2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 / Advice needed ASAP

[keightley]

Hello All -

I need people's thoughts on this that have way more experience than me.  I am trying for what seems to be the impossible.  I am looking for a Sprinter van with a budget of $6K.  My plan is to use this as my primary vehicle to drive around town as I currently do not own a vehicle and slowly over the next year with my available income convert it into something I can live out of.  I am a 39 year old woman who is in a mountain of debt.  I just got a gift of $5K from the estate of my uncle who passed away last year.  I have been told that more is coming my way once his house is sold but I feel too uncomfortable asking how much.  My thoughts are why throw the $5k or whatever else left to me towards my debt when it is like a drop in a bucket?  Maybe if I can find a way to live so that I can put most of my income towards my debt, I might just have a chance of paying it off some day.  Hence my desire to live out of a van.  But that is not the only reason why.  I want more freedom in my life.  I want a simpler life.  I want a life where I a closer to nature.  I spent 28 years of my life exploring the Alaskan wilds for weeks on end.  I miss it.

With all that in mind... I have found a 2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 for sale that seems to be perfectly suited to my needs.  The carfax report came back clean.  No accidents, no liens, no major mechanical issues, etc.  The only negative that I see is that it has been owned by 3 individuals.  The first owner was a company and put most of the miles on it (193K).  It is a diesel engine and currently has 225000 miles on it.  From what I can see in the pictures the rust is negligible and I had him take a ton of pictures to include the undercarriage. The light in the cabin does not work and from the picture there is a stain on the upholstery surrounding the light fixture.  The owner swears that roof is not leaking.  The only other issues are the windshield has a crack in it, one of the side doors does not close very tightly, there is an issue with the lock on the rear door (right side), and the passenger side mirror need to be replaced.  He states that there are no mechanical issues.  He told me that it measures 12 ft from the center of the front wheel to the center of the back wheel. So that is a wheel base of 144', correct?  That is what I have been look for. My only concern about the size is height.  I am 5'5".  He said it is 5'4" to bottom of rib.  I don't know what that means exactly other than I will not be able to stand up completely which kind of sucks.  I am hoping it will be tolerable.   I am thinking I can save and install a topper later down the road. He states that the tires are "excellent" in his ad.

The reason why this person is selling it is that his wife is making him.  He originally bought it to turn it into a camper van.  Apparently he hasn't had the time to convert it and the wife is tired of seeing 5 vehicles in their yard and wants him to sell it.  His ad states that he is selling because he is moving.  I was the first one to ask about the van and now he has people blowing up his phone about it.  He says he likes the idea of selling it to me as he believes it will benefit me the most as I told him of my grand plan for it.  And he is graciously put "pending sale" on his ad so that people stop calling him.  I interpret this as he is very confident in the condition of the van.

Here is the kicker.  I will have to fly to a city close to him and drive the van back to Utah.  I have hired a mechanic whose entire business is pre-purchase inspections to inspect the vehicle on Wednesday.  It will cost me $150.  I will get a three page report on the condition of the vehicle.  The seller was pushing me to allow him to take it to his mechanic but I am the one that found this guy.  I did an internet search of the area on pre-purchase vehicle inspections and found this guy.  He has an excellent rating with the BBB.  And nothing negative when I search is name.  

Given that it is not a high top sprinter and I will have to fly and then drive 1000+ miles to get it back to Utah, do you think I should keep pursuing this avenue or keep looking closer to home?  Am I completely and utterly insane?  Or am I being smart?  If the pre-purchase inspection comes back that the engine is sound with no foreseeable mechanical issues, would you buy this?

I would really love to get some people thoughts, advice, and opinions on this because I am really freaking out that I am about to spend the most money I have every had it 10 years.  And I have no one in my life right now to ask for advice.  The few people who know of my grand plan think I am completely nutty; but they are city folk and have been all of their lives.  They tell me to buy a used kia.  LOL

Keightley

 

[John61CT]

IMO the owner of a Sprinter with that many miles should have several thousand in the bank - an otherwise untouchable account, of course doesn't need to be an actual traceable bank account - for maintenance and inevitable repairs, after all the initial safety / roadworthy fixups have been completed.

For myself, I also put 50¢ or $1 per mile in that account as I drive the vehicle. If the account grows faster than it gets used, it becomes the basis for purchasing a future replacement vehicle.

But that's me.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Post by Bob Wells yesterday -- https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-2005-Dodge-Sprinter-2500-118-inch-wheel-bass?pid=308071#pid308071

 

[BradKW]

On the positive side, pre-2006 Sprinters are considered most desirable because they don't have the more complex emissions systems that plague Sprinter owners. I personally know a 2006 Sprinter that sold last year for $18k...which I found absurd, but gives you an idea what the tall-and-long version can go for with the same engine.

On the downside, Sprinters are known for rust problems...rare to find one that age that isn't hiding it somewhere. I recently repaired 7 holes in my boss' 2009 Sprinter roof...rusted all the way through and for no apparent reason.

Sprinters are known for high mileage durability, but they are also known for very expensive repairs when things do go wrong...and difficulty finding people qualified to diagnose and work on them. It will be interesting to see if your mechanic reports on evidence of Black Death, something any Sprinter mechanic would check automatically in a vehicle that age...

 

[keightley]

So let me get this right... these vehicles are mechanical time bombs that should be avoid at all costs? Parts are hard to find and expensive. Furthermore, finding a mechanic to work on these is next to impossible, right? Finding a mechanic to work on a diesel engine is impossible? That I don't get. If all that is true, why do I see so many dodge sprinter van conversions on the internet and youtube? And can someone tell me where the sprinter van web board is that will give me an idea of what I am steeping into? I am not trying to be sarcastic. I am honestly and innocently asking these questions as I am trying to make a good decision.

I just did a quick search on my local classifieds, carguru.com and craigslist and to be quite frank, my van options are pretty slim for a budget of $6K. Does this mean I need to give up on my van living dreams altogether?

I am feeling very defeated at the moment. This was not good news.

 

[John61CT]

There are tons of RVers and different levels of vandwellers out there with **tons** of money.

Dropping $30+K then spending maybe$10K more on extras, even that much more on running costs every year is no big deal for such citizens. Nor is eating a big loss and buying another one, even every few years!

That's who Sprinters are really for. Someone with say half the above, would **really** be stretching it, in danger of breaking down & not being able to get back on the road until a few more fat paychecks coming in. NBD if a weekend warrior, have another main vehicle for daily driving.

But your situation isn't that, is it?

Acquisition cost is the least of it, it's all down to $/mile, $/ month averaged long term, and that's a big fancy expensive rig, that sounds like more you can chew at the moment.

Sure, you might be lucky, get to the point you can follow the advice in my first post above, maybe maybe can make it work?

Maybe your coming windfall will do it for you. So if your current deal turns out to be a super bargain, so you know you can flip it at least break even, go for it, sit on it, wait and see.

But if $6K is all you got in the world and you want to get started on the conversion right now, you're taking a big chance on being stranded out there with no transport until you can get a grand or two together.

A solid old Detroit van at $3-4K gets you on the road with a Reserve for contingencies.

 

[BradKW]

So let me get this right... these vehicles are mechanical time bombs that should be avoid at all costs? Parts are hard to find and expensive.  Furthermore, finding a mechanic to work on these is next to impossible, right?  Finding a mechanic to work on a diesel engine is impossible?  That I don't get.  If all that is true, why do I see so many dodge sprinter van conversions on the internet and youtube? 

Actually, all vehicles are mechanical time bombs if you want to look at it like that. But even 30+ years ago, I passed on used Mercedes "good deals" because of the cost of parts. Avoided Jaguar too...even tho really wanted one.

With Sprinters you add a tweaked-out Mercedes Diesel engine and you've got the very real possibility of very expensive repairs. Some repairs can be caused by average-Joe diesel mechanic guessing he knows how to diagnose and repair a German engine. Recently our '09 Sprinter was in limp mode for weeks, local diesel guys wanting to spend $4k+ on replacing the turbo. Limped it 200 miles to a Miami Mercedes dealer who does Sprinters (far from all do) and turned out it wasn't the turbo at all, just an oil filter issue that they fixed for $2500. 

I personally passed on buying a Sprinter because to get what I wanted would have left me no margin if problems occur...sounds similar to what you're thinking about. Here's link to Sprinter Foums .  I believe the popularity of Sprinters that you see all over Youtube is due to there quite literally being zero competition for that niche for nearly 15 years (Stateside). Even now that there is competition from Ford and Dodge, it'll take a long time for the popular long-and-tall models to drop below $20,000 even on the used market...

 

[z bird]

5k is suspiciously low for a Sprinter, even with that many miles! At least in my experience, even though kbb/edmunds and other car appraisal websites bring the prices for well used sprinters from the early 2000s between 5k-9k I find they are never going for less than 10k.

The market is crazy, they are just really expensive vehicles... 

That being said, I just posted a thread all about this same question, "Should I buy a 2005 Dodge Sprinter with 2XX,XXX miles on it?!"

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-2005-Dodge-Sprinter-2500-118-inch-wheel-bass

Check it out, there is a lot of good info in that conversation. I ultimately decided against the purchase. 

Seems like the kind of purchase that leads to more trouble than its worth down the road. In most cases, they are expensive to fix, and hard to find someone to work on them.



¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Stretch]

keightley, I think the Sprinters were made popular with the Pinterest/lifestyle blogger/millennial adventure traveler types, largely. A lot of what they do is subsidized by revenue from their blogs, Youtube channels and Instagram accounts, as well as sponsorships. 

For the practical, "this is actually my home" vandwellers, I don't think they're a viable option for the reasons others have listed. 

Good luck with your search!

 

[GotSmart]

As bad as I want one, NO.  

I started out with a $500 van.  $3,000 later, it is a $1,000 van.  But I can fix anything on it.  Parts are everywhere. 

Look and wait.  There are a lot of good used reasonably priced vans out there.  

If you post your general location, There are members that will post a lot of links to what they find.  

Happy hunting.

 

[keightley]

Huh... Please know that I am really taking all your comments seriously.  And I am about ready to pull the plug on this.  But a small part of me is wondering if I am passing up a really good deal.  So I have be madly researching the T1N sprinter and what I have found it interesting.  I signed up for the Sprinter Van forum.  I unfortunately cannot post my questions as the administrator still needs to confirm my registration.  But as I went through the board reading posts I began to realize.  This is a board where people come and post their problems looking for answers.  Why would anyone come to this board just to post how wonderful their vehicle is?  Another thing I wonder in reading people's complaints in response to question similar to mine is did these people take care of these sprinters from the beginning? Or did they just drive them until something broke and then realized they actually needed to maintain them?  


And then I found an article written by a owner of a expediting trucking company. He owned 47 Dodge Sprinters over 7 years.  He kept to meticulous maintenance schedules and records.  The article is titled "The Fatal Flaw of Mercedes Benz Sprinters" so of course he does not recommend them in the end.  But I did find this paragraph toward the beginning interesting:

"Prior to 2008, when the United States Government mandated diesel exhaust regulations, the Sprinter, manufactured by Mercedes Benz and sold as a Dodge was a real workhorse. These vehicles performed admirably, providing us with lifetime expected mileages of 500,000 and more. The cost for maintaining these vehicles while slightly higher than their American made counterparts made up for these differences with their reliability and long term service."

Then the very next sentence sets up the entire article of why one should not buy a Dodge Sprinter:  "Since 2008 Mercedes Benz developed an extremely complex and expensive exhaust system to comply with our government regulations."  Anything that is complex has a greater chance of failure.  That is just a law of nature. 

