Not for sale yet - but . . . .

[SMRBAP]

Getting ready to change my fleet over, however the vans I want will take 3-6 months each to get from the dealer.

Can't sell a van and be down one in the fleet that long - so looking for future buyers - someone ready to pull the trigger in a few months.

I have:

(3) 2008 Sprinter 170" wheelbases, all clean, low mileage. Two are 2500's, one is a 3500, all with PC Apex D's.

(1) 2008 Sprinter 144" wheelbase with a Century 600

All vans 100k or less, all machines 900 hrs or less. Best vans I have ever owned. 22 mpg's fully loaded, and they hold boatloads of restoration equipment, I can get 2 dehu's and 20+ AM's, Hydro-x, plus hand tools in comfortably.

Anyone that might be interested in chatting, PM me.

 

[boazcan]

How much does the maintenance differ on a sprinter compared to a van? Items & cost?

 

[SMRBAP]

Have run Sprinters exclusively since 2008. Have had (4) 2008's, (1) 2004, (2) 2003, and (2) 2002 What i have found in the almost 4 years is:

Pluses:
- What I save on gas (per van) between these and my E-350's was equivalent to a van payment and then some each month
- Less front end maintenance, ball joints, tie rods, hold alignment much better/longer - in turn I have gotten more miles on tires.
- Very large air filter elements, last longer, and they are flat (less expensive than the rounds my Ford used)
- Electric sensors in brake shoes, light comes on, you'll never eat another rotor again (important when oblivious employees drive daily)
- More miles per oil change (10k mi), doing it yourself saves big money, takes 5 minutes, literally.
- No tune ups, no plugs, no wires, no ignition coils, no disty caps, however you do have glow plugs, and once in a while one needs changed, it is not a show stopper when one goes however.

The biggest pluses however come when these vans start hitting higher miles, 200k, 250k, 300k, 350k and up, that is when they really pull away from domestic vans. At those, miles all other vans seem to hit you right and left, Sprinters for me, have proven very solid at higher miles, the engines aren't even fully broken in until you hit 60,000 miles in fact.

Where they are weak-
- I go through a few headlight bulbs per year between 4 vans, cheap so not that big of a deal
- Ditto on brake light / rear bulbs, again cheap and easy to replace
- Some complain about diesel fuel filter's not lasting long (like every 10k)- that is a fuel supplier problem, find another. We used to change every 10k on average, switched filling stations, I now get about 30k-40k before the light comes on.
- I'm struggling to find any other complaints............


Regular Maint:
- Oil every 10k, $120 oil & filter, 5-10 minute DIY job
- Rotate tires with every oil change, 10-15 minute DIY job
- Rear Diff gear oil change every 30k , $16 in gear oil, 5-10 minute DIY job, has drain/fill plug, don't need to remove diff cover.
- Fuel filter every 30-40k, I send out as fuel system can be hard to prime, usually about $100 labor $30 filter
- Air filters every 60k-ish, $17, 5 minute DIY job
- Tranny service every 70-80k, $135 for filter, fluid, and gasket, struck a deal w shop to do labor for $60 each.
- Coolant change at 100k, and every 100k after, $50 in oem coolant, DIY 10 minute job
- Have put as much as 150k on any one van, never had to realign after post equip install alignment.

We have logged over 1 million miles in Sprinters to date and have had not one major (engine, tranny, rearend) service issue.

 

[Desk Jockey]

3-6 months, damn! What are you buying Anthony? Pictures?

 

[SMRBAP]

View attachment 749

Lol - I have a few things up my sleeve I'd rather not get into right at the moment - but rest assured, though business is slow/er we (my firm) are solid, and the vans and equipment inside them are all cherry.

These have only been in the field for about 16 months each.

When all is said and done - the moves within my company are made, the new business model effected - I'll spill the beans, and the numbers.

I'm looking to double the size of my firm inside an 12 month period, ditto the following - I believe I have the secret sauce and the market to do so.

We shall see

 

[Vivers]

I have the Prochem Apex machines and I can tell you we love ours. Not the diesel

 

[cu]

iv had my sprinter 5 years . Still love it , nothing major gone wrong and has 148k on it

 

[tmdry]

Do the sprinter boxes hold up as just as good as the regular cabs?

 

[Desk Jockey]

View attachment 749

Lol - I have a few things up my sleeve I'd rather not get into right at the moment - but rest assured, though business is slow/er we (my firm) are solid, and the vans and equipment inside them are all cherry.

These have only been in the field for about 16 months each.

When all is said and done - the moves within my company are made, the new business model effected - I'll spill the beans, and the numbers.

I'm looking to double the size of my firm inside an 12 month period, ditto the following - I believe I have the secret sauce and the market to do so.

We shall see

Sorry I asked!

 

[SMRBAP]

Sorry I asked!

Hope I didn't offend - just getting ready for something very big in our market and I can't let the cat out of the bag.

 

[SMRBAP]

Vivers and cu - IMO a Sprinter/Apex D is the best van/TM combo if you want to build a van that will be out in the field long term.

However other factors are going to change our combo, being in the restoration industry and that side growing rapidly is the biggest reason I'm changing things up.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Hope I didn't offend - just getting ready for something very big in our market and I can't let the cat out of the bag.

Just picking on you Anthony.

I often forget there are lurkers that could be your competition here.

 

[Askal]

Just curious: Why are you changing out your 300K cans with only 100 K on them? I have NPR's and I run them till they die.
Al

 

[SMRBAP]

Al,

Really can't get too deep into it, in my market it is monkey see monkey do - The first 4-5 years, we were set apart from our competitors not by price, but by the things we offer. We were seeing rapid growth for each of those 4-5 years.

Since, I have had several competing firms copy just about everything I do on radio, online, and in print - even if they don't offer a service or can't - they still claim to, to get their foot in the door. Growth slowed.

So I found ways to cut costs, and in turn passed savings off through reduced pricing. This worked for a short time, then monkey see monkey do, those around me dropped their pants a little lower than mine.

From here I have used monthly rotating "carrots" to entice new business - and sure enough, each month I see them copied to the "T" in my market.

I am sure a few hundred of you know this song and dance.

So I have created a new business model that
-will get me long term repeat customers
-put them in a situation where on cleaning day they have more money to spend
-completely set me apart in terms of "offerings"
-automatically bundle services
-get the advertising vehicles that drain $10-12k per month off my "teet" gradually
-realize unheard of referral rates, our goal would be to have this our primary (90%+) source for new jobs within a years time
-provide a solution to the slow winter months where half our resources sit idle.

Sounds like a dream right...lol. I have the plan, am raising the $250k I need to effect it, and from there all I can do is my best to prove the model. Getting into cleaning set-ups that will 1/4 my operational costs even past the Sprinters very low operational cost, is why I have to let them go - believe me I am doing it kicking and screaming. I do not want to let them go - however, it is time to play the game in a new way, one my competitors won't be able to counter in a months time.

Maybe it works like a charm, maybe it crashes and burns, I'm only allocating half my resources to it so even if the outcome is the latter - I don't go under.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Sounds like you have a good plan Anthony, good luck!