Hello

[Samebutdifferent]

Hello from a prospective MP owner. I have my eye on a early 2019 V250D AMG but Covid-19 restrictions are hampering a viewing, consequently I have loads of questions especially regarding the night heater. The car I’m looking at does not have one fitted so I’m researching retro fitting a Webasto or similar as not having one is a deal breaker for me.

I have a camping background from tenting and caravanning with my parents as a kid, tenting in late teens and twenties and latterly owning a T5 conversion and a Fiat Ducato PVC.

I hope I can contribute in some way as well as learning from the knowledge and experiences of others on the forum. Cheers.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

Good morning and welcome along SBD!
I am a (very) new MP owner and, like you, not having the night heater was a deal breaker for me...but because so many of the UK MP's in circulation seem to have once been an MBUK car many are specced without the MB heater.
Mine has an Eberspacher Airtronic D2 retro fitted under the passenger seat (I think Eberspacher supplied the OEM Westfalia one used in the MP) which I do not see as a compromise and in my opinion would be worth the investment. Set aside at least £1500 for the install though, costs range from roughly £1200 - £1800.
Removing the block from only buying a car with a heater will open up your options no end and leave you free to seek out other accessories you are after....incidentally I noticed there was a new MP posted on the "for sale" section of this very forum only yesterday.

After getting your vehicle you can then run around without the heater fitted for a while, you never know you might not need one.
Many of the MP owners on here use a small electric oil or fan heater used on hook-up on site to keep the chill off.

Good luck, happy hunting!

 

[Samebutdifferent]

@Grand Tourismo thanks for you welcome and informative reply.

It seems there is much confusion surrounding the heating options on the MP. I may be wrong but dealers seem to be a little lacking in knowledge of the vehicle, if prospective customers aren't fully conversant then that may well be the reason many cars aren't spec'd with the heater?

I saw the MP for sale, interesting. It's coming up to the time of year to sell, not good for us buyers though!

My use will be year long, off grid/hook up will be 50/50 and both my other vehicles had diesel heaters fitted so I know I need one.

I have been quoted £1800 - £1900 for a webasto from a VW converter, he has fitted a few to MP's and said it was much more difficult than a Transporter, perhaps he was justifying a price increase of £500 over a VW. Two other fitters I contacted wouldn't do the job

I have a few questions so that I'm clear in my mind when I contact fitters I know what I'm taking about, hope you don't mind.
Where is the factory heater fitted and is it external on the chassis? I don't think I would want the heater inside.
Do you know where the air inlet/outlets are on the factory fitted one?
Where are the habitation and starter batteries, I presumed one under each front seat?

The car I'm looking at Is with an small Independent dealer, I've dealt with him in the past and he's straight up. He didn't want to push me into buying the MP because of support issues and suggested I find an Ocean, I think I can see why now! Anyhow, he has contacts who may be able to help with fitting a heater, I would prefer that as the car is only 2yrs old and rather he had the liability than me.
I'll crack on and see what happens, hopefully we'll get there in the end. Cheers for now.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

@Grand Tourismo thanks for you welcome and informative reply.

It seems there is much confusion surrounding the heating options on the MP. I may be wrong but dealers seem to be a little lacking in knowledge of the vehicle, if prospective customers aren't fully conversant then that may well be the reason many cars aren't spec'd with the heater?

I saw the MP for sale, interesting. It's coming up to the time of year to sell, not good for us buyers though!

My use will be year long, off grid/hook up will be 50/50 and both my other vehicles had diesel heaters fitted so I know I need one.

I have been quoted £1800 - £1900 for a webasto from a VW converter, he has fitted a few to MP's and said it was much more difficult than a Transporter, perhaps he was justifying a price increase of £500 over a VW. Two other fitters I contacted wouldn't do the job

I have a few questions so that I'm clear in my mind when I contact fitters I know what I'm taking about, hope you don't mind.
Where is the factory heater fitted and is it external on the chassis? I don't think I would want the heater inside.
Do you know where the air inlet/outlets are on the factory fitted one?
Where are the habitation and starter batteries, I presumed one under each front seat?

The car I'm looking at Is with an small Independent dealer, I've dealt with him in the past and he's straight up. He didn't want to push me into buying the MP because of support issues and suggested I find an Ocean, I think I can see why now! Anyhow, he has contacts who may be able to help with fitting a heater, I would prefer that as the car is only 2yrs old and rather he had the liability than me.
I'll crack on and see what happens, hopefully we'll get there in the end. Cheers for now.

I can't comment on where the factory heater mounts or where the inlets/outlets are located, someone on here will be able to help I'm sure.
It depends on where you are located in the country but I would say keep shopping around for heater fitment costs...there seems to be quite a big variation in price.
HB and Starter batteries fitted under both passenger and driver seats.

