freightliner diesel van

[HHR]

Thats a Fiat. No rust yet ?? Merc Sprinters (and VW Crafters) are built in Stuttgart and are very solid vehicles. the Merc Vito is built in Spain and just rots away under your *****. As a rule, anything south is rust prone. Fiat/Iveco engines are very good though...

According to our Speedy Delivery driver, the Sprinters are anything but "solid." The doors literally rust off the things! Here is just one 2006 example: 2006 Sprinter 3500

 

[Diamondpilot]

According to our Speedy Delivery driver, the Sprinters are anything but "solid." The doors literally rust off the things! Here is just one 2006 example: 2006 Sprinter 3500

I have a customer who had about 15 of these for a plumbing business. As you said they literally fell apart with rust.

Is previous fleet was 2001 E 350 vans. They were good all in all but under powered with a Ditch Witch behind them with the 5.4L motor. The Sprinters got a solid 50% better millage.

He now has a fleet of the Nissan Vans. Ugly as heck but in the year and a half he has had them, about 15 of them, they are mechanically perfect. The MPG is a little better than the E 350 vans but not as good as the Sprinter. They have the power to tow and the price point is right.

Chris

 

[Scooby074]

Thats a Fiat. No rust yet ??

Merc Sprinters (and VW Crafters) are built in Stuttgart and are very solid vehicles. the Merc Vito is built in Spain and just rots away under your *****. As a rule, anything south is rust prone.
Fiat/Iveco engines are very good though...

Interesting.

I dont think there is a single Sprinter (in white) here that doesn't have rust after a couple years. Corrosion protection on the Sprinter is a joke and really disappointing for a Mercedes. And its been that way since they came. Not like Mercedes is making improvements either.

 

[Fordman1981]

Thats a Fiat. No rust yet ?? Merc Sprinters (and VW Crafters) are built in Stuttgart and are very solid vehicles. the Merc Vito is built in Spain and just rots away under your *****. As a rule, anything south is rust prone. Fiat/Iveco engines are very good though...

Not a spec of rust anywhere. It's a 2013 though. They drive great but some people don't like the feel of being so far forward. The pro master is not a sprinter so you can't judge it by the old ones. It's a new vehicle and needs to be judged by how it turns out not it's predecessors. I say go drive one if you are looking at something along these lines. The e series ford vans don't even come close to comparison you can stand up fully in these they have a lot more payload much lower to the ground for loading. You can set pallets in the side door or the back doors. The back doors open 180*. We load lots of equipment and spools of cable up to size 750 mcm for installation it's nice to be able to load with a fork lift.

 

[Pixguy]

I've been looking and test drove a 2014 Itasca Navion camper that is set on the Sprinter chassis. It drove nice but being a tall 220lb. guy, I found the shifter at the right knee a little annoying. They promise about 16mpg but that's with a lot more weight.

 

[rswyan]

Interesting.

I dont think there is a single Sprinter (in white) here that doesn't have rust after a couple years. Corrosion protection on the Sprinter is a joke and really disappointing for a Mercedes. And its been that way since they came. Not like Mercedes is making improvements either.

A couple of years back I ran into a couple who were running for Express-1. They had a 2004 Sprinter 2500 that looked showroom ... with around 400,000 miles on it.

Their secret ?

They kept it waxed (Turtle Wax ICE if I recall correctly)

I didn't keep ours waxed and have paid the price on the outer body surfaces ...

I'd agree that the Mercedes outer body paint and corrosion protection surely ain't the greatest ... but OTOH, my chassis and undercarriage is in great shape ... despite being driven in all seasons, all over the US.

Had I kept it waxed I'd bet the outer body would look a whole lot better than it does now.

 

[Soundguy]

at least there is no salt here in florida as long as you are not beach side.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I have an 07 Sprinter and it's the worst vehicle I've ever owned. You may be able to pass fuel stations but you darn sure can never pass a dealership for repairs. Spend a few minutes hear and see all the people crying about repairs and poor quality.

NCV3 Talk - Sprinter-Forum
Mine had a roof leak that was repaired twice when new and still has a waterfall inside every time it rains. Lucky for me it only rains once ever two years.

 

[tcartwri]

The Promaster comes with a 3.0 L 4 Cyl diesel option as well. At least in Canada it does. We looked at them a few weeks ago. Nice low floor, big payload numbers.

 

[terryknight]

A couple of years back I ran into a couple who were running for Express-1. They had a 2004 Sprinter 2500 that looked showroom ... with around 400,000 miles on it.

