do you drive a mercedes commercial vechile ?

[shrekky]

Just interested out of those that own MB's ,who actually drives one for a living or just the occasional time,I myself drive a mercedes sprinter c311 for a living,owned by the company i work for,and must say greatest van i ever had the pleasure to drive(especially the new ones with traction control ;-) ).............and yes its white :lol:

 

[pascal]

I only drive 7/9k miles a year, mostly for pleasure.

But I have had the pleasure of driving the old and the new Vito. What a difference from the old transits from the 90s.

I was in a sprinter a few weeks ago. Don't know what number it was, but it was one of the real long ones. ...... and you get paid to drive these 'LIMOS'.

 

[shrekky]

yeah i know its great :grin: ..........and its faster than most cars.:lol: (well the unrestricted ones)............monstering beamers in the fast lane is great fun.........hehehehe

 

[SLinKyjoe]

I have been known to drive a sprinter with some unusual custom made bodywork. cost £72k. Altho I have also driven the larger atego 13 and 17tonner things also with some interesting customised bodywork...

1.5 inch glass and fingerprint door access stuff....to be honest they dont really go that well. not with 2.5 - 6 tonne of armour on them. but the ford transit versions are worse.....have you ever had to change down to first gear going up a hill and then start laughing thinking you really are not going to make it up the hill? At least the sprinters can keep in second and power up the hill.

best was when an old guy at a pedastrian crossing wanted to shout obscenties at us. we were really scared.

 

[c250 turbo diesel]

White van men !

Got a 2003 316 Sprinter lwb, goes like a Rocket on M/way, but too high a gear arround town, also a 2000 310 Sprinter, prefer that one really, as would need to remortgage the house if the 316 went wrong !!!, the other one I can fix !!!, Oh and one ,more thing, when You own them you don't drive like a lunatic possed ! cuase your the one that has to pay for the fuel.
Whatever your driving, enjoy it whislt you can, before that man, Tony and his bunch of evil misfits either makes it too expensive, or bans it !!! Roy

 

[shrekky]

if i could afford one it would be the 311 fast enough and cheaper to repair than the 316.....lol..................some of my friends own a 311 but its panelled from behind the side loading door to the rear and in between panel and rear of drivers seat is more seats !....8 seater.....i want one !!!!!!..............who needs a MPV?.......lol

 

[goosergus]

Hi Gus here and i own and drive a 208D LWB Sprinter. About 600 miles a week.
Used to lease a new citroen van every 3 years but had a go of my mates sprinter and liked it so much i bought one. And i got fed up of crap customer services.:sad:

Lots of people rate the sprinters for their speed, even the pikey who nicked my sprinter used my phone to call me and say "it ****ing flies bruv", but i rate it for the ride. It is smooth at all speeds. Important for the items i carry.

Also it is simple to work on. (especially with the help of these forums). Must say though the speed on my van isn't fantastic until it reaches 35-40 then it picks up speed easily. This is probably cos it is a big van on a 2.3 engine. But i am not a speed freak anyway.

Well pleased with the van for its size, ease of maintenace and cost of maitneance (Mercedes £120.00 for service are far cheaper than Citroen minimum £250.00 for service), driving position, it looks the nuts and i believe the vehicle being a Mercedes adds to the status of my business.

 

[maddog]

I have a 1998 312 Sprinter MWB

Love it but only use it for my dragbike racing so its little used over winter but even fully laden towing the caravan its still quick.

Bit of a handful on wet and greasy roads though especially when empty and also my speedo under reads , i found out using GPS , the only reason i checked it was i drove from Bristol to Reading along the M4 and not a single vehicle over took me!

 

[guydewdney]

my GF has a '96 312D LWB auto - converted to a motorhome from an airport bus (air doors on side etc etc).

I think the auto saps a lot of power as it will only do 70 - 80 on the m'way.

It does have an early version of traction control though

 

[maddog]

It does have an early version of traction control though

yeah i have it on mine but it doesnt seem to do much, if you get careless on the throttle going round roundabouts you can get pretty sideways, i do get the light coming on telling me that somethings working but it doesnt seem to help very much

 

[david_42]

My Sprinter is a 2004 "Medium" SHC cargo van, it's my daily driver. Much more practical than a pickup truck in the rain, more room that just about anything on the road. The traction control was standard. About the only time it operates is in the gravel on turns.

 

[Black316]

I own a 2002 316 LWB, I use it for business and pleasure. I've owned it for a year, it's a superb van, I wouldn't have anything else!

 

[COLINPAILLIN]

hi i have a two year old vito with the 115 engine and it flyies auto box and all the toys its a hit.

colin

 

[kebo57]

Hi I have an L reg 814 7.5 ton with 20 ft box, sleeper cab, night heater, twin bunks in the cab and is insured a race support vehicle for my landrover the box is fitted out with lighting, water heater, hob, oven, fridge, carver heater, shower, two more beds & separation between living & the space for my Landrover also 50 gallon water barrel, power wash, 2.2 Kva genni, and a load of spars etc.

Its the business it only cost a grand its built well every thing made to last I been all over the UK with it I recon it will do 18 mpg at the right speed I used it today just turned the key after about 6 weeks standing and away she went.
Kevin

 

[robster]

new member here hello everyone .2004 vito 111 cdi, good engine apart from the throttle response but with quite good fuel economy. low centre of gravity / good handling, twin side doors are good, nice cab with electric windows neat storage etc!
van is let down by the body work major rust in a van of this year, loose plastics, side door watertightness, positioning of spare wheel ( had to mount wheel to bulkhead to enable fitting of racking to rear left hand side). smaller than previous vans .

 

[Crazy LEDs]

i have just bought a 308CDi for a new buisness venture so it is my daily driver lol
Ideal for the Motox too

 

[dolmen]

Must admit to not having read any of the van threads on here before! I just recently got a new home for my 1994 308 LWB high roof campervan. I've had it from '96 I think she left me with 196k on the clock, she had one head gasket fitted, I think that was the only major repair I'd to do.

My complaint is body work and being so underpowered I was so disappointed with this van as a merc that I promised myself never to buy another, but perhaps they are worth another look?

I will be needing another van next year.

Cheers

 

[Cnics]

The 308's always were a bit sluggish with a load on. I guess the new ones are aswell to a point. But the more powerful ones are always worth a look. I'll be renewing my van in about 6 months, it's unlikely i'll go for anything other than another sprinter.

 

[rich599]

I had a 316 from new kept it three years 497k only problem i had was at 476k the fuel pump started leaking,and was replaced under warranty.
now i have a 315 xlwb with all the toys now 1year old with 165k,had two diffs and props
no where near as good as th 316

 

[colechelle]

I used to drive a 311 sprinter, workshop in the back, did 125000 miles in it in 3 years, only fault was high pressure pump went bang, great van, only thing was it had sign writing all over it, mercedes benz service 24hr, i had to behave, see if i can find any pictures of it!!!