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Your experiences - RWD (realistically, for all year round use), Servicing Costs, reliability.

Kiwi Ange

Kiwi Ange

Active Member
Keen to hear people's experiences with the Marco Polo, especially with being RWD and the limitations this will pose in less desirable weather and road conditions (gravel, rain, snow, mud, ice), and also on grassy sites.

I've noticed posts regarding getting stuck in the mud and on roadsides as well as feeling drifty in poor weather, so I suspect my concerns may be justified rather than allayed, which will be a shame. But, I would really love to hear your experiences on this or if anyone is in a similar position to use, but the MP has still worked well for them.

Regarding SERVICING: The guide costs we've been given for servicing are really high. £480 for the first service, £980 for the second, and so on. £200 ph for other work + high cost parts. It looks like others on here have had far more reasonable service costs than that, but is that because you were outside of London, or outside of warranty so didn't need to stick to MB dealer...? Would really love to hear back on this.

Many thanks in advance
Angela
 
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Hi Angela - This forum tends to cover more of the issues, so sounds bad, go to the facebook site and its far more positive as it focuses on doing good stuff with the MP. Its a merc volume selling MPV so seems pretty average with reliability, I've had more issues with my newer Audi than my MP in the last year. With getting stuck, ours got stuck on wet grass this winter, but I doubt many two wheel drive cars would have made it off. It was soft, flat and very muddy and I bet some 4WD cars with fat road tyres would have got stuck as well. Dealers are not interested, thats pretty clear, but once you have it you only need them for the first services, and this forum helps with working out how to use the MP. A 4WD version would be better for extreme use but the MP is a nice thing to drive on roads, and does most things well enough. Hope this helps; as always, this is my opinion and others may disagree.
 
I'd echo Steve B's thoughts. I'm coming off the back off a couple of MB cars and really this is just like a slightly bigger and heavier version. Go for it, they're great vehicles and a lot of fun
 
Hi Ange
I echo Steve B. This forum is the place to trawl if you have a technical problem therefore it may imply a certain amount of negativity about what is a very good vehicle. On Facebook you are more likely to see shared experiences.

Yes, the MP is a heavy vehicle and can get stuck in mud and wet grass if you are not careful. The fat low profile tyres don’t help. Traction mats may give some peace of mind and can be worth parking on if you are in a very soft field overnight.

You will find the driving in central London relaxing and (almost) enjoyable in a Marco Polo.and it’s an effortless motorway cruiser and sure footed - you will lose the crockery before the back end on a winding road.

The Mercedes side is fairly bullet proof. Westfalia have typical campervan irritations that Mercedes dealers are not particularly good at fixing hence many of the the posts here.

One important point is to look out for is blisters on the roof. There is a long thread on this forum. If it‘s a 2019 vehicle it will still be under :warranty and if faulty the roof will be replaced by Mercedes FOC ......once they get to the root of the problem.

Go for it ! Good luck !
 
I would go for it despite the fact it is prone to getting stuck on not particularly muddy grass and is useless if snow is lying on the road.
 
Fingers crossed it gets resolved! It seems like a quite a problematic issue to sort that has effected loads of MPs. Not just small percentage.
 
Hello. Now had my MP for 2 years 5 months, sure I had 2 roofs under warranty and got fed up with the dealership. The first service at 2 years comes in at around £380 for everything,
Despite the roof issue I would not change it, much more comfortable and more car like to drive than the VW camper that I had for nearly 8 years ,Love it.
 
I think the debate with getting stuck and MP's rear v's front wheel drive of the VW T6 is similar to Audi/BMW comparison. It's the tyres that make the big difference, and manual over intelligent auto boxes. I've had 3 & 5 series and A6/A7's and all have been bad in slippery conditions as they have tarmac focused tyres. Also, setting of in a high gear in snow isn't possible in some auto's as they keep selecting first despite the gear you put it into.

Wet grass is also worse than most people think; I did a lot of clay shooting on farms in the past and watched peoples 4WD LR disco's get stuck on flat wet grassy fields. A defender with thin ugly wheels all terrain tyres to the rescue.
 
I was also concerned about traction in slippery conditions, so switched the tyres out for all-season items. Michelin CrossClimates are great in all conditions, and you don’t have to change them out like full winters. Not got stuck yet... mine is on the 18” wheels. I’m not sure if Michelin do a CrossClimate in the 19” wheel size.
 
Has anyone had their 2nd service yet. Apparently it's over £1,000...? Happens at 30-36months or 40-50K.
 
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