sprinter van

i'm looking at getting one of these for hauling stuff, anyways do you guys know anything about them mileage wise. Like how many miles do they usually have before something really bad happens. For instance new tranmission, engine, etc. Any help would be great!

 

i pestered my ups man about his over the course of two years [and probably a million stops] it held up good and the mileage was supurb

 

I heard they are good for sailing
I was looking between that one and ford.bought ford diesel.

 

My friend Tom Lewis has one, all decked out motorhome style, and pulling a 17' trailer. I think he said he gets 16-18mpgs in it, which boggles my mind as we pull an 18' trailer with an 06 PSD F350 and only manage around 10mpgs... anyway, he's ultra happy with his. IIRC these have the Benz engines.

 

25ish on mileage empty,been in use in europe for years great track record and they are actually biult by mercedes.

 

I know dodge really likes them $$

 

mine has 130k miles. i bought it with 110k. no problems at all since it was new. oil changes every 15k miles, mine gets 24-25mpg at top speed, which is 82 mph. it rides better than any van i've owned, mine has the separated cab, so i dont hear all the tools/gear clunking around. all around it kicks ass.

 

Kris, what could you get me one like you have for, used?

 

so buying one used, one with 100-150k miles would not be too tall of an order?

 

Fred Willink has been driving all over the US for the last two or three years in one, he loves it. Throws two bikes in the back, sleeps in it, gets good mileage (he says stay under 70 mph for good mileage)

 

I'd love to have a Sprinter one day so I keep an eye on them in autotrader and on ebay just to see what they sell for. Cheapest I've seen one sell for was $15,000 and it had like 250k miles on it

 

If I was able to fit the Sprinter in the garage (height-wise), I would have bought one over the Ford E350 extended van I ended up with...

 

Can you guys import one of these into the USA easy enough?

 

They are sold at every local Dodge dealership

http://www.dodge.com/en/sprinter/index.html

 

This is most likely NOT the same vehicle as the one in the 4th and 5th posts.

The one in the 4th post is likely to be a RoadTrek Sprinter Motorhome (Sprinter by Mercedez-Benz, Motorhome upgrade by RoadTrek) that retails for between $75,000 and $100,000.... basically a diesel Class B motorhome at a diesel Class A motorhome price. Without a trailer they can get 26 mpg or so.

The Dodge Sprinter is NOT the Mercedez-Benz Sprinter that several here are talking about, the latter being much more expensive and much more limited in availability in the US. I don't know the history of the Dodge but they may be playing on the popularity of the MB Sprinter overseas.

 

There is a new Gen Merc Sprinter van being sold in Europe. However, the Dodge IS the older gen Merc Sprinter/Freightliner Sprinter. They are shipped disassembled to a plant in South Carolina and re-assembled there. And yes that IS the same chassis. It's sold in several length wheelbases and also with a duley rear wheel axel option.

Mercedes ownes Chrysler/Dodge. For how much longer, that is a different question.

 

I'm sure you're right, but they still aren't the same vehicles.

 

Ok, just did a quick check, the original Sprinter was Mercedes only, but around 2003 (was that when Daimler-Chrysler came about?) they started selling a couple of limited models (the full line of models and options remained in Europe) under the Dodge and Freightliner Badges. And you only have 2 engine options in the US while there are 4 or 5 in Europe.

The Dodge-based Motorhomes seem to retail between $45K and $65K. The MB based homes between $75K and $100K and the buyer has a choice of 2007 motorhome on 2006 chassis or 2007/2007. I guess the buyer will have to decide if there's a difference.

Now things are changing again for 2007:

"On the North American market, the current Sprinter will be replaced in early 2007. This model will be assembled for the United States at a plant in Ladson, South Carolina that is currently utilized by American LaFrance, a former business unit of Freightliner LLC. The 2007 version is a complete redesign from the prior model. In 2007, the current 2.7-liter inline 5 cylinder turbo diesel will be replaced in the US with a choice of V6 turbo diesel or V6 gasoline engine. DaimlerChrysler plans to invest US$35 million to prepare the plant for the assembly of Sprinter vans from CKD kits imported from Europe."

So I learned something and whether refinement or correction, hopefully all is a bit clearer now.

 

I have been looking to buy one for quite a while!!

The last update I got on the new 2007 models really didn't sound to appealing to me though. The 07's come with a V6 motor instead of an I5. The mileage is cut in half on first reports I have gotten. So that makes me want to think twice about getting one!!