New vehicle vs the \"ol shoppe truck\"

Weezbo

i can twist a wrench buh they have no motors or Chilton manuals on this vehicle....oil change costs plenty, tires cost plenty...one guy said that delivery drivers have bought them back in less than 20,000 miles for Brake work...that does kinda keep me interested in getting a book on the vehicle.

i had wanted to install a Wabasto oil heater even asked to get in the class when the techs were taking the class on installation and service...they no likey that idea.:(

there are always more than two sides to a story...thanks for your thoughts it is not falling on deaf ears. my buddy just got a new (to him ) van for like 8K i drove it about to the parts shop when i got the van in for scheduled maint...i liked it. it is a chevy van. his old van though was getting him down a bit because it was liking to hang out at the mechanics shop...the thought though is , if we make the decision to bag the old truck off for a new one the cost seems to ease the down time and trips to the bank to pay the mechanic....i have some reasonabl vehicles that need a little work they are not much for looks buh then again they are Honest to work on...

Carbs for some of them might become a issue in the future from what guys tell me who rebuild some of the more vintage vehicles.

Weezbo

the Sprinter is so over the top....

my old F-350 4X4 dualie used to cost me more money to maintain than gas taking expensive two week sabbaticals in a warm shop ...with the new Sprinter my actual first full year of driving...basically pays me to drive it:)

the tax allowance is .44 cents a mile...this thing makes me wonder why i never put it together at an earlier time...

all in all, we do our self a disservice driving vehicles that eat thousands of duckettes a year in maint and get like 12 miles to the tank...trust me, at this rate the thing will have me taking the warm paid vacations *~/:)

JIm Faller

We drive gas guzzlers and then ask customers to buy high eff. mod cons and wonder why they don't buy them.

Dave_4

It has been a year since I sold the F-250 gas guzzler and bought the Dodge Caravan. Can fit numerous sheets of plywood, all the tools and tubing I need, and can still take it to the soccer games on Saturday. And I was the one who said I would "never" own a minivan.

Rob

Eric_25

hows the power

We have been looking into them recently but are concerned about the 154 HP and I think it was 300# torque, thats exactly half of what my Duramax has. Does it handle the loads OK?, What about climbing hills, there sure a lot of mountains around here in NH. Whats the tax credit you mentioned?

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Troy_3

sprinter

I've had mine a little over 2 years. I don't think i will ever buy another. Wait till it needs maintenance. Bendover big time. Everything is propietary. Does that sound familiar? Everytime i take it in it needs something else that costs 1000s. luckily most have been under warrenty so far. The mech. love to tell me-that little part will cost 1000s next time cause it will be out of warrenty. Brakes and one rotor just cost me 1500. Give me the gas guzzler that still has the pep to get up the drive- I'm sick of the Euro trash.

jim lockard

Carpenter

The carpenter across the street from me has a sprinter always bragging about the MPG's. Then it broke and the cost of maintence about broke him. J.Lockard

Mark Hunt

We switched too

No complaints.

Weezbo

*~/:)

i like the motor trucks that have the manual back up power plant ....i personally think the trucks and busses in India are The coolest lookin vehicles they have like 3 and a half H.P. and if they run out of gas the pedal bike attachment pretty much insures that they will get to where they are going

RianS

Sprinter

I also looked at them and was told the maintenance cost were very high, brakes didn't last but the fuel mileage is great. Our local Dodge dealer has several of them sitting around--at the service center. I bought a GMC 3500, put Mobil 1 in it at 12,000 miles. It now has 61,000 on it and has never been in the shop for anything except for routine maintenance. It still has the original brakes and I tow a trailer almost half the time. The only thing I don't like is it only gets about 25,000 miles out of a set of tires. I will be in need of another van soon and it will be another GMC or Chevy. Just my 2 cents

pete_22

How come everyone complains about the maintence on the sprinter, but think the cost of parts on mod cons isnt too much for customers?

Supply House Rick

We switched

can't tell you where the tool box is

hot_rod

Then again my 05 Ford Super...

Duty has been in the shop 5 times in 52K miles. Twice towed in!

Thankfully I bought an extended warranty and have only paid 100 deductables. Triple A for the free towing. I'm wondering that I'll even be able to unload a 6.0 Ford diesel.

hot rod

Dave Stroman

Does anyone have any input on the Isuzu tilt cab trucks? I was looking into one for my next one.

Dave in Denver

Weezbo

That is another vehicle that i considered....

