hey all, newbie hair. i live in the good ol’ U S OF A. somewhere i think they call the midwest. I am upsizing from a pickup to a bare cargo transit or sprinter. I have just recently driven a dodge 2008 sprinter and a 2010 MB sprinter. I like em both. I have never owned a diesel before. Love the internet for researching these things. I have learned a lot. Like, repairs on a sprinter can be very costly. drive with both eyes and ears open and it doesn’t hurt to have your nose attuned to the smell of diesel. keep an eye on those warning lights and do the maintenance. and if lucky you can dodge a lot of the expensive repairs. So, i am getting a PPI on the M B tomorrow. For a 100 bucks its well worth it. I really like this van. the pros: drove nice, new tires, pretty clean for 10 years old, minimal rust, a nice somewhat faded like a good pair of blue jeans. