cortttt
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On man - that is a quite a van!
Seeking advice on a Chevy Express / GMC Savana
- Thread starter KuxW04
- Start date
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I appreciate all you you chiming in. That's what I 'm looking for, personal experiences with the various vans.
Re: Sprinter vans - I lived in Germany for many years prior to 2000, and drove mercedes cars, diesels and gasoline. I can tell you in Europe (and other places in the world) Mercedes cars are the best you can get, extremely reliable (would put Toyota to shame) and drive very well. Especially the Diesels are extremely reliable and a pleasure to drive. Now in the US, because of all the emissions stupidity, they are killing the Diesels to the point they have become very un-reliable. They re-route most of the emissions back into the engine (same thing happens to a lesser extent to gasoline engines), and the US Diesel fuel is dryer that in most others area of the world. One of the things of Diesels is that the fuel is oily and provides some internal lubrication, both for the engine and for ayxiliary parts (pumps, etc). Because the US Diesel is so dry, it will not provide the necessary lubrication for the engine to work properly, which significantly shortens the life of the engine. Mercedes Diesels and the best diesels you can get if you maintain it properly and give it proper fuel, and get rid of the exhaust system being re-routed back into the engine.
I recently watched a video of a guy who bought a Sprinter and was very proud that this car needs an oil change only every 20k miles - and that is another problem in US - people don't understand how to take care of their cars. 20k miles oil changes will ruin that van in no time.
Another issue with Diesels in the US is that very few mechanics know how to work on Diesels.
So wil all this considerations, I won't trust the Sprinters sold in the US - maybe they are doing now the same thing in Europe, don't know.
I would consider a pre-2010 diesel that doesn't have all that emissions DEF fluid stupidity, and that was well maintained. A diesel car is a pleasure to drive.
Appreciate all your input.
Re: Sprinter vans - I lived in Germany for many years prior to 2000, and drove mercedes cars, diesels and gasoline. I can tell you in Europe (and other places in the world) Mercedes cars are the best you can get, extremely reliable (would put Toyota to shame) and drive very well. Especially the Diesels are extremely reliable and a pleasure to drive. Now in the US, because of all the emissions stupidity, they are killing the Diesels to the point they have become very un-reliable. They re-route most of the emissions back into the engine (same thing happens to a lesser extent to gasoline engines), and the US Diesel fuel is dryer that in most others area of the world. One of the things of Diesels is that the fuel is oily and provides some internal lubrication, both for the engine and for ayxiliary parts (pumps, etc). Because the US Diesel is so dry, it will not provide the necessary lubrication for the engine to work properly, which significantly shortens the life of the engine. Mercedes Diesels and the best diesels you can get if you maintain it properly and give it proper fuel, and get rid of the exhaust system being re-routed back into the engine.
I recently watched a video of a guy who bought a Sprinter and was very proud that this car needs an oil change only every 20k miles - and that is another problem in US - people don't understand how to take care of their cars. 20k miles oil changes will ruin that van in no time.
Another issue with Diesels in the US is that very few mechanics know how to work on Diesels.
So wil all this considerations, I won't trust the Sprinters sold in the US - maybe they are doing now the same thing in Europe, don't know.
I would consider a pre-2010 diesel that doesn't have all that emissions DEF fluid stupidity, and that was well maintained. A diesel car is a pleasure to drive.
Appreciate all your input.
I got a 1999 F-250 7.3 powerstroke that I got in September 2020 at 268k miles. I've heard these 7.3s can last a long time, some people are even going back to the 7.3s. even a prepper I know of has said if he were to get a diesel truck, he would go with one pre 1999.
@KuxW04 any luck ordering a brand new van with the 6.6 gas from a gm dealer?
I looked around my local craigslist here and found some newer 2500 vans some with the 6.0 and some with the 4.8
can't seem to find too many with the 6.6 in them besides current uhaul vans. AFAIK uhaul still gets rid of their vans after a year, however they no longer sell them to the individual public, they go to dealer auctions.
I was just thinking today, about buying a brand new 6.6 gm van or getting something that's within a few years old (thereby avoiding depreciation) with the 6.0. either way it looks like going thru a dealer is most likely.
Just wanted to see how things are going.
I looked around my local craigslist here and found some newer 2500 vans some with the 6.0 and some with the 4.8
can't seem to find too many with the 6.6 in them besides current uhaul vans. AFAIK uhaul still gets rid of their vans after a year, however they no longer sell them to the individual public, they go to dealer auctions.
