Vito - first time buying advice needed

[ourclarioncall]

Hi, looking for advice , pitfalls of buying a Vito

I have a family of 7 (including me) and we are looking to buy a newish Vito. Our budget is around £18,000. So maybe a 2017, 2018, 2019

just whatever.

looking for lowish mileage.

wondering about engine size, I’m worried I might make a mistake here by getting a car that’s now powerful enough. I don’t drive myself so know nothing about cars. It’s my wife that drives .

I have not read great reviews from merc garages up near me in Aberdeenshire Scotland . Or others to be honest. I think the best reviews I have seen is from a place called cicely commercials . They have a branch in Dumfries and in Carlisle and a few other places . They seem to have quite a few Vitos that tick our boxes .

have also looked on gumtree and eBay

I liked the look of this one but it seemed quite Cheap in comparison to others and wondering why ?

2019 Mercedes-Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8-Seater 7G-Tronic Auto Standard Roof Minibu | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2019 Mercedes-Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8-Seater 7G-Tronic Auto Standard Roof Minibu at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

It would be interesting to check the mileage is correct... could have been an airport transfer vehicle with mega miles...

 

[ourclarioncall]

Hello and welcome

It would be interesting to check the mileage is correct... could have been an airport transfer vehicle with mega miles...

Hi, thanks for the reply

I just sent them a message just now to check the mileage and query why the price seems on the low side.

 

[ourclarioncall]

Here’s another similar one , that’s older, much higher miles , and more expensive

hard to understand the values of these things

is it worth buying one of those guides that tell you the rough value for age and mileage ?

2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Blobcat]

Hi, thanks for the reply

I just sent them a message just now to check the mileage and query why the price seems on the low side.

They’ll tell you the mileage on the dash which could be somewhat different to what is stored in all the modules...

Here’s another similar one , that’s older, much higher miles , and more expensive

hard to understand the values of these things

is it worth buying one of those guides that tell you the rough value for age and mileage ?

2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Not worth buying a guide, AutoTrader is usually a pretty good guide of prices.

I’m a huge Mercedes fan but had a VW Caravelle for nearly 10 years because it was the better car...

 

[ourclarioncall]

They’ll tell you the mileage on the dash which could be somewhat different to what is stored in all the modules...


Not worth buying a guide, AutoTrader is usually a pretty good guide of prices.

I’m a huge Mercedes fan but had a VW Caravelle for nearly 10 years because it was the better car...

Oh dear, I remember when I was a kid ... 30 years ago, that they could fiddle with the clock and change the miles

quite surprised they can and do, do that now. But then again, not really surprising at all is it . Hmmm

saw this one too on auto trader

2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

funny you mention the VW Caravelle as I was looking at grew aswell as an alternative. Well, the transporter . But it seemed like it was maybe a bit too narrow ? Not sure . It’s maybe not that much different than the Vito

there are 7 of us and my 13 year old son is a bit of a giant at 16 stone and 6 foot tall... and growing. I’m 6 foot too. The rest are medium to small women/girls.

 

[Nickhgard]

Before you buy make sure they've got aircon. Seems to be taken for granted but loads of vitos don't. They get really hot in the summer. Windows also steam up in slightest rain.

Aircon is a must

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Blobcat]

Oh dear, I remember when I was a kid ... 30 years ago, that they could fiddle with the clock and change the miles

quite surprised they can and do, do that now. But then again, not really surprising at all is it . Hmmm

saw this one too on auto trader

2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2018 Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI Pro 8 Seater Minibus Diesel Automatic at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

funny you mention the VW Caravelle as I was looking at grew aswell as an alternative. Well, the transporter . But it seemed like it was maybe a bit too narrow ? Not sure . It’s maybe not that much different than the Vito

there are 7 of us and my 13 year old son is a bit of a giant at 16 stone and 6 foot tall... and growing. I’m 6 foot too. The rest are medium to small women/girls.

I had 7 from my 6’2” son to a baby with all associated accoutrements...
We used to go pretty much none stop 850 miles to Brittany without issues in the Caravelle. The separate AC controls in the rear roof and b-pillars made it very pleasant for the passengers (that and the captains seats and 10” drop down screen)

“Mileage Correction” can be pretty simple unfortunately although as it’s stored on multiple units with some digging and the correct tools any discrepancies can be found

 

[ourclarioncall]

I had 7 from my 6’2” son to a baby with all associated accoutrements...
We used to go pretty much none stop 850 miles to Brittany without issues in the Caravelle. The separate AC controls in the rear roof and b-pillars made it very pleasant for the passengers (that and the captains seats and 10” drop down screen)

“Mileage Correction” can be pretty simple unfortunately although as it’s stored on multiple units with some digging and the correct tools any discrepancies can be found

Wow, that’s really interesting to hear .

i think I’d read that the VW was a nice smooth ride, good suspension? Better than the Vito? I guess that would definitely help on long journeys

850 miles , that good going !
My parents used to drive us during the summer from Aberdeen area up to John o groats in the summer and it felt like forever ! But that was 30 year ago and cars were a bit different I guess

 

[ourclarioncall]

Before you buy make sure they've got aircon. Seems to be taken for granted but loads of vitos don't. They get really hot in the summer. Windows also steam up in slightest rain.