Shimeks , an entertainment center company here has one and it has better traction getting up driveways in the snow in the hills...

mikea23

Izuzu

We have two of them one Izuzu and on GMC tilt cab (same truck) the GMC just turned 200K and we have done nothing but filters and breaks a few times the Izuzu just hit 150K and the same thing. They are kind of slow but will always do the job. My Fords have bin ok and the guys like them better but they just dont hold up as well as the Izuzu. I think the big problem with the Fords are the diesel engine just has to much power the only thing it does is burn fuel and break thinks like transmissions We have replaced them at 50 to 75 K on all the trucks.

Mike

michael siena

mini van

i live on LI and there is something to be said for caravans/minivans. My buddy and i call them getto gladiators. 1. easy to find used cheap and well maintained. 2. parts are in stock in both dealers and junk yards 3 engine swaps not so bad 4 the large amount of stuff you can fit inside. I stumbled on to this watching some office cleaning company work out of a stripped down fully caged (to prevent theft) minivan. They replaced all windows in the rear with sheet metal which was painted with company logo. put in steel shelvs and thick rubber on floor.

hot_rod

How about this Chevy for a hotshot

hot rod

joel_19

Troy!!!!

Where are you taking that thing for maintenance??? 1500$ for brakes?? We have two Sprinters. the Brakes are a piece of cake to do Rotors are about 100 bucks pads are 80$ . We do them ourselves in under an Hr or pay our local guy like 100$ to do them. Same with oil and filters. Are you taking

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Troy_3

Dealer

I've been goin back to the dealer. Since every time it goes in for an oil change it gets $1000s of warrenty work I figure i better keep getting it serviced by a qualified sprinter tech. When the warrenty is up i will probably be forced to dump it. The dealer only has a sprinter tech on evenings two nights a month. Now i guess i just have to buy another van to back up this one. Yah right.

[Deleted User]

A combo of what

the hot shots used to run. 59 rear w/ a 57 front. Neat. 59 rear tended to get a little loose. 57 guys always had a spare distributor cap. Was just a little too close to the fire wall. Ah. The memories.

joel_19

cab overs

We also have a mitsu cab over that truck is the most capable since it's the biggest of course but also the most reliable

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joel_19

also

Have you guys seen the new 07 Sprinters now those are funky

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helpingothershelpthemselves_2

Mike S.

You tell 'em Mike!

How you doing with those zone valve wiring diagrams ?

Ken Resnick

helpingothershelpthemselves_2

Trucks

We run Chevy Express cutaways with Stahl 12 foot USV bodies.
Rolling supply houses and workshops for sure , but we seem to roll from gas station to gas station.(12 mpg)

Ken Resnick

Douglas Hicks

2005 Sprinter

Rec'd 2503 # of Fire Extinguishers at the job site on Wedneday. Drove up Cabbage Hill today at 55-60 miles per hour. Yes it was a bit over the load limit, but still got 18-19 MPH. I did not notice a lack of power.

The brakes are an issue, I get mine changed every 50,000 miles. Pads & rotors front and rear. I supply the parts, my mechanic supplies the labor. not cheap, but the advantages overcome the disadvantegs.

Fireguy, owner of 2 Sprinters

Kevin A Gerrity_2

Sprinter

I have had my sprinter for just over 1 year. I love it, had to have break work at 25,000. My 2002 Ford F-350 has 35,000 miles and I have replace front ball joints ($1200.00), replaced 2 injectors (towing cost me $200.00 twice) and tires in rear lasted about 25,000 with 2 rotations. Did I mention that it costs almost $100.00 to fill and I get less mileage than Sprinter. Also found out engine can pull 2500 gallons of sewage, the 7.3 that is. Hay, but the rims on the daully look cool, now all it needs is a for sale sign. I also gave up repairing my own trucks, no money in it just torn up Knuckles.

Steve Ebels_3

I like the Sprinter

Mine has 45K on the odometer, have not touched the brakes, original tires are about gone and it gets a solid 20-21 MPG in summer 19-20 in the winter. I had a major failure this winter and from what the dealer told me, this particular thing is not uncommon. The vehicle was well past the 3/36,000 mile warranty but they covered all of it, parts and labor, which totaled over $2,500. They told me they have never had the pleasure of dealing with a company that stands behind their product like MB/Daimler/Chrysler/Sprinter or whatever they are. If it's a major problem that's inherent in the vehicle, they take care of it. Period.