But the vehicle I am looking at is a 2005, prior to the redesign of the extremely complex exhaust system.  So I am thinking if the mechanic cannot find anything wrong with the engine and he does confirm that there is very little rust, that it may not be a bad find. 

Right at this moment, I still don't know if I am going to go through with the inspection.  I just really wish I was better educated on vehicles.  It make me incredibly sad that I don't have anyone in my life to give me advice on things like this.  Making decisions without a go to person is extremely difficult.  It feels like no matter what decision I make here, it will be the wrong one.  Ugh the frustration of it all! 

I think I will go bury my sorrows into a big pint of Ben and Jerrys now.  LOL  

Keightley

 

[CautionToTheWind]

All comes down to practicality -- the money to throw in for purchase + repairs. If you have $6k, I wouldn't buy a sprinter.

 

[John61CT]

I am about ready to pull the plug on this.  But a small part of me is wondering if I am passing up a really good deal.  So I have be madly researching ...

I will repeat. If you confirm you are getting a really good deal, so much so that you could turn around and sell it breakeven+, you have little risk grabbing it.

Just store it safely, reg+insurance, drive it a couple hundred miles a month.

Hey, you never know maybe the Sprinter will inspire you to increase your earnings by hook or crook, round here a motivated cleaner can easily ramp up to $4-6K a month.

If you get a nice windfall from your uncle so you have fallback resources, **then** start the conversion and get out camping, road tripping some miles.

If that falls through, isn't enough, sell it and look for a more standard Chevy or whatever.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have been working on vehicles since the 60's, I will say this Mercedes and all German vehicles for that matter are over engineered. they make the simplest things way complicated. I have seen the simplest things like automatic door locks so complicated that just makes you wonder why. example, mid 80's MB diesel auto door locks vacuum operated. first off why use vacuum operated devices in a diesel. a diesel engine does not make vacuum, so now you need a vacuum pump, then you need a way to store the vacuum, so a tank. then you need a vacuum switch and a servo plus many feet of vacuum lines. then the mechanical linkage to make it work. don't even get me started on the mechanical linkage, instead of making the servo just push and pull on one rod up and down to lock and unlock they had three rods spanning the length and height of the door with cantilevers at each junction. unbelievably over engineered and complicated. why not just put a electronic solenoid, switch, and wire like the big three have used since the 60's. so simple it's sickening. my 2 cents but European vehicles are not for the low budget minded people. highdesertranger

 

[keightley]

Well this looks to be the perfect van.  The guy is willing to sell it to me for $6500.  If I just didn't need the funds to fly to Texas and drive it back to Salt Lake, I would have this van tomorrow.  Anyone care to pick it up and drive it to me out of the kindness of their heart?  No?!  Oh well... maybe this would work for someone else

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/6190402303.html

Keightley

 

[jonsun]

was just reading on another forum and most say the same. they dont recommend them. One guy owns a small HVAC business and has had 3 since 2004 and said every one has given him major problems and he's done. Reading makes me personally not want one. Plus like has been said parts are super expensive for anything German.

 

[closeanuf]

People warned me about getting married the second time but I knew better.  Twenty years later they were right.  If you buy this Sprinter please let us know in a couple years what a great decision it was.  I bought a BMW one time, never again.  I bought a Mercedes one time, never again.  Good luck.

 

[SternWake]

My buddy sought out and bought an overpriced 2005 sprinter, had it shipped cross country.

Its had nothing but problems, and ultimately he wants to sell it because it does not drive as well as his Astro. I can't believe how much he spent, how much he has put into it, regarding labor and repairs, and stress.

I've spent way more time around the thng that I ever wanted to, in front of the sprinter forums playing detective, and under the hood trying to sort out the most bizarre electrical connections that refused to reseat after removing the brocolli from the contacts.

Any vehicle can be a money pit, but sprinter owners better have a healthy bank account and a place to stay for an undertermined amount of time when something inevitably goes wrong