Sprinter
- Thread starter Jerry
- Start date
DON'T!!!
John is one of the lucky ones. In my previous job I had a Sprinter & so did most of my co-workers. I could tell ya horror story after horror story. Repairs of like $5000 or $2000 or just what have ya after 40K miles or 58K miles. Normal maintenance is one thing. These vehicles had repair bills that had guys wanting to go postal on Dodge.
I didn't see where ya live but if ya live in the north the heater will barely be enough to keep your windows defogged & no way in hades will it keep your van warm. It will be so/so if ya have a bulkhead & only have to heat the front part of the cab, still nothing very comfy though. At least on my van that's how it was. Others have similar experiences.
Since you're going to be looking into a $35-40,000 purchase ya may want to go to a website: expeditersonline.com
Go to that site & do a search on Sprinters. You will find some people who are glad they have one. Don't get me wrong. You'll find a lot more who regret it though.
A quick rundown on my vehicle was:
Advantages:
Gas milage (though a lot of that is negated because diesel costs more than gas)
More room
Disadvantages:
Repair bills up the wazoo, at least in my case & quite a few of my friends. Plus even for things like an oil change, you can be at the dealership for several hours. The dealership pretty much has to do all repairs. When you go to buy one the salesman will tell you that you get cuts in line for repairs & to a point that's true. The thing is though, ya only get cuts in front of cars. You don't get cuts in front of other Sprinters & trust me there's a LOT of em in there for some kind of repair or another. So you're behind those & usually only one mechanic per dealership can work on a Sprinter which means you'll have to wait your turn.
very little heat/ac- that's a big vehicle to be heating as it is & w/ a crappy heater even having a bulkhead behind the seats it's not going to heat the cab very well
piss poor handling- There was a groove on a section of 275 here in Michigan than we would be 2 hands on the wheel driving only. Don't take a hand off even to take a swig of soda. That same groove I didn't even know existed until I got my Sprinter. And on a windy day, forget it.
not comfortable at all- Now comfort is a subjective thing. What's comfy for one isn't always comfy for the next. The seats are awkward & just little things like ya have to reach halfway across the van to tune the radio I found to be a hassle. I will say on this if I was doing a few 5-10 mile runs to a carpet cleaning job the seats prolly wouldn't have been a big deal. I was often putting 4, 5, 600 miles a day on the thing so it mattered to me a bit more. The radio is going to be a nuisance unless you are a very tall person.
You will find people like John who've had good luck w/ em. From the people I've talked to (other drivers when ya run into em on a shipping/receiving dock or co-workers) though, a lot more regret having bought one.
Good luck to ya,
Danny
John is one of the lucky ones. In my previous job I had a Sprinter & so did most of my co-workers. I could tell ya horror story after horror story. Repairs of like $5000 or $2000 or just what have ya after 40K miles or 58K miles. Normal maintenance is one thing. These vehicles had repair bills that had guys wanting to go postal on Dodge.
I didn't see where ya live but if ya live in the north the heater will barely be enough to keep your windows defogged & no way in hades will it keep your van warm. It will be so/so if ya have a bulkhead & only have to heat the front part of the cab, still nothing very comfy though. At least on my van that's how it was. Others have similar experiences.
Since you're going to be looking into a $35-40,000 purchase ya may want to go to a website: expeditersonline.com
Go to that site & do a search on Sprinters. You will find some people who are glad they have one. Don't get me wrong. You'll find a lot more who regret it though.
A quick rundown on my vehicle was:
Advantages:
Gas milage (though a lot of that is negated because diesel costs more than gas)
More room
Disadvantages:
Repair bills up the wazoo, at least in my case & quite a few of my friends. Plus even for things like an oil change, you can be at the dealership for several hours. The dealership pretty much has to do all repairs. When you go to buy one the salesman will tell you that you get cuts in line for repairs & to a point that's true. The thing is though, ya only get cuts in front of cars. You don't get cuts in front of other Sprinters & trust me there's a LOT of em in there for some kind of repair or another. So you're behind those & usually only one mechanic per dealership can work on a Sprinter which means you'll have to wait your turn.
very little heat/ac- that's a big vehicle to be heating as it is & w/ a crappy heater even having a bulkhead behind the seats it's not going to heat the cab very well
piss poor handling- There was a groove on a section of 275 here in Michigan than we would be 2 hands on the wheel driving only. Don't take a hand off even to take a swig of soda. That same groove I didn't even know existed until I got my Sprinter. And on a windy day, forget it.
not comfortable at all- Now comfort is a subjective thing. What's comfy for one isn't always comfy for the next. The seats are awkward & just little things like ya have to reach halfway across the van to tune the radio I found to be a hassle. I will say on this if I was doing a few 5-10 mile runs to a carpet cleaning job the seats prolly wouldn't have been a big deal. I was often putting 4, 5, 600 miles a day on the thing so it mattered to me a bit more. The radio is going to be a nuisance unless you are a very tall person.