I was just thinking today, about buying a brand new 6.6 gm van or getting something that's within a few years old (thereby avoiding depreciation) with the 6.0. either way it looks like going thru a dealer is most likely.
Just wanted to see how things are going.
Dealer insists on $5,000 markup from MSRP, will wait and see, they have a bunch of vans in the lot but claim they are spoken for, or can only sell to companies with some registration #. I think it's all BS.
Fueco
Member
These vans came up in our search for a van too, though we’re looking at the passenger version. Thanks all for the info about the engine options.
yeah, I had the same problem. built my Van (real basic) on the gmc website. and sent the specs/build to several dealers.
finally got a response from one of them back and they said the price went up to about $42,000.
I am inexperienced when dealing with the dealers as I have never bought from one before. let alone brand new, zero miles.
apparently, when the dealer puts in the order for the van from the factory in Wentzville, Missouri the dealer then buys that vehicle from the manufacturer/factory and resells it to the consumer.
this is where MSRP comes into play, my build on the gmc website came out to approximately $37,820 MSRP. I was recently advised by a person who claims to have never paid msrp and always paid below msrp to first get my funding/financing in order (think FM financing or even Ford financing for a gm vehicle lol) and then go to the dealer with that in hand.
he basically tried to advise since the dealer is adding on $5,000 in markup, to go 5k below msrp to $33,000.
Fueco
Member
Yeah, the dealer has every incentive to tack on as many add-ons as they can. We’ve bought two new cars (Sienna and Highlander), and had to negotiate to get anything off. I recall talking the down a thousand or so on the Sienna, but not the Highlander (we paid that one off within a year anyway, killing off much of Toyota’s profit.
Dealers are also charging “market adjustment” right now, so watch out for that. Here’s one I saw at a MB dealer recently.
Jimmyflorida
Well-known member
My old van was a 4.8 my newer van 2007 cutaway chevy with the 6.0 gas lots power been good but definitely gets worst gas mileage never had experienced a 6.6 gas but the chevys have a pretty good track record mt 2 cents
Never ever pay a “doc” fee. Get up shake the salesman’s hand and walk out. I doubt u will get to the door before he calls u back. If not find another dealer
Yep. good thing I've never bought a vehicle used or new from a dealer, whether franchise or mom n pop.
They are scum of the earth aren't they.
Hello everybody, still researching my van options.
There is a bus dealer in my area that occasionally has used vans for sale, there is this 2002 Chevy Express 3500 passenger van at about 150k miles they ask $13,000.- for it. Van seems in good shape, they did a basic maintenance and the van has the highway patrol safety approval for 2022. This is a 5.7 V8 engine.
I think it's a bit much for a 20 year old van. What do you guys think ?
Is 150k miles too old for this engine ? What's a decent mileage for a used van like this ?
Thank you.
There is a bus dealer in my area that occasionally has used vans for sale, there is this 2002 Chevy Express 3500 passenger van at about 150k miles they ask $13,000.- for it. Van seems in good shape, they did a basic maintenance and the van has the highway patrol safety approval for 2022. This is a 5.7 V8 engine.
I think it's a bit much for a 20 year old van. What do you guys think ?
Is 150k miles too old for this engine ? What's a decent mileage for a used van like this ?
Thank you.
$13K is about twice high retail. Is it an extended van? I haven't read all previous pages of posts but are you aware of how to use the online vehicle pricing guides? NADA, Kelly Blue Book,etc? Those can give you an idea of what to expect for values in your zip code. These days you do have add quite a lot because of the market....+20%-30% maybe. Not 100%+ like they are asking unless it came with a really good warranty. Yes, 150k is getting up there with the transmission the most likely failure in the future. These drive trains can do a lot more but you'd be paying a lot for taking a chance. Keep looking.
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If taken care of they can easily do 200-250k. But you can't be sure of how well it was maintained or how hard it was driven over 20 years. $13,000 is WAY too much. Also keep in mind you will need $5000+ set aside for an emergency repair fund.
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SierraVanCampers
Well-known member
I would hold off and see if you could do better with a newer lower mileage van. Like someone else mentioned, it's all about how the van was treated in those 150K miles. From the Express van forum, most (not all) are ready for a transmission at that mileage. Be willing to travel for the right van. Check out the FB Chevrolet Express Forum as many members are great mechanics and share tons of great info as well as folks post vans for sale.
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