4x4 Sprinter Camper Van...! Whoa...

[mhiscox]

"Negative comments and kibitzing from the peanut gallery are verboten in the For Sale By ExPo Members area. This does not apply to posts (like this thread) informing about ads seen on eBay, Craigslist, and elsewhere.

Thanks for the elaboration. I knew that, of course, and should have made the distinction myself. I'd just wanted to point out that, contrary to his/her belief, Aardvark7 could advertise here without fear of negative commentary from the peanut gallery.

Poking at the looks, pricing or other goofiness of the stuff found on eBay and Craigslist is well-established as good ExPo fun. (I myself had a recent go at the twenty-one auxiliary lights on the Craigslist/eBay MBz G280 camper making the ExPo rounds.)

 

[Keyne]

Exactly my understanding hat the Craig list section is to link to adds no members have posted so people can discuss price etc. mike as mentioned this section is also where some crazy stuff for sale gets posted for fun. I guess if someone new came to this section only they might think its overall a bad place here. However my experience has been the opposite... Especially compared to other forums I find this place very helpful.

For the record, maybe I was wrong in posting above what the for sale price was on the Sprinter when it was for sale at SMB (before we knew for sure MB was coming to US with 4x4). But I posted it as reference if someone wanted to negotiate on the van. Maybe it's wrong but I would not have posted that in the members section.

 

[joe12pack]

Yea, it's very cool but at this point I think I'd rather have a 2015 Factory 4x4 Sprinter and spend the $30-35K having the specific camper features I'd want built by Outside Van (or do it myself if I could find the time) and have a brand new for the same price. Unfortunately for the seller, I think Mercedes 4x4 option immediately killed about $20K of value for this particular vehicle...unless of course you HAVE to have it TODAY.

The new 4x4 seems reasonable in price. How reliable are Sprinters? I've read some reviews and there are several comments of "I'm a mechanic maintaining a fleet of these and be prepared to change out bulbs frequently. Have you priced an oil filter? ... " etc etc. Of course these are random internet people but I'd like to know where I can find legit reliability information on these things as they seem to be good value.

 

[mhiscox]

How reliable are Sprinters? I've read some reviews and there are several comments of "I'm a mechanic maintaining a fleet of these and be prepared to change out bulbs frequently. Have you priced an oil filter? ... " etc etc. Of course these are random internet people but I'd like to know where I can find legit reliability information on these things as they seem to be good value.

As you well know, the internet has provided many forums for disappointed owners to say what's gone wrong with their vehicles, and if you read their posts, you're likely to come away thinking that reliable vehicles totally vanished, oh, about the time internet forums caught on.

In truth, any modern vehicle is so full of computers, electronics, etc. that at some time or another a sizable proportion of any model will have issues. I think the overall accumulated wisdom on the Sprinter is "pretty reliable overall, and very reliable sometimes" (lots of 300K mile Sprinters still doing fine), BUT when they do go wrong, you are faced with expensive parts and service from a small number of, in some cases, undertrained dealerships that can supply the knowledge and diagnostic equipment to get things fixed.

The change several years ago from having Dodge dealerships selling and servicing them to some, but waaay short of all, Mercedes dealerships made the problem worse. There are, for example, in the Portland, Oregon, metro area of 2.3 million, no MBz Sprinter dealers. And the Mercedes dealerships that do handle Sprinters have mechanics with relatively short experience. The backup plan in some areas (like Portland) is that some Freightliner dealers sell Sprinters and have dedicated Sprinter service facilities, along with experienced mechanics, since Freightliner has sold Freightliner-badged Sprinters--regardless of nameplate, all Sprinters have always come from a Mercedes factory, BTW--continuously since the first North American importation. But Sprinter Freightliner dealers aren't very prevalent, either.

A lot of us were, therefore, eager to see Ford (Transit) and FCA (Promaster) release North American versions of their European vans. We were hoping for both lower prices (with the Transit being kinda disappointing there) and a way bigger dealer network (good there) with many well-qualified mechanics (which may take a while). In truth, all three vans--four, if we throw in the Nissan NV3500--have strengths and weaknesses, but the Sprinters have always been a treat to drive, and the reports coming out suggest that the Sprinter is the most sophisticated and still gives the best driving experience. But you will not generally have lots of alternatives for service.

If you haven't already done so, head over to http://sprinter-source.com/forum/ for all the information and opinions on this topic that you'll likely want to process.

 

[peneumbra]

I just realized that I left my toothpaste back in Maui.

Does anyone have a private jet I can borrow?

 

[Keyne]

As you well know, the internet has provided many forums for disappointed owners to say what's gone wrong with their vehicles, and if you read their posts, you're likely to come away thinking that reliable vehicles totally vanished, oh, about the time internet forums caught on.

In truth, any modern vehicle is so full of computers, electronics, etc. that at some time or another a sizable proportion of any model will have issues. I think the overall accumulated wisdom on the Sprinter is "pretty reliable overall, and very reliable sometimes" (lots of 300K mile Sprinters still doing fine), BUT when they do go wrong, you are faced with expensive parts and service from a small number of, in some cases, undertrained dealerships that can supply the knowledge and diagnostic equipment to get things fixed.