You will find people like John who've had good luck w/ em. From the people I've talked to (other drivers when ya run into em on a shipping/receiving dock or co-workers) though, a lot more regret having bought one.
Good luck to ya,
Danny
You sure you have a Sprinter? LOL
My experiences have been pretty much the opposite.
The most comfortable vehicle I have ever driven, much better than
my Lincoln or my RoadMaster, on a windy day, LESS sway than a normal van and I have the long tall sprinter.
Repairs are usually done in one day, best steering vehicle I ever owned...
Again, are you SURE you had a sprinter?
My experiences have been pretty much the opposite.
The most comfortable vehicle I have ever driven, much better than
my Lincoln or my RoadMaster, on a windy day, LESS sway than a normal van and I have the long tall sprinter.
Repairs are usually done in one day, best steering vehicle I ever owned...
Again, are you SURE you had a sprinter?
Jay D
Member
I Measured one, interior 5" narrower than my standard ford van and only 10" longer, height was good enough for me to stand up in at 6' 3". I would rather get a long wheel base ford or chevy. Besides I don't want to crawl into my van to get anything, all at my fingertips.
Mister Sir
Mister Sir
Dolly Llama
Number 5
John G said:
John, tell us about the repairs.
didn't you drop a tranny?
also had some other problems, no?
I'm not so sure they have such a great reputation.
As Jay mentioned, other than head rm, just not enough floor space compared to a extended cargo van.
Cargo van is also much le$$.
(BTW, my Ford extended gets 18mpg hi-way, fully loaded)
For the same kind of money as an uGlEE azz Sprinter, you can buy a box van like the V/ATs use that will have much more room and more payload to boot
(14,000GVW)
..L.T.A.
John G said:
You found a Sprinter to be more comfortable than a RoadMaster? Like I said in my post comfort is subjective but then maybe you're one of the guys who would find Rosie Odonnal to be more comfortable than Angelina Jolie. It's all in the preferences.
In my case I haven't found the Sprinter to handle nearly as well as my Ford. Or to be nearly as comfortable. Repairs were done in one day for you. Oil changes were done in 1 day for me. You win on that one.
This guy is looking at maybe a $40,000 purchase & I'm not only referring to my experience w/ these known lemons but also a lot of my friends & also from talks w/ other drivers that I'd meet at loading docks & such. I don't know exact numbers but I'd guess that of 50 or so Sprinter owners I've talked to 35 either didn't like it or hated it, maybe 8 or so either liked it or really liked it, & maybe 7 or so were neutral on it. You fell into the group that liked yours. Odds are this guy wouldn't though.
You lucked out w/ yours. I know of a few others who lucked out also. I just know of a lot more people who wish they hadn't bought one of these things.
Take care,
Danny
Jerry
Supportive Member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2006
- Messages
- 286
Thanks for the info, guys!
Jerry
Jerry
The next generation Sprinter in due out soon. There are some improvements to address problem areas - lack of power and poor handling were stated in the article I read. A bigger diesel and a gas engine will be available.
I don't have one or ever drove one. There are a few companies who used Ford van, that switched to Sprinters, are now back to Fords. The drivers that I talked too the cost of maintaining and repair was too high.
I don't have one or ever drove one. There are a few companies who used Ford van, that switched to Sprinters, are now back to Fords. The drivers that I talked too the cost of maintaining and repair was too high.
Mike Brummett
Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2006
- Messages
- 286
Love my old 95 Ford Ryder cube van.
LOUSY gas mileage, but greatly offset by the R O O M and the traveling billboard. I bet I average about a job per month as a direct result of "saw your truck".
The cab room and comfort leaves much to be desired, but I will not be taking it on any long road trips anyway.
The 460 engine has plenty of pep, even with my Thermal Wave and lot's of equipment, it scoots right down the road. It is also surprisingly manueverable for it's size.
I'd love to have two.
MIKE
