2005 Mercedes-Benz V-Class Trend review from UK and Ireland

Rust along door bottoms.

Air suspension failed.

Damage to interior plastic.

Glow plug failed and seized (still not fixed).

Brakes discs and pads replaced.

I bought this car/MPV/van about seven months ago. I liked the idea of a reliable well-built car, with a flexible seating arrangement in the rear. Unfortunately it has not lived-up to my expectations. There is rust, in patches along the bottom of most of the doors such that either the paint is bubbling-up or coming away in flakes. The rust is particularly bad around the tailgate.

Soon after buying the car the air suspension failed, although I managed to repair this myself with a little help from the German Mercedes V-class forums (parts ~£100 from Mercedes Benz). However, now a glow plug has failed, and Mercedes Benz say they cannot remove it without risking having to remove the top of the engine block (expensive at £85+VAT per hour labour!).

The brakes also required complete replacement, discs and pads (costing another ~£700). The tales of woe don't stop there. The hinge to the table lid is broken, and the plastic isn't ABS so solvents won't touch it – I can't see how to make an easy repair. And now the drivers armrest is also broken in such a way that even the cheap eBay ratchet block repair is no longer possible.

I have started to look critically at the design of the car and there are constant reminders of how little effort was put into getting it right. For example if you fold the rearward passenger seat forward to remove it you hit (and possibly break off) the waste bin. The electric aerial is almost impossible to replace without a fairly major dismantling around it. The heating/air conditioning is underpowered for the space. The demist requires that you run both the heating and the air conditioning to the front screen with all the other vents switched off. The plastic seat releases break off. The table cover hinge is a multiple ribbed piece of plastic that breaks (it is almost as if someone realized that the hinge wouldn’t take the forces required so they added most plastic – why not use something stronger instead?). The cover for the table fastening is broken-off.

In my experience the car is rather too much of a commercial vehicle for the private owner. The lack of any Haynes manual, or other workshop manual means that the enthusiast will have a hard job doing repairs themselves. My Volvo 740 GLE, which is now 16 years old has much less rust on it, drives better and is cheaper to keep on the road.

On the plus sides, if you ignore the rust, the car looks good. It has a large load carrying space, and gives good fuel economy (33MPG diesel). It also has a very nice seating arrangement in the rear. But, you need to be strong to move the seats around.

All-in-all I won’t recommend the car to my friends. If this car is anything to go by, then Mercedes Benz no longer deserves the reputation of a quality car manufacturer.