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Metris Purchase

8K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Greenmanedlion 
#1 ·
Good Day,
I've enjoyed the posts on the Metris forum. I am consider purchasing a Metris and would like ask you a few questions that I'm sure you are eminently qualified to answer.
1. What is your real world gas mileage? Loaded and unloaded
2. What is your experience with the dependability of the Metris? Problem areas?
3. Is the Metris a good value for the price?
4. How many miles have you driven you Metris?
5. What is a good price for 1-2 year old Metris?
6. Do you own other Mercedes products? If so, what?

I own a Mercedes E430 with about 145K miles on the clock. I've only had it for a 4 years and for the most part really enjoy it. However, I need a vehicle that will enable me to haul car parts for my 69 Series Land Rover 2a and to flat tow the vehicle. I'm in the process of restoring it and am constantly purchasing items for it. Let me know your thoughts. I'm a fan of German engineering and have owned numerous German vehicles.
 
#2 ·
I have a 2016 Cargo converted to a camping and around-town vehicle. 24 miles per gallon is about average (dash read-out of about 25 is 1 mpg too optimistic), no discernible difference between loaded and unloaded in my case. I've had to have MB replace part of the exhaust and the analog speedometer. Also, a few small problems. I'd say pretty good, but not perfect on dependability issues. I think the Metris shines in terms of value for price, it's a joy to drive. Sorry, I don't know anything about used Metris prices. I haven't owned any other Mercedes products, I have owned 3 other vans and this is hands-down the most fun to use.
 
#3 ·
I've only had my 2018 cargo for four months so take this with however many grains of salt necessary:

1. Average overall: 24mpg. Unloaded trip with wife & dog on Xmas day, zero traffic: 30mpg. Fully loaded with sound gear: 20mpg
2. Only issue I've had is the collision detection going off too easily, sometimes on a straight empty road.
3. For me, absolutely. It's both my work van and my daily driver.
4. 3400
5. No clue honestly
6. Nope

This is my first MB vehicle, never really considered the brand until I started getting serious with my business & realized I needed a good cargo van. I've rented many of the US brands and had issues with each of them, either ergonomically or in terms of reliability. Sprinters are too big for my needs, my previous vehicle was an Odyssey and the Metris is a perfect bump-up in size. I LOVE driving this van, the smoothness of how it performs all the actions I ask it to do is astounding. I probably over-use the cruise control, but I like how if the speed limit changes I can just bump it up to speed and the van just finds its way there with almost no feeling of acceleration. I have the lift-gate, it's really tall, even if I'm backed up to a curb load I don't hit my head like kept happening with the Odyssey, and it makes nice rain-coverage. It fits in my garage!!! And it rides extremely well when filled to the ceiling with heavy equipment, as a good cargo van should.
 
#4 ·
I have a 2016 cargo I use for camping.

1. Dashboard reports 22-25mpg (depends upon speed more than load) which is always 2-3 mpg higher than actual as measured by fuel dispensed divided by miles driven since last fillup.

2. Reliability was great 'til 30K. It's been in the shop 5 times for multiple times each for mostly fuel problems (engine stalls about 30 second after starting), a sticky valve in fuel vapor recovery system, plus I had the power steering rack fail. Currently 42k miles. It's gone 3k miles since last visit to the shop. Damnit, I was hoping for something more reliable

3. Value vs Price. No way to answer as different people have different metrics. For me, I thought it was a good value/price at time of purchase. My opinion has dropped since #2. My dealer has a $4100 price to replace the steering. Oh, and then $450 for a front end alignment. The value vs cost of repairs is very, very, very poor.

4. 42k miles since Sept 2016

5. way too many variables there to give any reasonable answer

6. Nope. And, this will be my last Mercedes product. The reliability and cost of repairs is stupid (no different than BMW, VW, Audi, though)

On the plus side, and why I didn't give the van away after my issues last summer/fall:

-) I can't find anything better for my needs. The size is perfect. Even the smallest Transit is bigger in every way.

-) I can't find a cargo Transit at any dealer that isn't white with useless options (I'm a road trip guy. I want the 3.5L turbo, towing, rear/side windows, cruise control at the absolute minimum. That combo doesn't seem to exist in california, even in white)

-) It's a freakin hoot to drive. Ignore the specs about a 2.0L 4 cylinder engine with 208(?) HP. I have no idea what laws of physics Mercedes violated, but that little engine scoots a 5000lb van around just fine. I've screamed up and over the Rockies on I-70 west of Denver in the left lane at 80mph with everyone else.

The list of negatives is sorta depressing, though:
- It took several years before it was outfitted with a usable passenger side mirror

- Stupid option packages are allowed. I bought mine with rear windows which had wipers and defrosters. Great. But it came with the solid cargo partition instead of the one with the clear plexiglas. So, no rear view mirror. HUH? Why configure a van with rear windows and a solid partition? I planned to remove the partition, so you'd think no big deal, but dealer says an entirely different windshield is required to mount the standard rear view mirror!!!! So, I have a rube goldberg rear view mirror. I fault myself the most for buying a van making an assumption it would have a rear view mirror to see out those defrosted and wiped rear windows. I fault the salesman quite a bit for this, too, although to avoid getting a low customer feedback survey, he was willing to eat the claimed $1500 cost to retrofit the van with new front windshield and upper console stuff including the rear view mirror. I declined and went rube goldberg.

