I am the owner of a small business.
In Sept. 2003 I purchased a Mercedes Benz Vito 112 CDI.
A month later the car began giving problems. It failed to start. I called the dealership; they came out and said it was a flat battery. I was astounded; I had just bought the car. But nevertheless I paid them over a thousand rand to recharge the battery. They did this by jump starting.
Anyways, a few months after the battery incident, the real problems began. The injectors were blowing all the time. My last repair in February this year cost me a staggering R22 000.00. This was done at another dealership. When my driver picked up the vehicle, he got stuck a mere 5 km from the dealership. He called them and told them. They told him to bring vehicle back to dealership. He did so, and upon arriving there, he learnt that they forgot to put the fan belt on.
Today 2 months later my Vito refuses to start. It only starts when we push start it. I have done less than 2000km from my last repair. I am frightened to take it in to the dealership for fear of being presented with an absurd bill.
I wish to bring to your attention that the Mercedes Benz Vito is not an economical commercial vehicle. In all over the last 3 years it has cost me over R50 000 to maintain. I am at a loss for words to express my rage in believing your reviews on this vehicle.
This is what one motor car review site wrote on 21 Feb 2002. "Mercedes-Benz has launched a new compact delivery van in South Africa. Smaller than the hugely successful Sprinter, the Vito 1-ton panel van is aimed at the small business and delivery market."
I will never believe a reviews promote again. It seems they get nice kickbacks to sweet mouth crap products.
This vehicle has been a true liability and huge expense that was negative to my business and not positive.
Do not buy this car. My blood boils when I look at it.
If you wish to buy it. I will sell it 15% below the trade book value. Just take it from me.
It is truly unfortunate that MB has some unscrupulous dealers in its network. I suggest you take your vehicle to a small independant garage that will appreciate your business. The differences in price and service may leave you astonished. I know from personal experience. Good luck!
You cannot blame this website's reviews.
People here tell you of their own experiences, and then you have to take the useful parts and use them to your advantage when buying a vehicle.
If you don't have the common sense or intelligence to do this, then I would recommend you take a knowledgeable mechanic along with you when you buy.
And EVERYONE knows that main dealers charge the earth.
You are not alone. A satisfied Vito customer is probably something that's hard to find. My experience stems from a company where I used to work that had a couple of Vito's.
They started off with a 98 model that soon was called "the rolling disaster". One of the older guys said this had a quality worse than a Fiat from the seventies, and he really meant it.
Suspension and steering problems, bad electrics, a sliding door that never worked/jammed/would not stay shut, drivers seat that fell apart, interior parts falling off, two clutches, failed transmission before 120.000 KM, various engine problems and when it was sold it had started to rust badly after 5-6 (!) years.
The joke is that the owner then bought a new one in 04 and that one is a piece of junk too. But this is probably the last vehicle he ever shops from MB.
It's a pity that MB manufactures junk like Vito since the MB Sprinter is pretty good and is lightyears ahead in the quality department. It just shows that you can't trust MB to produce quality vehicles all the time, and personally I would be skeptical dealing with MB.
Especially since after sales support is pretty bad. Most of the repairs listed above were covered by us since MB dealer refused to cover them after instructions from MB importer (at least that's what they said).
I have been looking at buying a VITO, but thanks to your comments and my intuition I think I am going to pass. Before seeing the comments on this website, I was looking at the different prices of the vito and it seems rather strange when you see different people selling the same VITO with roughly the same specs and km's for vastly different prices?? You be the judge.
Vito 112 CDI bought new in 2000... and a disaster where the dealer, M-B customer service, and M-B itself all passed the buck to each other.
The warranty proved worthless, inclusive driveshafts, doorlocks, injectors leaking (becomes "black death" if not dealt with immediately), brakes, radio wiring, incorrect factory wheels (also for German Police I'm told), steering vibes, windscreen poor fit, coolant leaks, wheel alignment, and much more.
Once the vehicle was sorted (not by M-B or its dealers) it has proven pleasurable... but the price in money and anguish is never forgotten.
Designed as a superb vehicle, it was loused up in production and by customer service abrogating all responsibility.
Hi, I too own a 2003 Vito 112 CDI. And one week from buying it at private sale, the gear box locked up, throwing me off the road!!
Had it taken to an auto specialist. They said I needed re-co box, $6500, new engine mounts as they snapped, and also a new water pump as it smashed into body of van when it locked up. Total came to $9800 and extra for MB to reprogram the computer.
Other than that, an ants nest was somewhere in van and took ages to kill them off.
Yes wheel alignment is also an issue. Just last week I had to replace a rear muffler and exhaust due to cracking in bends. It's still best looking van on market.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site