Projections of Metris use
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What I'm more interested in will be the split between private and fleet buying...
Private... i'm not having to much hope in but when it comes to fleet, I can see that working out quite well.
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I'm not sure what you mean by that? You think Mercedes will sell more vans to private individuals then they will through fleet programs?
Not sure what happened to that post but I can see a lot of fleet sales happening, not sure about private sales.
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I know that recently ford has seen an uptick in older shoppers buying the full size transit van in passenger layout for grandkids, tooling around whatever. I wonder if the ease of ingress/egress coupled with the van nature might make the Metris popular with retirees. It is a Merc after all and will find itself right at home in Boca Raton...
We all know that some private buyers will buy it for the space for the money.
Others, like myself, will be buying because we have an established relationship with the brand. I know it's not the most luxurious Mercedes, but it's still a Mercedes and the Mercedes brand means something to me.
Interesting, that being the case, we should definitely see folks in strong numbers buying these for personal use. At least for now we can look over to the transit to see more of that.
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I'm seeing a lot vans being used in the motorcycle world that I didn't see much of 20 years ago. I just go back from Colorado this weekend and where we stayed it was mostly vans. I also use mine for animal rescue, and other home chore stuff. I'm using it much more than I thought. And it just drives nice.
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I use mine primarily as an office and crash-pad. We use it as a work van for my wife, who does not drive- she cleans houses as a maid. Contrary to what some people think you don’t need a lot of stuff for that job; we have done this work out of an A-class sedan when the Metris was in for service. She carries an Oreck XL, a mop, a long swifer stick that is rarely used, and a canvas supermarket shopping bag full of basic cleaning chemicals and A standard swifer stick. Sometimes, when she does a house that has specific smell issues (such as a house with a large dog, or a house where someone smokes) we carry a second vacuum (still an Oreck XL- we own half a dozen) that is designated for such a house so as to not spread that oder to other customers.
Where the Metris excels for our work is that it serves perfectly as my space to wait. I have a fold down desk on the back of the front passenger seat, a tablet mount on the headrest of that seat, the standard three position bench, three naugahyde cushions from a long-defunct 1970s sofa. and two recharageable crappy 10” fans I bought off of some internet site.
I can sit in the second row and work on my tablet with the keyboard on the fold down desk. I can sit there with the desk used to hold a cold or hot drink (depending on the season) and watch YouTube quite comfortable. I can read a book, several of which fit comfortably in the seat back pocket. I can take those three cushions and arrange them in the space between the door and the seat in the second row, and lay down and do various above activities while laying down- or just nap.
In the summer I do this wearing light shorts and an undershirt, and clip each of the two rechargeable fans to the drivers side grab handles on the front and second rows, point them at me, and turn them on, leave both front windows down, and the drivers side sliding door is left open. As long as I position my van with the sun facing the rear window, this is quite comfortable on all but the crazy-hottest days, as long as I have plenty of cold water (I put this in two glass bottles that fit in the front door bottle holders, and a big thermos filled with ice and water).
In the winter, I dress in nice wool long underwear, overalls, and warm flannel shirts, and I can do the same. Coffee or tea is substituted for the water, and works perfectly well. (Obviously, the van is buttoned up in these circumstances)
The van is never running for either scenario, and I have done no conversions or wiring to accomodate these features. Just a MB-branded universal fold down table, a cheap Chinese tablet Mount that can be pulled off with velcro, the clip fans, and the couch cushions. It has the space, comfort, and versatility to accomodate these uses built in, drives very tightly and maneuverable, and I love it.
Perhaps my next van will actually be a short sprinter with a sofa and a desk with a rolling chair, fantastic fan, and so on. Maybe not; this has a number of advantages. But for my needs, it is perfect.
Where the Metris excels for our work is that it serves perfectly as my space to wait. I have a fold down desk on the back of the front passenger seat, a tablet mount on the headrest of that seat, the standard three position bench, three naugahyde cushions from a long-defunct 1970s sofa. and two recharageable crappy 10” fans I bought off of some internet site.
I can sit in the second row and work on my tablet with the keyboard on the fold down desk. I can sit there with the desk used to hold a cold or hot drink (depending on the season) and watch YouTube quite comfortable. I can read a book, several of which fit comfortably in the seat back pocket. I can take those three cushions and arrange them in the space between the door and the seat in the second row, and lay down and do various above activities while laying down- or just nap.
In the summer I do this wearing light shorts and an undershirt, and clip each of the two rechargeable fans to the drivers side grab handles on the front and second rows, point them at me, and turn them on, leave both front windows down, and the drivers side sliding door is left open. As long as I position my van with the sun facing the rear window, this is quite comfortable on all but the crazy-hottest days, as long as I have plenty of cold water (I put this in two glass bottles that fit in the front door bottle holders, and a big thermos filled with ice and water).
In the winter, I dress in nice wool long underwear, overalls, and warm flannel shirts, and I can do the same. Coffee or tea is substituted for the water, and works perfectly well. (Obviously, the van is buttoned up in these circumstances)
The van is never running for either scenario, and I have done no conversions or wiring to accomodate these features. Just a MB-branded universal fold down table, a cheap Chinese tablet Mount that can be pulled off with velcro, the clip fans, and the couch cushions. It has the space, comfort, and versatility to accomodate these uses built in, drives very tightly and maneuverable, and I love it.
Perhaps my next van will actually be a short sprinter with a sofa and a desk with a rolling chair, fantastic fan, and so on. Maybe not; this has a number of advantages. But for my needs, it is perfect.
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