My wife is watching football. I'm in the room so the game and such is background noise, and all of a sudden I hear "Metris". What? I look up and there is a commercial during the Bear Packers game for the work version of the Metris van. Not sure if will help sell any, but the number of people who know they exist must have just increased 100 fold.
I just saw that commercial. I was thinking it might be a cool little rig if it were a truck instead of a van.
I remember seeing a commercial a year ago and all they did was go on about how it is bigger than the city/micro vans. No E36 M3.
Is this the Merc "that can carry 48 sheets of sheetrock" that I used to hear radio commercials for?
Had to look up "metris" not a bad looking van, much prettier than anything else in it's class
In person they do come across as mostly a very pretty commercial van. Which is certainly something, but even in passenger version they don't really compete with minivans in terms of ergonomics or user friendliness. I love the euro interpretation of cargo vans as needing to make sense (vs the stuff the US OEMs made for decades) and i want that to succeed here (and it already mostly has) but considering how people still dog on something like the Promaster for being ugly and some of the others for being too big, i think the Metris has a unique appeal and hope that it sells well.
So it's a Transit Connect competitor?
Works for me, I'm actually secretly a fan of the Ford... And a big fan of whatever the MB Dodge Sprinter is called. Rode in them a bunch of times as airport to hotel transport. They're nice.
Crackers said:Is this the Merc "that can carry 48 sheets of sheetrock" that I used to hear radio commercials for?
They said 60 on TV if memory serves. Which is pretty spectacular.
I'm not gonna pretend I'm not watching the game.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
That is spectacular.
I'd be real interested in one myself for work/commercial use. I'm just afraid how difficult justifying my next price increase would be if I was driving a Mercedes.
It said 2500 pound payload, that's impressive for its size.
From the manual:
Permissible gross weight GVWR -6724 lbs (3050 kg)
Maximum permissible gross weight of vehicle/trailer combination GCWR - 11684 lbs (5300 kg)
Trailer load GTW - 5000 lbs (2268 kg)
I'd be interested in using one of these as a long trip/camping van, since they are still a decent size (not as small as a Transit Connect or NV200 and not as big as a Transit or Sprinter). With the 5K tow rating, it'd be good to tow about anything I'd throw at it, too.
Just out of curiosity, I did a quick search for used ones. Not a lot out there right now, it looks like the ask for one with 35K or so miles is ~$24-25k. Seems like it's not bad if these are solid, but it does make me a little nervous that that many of them are up on the used market right before their warranty ends.
I've met many folks with the Mercedes / Dodge sprinter vans. (mostly vendors at events who travel a ton) All of them have had frequent, and expensive problems with their vans---- usually after 100K miles.
I haven't heard any experiences with Merc's new vans.....but buyers beware.
Joe Gearin said:I've met many folks with the Mercedes / Dodge sprinter vans. (mostly vendors at events who travel a ton) All of them have had frequent, and expensive problems with their vans---- usually after 100K miles.
I haven't heard any experiences with Merc's new vans.....but buyers beware.
While I'm sure I have fewer experiences than you, the ones I've had have been similar. I had been hoping the new Transit would force Mercedes to up their game, but it seems even more trouble prone. Seems like the euro style vans don't hold up as well as (or at least aren't as cheap to repair) as the ancient American style vans. Kind of hoping the Metris is more reliable than a Sprinter.
Joe Gearin said:I've met many folks with the Mercedes / Dodge sprinter vans. (mostly vendors at events who travel a ton) All of them have had frequent, and expensive problems with their vans---- usually after 100K miles.
I haven't heard any experiences with Merc's new vans.....but buyers beware.
I think most of these issues are with the OM642 diesel motor the same one in my e350
Wait, people are still watching football?
I suspect a lot of the 35k mile ones are coming off lease. When I looked at used ones there were several that were in the same area with very similar options and mileage for about the same $. It looked like a people transport company had done some kind of lease that expired at 36k miles.
T.J. said:Wait, people are still watching football?
Well, not NOW. The game ran late but it was over by midnight Eastern.
ultraclyde said:I suspect a lot of the 35k mile ones are coming off lease. When I looked at used ones there were several that were in the same area with very similar options and mileage for about the same $. It looked like a people transport company had done some kind of lease that expired at 36k miles.
I suspect you may be right. They were scattered at different dealerships, I think, but they were mostly (or all, maybe) the passenger versions.
Keith Tanner said:T.J. said:Wait, people are still watching football?
Well, not NOW. The game ran late but it was over by midnight Eastern.
I like the Metris, but if you're buying 60 sheets of sheetrock, they will deliver it for free with a boom truck and an operator who can send it through a second floor window opening.
The thing that grabbed my attention is they're sold as the Vito in the EU. That's reason to buy one right there.
Also in a reversal of the usual order of things, they rate it for 4400 pounds towing capacity in the EU instead of the 5,000 pound rating here. How many minivans tow 5,000 pounds? I have no clue.
It's still not a hugely useful towing capacity for a track car guy. The Transits tow up to 6k-7.5k with the right equipment, and can probably be had equipped that for just a few thousand dollars more I'm guessing.
JBasham said:Also in a reversal of the usual order of things, they rate it for 4400 pounds towing capacity in the EU instead of the 5,000 pound rating here.
well, yeah, but those are metric pounds. Or maybe British Pounds. Which means at today's exchange rate it can tow about $15.
That's not a bad looking van and priced competitively as well. If only it wasn't for all those MB parts underneath. From what I've seen with the Sprinters, it would spend way too much time in the shop.
eastsidemav said:I'd be interested in using one of these as a long trip/camping van, since they are still a decent size (not as small as a Transit Connect or NV200 and not as big as a Transit or Sprinter). With the 5K tow rating, it'd be good to tow about anything I'd throw at it, too.
Just out of curiosity, I did a quick search for used ones. Not a lot out there right now, it looks like the ask for one with 35K or so miles is ~$24-25k. Seems like it's not bad if these are solid, but it does make me a little nervous that that many of them are up on the used market right before their warranty ends.
if the used van doesn't have a hitch you can buy the parts for the factory install that integrates with the ESP vs an aftermarket hitch. Merc will also sell you an extended warranty before the vehicle hits 36k.
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