sprinter van thoughts
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Suanne
Well-known member
FWIW -- We had an '04 Dodge Sprinter 3500, 140" wb, med top, fully loaded with gear and 4 people pulling a teardrop trailer. We traveled from Western WA to Yellowstone NP and back and got about 21 MPG.
The fuel mileage on Sprinters is great for full-size vans. It was super fun to drive. But the maintenance costs are the killer.
The fuel mileage on Sprinters is great for full-size vans. It was super fun to drive. But the maintenance costs are the killer.
MikeRuth
Well-known member
You ought to look at these reviews.
http://www.edmunds.com/dodge/sprinter-cargo/2004/consumer-reviews/
MIke R
http://www.edmunds.com/dodge/sprinter-cargo/2004/consumer-reviews/
MIke R
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From what I've heard the cost of maintenance and repairs will much more than offset the great MPG. Plus the very high initial cost means you start deep in the hole of savings and you will probably not drive it enough to climb out.
Bob
Bob
karl
Well-known member
Lady friend has a 2014, 170. After conversion and loaded to travel I have seen a best of 28 mpg on a section of 95. It probably avgs 25.
The initial cost wasn't horribly more than one of the big three, but maintenance is scary....and not every mechanic can work on these electronic marvels.
I like driving hers- it's a dream, but I'll never own one.
The initial cost wasn't horribly more than one of the big three, but maintenance is scary....and not every mechanic can work on these electronic marvels.
I like driving hers- it's a dream, but I'll never own one.
wagoneer
Well-known member
If you are looking at the Sprinter get the small hitop, the motor is not very large and adding all the weight of the extended version removes the vision of high miles. And keep the loaded weight down. They are a good way to go. For diesel I have been happy with my ol 2001 7.3 Ford E350 just take my time and enjoy.
Suanne said:
i spoke with a couple of people that bought sprinter vans after 2010. and they told me that there nothing but headaches with all of this emissions rubbish on them from the nox sensors to the EGR valves and so on. also that the MB mechs just keep throwing parts at them to only hope the problems are fixed until the next breakdown!! there awesome vans but id'e think that I would run from them. let alone that there way over priced for what they are!!
VanGirl said:
I drove an 07 model. I think my mpg was about 21 mpg. and I drove the crap out of it with no problems except for regular service. but I didn't have to pay for the service or repairs
. by the time I got done with it the rims were rusted and the ticker had 189k miles in it :angel: . and this one was not fun to drive because it was slow it was like welcome to the snail races . it was the 2500 with the standard roof the small one. now that I researched the new models I don't think that I would even touch one after all of the emissions problems they have!!
accrete
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darude said:
Same here... my wife and I ruled out the sprinters as there are only 4 shops that will work on them in a two state area on the i5 corridor where we typically camp. Ford shops? Nearly every town on i5 from BC to Mexico. Literally hundreds of options for service. We are currently looking seriously at the transit LWB-e HR gasser (likely the 3.7 w/4.10 diff).
Thom
MikeRuth
Well-known member
VanGirl said:
Not bad, that's essentially $0.02 a mile driven for maintenance
sprintersnale
Member
So far my '05 T1N 3500 has been wonderful... nothing but regular maintenance (fluids, filters, belt) that I have been able to handle. (150K right now) There is a solid network of enthusiasts on the Sprinter Forum. I chose a T1-N rather than a newer NCV3 because the latter gets slightly lower mileage and have more emissions complexities. Sprinters are trucks and can last much longer than a traditional van. 500,000 is not out of the question depending on driving habits and proper service. If going 80 over the summit is your thing, stay away. I save about $700 a year in fuel (21mpg) compared to my old one ton Dodge Van (8mpg), that offsets the initial (used) purchase price difference over the ten years I plan to have it (at which point I may be switch to a ten year old Ford Transit or Promaster). Then there is standing up in a van: priceless. If I was concerned about access to dealer service and had no oil changing skills, then I might choose another brand.
akrvbob said:
I agree with you bob. since the MB mech told my boss that a blower fan for the climate control was gonna cost him atleast 700 bucks to replace :s . so I went online and found the part for 175.00 and I uscrewed the schroud 3 or 4 screws holding in place and then I unscrewed the blower fan held in by 3 screws and unplugged it and plugged the new fan in and screwed all back together all for 175.00 vs the mechs 700 bucks. the costs aint so bad if you have some mech skills wich I do. the mech will always quote you thousands of dollars to fix it even when it's something minor!! but that's true with all german made cars there all so over engineered that if one thing goes wrong then your dealing with 5000 other things on top of it all. I remember the climate control on my X5 got a mind of it's own and I heard the bmw mech say that he can't fix that shit because the wiring setup was so complicated and that they would have to order the diagrams from Germany
i took one out yesturday i liked how it handled and how it got upto speed. me being used to sprinters i can say they auto trans runs more like a manual i didn't like it and i didn't like the fact that when i took my foot off the brake i started rolling backwards either but i do like the space in them. and one more thing to consider in my book would be long term reliability since they have fiat motors in them :-/ as others have mentioned on here. so far they don't seem like bad vans they just need some refinements is allmyke said:
