BUYING A TRUCK - NEED ADVICE

kincaid

Hi All

I need to buy a 7.5 t lorry and came across a mercedes 815 4 cylinder truck that would suit and at good price but how reliable are they

Thanks

Kristopherus

kincaid wrote: »

Hi All

I need to buy a 7.5 t lorry and came across a mercedes 815 4 cylinder truck that would suit and at good price but how reliable are they

Thanks

Well I had an 814 for 5 or 6 yrs and they are a lovely drive. I put an 18ft aluminium dropside on it. The only fault I had with it was its poor pullability on soft ground. That may have been contributed to by the lightness of the body but anytime I went on soft ground, the back wheels would invariably spin.Otherwise I could not fault it.

Slidey

I work in Mercedes commercial garage and have to say they are not a bad truck.

There is a few things that go wrong in them but if it has been looked after you should be ok

kincaid

yes the 814 6cyl was the best truck on the road give no bother but this is a 4cly 815 think its 1999 , 340k km heard a few iffy stories on them engine wise but price is €2300.. do that sound right

slidey-what trouble do they give - must be engines as to buy engines secondhand is very expensive

Slidey

kincaid wrote: »

yes the 814 6cyl was the best truck on the road give no bother but this is a 4cly 815 think its 1999 , 340k km heard a few iffy stories on them engine wise but price is €2300.. do that sound right

slidey-what trouble do they give - must be engines as to buy engines secondhand is very expensive

I don't think I have seen an engine give trouble on them. Turbo's can go but it is rare enough. The bits end up in the sump so If you didn't clean them out you may end up in bother.

Make sure the dash works, it can fcuk up and is expensive to replace. Rear calipers can break if a donkey goes winding them back with the handbrake on.

Check the front antiroll bar for a flat spot where the linkages meet it. If it looks like it was hitting the road you know it was well loaded when working. The saddles on the springs are cast and break if the u bolts are not tightened right.

I'd have no bother owning one if I needed a 7.5t and thats from someone that knows their weaknesses.

kincaid

Thanks Slidey

went to see it earlier today and its very clean but turns out to have 445k km on it, are these good for these miles or is engine pass its best by this?

Also you mention about the dash giving trouble but this seems ok but seller did mention that you could buy something at €200 or so to stop the dash problems from happening ..not sure if thats true?

Slidey

That does seem like very high mileage... I wouldn't be too keen unless it is coming with the body you need. That way if it all goes wrong you still have something useful.

kincaid

suppose the engine would be on its way out at these miles and i noticed the test is up at end of this month.. its €2000 for chassis and cab or €2300 with a fairly ok curtainsider, not a penny less as says he can get €2000 (chassis/cab only)for breaking.