New car day... the end of the Saga...

[weeksy]

Spoke to dealer.... "can you bring it back and we'll get it fixed here"

Whilst that's not my favourite plan, it is a fair option.

They're then going to bring it back up to me at their time and expense.

Can it be fixed in time for your Euro Trip? That will be a bonus

I guess the answer to that is.. "depends on what they find".... impossible to say... they've got the auto electrician booked for Sat to work on it.

[weeksy]

I would also have though if using the motor daily with a strong battery then the daily charge would be higher than the drain. I ran about with a 7Ah solar panel on my dash till i could a short/drain in my Convoy.

I 100% agree.... but that's not fixing the issue is it... It's not a case of 'it'll do to get by for now".... it needs sorting and sorting correctly...

[MrLongbeard]

it needs sorting and sorting correctly...

And then a Noco jump pack throwing in the glove box for the next time stuff happens

[weeksy]

it needs sorting and sorting correctly...

And then a Noco jump pack throwing in the glove box for the next time stuff happens

I hear you. But I'd like to ar least try and get to where we don't need that if possible.

[MrLongbeard]

it needs sorting and sorting correctly...

And then a Noco jump pack throwing in the glove box for the next time stuff happens

I hear you. But I'd like to ar least try and get to where we don't need that if possible.

Yep, I'm with you on that.
I carry one, and I hope I never need it for myself, hell I've only ever used jump leads twice and that was for other folk

[Felix]

I 100% agree.... but that's not fixing the issue is it... It's not a case of 'it'll do to get by for now".... it needs sorting and sorting correctly...

I was more talking about if running out of time to get away. I would be quite happy for a get by fix till i got home just to take the stress out of will it get done in time. Change ferry/tunnel details etc. The good thing about the camperbus the solar keeps the start battery topped up as well as leisure so unless its a huge drain i would never notice. My work van even has a 40Ah solar on the dash going through a cheap £10 solar controller to eliminate any starting issues as that is more a stop start motor rather than longer runs.

[weeksy]

Took the Vito over to my mates place to get the audio unit whipped out. He kindly then chucked the Mercedes Diag Computer onto it.

This came back with a SAM related error to the Blower Control Box and the Right Hand Door Control Module. The latter of the 2 errors being the easier one to fix as you can get to it easier, but it does then need re-coding to the van which can only be done by a Merc/Authorised computer.
The Blower Control box means removing half the dash, which obviously is pretty time consuming.

I've printed the full diag report and sent to the dealer along with a detailed explanation to see what he comes back with.

My concern is that the dealer decides he's better getting the van sorted at the cost it take and re-selling it for £1000 more after giving me back my initial payment.... Win for him, loss for me.

[Hairybiker84]

Unfortunately the electrical systems on mercs are far from straightforward, I know from experience after buying a Sprinter with some known faults that I thought I could easily sort. Got there in the end, but hate to think what it would have cost at a stealer, hence the van being cheap!
If you end up keeping it, find someone who knows what they are doing as they are too complicated for your average mechanic and, also from experience of a Vito I owned previously, most of the fitters at the (commercial) stealership!

[weeksy]

Unfortunately the electrical systems on mercs are far from straightforward, I know from experience after buying a Sprinter with some known faults that I thought I could easily sort. Got there in the end, but hate to think what it would have cost at a stealer, hence the van being cheap!
If you end up keeping it, find someone who knows what they are doing as they are too complicated for your average mechanic and, also from experience of a Vito I owned previously, most of the fitters at the (commercial) stealership!

I have that guy.... however on a 10 day old van i simply don't want to pay him the money... Even though he'll charge me mates rates for parts/labour, it's not my job to do so. So it's either the supplying dealer or the warranty company who are footing this..

Or i use the 30 day money back 2015 consumer rights.... But and this is a BIG but.... i really like the van and i really do want it back.

