Are the sprinter vans any good? I see them around delivering the amazon stuff??

[SteveSRT8]

I have a business owner here locally whom I speak with regularly who owns several Sprinters. They have prohibitive repair costs, period! The numbers he quotes are unreal.

Then factor in poor resale as well. That's why our Factory Authorized upfitter likes GM vans. If you want their equipment installed in anything else they make you sign about a dozen pages of disclaimers.

 

[wemay]

We receive several packages every day. A couple years ago almost every delivery was made using a Sprinter. Come to think of it, now they're mostly Nissan vans. Maybe it's a lease deal, maybe not but that's the reality. I'll ask a few of the drivers and see.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
The issues these vehicles have are not maintenance issues. They are poorly made and don't last in the long run.

I can't speak for the German model, but the US model is awful. These are regularly discharged in double digit numbers from fleets, while still running and driving, for scrap.


It sounds like you are onto something with US and German models. The ones I am familiar with are the German models and they have a good reputation with a very good drivetrain most commonly equipped with a 6 spd manual. It sounds like the VM 3.0 diesel from FC over there, it does well but in the USA its fraught with issues.

The German models.

https://voc.i.daimler.com/voc/de_de

 

[DuckRyder]

Did they just change them?

I thought all Sprinters in the US were diesels, at least recent ones...

Hit the MB commercial vans page and you get: "The new Sprinter" and "Now Available With A Gas Engine"...

https://www.mbvans.com/sprinter/home

From what I recall reading on the transit forum from those that switched, most of the angst is from the diesel emissions systems...

 

[SteveSRT8]

As anyone here knows, forums are not always the best source of information. This particular one has a nice group of technical folks as well as those of us "in the trenches" keeping our fleets running and making a living by repairing and maintaining our cars and trucks.


I have found many vehicle-specific forums to greatly exaggerate problems. This can skew your opinion if you're not careful.

 

[bullwinkle]

I've been driving and maintaining cargo vans since the mid ‘90s, and my list would be:
1. Chevy/GMC Express/Savana twins
2. Chevy/GMC Astros (if you can live with a small one)
3. Ford E-Series
4. Most FWD Chrysler minivans
5. Ford Transit
6. Ford Transit Connect, Windstar, Aerostar
7. Dodge/Fiat full size
Dead Last-Dodge/MB Sprinters
They all have their issues, I haven't had enough experience with the Nissans yet, although the couple rental ones I had were pretty thirsty, seemed to use a lot of gas.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted by DuckRyder
Did they just change them?

I thought all Sprinters in the US were diesels, at least recent ones...

Hit the MB commercial vans page and you get: "The new Sprinter" and "Now Available With A Gas Engine"...

https://www.mbvans.com/sprinter/home

From what I recall reading on the transit forum from those that switched, most of the angst is from the diesel emissions systems...


I was a little more surprised by the option of 4WD. That's a new one.

Most of the problems I have seen from Sprinters (other than emissions) are electrical in nature. Seem to have a lot of "doesn't run for no reason" situations.

When I looked into them, my main concern was needing to rely on the Benz dealer for service and repair. No thanks. Hard enough to deal with them on an in-warranty passenger car. I have zero interest in one out of warranty. We have one Express van that is beyond 400k miles, having required few repairs that were more than pocket change that I could have done in my driveway with basic hand tools. Do I really want to replace that with the Mercedes experience? Not a chance.

 

[StevieC]

My place of employment before this place had a couple of them and a couple Transit connects by Ford. The ford vans always seemed to be having issues although that could be the rough drivers in the tech department. The Dodges seemed fine from what I heard, they weren't great on gas though.

 

[SteveSRT8]

As yet another anecdote the cable guy at my house said their fleet had tons of issues with their new Transits. These are not the cute little ones but the nicer larger sized ones that I tried to buy this year for my own fleet. I am apparently going to be glad I bought yet another Express 3500!

 

[wag123]

I have been hearing good things about the Nissan NVs, the V/8s in particular. They run strong, drive/handle good (even the high tops), have a longer warranty, and the prices are attractive.
The people I have talked to about the Sprinter say (in addition to reliability issues) that they don't drive/handle good, one person describing them as "scary".

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp

I was a little more surprised by the option of 4WD. That's a new one.

Most of the problems I have seen from Sprinters (other than emissions) are electrical in nature. Seem to have a lot of "doesn't run for no reason" situations.