The failure was a total shutdown at 10:30 the night of the Super Bowl. At the time I had 41,000 on the odo. What happened was that fuel got into the wiring harness through a leak in the fuel/water separator and shut down the power distribution box and the engine control module. Evidently the wiring harness is wrapped so tight that the fuel stayed inside of it, followed it to the electrical components and shorted them out. As I said, the local dealer, Chrysler/Dodge took care of the repair and D/C footed the entire bill. Other than that I haven't had any problems at all other than my Lab ripping the ash tray out of the dash. (He gets a little excited when he goes out with me.)

I will definitely buy another Sprinter when I need a second service vehicle.

Glen

Sprinter - love/hate the lemon

love the mileage and capacity, hate my dealership. Love the power, trans setup and shifting, hate the downtime (caused by the dealership) Mine is now well out of warranty 80 000 Km - and I shudder if it breaks. I was plagued with loss of power, burning blue (lots) bum torque converter, out of whack turbo and EGR. It has now been 35 000 KM without a break down. Like Weezbo though - it has reduced rolling costs considerably. Cut fuel costs in half - my biggest complaint though is its really poor traction in snowy conditions (yes I have the traction control) - have had to chain up just to get out of clients driveways several times this winter.It's still love hate - and somedays the 93 dodge fourbye (cummins) looks like it will get the nod for the long term. I can't see hanging on to this van for the long term - eventhough that's why I bought it.

joel_19

tires

We mount snows from the tire rack in winter huge improvement on all our vans. Chevies seem the best fords the worst snd the Sprinter in between when it comes to snow something to do with how the rear end transfers the power between wheels my guess.

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Scott Kneeland

Sprinter

I bought my first Sprinter (splinter, it was always under my skin) in 9/05 1 year to the day it was towed in for the 10th time, yes 10th. I dumped it at the Freightliner dealer I bought it from and got another one. I had no choice no other truck dealer would come within $7000 of their trade. I have had this one since Sept 06 and towed in at 12000 mi. I wish a tree would fall on it. I looked at Isuzu NPR with a Hackney body wow what a truck. This will be my next. A truck road service near me uses Isuzu NPR trucks for tractot trailer road service and the stand up great.

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Tim Doran_4

Cost vs. Benefit

If a vehicle gave as much long term benefit to the owner as a mod con boiler does the cost of the parts would not be an issue. The issue seems to be that the marginal increase in efficiency of a vehicle like to Sprinter is not in line with the exponential increase in maintainence costs.

Tim D.

Paul_11

hino with HIVECO body

I have three diesel Hino's and just love them. Two of them I bought new in 2001. Just bought my third one used. It is a 2002. Brakes once on each, batteries once on one. They are extremely reliable. Just a great truck.

I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THEM!!!!! THEY ARE AWESOME.

And no, I dont' own any of their stock and this is not a paid announcement.

This post has been very enlightening. I had no idea the Sprinters had this much repair trouble. I'm shocked. I've never heard anyone else say this kind of stuff.

Respectfully,

Paul B. Shay
pshay@arealgoodplumber.com
LMP 1307
LMFS 654B
OUR MISSION: TO PROVIDE WORLD CLASS PLUMBING, HEATING, AND SPRINKLER SERVICE TO EACH AND EVERY CLIENT WE SERVE, FAR EXCEEDING THEIR HIGHEST EXPECTATIONS!

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hot_rod

How about a 30 MPG walk-in

Check out this 170 hp diesel/ 60 hp electric hybrid. FedEx is running 95 of them around the world.

Batteries are recharged from braking energy.


http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=34&article_id=4805

hot rod

Mitch_6

Have a 12 Chevy box truck cut van 99

Service nightmare $1000.00 minimum and always in for repairs
have a smaller ten foot that is not down as much.

Was looking at either the sprinter or izzue box trucks as replacements.

Mitch S.


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Weezbo

that is where i was at Mitch while sitting in my one ton,

driving away from the gasoline station with a pool of fire beneath it and a river of fire trailing me off the lot so i could jump out the ride ,snatch off my superman shirt,pop open the hood and try to smother the flames...when a trucker ,seeing my angst ran to my truck with a dry chemical that i snatched from his hands shook it up a bit and blasted the carb placing me firmly back in the land of the living *~/:)

Love God. Love God Greatly . God is the greatest giver.

[ belive he is telling you to get that new vehicle Mitch.

michael siena

cool stuff

It would be easy to do homework without being distracted by great posts! hey, what happens after oil 2? Guess i am going hang around the supply house or stalk salty old oil men for a fix! no pun

joel_19

Isuzu

If your considering the isuzu take alook at the Mitsubishi it was a little more money but after looking real hard at both we thought it was a little better all the way around. I'll need to post a pic of it.

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