Maintenance - Mercedes View Maintenance

[joellj]

We're thinking of purchasing a 2016 Mercedes View - Class C RV in a couple of years. I'm curious about the cost and availability of maintenance.

Our plans are to take off for a year +/- and tour the national parks throughout the USA and Canada.

I'm assuming:
1. The quality of Mercedes is extremely good. Thus, the need for maintenance will be less than many of its' competitors.

2. As we plan to buy used, if there is any warranty left, it will not be transferable to us.

Questions/concerns I have:
1. How available will maintenance be out in the boondocks of the western US and Canada?

2. How expensive are repairs: hourly rates and parts? How competitive are they with other manufacturers?

3. Are there good nationwide maintenance plans that will in essence guaranty coverage basically anywhere such as Good Sam that are worth looking into? What are some of the better companies/plans.

Please weigh in on anything related to this that you think will be helpful.

[jackfish]

New Mercedes Benz Sprinters have a service interval of 20,000 miles. While authorized Mercedes Benz Sprinter service centers are limited, one can take their unit to any competent mechanic and have them follow the service schedule and document the work done.

Find a Dealer | Mercedes-Benz Vans
Find a Freightliner Dealer | Freightliner Sprinter
http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource...rectory-US.pdf

There are many places like these that work on Sprinters:
Sprinter Van Service and Repair Experts | Kniesels Auto Service Centers
https://sprinterstore.com/product-ca...inter-service/

[CharlesinGA]

They are quirky and many places won't touch them. Even some Mercedes dealers don't. If you have ever owned an old English sports car, its the same kind of thing, you really gotta become one with the vehicle and understand all the odd quirks and strange things they do.

If you get one, do yourself a favor and change the oil MUCH more frequently than MB calls for, and the transmission fluid too. Probably about 10K on the oil and 20K on the transmission fluid, you will save yourself a lot of grief in the end.

Also pay close attention to using proper MB APPROVED fluids of the proper spec numbers. (can be any brand, so long as it has the word APPROVED and the correct spec number) Oil and transmission fluid in particular. You will have lots of problems if you use the wrong stuff.

Charles

[cb1000rider]

Note, I don't own a Sprinter, but I strongly considered buying one. I have owned other motorhomes.

Originally Posted by joellj

I'm assuming:
1. The quality of Mercedes is extremely good. Thus, the need for maintenance will be less than many of its' competitors.

This is a rolling home on wheels. Its also a Chrysler product. That quality advantage that Mercedes had over American cars in the 1970s and 1980s, I'm not so sure that it's there anymore.

The need for maintenance is in the book. The need for repairs - ignoring the "house" part. If you're comparing it to the Ford Chassis, I'm not 100% sure that it's more reliable.

Originally Posted by joellj

2. As we plan to buy used, if there is any warranty left, it will not be transferable to us.

I wouldn't assume that. Just make sure you follow the procedure for transferring any available warranty. The coach warranty may or may not exceed the warranty on the "house" part.

Originally Posted by joellj

1. How available will maintenance be out in the boondocks of the western US and Canada?

I think you can easily schedule around planned maintenance. Chassis repairs are another matter, this is a "quirky" brand. It's too small for most commercial diesel shops, it's an unusual vehicle for Chrysler/Mercedes shops, and many shops may not have a bay big enough to fit an RV of it's size. Note, this is NOT unique to the Sprinter, the size part is a problem with all motorized RVs and traditional repair dealerships - they may be too long / too tall to get on a lift. Without a lift, dealers often won't service them.

Originally Posted by joellj

3. Are there good nationwide maintenance plans that will in essence guaranty coverage basically anywhere such as Good Sam that are worth looking into? What are some of the better companies/plans.

I don't think so. Good sam, AAA, whatever the coverage is - it's TOTALLY dependent upon the availability of service in the local area. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have this coverage, but there is no one service that can cover you anywhere.




The sprinter is probably the most economical chassis out there in terms of travel and efficiency. I really like it. Don't expect it to be easy to find a replace for a Mercedes (or Chrysler/Ram) specific repair. Service should be relatively easy as long as you plan for it and most simple stuff (like oil changes) can be done at any reasonable shop that can fit the vehicle into the bay.

Largely all motorized chassis that aren't diesel pusher suffer from some level of repair issues at your traditional Ford/Chevy dealer. Just be aware of it...

[CharlesinGA]

You might want to get with the times. Sprinter has not been marketed with the Dodge name since the fall of 2009. It always was a Mercedes product, being assembled in Dusseldorf, Germany, and being imported here. Mercedes sold off Chrysler to private investors, and eventually it resold to Fiat, which is why the Promaster is now the Dodge Van.

The OP specifically said they were looking at a 2016 Winnebago View.

Originally Posted by cb1000rider

Note, I don't own a Sprinter, but I strongly considered buying one. I have owned other motorhomes.



This is a rolling home on wheels. Its also a Chrysler product. That quality advantage that Mercedes had over American cars in the 1970s and 1980s, I'm not so sure that it's there anymore.

Charles

[cb1000rider]

Charles,
Your correction is appreciated. My comments were on the Sprinter chassis in general. As you've pointed out, perhaps the Mercedes models have a bit of a more isolated set of service options? Would you agree with that?