The Sprinters are still the de facto choice for new "adventure vans" since they are the only ones with available 4WD. But I think the electrics are a hodgepodge between C-Class HMI and work van body stuff.

Mercedes/Freightliner/Thomas Buses is wanting the Sprinter to be used as a school or paratransit bus but I'm seeing little traction. First Student(who was Laidlaw/Greyhound in a previous life and bought out a few other school bus operators) but they've been springing for the Ford Transit or Chevy cut-aways instead. The old Ford E-series chassis as well as the GM platform is still being used by REV El Dorado and Goshen Coach for paratransit vans.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I'm not surprised. Fairly certain there would be a revolt if Ford completely dropped the old Econoline.

Where Sprinter handling is concerned, I notes that for that reason and fuel consumption, the Sprinter is a total 65mph maximum van. After that, the poor chassis engineering and cross winds make it spooky. Fuel economy goes down the toilet too. Such a nice van (especially with high cieling) but Gremlins are waiting.

When these things first hit the scene, I kind of thought Mercedes would roll the sleeves up and make them truly Rock solid vans to take on the American ones, but no such luck. The diesel engine ripped from the passenger car sector pretty much set the scene for the US second generation.

I'm not impressed that US van marketing is all about how tough and reliable a van is, and Mercedes pretty much looks like any other Mercedes ad boasting features features features. I don't know how it is for most businesses, but a van being down for only one day costs me $1800-2400 a day.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
As yet another anecdote the cable guy at my house said their fleet had tons of issues with their new Transits. These are not the cute little ones but the nicer larger sized ones that I tried to buy this year for my own fleet. I am apparently going to be glad I bought yet another Express 3500!


Yep. Stick with a boring and very reliable Chevy workhorse.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
As yet another anecdote the cable guy at my house said their fleet had tons of issues with their new Transits. These are not the cute little ones but the nicer larger sized ones that I tried to buy this year for my own fleet. I am apparently going to be glad I bought yet another Express 3500!


Yep. Stick with a boring and very reliable Chevy workhorse.

Indeed. Our newest 18 3500 van is a monster, the 6.0 now has 341 HP, and they delete the 8 speed and install the god old reliable 6L90 if you go heavy duty...

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted by nthach

The Sprinters are still the de facto choice for new "adventure vans" since they are the only ones with available 4WD. But I think the electrics are a hodgepodge between C-Class HMI and work van body stuff.

Mercedes/Freightliner/Thomas Buses is wanting the Sprinter to be used as a school or paratransit bus but I'm seeing little traction. First Student(who was Laidlaw/Greyhound in a previous life and bought out a few other school bus operators) but they've been springing for the Ford Transit or Chevy cut-aways instead. The old Ford E-series chassis as well as the GM platform is still being used by REV El Dorado and Goshen Coach for paratransit vans.

Chevy Express/GMC Savana are available with AWD.

 

[StevieC]

It's a GM vehicle I would buy and I don't like GM in general but they have been super reliable and there are tons of them running around with lots of miles.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp

I was a little more surprised by the option of 4WD. That's a new one.

Most of the problems I have seen from Sprinters (other than emissions) are electrical in nature. Seem to have a lot of "doesn't run for no reason" situations.

The Sprinters are still the de facto choice for new "adventure vans" since they are the only ones with available 4WD. But I think the electrics are a hodgepodge between C-Class HMI and work van body stuff.

...


I think the sprinters have had 4WD drive option for alt least a while.

Transits can be shipped through Quigley or I think they will convert yours under a certain mileage.

 

[exranger06]

A Quigley Ford E-Series is my dream family car/kid hauler. Unfortunately even the used ones are way too expensive and out of my price range.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by exranger06
A Quigley Ford E-Series is my dream family car/kid hauler. Unfortunately even the used ones are way too expensive and out of my price range.


I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted by CKN
Originally Posted by exranger06
A Quigley Ford E-Series is my dream family car/kid hauler. Unfortunately even the used ones are way too expensive and out of my price range.


I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....


They are pretty rad but unless you have the build sheet, it is a part person's nightmare. Obviously no catalogs show a 4WD E-Series and they didn't always use off the shelf parts from a Super Duty. I have seen some with Dodge ball joints, GM hubs, and Ford calipers all from different years with some of those parts machined to work.