Merc Sprinter or Iveco Daily???

donegalnuala

Hi there, Im having a look for a van conversion, and I seem to be coming accross / attracted to mostly Iveco Dailys and Merc Sprinters, prob because they are nice big vans and have the space I would ideally like. I have very little experience of driving big vehicles, the largest being a VW Transporter Minibus a few years ago. I would really appreciate your opinions and reccommendations on what youse think of these vans, and which you rate, my knowledge is basic so dont worry that your being patronising!!Cheers, Nuala

Buford T Justice

donegalnuala wrote: »

Hi there, Im having a look for a van conversion, and I seem to be coming accross / attracted to mostly Iveco Dailys and Merc Sprinters, prob because they are nice big vans and have the space I would ideally like. I have very little experience of driving big vehicles, the largest being a VW Transporter Minibus a few years ago. I would really appreciate your opinions and reccommendations on what youse think of these vans, and which you rate, my knowledge is basic so dont worry that your being patronising!!Cheers, Nuala

Iveco dailys are very big wagons, so bear that in mind if you buy one, would be good for the space though. Sprinters are good reliable wagons. I'm thinking of going with one or the other myself, but tbh the only difference for me will be the headroom between the Sprinter and the Daily.

Best of luck OP

donegalnuala

Hey Fingers, thanks for that opinion. I probably need to go and look at more vans, and thats the plan for the next few weeks. Cheers, Nuala:D

Kristopherus

My tuppence is that you should go with the merc. I have a 313 Sprinter van for the past 3 yrs and I have to say it was my best purchase ever. Drives as smooth as a car. Very convertible. Make sure you get a high roof model.

defike

Mercs are rear wheel drive so u loose some headroom inside.
Also any nick the paintwork gets seems to rust.
Iveco are big.
I decided to go with a lwb ducato new shape.
Super quiet inside and 37mpg cruising at 60.

pandos

Iveco gets my vote.

Working on a conversion at the moment and am more and more delighted with it every day.

Had a sprinter in the past. Good van but prone to going wrong.

Biggest Iveco is bigger than the merc afaik.

Iveco and Fiat are underated in UK and Ireland. But look at second hand prices on the continent and look at what the couriers and utility co.s in France use, its mainly Iveco. Germany is all Mercs.

gokgok

I used to own a Iveco conversion and the moment i have use of my da's sprinter conversion. The Iveco was a bit wider but not as much that it would make it a big deal. I much prefer the sprinter to drive. I'll never drive an iveco again if i can help it

joncollier

Sprinter has my vote, 350,000k and still going strong, mines a 1999 310d, but that said the dimensions of the iveco are better for a conversion.

youneverknow

joncollier wrote: »

Sprinter has my vote, 350,000k and still going strong, mines a 1999 310d, but that said the dimensions of the iveco are better for a conversion.

would you have an idea of the MPG, what can go wrong with them thinking of handing over 4400 for a 97 one monday with 127k on the clock

demoreino

If you are going for a bed at the back of the sprinter , the biggest you can expect to get is 5 ft 9 inches if you're going for a bed from side to side.
If you want to go with alonger bed at the back and go from rear towards the front you will be using up a whole lot of space.
Maybe consider using one of the wider vans ( Ducato , I think ) if you want to have the bed lenght ways at the back.

What can go wrong with them ???? Rust is a real problem , as an earlier poster said , all nicks on them end up rusty .

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

moodrater

As kevin says rust thevwhite ones always look manky. The metallic ones fare a lot better. If its a panel van that mileage sounds iffy. When I was looking for one there were lots of ex government ones in the north well looked after. Tyere are a couple of police vans on gumtree in belfast at the mo thstbwould be interesting http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/sprinter-turbo-diesel-automatic-ex-sweeny-riot-crewbus/102692034

stevire

Did you find the VW Minibus too small? I went from a Sprinter ('94) to a VW Caravelle, while I do miss the stand up room in the Sprinter the VW is perfect size for me, better mpg and more comfortable to drive...

Aidan_M_M

why are you limiting yourself to just those 2 vans? What's your budget? The Sprinter is a wallowy b'stard IMO , and the Iveco is "truckish" to drive.. If you had to have an RWD , I'd prefer a VW LT to a Sprinter , find them more relable even though they're almost identical . And it's hard to ignore a Transit Hi-Cube , even though I find them a bit agricultural . Did you look at the long wheelbase High roof Ducato , or Renault MAster?