- Speaking of rear windows, there is next to no window washer fluid pressure (at least on the barn door versions), at the rear windows, so the feature is pretty much useless. Fine German engineering again. It's not the engineering I mind, crap happens, it's that they continue producing the van for years with the issue because they don't want to spend the money to fix it.

- Reliablity as above

- Stone age audio system & navigation. Beyond functionality, I've had the volume knob stop having any affect twice. Fix - hold down the power button for 30 seconds to reboot the audio system. As with the time (Below), how hard is it to do a working volume knob?

- Clock loses a minute a month (how hard can it be to do a darn clock?)

- The fuel economy calculator lies. I'm sure it's an intentionally incorrect computation to fool people who don't do the actual math themselves. This should be illegal (and probably is), but as with diesel emissions, why follow the rules when you can cheat?

- The fuel gauge itself is very wrong. At indicated 1/4 tank, you need to be finding a gas station within 20 miles despite the fuel computer saying you have 120 miles to empty. Shortly below 1/4 tank, a warning light comes on, and you really, really need to find a gas station. The gauge totally lies about how much fuel is remaining. Again, there surely are regulations about fuel gauges. Why doesn't Mercedes 1) follow the rules, and 2) fix the problem rather than continuing to produce vans with wildly incorrect fuel gauges?

- The motorized sliding doors suck - the rails bend, they stick open or closed. Make sure you get manual side door(s).

- To avoid a specific import tax, the cargo ones are partially disassembled in Europe and reassembled in the US by a monkey that doesn't know how to use a torque wrench. If you buy used, ensure the transmission is bolted onto the engine and not just hanging off the engine on a few loose bolts. Lord knows what else the US monkeys did wrong putting my van back together

- Good service is HARD to find - you need to have a Metris knowledgeable repair facility nearby. Thankfully I do. (Despite my gripes about the van's reliability, I have nothing but good things to say about Rocklin Mercedes outside of Sacramento). But, lord help me if the van breaks away from home.

- With the cargo partition installed, the range of motion (both seat bottom forward/back, and seat back recline) is hampered. If you go cargo, try the seat position before buying

Finally, why aren't a lot of the Mercedes Vito features available on the Metris:
- swivel front seats, four wheel drive, diesel, better audio system, and endless other options.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I've had my 2016 cargo for about 21 months. Most of the time it has been in the garage getting converted to a camper.

1. Low to mid 20's. Upper 20's when it was empty and I was driving it cross country, CO to AK in March 2017.
2. Not as good as any of the Toyota's that I've owned. If you don't live close to a Metris dealer be prepared for head aches when something goes wrong. There are no Metris dealers in AK and MBUSA recently informed me that the local Freightliner/Sprinter dealer is not qualified to do warranty work. And the local MB dealership doesn't even want to even see my Metris since they don't carry them. To add insult to injury, when I needed parts for a recent repair MBUSA insisted that the parts be sent to the local MB dealer.... the same jerks that don't want me at their business. That stealership then sent them to the Freightliner/Sprinter place. My advice is that if you don't live close to a Metris dealership, don't even think about getting a Metris!
3. Yes, they are great vans to drive with good capacity in weight and volume. Good mileage and very well built. Lots of safety features. The audio system is absurdly out of date...
4. Maybe 5 to 6K miles... it more if it would be more if it wouldn't have been parked for 8 weeks trying to get parts to fix a check engine light. Yeah, that's not a typo- EIGHT weeks to do the trouble shooting and get couple of parts.
5. Look closely at the equipment that is offered and what you want/need. Even adding a trailer hitch is a challenge so know what you want before you start shopping. Look on cars.com and you'll quickly get a feel for what's available at what price. You can save a lot of money buying a used one that is still under warranty if you're willing to cast a wide net.
6. No, this is my first MB. Based on the shitty service I'm getting for not being near a Metris dealership, I doubt I'll ever deal with MB again.
 
#11 ·
Out of curiosity, does your local dealer carry the Sprinters? The reason I ask is that the local dealer does carry the Metris, and it is sold by the commercial vehicle side, same as the sprinter. I had a conversation with one of their sales people at a local RV show and he indicated that they have to be very careful about the Metris being sold as a "commercial vehicle" and not competing with the "consumer vehicle" lines.
 
#6 ·
1. What is your real world gas mileage?

We do a lot of city driving so we get around 19-22mpg in the city, I've seen 26.5mpg going 80 on the open freeway with cruise control (and A/C on)....this is better than the C-class wagon I used to own.

2. What is your experience with the dependability of the Metris? Problem areas? Zero issues so far....nada.

3. Is the Metris a good value for the price?

When you consider a "fully loaded" typical minivan creeps into the FIFTY thousand dollar range, this thing is a steal! Even "mid range" minivans from Honda/Toyota are about the same price!