[weeksy]

WEll i loaded up the KTM
2022-08-18_02-21-19 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Fits nicely, doesn't wobble about or move like on a trailer, nice.

Took the van down and dropped it off, with a little bit of sadness and trepidation. It's a lovely place to be... Well, i know it's a van, so it's a bit noisier than a car, but it does drive really nicely.

So i'm hoping to see it again.... Lets wait and see hey.

[Hairybiker84]

Hope it works out for you, I loved mine. They are much nicer to drive than the crappy VW the sheeple own, generally cheaper and easier to fix too. But there again, VW's never go wrong

[weeksy]

Hope it works out for you, I loved mine. They are much nicer to drive than the crappy VW the sheeple own, generally cheaper and easier to fix too. But there again, VW's never go wrong

I keep running through the potential scenarios.. One of which is me getting the van back and paying for my mate to sort....Which comes in at £300-400 and would properly piss off Mrs Weeksy.... but, looking round at alternatives on Ebay and Autotrader, i still don't believe i'd be getting a bad deal all in.

[Count Steer]

Wait and see what happens with the dealer. If they fix it then

If they don't, ask them for £500 back and sort it yourself.

Worst scenario is they tell you it's fixed....and it isn't.

[weeksy]

Worst scenario is they tell you it's fixed....and it isn't.

First day it comes back it's going straight to my Merc Tech to get the full once over again which will highlight both through the computer/diags and visually. I'll also be asking the dealer if they say "sorted.." as to what their Sorted means and what was or wasn't done etc.

Your above scenario of them giving me the £$£ to cover him to fix it... yup, that's my ideal scenario... but i'll be surprised if the dealer is looking at throwing £500 out of his own pocket into this.

There is also the 3rd party warranty, rather than the generic 30 days... They give you that as part of the deal.... But obviously we all know that these warranties often don't cover the exact thing you want and need them to cover lol.

[KungFooBob]

Is it the RAC warranty?

The wife's car came with one.

Three days after pick up the EGR started throwing an error code.

The garage fixed it no fuss without argument, I assume they claimed for the new EGR on the warranty on our behalf as it's a £500 part from Volvo.

[weeksy]

Autoprotect seems to be the company. Looking at the docs, it does state all mechanical and electrical problems.... but... well, we've all seen the horror stories of warranty companies.

I'll just sit here and wait basically.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/autoprotect.co.uk

Better than many i've seen lol

or maybe not...


https://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews243895.html

lol.

[weeksy]

Just been on to Mercedes to see if they can get the parts.

The good news is... yes....

But they're £435 to buy new. Then 3-4 hours to swap....

That's going to be an interesting conversation tomorrow once the guy confirms.

[weeksy]

So dealer has had their guy looking at the van.

They are the door control module is at fault and needs swapping.

They're not as convinced by the blower motor thing. They think that's the stereo, which I'm not sure I agree with as the stereo wasn't in the van lol.

So we talked through the options.

1. They disable the issues, I use the van for Silverstone then they repair
2. They give me £10k back
3. They keep it there and sort it.

Option 1 is pointless really, it'd cost me as much in fuel as it would to hire a van for Silverstone

Option 2, I'm struggling to feel the love for as an idea. It puts me back to where I was 3 weeks ago. Browsing eBay I'm trying to find a better option, but I'm not seeing it exists yet. I could buy a van van.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314110731796

But it's not quite as 'nice' as the Vito automatic. But arguably equally as functional for 99% of things.

Option 3 is my preference but they wanted to use breaker bought parts to repair, I want them to use new mercedes parts. (This is now being discussed with the boss)

[Yorick]

Maybe accept the Breaker parts. But make them agree to guarantee them.

[Mussels]

Maybe accept the Breaker parts. But make them agree to guarantee them.

If go with this, if they will guarantee it then a second hand unit will probably be no worse than a new one. Keep them fairly sweet in case another problem comes up.

I've had a van van, I think you have the better option already for your uses.