DCPCFML:
Don’t dismiss the higher purchase price out of the question. I realise you are looking at rigids rather than artics but fwiw…The small company I do work for have discovered that the higher outlay for the Scania’s has proved to have been worth it over the longer term. He started off with some euro 6 DAF XFs around 5 years old which, compared to the price of an equivalent spec Scania, were super cheap. But while they’re nice to drive and have had a pretty good reliability record in terms of breakdowns needing recovery, they eat water pumps, NOx sensors and thermostats for fun. The latter two won’t leave you stranded but they’ll send your mpg tumbling into the weeds if you don’t get them fixed. He’s currently got 3 of them awaiting NOx sensors on back order at £640 a piece + fitting and the thermostats are on their way out (again) on 2 of them judging by the tepid warm air from the fans and temp gauge only getting to 25% on the dial. That kind of outlay on a semi-regular basis instantly cancels out the cheaper purchase price. The DAFs also have the crappiest wiper motors known to man. 3 of them have had problems where the wipers don’t park properly and the stalk operation either stops working or does stuff you didn’t ask for. Expensive to sort out.
Had some FH volvos but never again. Reliability fine but they drink nearly as much adblue per mile as they do diesel. All 4 were the same and checked out several times, no faults found. Apparently that’s normal and a company we sub for who runs them says the same.
Got 4 Scania Streamlines, R450s with 2 pedal Opticruise. No doubt that they were much more expensive to buy when compared like for like because 25% Scania tax, but all 4 have been faultless except 1 which has an earthing issue somewhere and blows fuses for fun. The fact that none of them have needed anything spending on them in replacing broken parts has easily cancelled out the higher purchase price. He still has the DAFs and they keep soldiering on but they’re a liability compared to the Scania’s which just get on and get the jobs done day after day without any fuss.
No operator experience of Mercs but I’ve driven plenty of them and nearly all have had some faults listed on the display, usually adblue related. But why would you even consider one? Have you ever driven one? The ride is absolutely horrific in them - the comment above calling them bone-shattering is pretty bang on. A full day in one of those and you’ll feel like you’ve just done 5 rounds with Mike Tyson and be exhausted. Even the ones on air all round are still a poor ride compared to the competition. If you have any notion of the Merc badge being some indication of it being a premium product, forget it.
Thank you Sir for a very detailed explanation, really appreciate.