Interesting article from a Benz Sprinter owner - multiple vehicles

[oigle]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fatal-flaw-mercedes-benz-sprinters-tom-robertson

 

[umblecumbuz]

Looks like the man knows his subject, and can back it up with facts.

There's an old maxim that says, in effect, that he who first puts his case sounds good until his opponent then speaks. Wonder what an owner of a fleet of Fords would say about his own van troubles?

One quote from this article stood out to me:
Mercedes Benz diagnoses of the check engine light are unreliable and many times we have been charged for repairs that do not resolve the problem.
I've experienced that, as I'm sure others have also.

 

[Frosty149]

Looks like the man knows his subject, and can back it up with facts.

There's an old maxim that says, in effect, that he who first puts his case sounds good until his opponent then speaks. Wonder what an owner of a fleet of Fords would say about his own van troubles?

One quote from this article stood out to me:
Mercedes Benz diagnoses of the check engine light are unreliable and many times we have been charged for repairs that do not resolve the problem.
I've experienced that, as I'm sure others have also.

+1^
My experience suggests that this is not limited to MB, other manufacturers 'dealerships' are just as bad at throwing parts at issues rather than definitive diagnosis in the first place...

 

[Uncle Benz]

There may be something in the fact that he quotes oil change prices range from $170 to $400. I'd wager he is going the cheaper route for this part of the servicing, and as most mechanics know diesel exhaust aftertreatment units will be damaged very quickly by using oils that are not low SAPS. Poor quality oil leads to greater engine wear and more oil being burned. Burned oil damages the exhaust aftertreatment system.

 

[turbopete]

Wonder what an owner of a fleet of Fords would say about his own van troubles?

a friend of mine worked for a company that had nothing but transits for years (right up until the company was wound up when the owner passed away in fact) and those vans never missed a beat EVER. (admittedly they were older tech than the euro 6 equivalents that it sounds like the guy in the article has with the adblue tanks etc) the company never sold a van until it was 8 years old, by which point they had seen 400k+ miles.

and whilst its possible that there may be as many people complain about a new transit as they do about a new sprinter, there are, by a good margin, more Transits running around (certainly the UK) than ANY other single van. I don't even think the combined Renault traffic/Nissan primastar/Vauxhall movano combination could match, as 3 brands, the sales of the transit (although ths is my own opinion so its possible that they do)
theyre still the most popular van for a reason. if I bought another van, it would be nothing other than another transit. my last one cost me a few quid for a replacement shut off solenoid (immobiliser had failed) and not a penny otherwise, apart from consumables like fuel, servicing costs etc.