4. How many miles have you driven you Metris?

Just under 6,000 so far.

5. What is a good price for 1-2 year old Metris?

No idea, bought mine new with a moderate discount (outgoing model year) It can also vary widely based on options.

6. Do you own other Mercedes products? If so, what?

I've been driving MB products since I learned to drive in 2004....my first car was an '82 300SD...drove it from 207k to 323k miles...sold it still running/driving, but very rusty. Have had several others (as can be seen below in my sig) and overall reliability has been great. Have never been stranded by a MB vehicle in 15 years/probably 300k+ of driving.

My dad and brother also have been driving MB for ages....and they have had similar experiences. A maintained MB will very rarely leave you stranded.

Another big reason for my ownership is safety...I like knowing I (and my family) are a lot less likely to be folded in half in a bad crash should it ever happen than I would be in a lot of the other stuff out there on the roads.
 
#7 ·
1. What is your real world gas mileage? Loaded and unloaded
2. What is your experience with the dependability of the Metris? Problem areas?
3. Is the Metris a good value for the price?
4. How many miles have you driven you Metris?
5. What is a good price for 1-2 year old Metris?
6. Do you own other Mercedes products? If so, what?
1) I average 20mpg. I am an extremely fast and aggressive driver and tend to drive on highways at speeds of 80-95 mph- so your mileage would vary.
2) it is a typical Mercedes product. Stupid **** breaks, but the vehicle will make it to the dealer under its own power at your convienence. So it is there when you need it always, and thus dependable.
3) No. The Metris is an unfathomly amazing value for its price.
4) 93,500
5) that is an unactionable question.
6) I currently also own a non-roadworthy 1995 E300 Diesel that goes by the name of Rudolf. Besides a Ford Econoline and a GMC T6500 box truck I have exclusively owned older Mercedes products.
 
#8 ·
1) 19 or21mpg everyday mixed driving depending on lead in left foot...24mpg open road

2) so far so good

3)Metris serves us better than any small van on American market..more driver satisfaction

4) 8,000

5)could not find any used that were not well used

6) first MB product...Volvo does not make a van
 
#9 ·
1: About 22 mpg per the trip computer. My wife drives it 80% of the time and she's got a lead foot.

2: Nothing has broken or malfunctioned. I did have the passenger mirror replaced and the recall fuel leak repaired. The van was never out of service longer than the few hours necessary for the fixes.

3: IMHO, yes, but it's not for everyone. It fits our needs, but it lacks a lot of content and conveniences compared to other mini-vans in the USA market.

4: About 30, 000 miles since purchase in June of 2016

5: Don't know.

6: No, and I probably won't (price, service cost and inconvenience of no local dealer). But you never know, we may need to replace our old Astro in a few years and another Metris may be in our future.
 
#10 ·
I've had my Metris for just about a year now so here are my observations:

1. Mileage - I kept a record of fill-ups and plotted it (see attached). Best mileage shown is cruising in warm weather on the interstates at 60-70mph although the dashboard indicated significantly better during periods of slower driving. Pulling the trailer (green dots) does use more gas, especially due to wind resistance at higher speeds (red dots).
2. I've had no problems - one headlight was replaced. "A" service was done while I waited (45 min?). Put Toyo Celsius on last January, fronts are still reasonable, no uneven wear, rears are getting a bit worn in the middle (still good on packed snow/icy roads).
3. It's good value for me. I do dog shows. Because there's a bit more inside height I can stack crates and get twice as many in as any other mini van - as many as I carried in my Ford E350 which drove like a van and used far more gas. I can also tow my 28' trailer which most of the other small vans can't.
4. About 20,000 miles with a good mix of conditions (fast, slow, flat, hilly, heavy/light loads) always a pleasure to drive.
5. Rarely see used ones for sale up here. Black book gives an asking price of $29,250US for 2017 base cargo with 17,500 miles on it.
6. No, but unless something better comes along, I'll be keeping this one (or a replacement). I've got it set up with solar panels, battery, automatic vent, fans for the dogs in hot weather etc. Great handling and towing. Doesn't have all the fancy stuff some of the other vans have which is fine with me.
 

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#12 ·
The local MB auto dealership does not carry the Metris or the Sprinter. Nor do they want to see my Metris according to service manager.

The local Freightliner/Sprinter dealership is happy to work on it. But MB USA won't refund any warranty work done through them. If you don't take a Metris to a Metris dealership, MB USA doesn't give a hoot if its under warranty or not.
 
#14 ·
I didn’t have a problem with them directing me to not buy commercial, but I came in with checked off option list, and contemplated a Sprinter crew van as an alternative.

The truth is they do have to be careful about consumer luxury Mercedes customers buying Metris’s. If you see the Metris as a cheaper alternative to a GL450, you are going to be deeply disappointed in what you get. The Metris’s interior luxury level is, frankly, less than that of a comparably equipped Nissan Versa, besides having more comfortable front seats. If you don’t need the space, a new A220 is probably a better bet for a satisfied customer.

Ensuring customers get that concept is frankly a matter of honest business practice.
 
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