Mercedes Marco Polo, reliable?

[toon10]

Has anyone got any experience with the Mercedes Marco Polo campers?

We've sold our beloved T6 conversion due to VW engines being made of cheese. We really miss the flexibility and fun of having a campervan but don't want to go back to a VW. The Mrs. is toying with the idea of selling her Volvo and replacing it with another small camper so it can be used for the school run and her commute when needed. We have my 340i which I'm happy to let her use for work as long as I have something on the drive for when I need to pick my son up from school, etc.

I've always loved the look and interior of the Marco Polo and suspect they'd make a great family car/day van/weekend camper. After being bitten with the VW 204 bi turbo engine, I'm paranoid about reliability. I've had several BMWs over the years and never had to think about an engine management light or reliability issues since the 90's when I had a Fiat. I know the older Mercs had a reputation for being bullet proof but not sure on the current situation. My mate had a 2016 C class, and he had so many problems with it that he sold it on. Ironically, he also has a T5 camper so I'm looking forward to a few trips away with him if we do get another camper.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, I'm just thinking out loud and want to see what people think of the Mercs, specifically from an ownership/reliability point of view. I've done a bit of Googling and YouTube searching but there's nothing like the collective wisdom of this place for the low down.

[Slyjoe]

I leased one from work for a year with very few problems - the spare wheel was pinched from underneath, and the glass covers over the oven and sink were very prone to scratching.
The pop top caught in the mechanism, which made holes in it, but that was replaced under warranty.
Mechanically it was fine, we had several holidays in Cornwall, it was able to get down there at quite a good speed
It was a nice place to be, and drove effortlessly

[toon10]

Slyjoe said:

I leased one from work for a year with very few problems - the spare wheel was pinched from underneath, and the glass covers over the oven and sink were very prone to scratching.
The pop top caught in the mechanism, which made holes in it, but that was replaced under warranty.
Mechanically it was fine, we had several holidays in Cornwall, it was able to get down there at quite a good speed
It was a nice place to be, and drove effortlessly

Great, thanks for sharing. I was always paranoid about the pop top in my VW. My friends Mrs. had her wheel stolen on her Kia Sorento so good to know these might get targeted too.

[Slyjoe]

The alloy spare was gone in about 3 seconds - they snipped the retaining cable. We didn't even notice until we returned the van at the end of the lease.