[galvanizedyankee]

I thank and welcome everyone's opinion.

 

[focus805]

Troll much?

I resisted the temptation @pounce, but you're spot-on. Somebody with 2 posts in 2.5 years and no facts to share is a waste of everyone's time. I would suspect that their driving and analytical talents closely match their description of Metris. And most angry people are first and foremost angry with themselves.

Apologies to the OP. Most of us behave better than that. Here are my facts -- 4 years and 48,000 miles in, my Metris has needed nothing but scheduled maintenance, recall inspections, and a warranty replacement of a faulty rear window washer nozzle. Metris drives like a capable sporting sedan, it's toss-able on the dirt if you care to drift with RWD, the independent rear suspension is safer and more agile than anybody else's solid axle, and, properly equipped, it has very good interior comfort. And the braking is amazingly good.

Here are my "secrets," in addition to quality, timely maintenance: I ALWAYS warm the vehicle for 30 seconds or so to bring it off of fast idle before I engage the transmission, I accelerate and brake appropriately for a 6000#+ commercial vehicle, I engage the parking brake and allow the weight of the vehicle to rest on the brakes BEFORE engaging park, I engage park or shift out drive or reverse only after coming to a COMPLETE stop, I inspect under the hood at least weekly and keep the under hood area spotlessly clean (if you're a junky driver, ignore small issues until they turn big), I do not exceed the speed limit unless forced to do so in a passing situation, I maintain a safe following distance AT ALL TIMES, I NEVER cross the double yellow, I practice my deep breathing and remember to drive like a professional even when confronted with jerks who drive junk or drive like junk, and lastly, I keep my eyes on the road and my hands upon the wheel!

So I'd say to the OP, if you're scared of buying a Metris, listen to your instincts. If you are a driver with any degree of competence, I doubt you will ever need to spout off about Metris being "junk."

 

[focus805]

I thank and welcome everyone's opinion.

Facts are more reliable than opinions.

 

[galvanizedyankee]

Seems a bit more of a Metris appreciation forum rather than an open forum. Thanks.

 

[pounce]

Why do you think an enthusiast forum for a Metris has a membership of Metris enthusiasts?

We get trolls. Some of them are repeat trolls with new accounts. They had a bad experience and maybe have difficulty letting go. Trolling is a violation of the terms of use. We've also had lots of spam bots and some people using the forum in a coordinated way to market or influence. It happens.

 

[focus805]

Seems a bit more of a Metris appreciation forum rather than an open forum. Thanks.

If by "open forum" you mean a place for non-contributors to rant without facts, you're right, and I may risk flaming them at times. If you mean it's a place that's not chock full of really solid factual information with a simple search function, I disagree. We are car enthusiasts who own Metris. Most forums are populated by enthusiasts.

Several of us have tried to elicit basic information about your proposed vehicle buy in order to help you. You don't seem to want to do that. That's OK, but it forces the rest of us to stay pretty general and just relate our own experiences. Maybe that's the appreciation you perceive.

I have nothing to gain by propping Metris. It is an unusual vehicle, indeed. I do know a fair amount about cars, having owned and wrenched very many since the early '70's. I've owned a VW Eurovan, several Datsun 510s, several Hondas, a Dodge minivan, Mercedes-Benz sedans, several Toyotas and a Ford. Using the techniques I described above, I've avoided major issues except on the VW which I blew up after missing a coolant leak.

The point here is not to sell you anything. The point is that calling names -- in this case "junk," is a childish substitute for discussion and analysis. Sadly, American culture seems to prefer the shock value of loudly stated "opinion" masquerading as fact. That's part of the "how and why" people make bad decisions buying a vehicle -- they rely on emotion and image, and dealers prey on that.

 

[icerabbit]

Seems a bit more of a Metris appreciation forum rather than an open forum. Thanks.

Well this is MetrisForum, which, just like any dedicated " Brand " forum and especially a " Model " forum, it will have any number of owners / users, visitors asking questions, owners trying to give helpful answers, sharing experiences, ...

Any brand or model / product can have issues, right out of the box or off of the assembly line; or down the line after a few years of use or certain miles driven.

Now when it comes to buying a Metris or not, which is somewhat of a niche vehicle, purchase questions are bound to get a few answers highlighting the specific vehicle characteristics that made us put our money on the table or sign on the dotted line; versus buying something else.

And, I think that most people here are level headed and pretty objective in their responses. Whether a person wants just passenger, cargo, is looking to do a travel conversion, buy weekender, ... we'll stick to facts and expierence, while indeed showing appreciation for being a vehicle that meets our needs.

 

[robots]

I ordered a Metris cargo van because I couldn't find anything else in the US market that fits in a standard garage and can transport a standard size pallet. And it has serious towing capability (5000 lbs rating). This is the picture that sold me on the Metris:

 

[RocketVan]

I was on the fence on buying a Metris until I found the fleet owners comments on this forum and the Facebook group. There are owner/operators/mechanics on both groups that have anywhere from a handful to over a hundred Metris vans in their fleets. Most with none or a few major failures after 100K plus miles and are much more reliable than other the vans in their fleets. That is what convinced me. I am 3 years with 33K miles in hauling dirt bikes all over California with zero issues.

 

[Gleggley]

I bought a new 2017 Metris for my medical courier business. I retired a couple of years ago. I now have 255,000 miles on it and have had very few issues with it. I keep it serviced regularly and don't drive it hard. I had hauled up to a bit over 2,500 lbs. in it many times. I have averaged 25.8 miles per gallon since new with a mix of city and highway driving. It does cost more to service that other brands, but it has been extremely reliable. It has been a great vehicle and has worked out very well.

 

[Davo]

My 2020 Metris has been the best Rootervan I’ve had in over 35 years, I believe it’s my sixth cargo van, 2 Fords, 2 Dodges, “the 95 Dodge Ram was a great Van and at $16,500 new, getting me 174000 miles in 12 years was probably the best bang for buck .” Around 2007 Dodge dealers quit carrying the B series Ram vans and started with the Sprinter Vans. So January 16, 2007 I ordered a brand new 2007 Sprinter low roof, optioned out my way, “only vehicle I’ve ever was able to option out” heated seats, cold climate package alloy wheels etc. It was finished July 3rd 2007. Great Van, I thought it would & could be my last Rootervan, well it did me good till around January 2021 and 154000 miles, the repairs were likely to exceed $6000 dollars, I struggled to pay that much for repairs on a 2007 and was afraid of it becoming a money pit, so after researching Cargo Vans, the MB vans were the vans I liked the best. After reading about and deciding on the Metris I called dealers around me and none in stock, but January 15, 2021 a dealer called me back and said he’d found a 2020 cargo van I might be interested in, I put a few grand down and it was shipped to Salt Lake, on January 27, 2021 it arrived and we did the paperwork and I drove her home, 0 interest for 3 years, 5 year 100000 mile warranty, I did wonder why it sat for over a year at a dealer in Arizona? But it had only 39 miles on it so I wasn’t really worried, it was right before the car market shortage happened.
So fast forward to its two year anniversary on the 27th and it’s the best cargo van I’ve owned, it drives and handles amazingly, and with its new stereo, speakers & amp upgrade, it’s the cat’s pajamas, only issue I’ve had was the aux battery light came a few times, I was just going to replace it myself but the light went away, then when the van was in for its recalls the dealership put a new aux battery for free under warranty,
So besides being my favorite Van, I’ve never had any get better fuel mileage, I get a little under 22mpg and that’s short trips City driving.
Happy New Year to you all!