The branding, regardless of who makes it, may impact who will be willing to service it.

To be clear, I love the chassis, but I think that finding service for it in the event of a break-down might not be easy... It's not easy with more common Class-Cs.

[Murf2u]

Originally Posted by cb1000rider

The sprinter is probably the most economical chassis out there in terms of travel and efficiency.

I'm not sure what yard stick you use to measure 'efficiency', I use dollars.

You would have to do a LOT of driving to get even close to getting the initial purchase price difference back in fuel savings.

A few years back when I ran the numbers, my 35k to 45k miles per year didn't even touch the cost difference.

[Hooligan]

"efficiency" from driver standpoint could also be easy handling, smooth ride, good performance, reliability, and comfort. Not that I'm impartial, I do like my Sprinter based RV.
For the OP, dealers and shops are available (jackfish, post #2) Mercedes is very specific about which fluids and parts to use. Routine maintenance at dealer -oil change, filters (oil fuel air) . tire rotation and inspection about $300. DIY considerably less.

[Murf2u]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

"efficiency" from driver standpoint could also be easy handling, smooth ride, good performance, reliability, and comfort. Not that I'm impartial, I do like my Sprinter based RV.

Funny that, not only my experience with the Sprinters in our own fleet, but most every person I speak to mentions how crippled they are after just a few hours in the front seats of a Sprinter.

I park my Ford-based C in normal parking spots with no problem, have a smooth ride, excellent performance and ridiculously reliable track record.

I have 6 Sprinters in my fleet, when I bought a m/h, I bought one one a Ford chassis. Personally, I have 4 'daily drivers' between the DW and I, 3 of them are Mercedes, not that I'm impartial or anything.......

[paisleydale]

The warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles for the chassis and 5 years or 100,000 for drive train and exhaust system.

Warranty work needs to be done at a Mercedes dealer and not all Mercedes dealers work on Sprinters. I have found more Dodge dealers who can work on my 2013 chassis but this would not be covered under warranty.

I change my own oil, this is the easiest oil change I have ever done. Just make sure you use the correct engine oil (229.31 or 229.51).

We love our MH, we have had it for almost 3 years and we have 35,000 miles it. Easy to drive, park it one parking spot if I can back-up over grass and we have never had a needed to tow a car.

[paisleydale]

Last summer we drove Alaska and back to Oregon. My wife had a medical condition that we wanted taken care of here at home rather than in Alaska so we traveled rather quick coming home.

We had four days of 12 to 14 hours of driving and did all of the driving and I was never stiff, aching or even really that tired. We just keep traveling as long as we had daylight. I find my MH very comfortable.

I drive 60 mph and my average mpg for these 36,000 miles is 16.1 per gallon.

Good luck with what ever you do.

[Hooligan]

Originally Posted by Murf2u

Funny that, not only my experience with the Sprinters in our own fleet, but most every person I speak to mentions how crippled they are after just a few hours in the front seats of a Sprinter.
.

The Thor swivel captain chairs may not be standard Sprinter. I've put 12500 miles on the RV this past year, a few 10-11 hour days and still find it comfortable. Of course with the 2 dogs I'm walking around every couple hours, sure that helps..

[S Bradley]

We are very happy with our Navion IQ 24V. This is our second Sprinter Chassis.
If you are a weekend warrior traveling short distances I would suggest you stay with a gas C.
If you travel long distances then we choose Diesel it makes good sense to us. Our longest trip was from RI. home to Alaska, our overall average fuel mileage was 15.7 traveling 60 sometimes 65mph. I put in many 12 hour days in the drivers seat I don't find it uncomfortable, the ride could be improved and the noise level certainly could use some work.

If it were a question of simple economics the Sprinter is expensive but when compared to conventional Class C motor homes there are many subtle differences that justify stepping up in price. Leisure Travel and Winnebago are probably industry leaders but others make quality motor home on the Sprinter Chassis. Our choice of manufacture was base on the one piece fiberglass roof and floor plan.

Shops that can perform maintenance on Sprinters are (Frieghtliner and Mercedes) not all will be able to work on these just as not all domestic dealers will work on the Ford or Chevy RVs. There is a list of service providers on the Winnebago web site, it is extensive. But out West you will find they are further apart and usually near major cities.

I hope that helps, If you like you can PM me and I will tell you which dealers I like best.

[Camper Ken]

We owned a 31' class C Winnebago Access (Ford chassis) for 5 years, then a 34' class A Newmar Bay Star (Ford chassis) for 3 years, and we've owned our 2016 Itasca (Winnebago) Navion 24J for a year. My wife and I agree this is the most comfortable motorhome we've owned for traveling. I love the power and torque of the turbo diesel engine especially going up mountain roads. It's a breeze to drive. Neither of us have any complaints about the driver or passenger seats even after 6 hours on the road.

We've not made any multi-week cross country trips, but we find ourselves going on week-long or shorter trips much more often. In the next couple of years we're planning on 2 to 3 week trips to various areas of the country and look forward to doing it in the Mercedes powered Navion.