Their secret ?

They kept it waxed (Turtle Wax ICE if I recall correctly)

I didn't keep ours waxed and have paid the price on the outer body surfaces ...

I'd agree that the Mercedes outer body paint and corrosion protection surely ain't the greatest ... but OTOH, my chassis and undercarriage is in great shape ... despite being driven in all seasons, all over the US.

Had I kept it waxed I'd bet the outer body would look a whole lot better than it does now.

amazing what a little care and effort will do

 

[QRTRHRS]

The Promaster comes with a 3.0 L 4 Cyl diesel option as well. At least in Canada it does. We looked at them a few weeks ago. Nice low floor, big payload numbers.

There is a local dealer advertising a diesel on the lot so they are in the US as well. I do not know how well they are selling and how happy or unhappy buyers are.

 

[schmism]

My 2001 E350 has been solid. it has over 200K on it now and only piddly ****. starter, alternator, a coil pack. Gas millage basicly sucks, but its got miles of room and hauls stuff better than any pickup ive owned. (i can stick 10' stuff inside without doing anything special)

Was thinking of upgradeing to the NV2500

its a "van" version of the titan. I like the idea of a pickup front end. ie not having to sit next to the engine and have no foot space, and being able to actually work on something under the hood.

 

[Tomtint]

I think the NV is the most comfortable platform of the new generation vans. I test drove a Promaster and found it to be very awkward to sit in. There was no where to stretch my legs forward. I'm 6-2" and it felt like I was sitting on the john behind the wheel. I did like that it was front wheel drive and the low floor, but the driving position was a deal breaker. The Sprinter van is notorious for rust, hopefully I don't have any issues as I plan to get rid of if after 36 months. The new Transit is very comfy to sit in but I'm still leery of a new release and not really sold on the ecoboost.

 

[The Fred]

2010 and up with urea system can get costly. Constant check engine light and $1000 repair bills after warranty.
What you save in fuel you pay in emissions repairs.

The new 4 cylinder is nice, my friend has a new very low mileage high roof and just averaged 19 MPG towing an enclosed trailer full of furniture going 70-80 on the interstate, he was very impressed. He traded out of his 2010 because of all the emissions repair issues.

Regards, Fred

 

[Soundguy]

Well i finally solved my problem. We found a E350 last nght the wife fell in love with.

thanks fo rthe help guys. We must have looked at 10 sprinters and some ford transits, and the smaller connects plus 2 econolines over the last few days.

 

[tcartwri]

Well i finally solved my problem. We found a E350 last nght the wife fell in love with.

thanks fo rthe help guys. We must have looked at 10 sprinters and some ford transits, and the smaller connects plus 2 econolines over the last few days.

Check the oil pan for rust. I had an E250 HD and had to change the pan when it was four years old. Two days of labor....

 

[Renze]

Interesting.

I dont think there is a single Sprinter (in white) here that doesn't have rust after a couple years. Corrosion protection on the Sprinter is a joke and really disappointing for a Mercedes. And its been that way since they came. Not like Mercedes is making improvements either.

Hmmm.... Yours are built in Carolina, ours in Dusseldorf (so not at the Mercedes headquarter in Stuttgart)

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Soundguy]

Check the oil pan for rust. I had an E250 HD and had to change the pan when it was four years old. Two days of labor....

We did, but it's probably safe, it's a 2014.

 

[rswyan]

Well i finally solved my problem. We found a E350 last nght the wife fell in love with.

:thumbsup:

 

[Scooby074]

Hmmm.... Yours are built in Carolina, ours in Dusseldorf (so not at the Mercedes headquarter in Stuttgart)

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As I understand it, the Cargo Sprinter is only "re-assembled" in South Carolina for tax purposes. Actual production is in Germany. So it's Ze Germans who are responsible for the lousy corrosion protection.

From your link

The USA cargo version are reassembled from kits in an assembly plant located in Ladson, South Carolina, while the passenger models are imported directly from Germany.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was built in Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde production plants.

The Dodge dealer network for Sprinters is limited to certified locations (known as "Business Link" certified dealers, usually only awarded to "Five Star" certified dealers), and dealer knowledge is still limited in both sales and service. Special orders typically take one to three months for delivery, and may take even longer due to the assembly and dis-assembly in Germany, and exporting parts to South Carolina for re-assembly. The exception is passenger van models which are assembled in Germany and exported as complete vehicles