Aircon is a must

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

Ah right, thanks for the tip. Great to be aware of these things. Yeah, heat and stuffiness would bother me , especially with 5 kids. I would like to go long distances so comfort is a must

appreciate your post

cheers

 

[ourclarioncall]

What about engine size? I would like to do some occasional long distance journeys

I’m seeing 114 , 116, and 119 versions? And I think they are all 2.1 litre engine

I’m clueless when it comes to all this

also front wheel drive and rear wheel drive ??

what is best ?

 

[Blobcat]

@Wearsafoxhat has a pretty new version so will give some good insight on comfort and power.

I’d go for the highest spec level you can as your tribe will appreciate it.
I fitted a top end Kenwood system that meant I could play movies in the back and something different in the from my as well as front and rear cameras and sat nav.

 

[sonic]

It says 16 months MB warranty remaining so it should be 20 months old now. No mention of MB servicing which you need to keep the warranty.
It should have had the 500 miles service & the 12 month one as well, that should give you an indication of what the milage should be. The dealer should have the service history.

 

[Nickhgard]

It says 16 months MB warranty remaining so it should be 20 months old now. No mention of MB servicing which you need to keep the warranty.
It should have had the 500 miles service & the 12 month one as well, that should give you an indication of what the milage should be. The dealer should have the service history.

We run Vito for work and never have a 500 mile / 1 year service. Normally the first service is around 2yrs/25000 miles. Dealer always says there's no gain in over servicing, which I'm sure most on here would disagree

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[clubadria]

As others have said go for highest spec your family will appreciate it.
I have owned two VW t4 only have one son but used them for towing a caravan.

In Mercedes form the Viano was fitted with a 3.0 v6 diesel.
Try V class in autotrader the V300d is the top engine model for newer models all of course 2.1 4 cylinder.
The extra long wheel base will give you some luggage space for holidays.
Some of the older ones had rear air suspension as a option not sure if the new models still have this.

The Vito and Transporter and still van biased.
The Viano ,V class and the Caravelle are built for carrying people and the price reflects this especially with VW the Caravelle holds its value even with many miles.

Do you need 4 wheel drive? VW do a 4Motion caravelle.
Not sure about Merc.

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

We have a V220, normal length one, the eight seater.
The V class is nice, a bit more luxury than a Vito, Vaneo.
With the big family I would look for the V250 and an XL one. You should be able to get one within your budget but watch out for the extra on rfl for a few years, as they are over £40k new, .
The seats can be arranged forwards or rear facing, can get the seven seater with the middle table. Plenty of room inside and with the pano roof, your 6’2 son could poke his head out
Get 30 mpg about town and 35 ish on longer journeys though don’t drive it like Miss Daisy. Have a look at one.


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[Blobcat]

The Vito and Transporter and still van biased.
The Viano ,V class and the Caravelle are built for carrying people and the price reflects this especially with VW the Caravelle holds its value even with many miles.

Do you need 4 wheel drive? VW do a 4Motion caravelle.
Not sure about Merc.

4Motion is good but kills the fuel economy. I had the high output 5cylinder 174bhp 2WD Caravelle with winter wheels and tyres it was great, without them it wouldn't go anywhere.

 

[clubadria]

Funny enough I lived in the Highlands back in 2008 when we had real snow that was deep.
Back then we owned a 2001 caravelle v6 petrol 204 bhp on normal tyres and a Volvo s60 d5 again on normal tyres.
Only ever got stuck on drive and Tesco.
In all that bad weather over the following two years, I was never late for work, Well once when I went in on the bus. I even worked for Stagecoach Inverness.

Now back down in England as wife missed family. I miss Scotland.

 

[Blobcat]

Funny enough I lived in the Highlands back in 2008 when we had real snow that was deep.
Back then we owned a 2001 caravelle v6 petrol 204 bhp on normal tyres and a Volvo s60 d5 again on normal tyres.
Only ever got stuck on drive and Tesco.
In all that bad weather over the following two years, I was never late for work, Well once when I went in on the bus. I even worked for Stagecoach Inverness.

Now back down in England as wife missed family. I miss Scotland.

I sold my Caravelle to a gentleman from Inverness He flew down to Manchester, train to Hereford then drove it all back to Inveness

 

[DSK]

My brother brought a multi seat Vito (can't recall its exact variant name) as a daily driver compared to other family members who bought Range Rovers and Q7's. We laughed at first but, what a choice of vehicle its turned out to be.

What I can say is for carrying multiple persons the Vito trounces Range Rover and Q7 (and other silly 4x4s people justify for carrying 2 kids) and this is the sort of thing most people who buy a 4x4/SUV need! Its better to seat 5 or more comfortably rather than squished up. So the seating arrangements in the Vito offers this (I think VW have offerings too). The sliding doors, door step, overall ease of access into, out of and through the vehicle along with the versatility trounces 4x4 SUVs. For all trips where several of us travel together, we all scramble for the Vito and if we don't get there quick enough, its a slow head down walk to one of the other cars. My brothers Vito is some 3.0ltr diesel with some Brabus stuff on it (can't recall if its a styling pack or engine map too) but, its quite impressive for performance and the ride quality is impressive and the seats are quite plush rather than an after thought. I'm sure less performance orientated versions will offer pleasing fuel economy and Mercedes generally does better commercially orientated vehicles than its passenger cars, so reliability and durability will be stronger. As petrol heads, we like the engine and performance but, without knowing the details I can honestly say that if performance is not a big deal then some of the lower powered engine options will be perfectly adequate.