The change several years ago from having Dodge dealerships selling and servicing them to some, but waaay short of all, Mercedes dealerships made the problem worse. There are, for example, in the Portland, Oregon, metro area of 2.3 million, no MBz Sprinter dealers. And the Mercedes dealerships that do handle Sprinters have mechanics with relatively short experience. The backup plan in some areas (like Portland) is that some Freightliner dealers sell Sprinters and have dedicated Sprinter service facilities, along with experienced mechanics, since Freightliner has sold Freightliner-badged Sprinters--regardless of nameplate, all Sprinters have always come from a Mercedes factory, BTW--continuously since the first North American importation. But Sprinter Freightliner dealers aren't very prevalent, either.

A lot of us were, therefore, eager to see Ford (Transit) and FCA (Promaster) release North American versions of their European vans. We were hoping for both lower prices (with the Transit being kinda disappointing there) and a way bigger dealer network (good there) with many well-qualified mechanics (which may take a while). In truth, all three vans--four, if we throw in the Nissan NV3500--have strengths and weaknesses, but the Sprinters have always been a treat to drive, and the reports coming out suggest that the Sprinter is the most sophisticated and still gives the best driving experience. But you will not generally have lots of alternatives for service.

If you haven't already done so, head over to http://sprinter-source.com/forum/ for all the information and opinions on this topic that you'll likely want to process.

Mike thank you for the informative post. I have and still am concerned about Sprinter reliability but happy to see more Euro style vans enter the US market. However I am still thinking a great option is tour the US with a US vehicle (eg ford SMB or F250), sell it and pick up something In Europe to tour Europe. Different needs for both trips that I might try two vehicles.

Anyway, to the guy that posted that we are all idiots on Expo... Mikes post is the kind of helpful post I am used to here. YMMV but honestly I see more post like his than the unhelpful ones.

 

[kmacafee]

I just drove thru the Jeep Safari near Borrego Springs this weekend. There were literally thousands of jeeps being pulled to/from by huge RV setups. $90k seems like a bargain compared with some of the rigs I saw there.

 

[drlee]

comments on negativity

I agree with Mike. I would also say that, though paradoxical, one needs to be careful not to have a negative attitude when commenting on other people's negative attitude.

 

[Jwestpro]

My Dad still huffs when I buy a $4.00 Starbucks.

It is pretty silly to waste so much $ too often on something so easy to create yourself.

I love my 3500 Sprinter, but I've got it stuck several times and can never take it down my driveway in the winter. The $90,000 would be worth it (with a few differences to suit my needs).

I'd try proper snow or studded tires before jumping to a 4x4 just for that solution

 

[mhiscox]

I'd try proper snow or studded tires before jumping to a 4x4 just for that solution

If you want to take a run at solving the problem with your current 3500--not to say that having a 4x4 wouldn't be nice--putting "Blizzak-syle" hydrophillac tires on and putting a half-ton of weight over the rear axle will help. Might not help enough to get up your particular driveway, but it'll definitely help.

As a lot of us know, you can get a stock-tired empty Sprinter stuck easily--wet grass is sometimes enough--which is a characteristic that has annoyed owners since the trucks were invented. There are many discussions on the topic over at sprinter-source.com, a lot of which boil down to changing tires and adding rear axle weight.

 

[PA Slammer]

Yummmm!

 

[zimm]

I didn't even look at the ad. But I am wondering why there are a lot of people on this board that like to play dog pile on any ads posted as if their opinion mattered. This happens here again and again and again, and I've only been on here a few months. Isn't this sort of thing against the rules? If not, it should be.

Why do some of you think weighing in with your negative comments in the least bit helpful in anyway? Do any of you realize that your negative commentary will still be here for years and years, affecting the businesses in question? Do you even care? Moreover, what do you really know about pricing, labor costs, parts sourcing and what it actually takes to be profitable in a business like this? And why run down someone else's ad anyway? What do you know about what they may need to sell it for?

I've got a major expedition build underway, but I've decided to not publish anything at about it on this board because of this very thing. Too many self-righteous judgmental morons here. It will however, be published elsewhere. Frankly, I've decided this board has a very limited usefulness for anyone serious about engaging in research, conversation and communication. And I would NEVER advertise anything here.

You're ruining it for the rest of us with your stupid commentary.

first, i doubt anyone considering the purchase of a 23,000 option on a 60,000 rig is going to be swayed by commentary in a for sale link to this site. if whitehorse ****s the bed, it'll be the same reason Europa did, not silly chitter chatter. calm down there, fella.

second, no one sells their build stories on this site, and i'm sure no one buy if you tried. (although, the thread on mhiscox turning that steaming pile of an XP into the most coveted rig on the site is worth the time to read over and over again. its some crazy skills at play in that one. its a must read if youre building something.)

i think your attempts to "PUBLISH" a build for public consumption will be equally fruitless elsewhere, but what do i know... if you ever make it available for free, i'll be sure to peruse the work.

pub·lish
ˈpəbliSH/
verb
verb: publish; 3rd person present: publishes; past tense: published; past participle: published; gerund or present participle: publishing

1.
(of an author or company) prepare and issue (a book, journal, piece of music, or other work) for public sale.
"we publish practical reference books"
synonyms: issue, bring out, produce, print
"we publish novels"

 

[mhiscox]

. . .although, the thread on mhiscox turning that steaming pile of an XP into the most coveted rig on the site is worth the time to read over and over again. its some crazy skills at play in that one. its a must read if you're building something.

[blush]
Well, that's surely as nice a compliment as I've had or ever expect to get about any of my trucks. And even better coming from someone who knows things. Very much appreciated.
[/blush]