I was also looking at the VW (a Coast rather than an Ocean) and I have to say they seem like a nice van, and the VW scene is much larger so I guess there is a bigger support network...but in the end the MP won it for me personally and a pre-owned example offered instant access.
I would say that they both have the Westfalia conversion in one form or other, I just liked the optics of the MB one and the spec level of the base vehicle.
I have not driven a VW so I have no comparison, but the drive on the V220 MP is excellent, more like a big car than a motorhome.

 

[Samebutdifferent]

@Grand Tourismo thanks for that. I'm in the South West so many VW outfits in Cornwall and Devon,

I had a T5 conversion with DSG gearbox and it was a very pleasant drive, not at all fatiguing on long trips. I'm expecting the MP to be different in that it's a lower driving position, but also to be an excellent drive.
We have a Westfalia Fiat Ducato conversion at the moment which is very agricultural, wish we still had the VW hence the look to change.
I'll put another post regarding the heater info. Cheers for now.

 

[Samebutdifferent]

So was it something I said or just extreme social distancing?

 

[Grand Tourismo]

So was it something I said or just extreme social distancing?

Sorry SBD, are you waiting for me?

 

[Samebutdifferent]

No not at all GT, you were very welcoming.
I just thought that a 1st post from a new member on a forum with hundreds of members would have had more responses.
No welcome from the admin or mods (are there any?) and no replies in regard to my queries.
Just so very different from my experiences with other forums I have joined.

 

[DPS20K]

If you are prepared to travel, people on the MP Facebook group are praising Tim Purslow, an independent approved Mercedes specialist in Fleet, Hampshire. They have done some of these as retrofits using the OEM vents etc. I don’t know the costs. I haven’t used them personally but I did view a couple of MPs there and the service was brilliant, nothing was too much trouble.
Oh yes, welcome to the group. I’m still waiting for delivery of my MP, due in June!

 

[Samebutdifferent]

That's really good info DPS20K, I'll give them a call tomorrow.
Thanks also for the welcome much appreciated.
I will come back here with any info I glean from Tim Purslow

 

[Steve B]

Hello and welcome - It is a low volume forum, I'm on another one (not MP's) which has far more active participants so seems more interactive. Also, and this is my opinion, the VW forum for example has more long serving members who have owned their vans for many years, and its more of a passion for VW brand than with Mercedes. All of my mates with campers bar two of us have VW's and they had that brand of car since we were young, they would never swap for a MP. All that said this is good for the search function as most questions have been asked before, and the facebook chat has much more traffic for conversation type interaction. I hope your not put off from contributing, we are all learning about our MP's.

 

[Samebutdifferent]

Hello and welcome - It is a low volume forum, I'm on another one (not MP's) which has far more active participants so seems more interactive. Also, and this is my opinion, the VW forum for example has more long serving members who have owned their vans for many years, and its more of a passion for VW brand than with Mercedes. All of my mates with campers bar two of us have VW's and they had that brand of car since we were young, they would never swap for a MP. All that said this is good for the search function as most questions have been asked before, and the facebook chat has much more traffic for conversation type interaction. I hope your not put off from contributing, we are all learning about our MP's.

Thanks Steve, I get your point and agree with you regarding the 'Iconic' VW that has had a loyal following for many years. I was a member of the T4-T5 forum some years ago when I was converting my T5, and some other well supported and active ones as well, so maybe my expectations were set to high.
I also think that generally facebook groups seem to be the preferred way of like minded people communicating rather than forums.
I don't have a facebook account but my wife does so maybe I'll get to have a look at the one @Paul Cardiff mentions in my other thread.
No I'm not put off and hopefully I can make a meaningful contribution. Cheers for now.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

No not at all GT, you were very welcoming.
I just thought that a 1st post from a new member on a forum with hundreds of members would have had more responses.
No welcome from the admin or mods (are there any?) and no replies in regard to my queries.
Just so very different from my experiences with other forums I have joined.

As Steve mentions above this is a low volume forum (but growing)....I am a new member of only a couple of weeks also, like you, so now we get the pleasure of being the people to welcome others into the fold ...personally I like to kid myself of the fact that we are part of an elite of "early adopters" to the MP, the vehicle has been in the UK for about four years and MB do a great job of keeping the MP the best kept secret...stealth luxury!!

 

[SteveR]

Hello and a belated welcome to the forum SBD

 

[Samebutdifferent]

Hello and a belated welcome to the forum SBD

Many thanks, I feel a little more at home now
I've been in contact with the company mentioned by @DPS20K above, I'll be posting about that here Aux Heater Fitting so as to keep things in one place.