Sprinter Vans

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brian john

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
Several years ago I bought 2 Sprinter vans, the following year I bought a 3rd. The following year I started throwing money into these like the Feds did with AIG.

This year alone I have spent close to 30,000.00 dollars on these boat anchors. I have returned to Ford for a quality product.

AVOID THESE decent BUT EXPENSIVE vehicles.
 
ultramegabob

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
I have driven many many different work vehicles over the years, and I presently drive a Chevy, but I would have to agree that ford makes a very fine reliable vehicle. I have not had very good luck with Dodge.
 
Besoeker

Besoeker

Senior Member
Location
UK
brian john said:
Several years ago I bought 2 Sprinter vans, the following year I bought a 3rd. The following year I started throwing money into these like the Feds did with AIG.

This year alone I have spent close to 30,000.00 dollars on these boat anchors. I have returned to Ford for a quality product.

AVOID THESE decent BUT EXPENSIVE vehicles.
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The Sprinter in UK is a Mercedes. Maybe it is there too.
My previous car was a Merc. In four years I did about 90k miles. It did have a couple of problems. A rear light bulb and a brake light bulb.
That said, at one of the services a couple of recall issues were addressed. At no cost. Maybe their bullet proof standard slipped.
 
chris kennedy

chris kennedy

Senior Member
Location
Miami Fla.
Occupation
60 yr old tool twisting electrician
ultramegabob said:
Daimler Chrysler used to be in cahoots with Mercedes (not sure if they still are or not), and they sold the Sprinter with Dodge badges on it.
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This is true. When I put breaks on mine, I told the guy at the auto parts store I need pads and rotors for a Freightliner. No luck so he tried Mercedes which makes the engine. No luck so he tried D/C. No luck, found the parts under Dodge, had to order them for next day. Nowhere on my truck will you find a Dodge sticker or emblem. I should add that one of my pads had a hairline crack that was causing chattering under heavy breaking. The factory pads were from Mercedes and had plenty of meat left on them at 50k. Also note that the rotors are engineered to wear with the pads so you need to do both. That said, the break job was cake and I love the truck.
 
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brian john

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
They are marketed OR were marketed as Dodge, Mercedes and Freightliner in the USA.

Mileage between 90,000-150,000, the big selling point was good fuel mileage and there the excel and longevity.

All 3 have had transmissions, sensors on top of sensors and another transmission and I quit looking. I just shudder when the tech.s call in needing a ride to the shop to pick up the spare van.

I could get a detailed list but it might make me sick. THESE WERE MY IDEA.
 
tonyou812

tonyou812

Senior Member
Location
North New Jersey
I love my sprinter. I wouldnt drive anything else...Maybe your a little tough on them. Seeing that you do a lot of industrial work and such maybe you need a box van or Grumman..?
 
brian john

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
tonyou812 said:
I love my sprinter. I wouldnt drive anything else...Maybe your a little tough on them. Seeing that you do a lot of industrial work and such maybe you need a box van or Grumman..?
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Prior to the Sprinters I have had in excess of 20 Ford E-250's without any major issues getting 250,000-350,000 miles from them with out the EXTREME cost of the Sprinters. In addition the cost of the vans when new exceed the Ford vans by $8,000.00, cost of a new transmission almost double the Ford, cost of everything else exceeds the same repair cost of the Fords.

When the run they are great, though I drove one to Florida for a job and wanted to see the Chiropractor when I got there. I have driven the Fords vans and trucks all over with no back issues.
 
TOOL_5150

TOOL_5150

Senior Member
Location
bay area, ca
Theres nothing wrong with buying american! My last work van was a chevy, my current one is a ford e250. I do with the gas pedal had a little more resistance to it though, holding my foot up for long drives [70+ miles] does start to hurt my foot and leg.

~Matt
 
brian john

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
GUNNING said:
I got an E250 and had to replaced the transmission after 10years. Great van, cheap price, solid. Looks like it just left the lot last week.
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Typically we get 7-8 years from our Ford vans. I was hoping for 9-10 from the Sprinters. I plan on dumping them if I have any more issues, so far they have been a lose lose. Any savings from the fuel has been eaten up by the added upfront expense and compounded by the maintenance/repair cost.

And this just won't cut it for what we do.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
 
PetrosA

PetrosA

Senior Member
Location
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
brian john said:
Typically we get 7-8 years from our Ford vans. I was hoping for 9-10 from the Sprinters. I plan on dumping them if I have any more issues, so far they have been a lose lose. Any savings from the fuel has been eaten up by the added upfront expense and compounded by the maintenance/repair cost.

And this just won't cut it for what we do.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
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I'm sorry to hear that you've had so many problems with yours. I know only one guy who has one (extended body, raised roof and dual wheels in back) and he's been really happy with it. He's easy on it though, and as a painter, doesn't carry huge loads like an electrician or plumber would.

I've posted already that I ordered a Transit Connect. There are more and more of them on the local roads and one large service company in the area had a fleet of Sprinter vans and now is adding Transit Connects as "rapid service" vehicles.

The only warning I can give so far is this: If anyone needs a Connect that's not readily available through the network, be prepared to wait about three months for it. There are only white ones available in my area and I wanted a silver one with the Nokia hands-free built in. That combination meant that the order actually had to go to the factory in Turkey and delivery won't be till the end of November (I placed the order in Sept.). What's worse is that because they're so new, no one at the dealership knew how long it was going to take. Up until two days ago I was expecting delivery at the end of this month...
 
electricmanscott

electricmanscott

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
PetrosA said:
The only warning I can give so far is this: If anyone needs a Connect that's not readily available through the network, be prepared to wait about three months for it. There are only white ones available in my area and I wanted a silver one with the Nokia hands-free built in. That combination meant that the order actually had to go to the factory in Turkey and delivery won't be till the end of November (I placed the order in Sept.). What's worse is that because they're so new, no one at the dealership knew how long it was going to take. Up until two days ago I was expecting delivery at the end of this month...
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I live by a Ford dealer. They have at least a half dozen sitting on the lot. Blue, red, white, and silver. They are so ugly I swear they are bringing down the property values in the neighborhood. ;) :grin:
 
brian john

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
In Europe the Transits can be bought with a diesel engine getting 45 MPG, Ford said due to CA restrictions they will not be bring this car into the states for the other 49 states.
 
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