James Cook Compact 2007 - yes/no

[PeterCZ]

Guten Tag,
Ich bitte um Informationen über die Zuverlässigkeit von James Cook aus der 2007er Compact-Version. Ich spreche kein Deutsch, ich kann Google Übersetzer benutzen. Ich überlege sehr zu kaufen, aber irgendwo habe ich gehört, dass die Heizung etwas heiß war. Was war hier das Brustproblem? Wie verbindlich ist es, kann es behoben werden? Ich habe mir das Auto angesehen, der Fensterrahmen ist an einer Stelle gebrochen, sowie an der Heckscheibe, wo es Strom gibt. Generell überlege ich, ob es sinnvoll ist, ein 14 Jahre altes Auto zu kaufen, andererseits glaube ich an die Qualität der Verarbeitung und des Motors. Ich möchte das Auto auf jeden Fall auch im Winter nutzen. Ich freue mich über jeden Beitrag und Wissen.
Vielen Dank, Petr (I can communicate in English )

[Vtxbe]

Hi Peter,

All about Mercedes is knowed and very good condition.
All about Westfalia could be better...

The heater is too low under 5°; I add a second heater under the passenger seat; 4kW Airtronic. It works perfect, low noise, low electrical consumption ( the original heater works with water and consumption and loss are heavy ). ( costs 2.000€ )
The panoramic sunroof is a source of problems; they could be solved , check the forum

All plastics are poor quality ; be ready to proceed repairs by yourself.

Be sure the fridge is well working it is certainly one of the most difficult item to change.

Without any competences in electrotechnical and miscellaneous technics, it could be difficult and expensive to buy any "old" van.

PS why not the Classic in place of the Compact; it is so easy to have the upper bed and they are more presents on the market.

All the best

Vincent

NB I'm French speaking coming from Belgium

[rainerd]

The broken side frame is a big and known issue. In the early versions it is made of plastic and because of the cracks it was later replaced with a better glass-fibre version. It can/will let water in. Surely you can try to glue it but on the long run the only good solution is replacing the whole side with the new version. I had mine replaced some time ago but the costs were about 4.000€.

[netsailor]

Hallo Peter!

The main question should be: is the limited usability of the Compact-Version enough for you?
Even with only a single user, you have to decide between having a table or a bed...

That's probably the reason, why the Compact-Version was sold for less than a VW-Bus 12 years ago...