappy weather in australia)
3 years in adelaide at a beachside suburb
I have not had salt corrosion (beachside) which is pretty common on other vehicles of it's vintage.
OTOH, my trusty range rover has got cancer on the rails and wheel arches.
Are Austrailian Vitos made in Spain like our Vitos were? (dont know if this is still the case?)
Apparently the standard of the Spanish bodywork was abysmal, as is now apparent with the severity of rust
I also have an 02 VW Golf - kept/drove at the same places and treated/cared for in the same manner as my 02 Vito and it has ZERO rust
On my Vito I can clearly see several places where rust is being born as it bubbles its way out through the paint
I have heard it said that Mercedes of this era were built by accountants and not engineers - and that fact is apparent with the bodywork...............
Yes, I may have been unlucky with one, but not with two.
Added I have two seperate friends who run T5's. One has now had two 174's, both 3 years apart. Both have had water pumps fail, reverse gear fail, air con fail, fuel pumps fail. All the time this happens, common excuse from the dealer is "sorry sir, we see a lot of this happening, they are standard problems." It all seems to start going wrong 40-60 K.
My other friend is on his second T5 in 3 months, the first a 130 tip, he had so many problems VW ended up buying it back and selling a 174 instead. He is now on his second water pump and second gearbox due to reverse failing!.
it will be the most crazy thing you have ever done I am absolutley kicking myself i chose MB over the transporter. the vito is simply a box of Sh1T. MB is not a name of quality in my book anymore but one that relies on the badge to get away with murder. DONT do it.
I do whole-heartedly agree with Plasterer, Vito 638's are shite...especially white un's....!! Avoid the old Vito at all costs.
However the new Vito 639 series is a different beast altogether, better built and better made......apparently...??
I chose the 639 over a T5 and so far its been fine. The T5 are very difficult to work on WRT access in / on the engine, they have PD injectors which are unique and again difficult to work on, the DPF can be easily blocked and usually needs replacing. Plus VW parts are just as expensive as MB .....and the reason MB dealers are tosspots is because they only will look after their original customers, buy a new vehicle from them and they are honor-bound to look after you when warranty work comes up. If you are just a walk-in customer, they are not bovvvereed...see......!!
Vehicle: 111 cdi vito compact. and C 270 cdi SLK320
Location: Ryton on Dunsmore Nr coventry
Posts: 272
Anyone still thinking VW are better than the Vitos should do a search on here for the problems with the V280 I had.
MB used the VW engine and box and management, they all failed at some point, with as little as 20k on them.
I have a new shape 639 111 Vito now, and have to say it is in a different class to the old 638 Vito, they just need to sort the paint on the early ones.
iv had VWs and VITOS and if i could afford to i would have a vw all day far better than all the vitos iv had just alot moor expensive to buy but in the long run youll be saving on the cost of fixing the F@?KING VITO every week
Are Austrailian Vitos made in Spain like our Vitos were? (dont know if this is still the case?)
Apparently the standard of the Spanish bodywork was abysmal, as is now apparent with the severity of rust
I also have an 02 VW Golf - kept/drove at the same places and treated/cared for in the same manner as my 02 Vito and it has ZERO rust
On my Vito I can clearly see several places where rust is being born as it bubbles its way out through the paint
I have heard it said that Mercedes of this era were built by accountants and not engineers - and that fact is apparent with the bodywork...............
Well yes.............all VITO's are assembled /built in Spain! The engine and box and ECU, etc are possibly made in the fatherland but its all assembled in Spain. Heres the web page;
dont know why its MB South Africa....? Seems a bit odd like but thats MB !!I do believe they have got their act together regarding the paint shop and treatment but thats no comfort for those with the old 638 series sheds!!
HTH
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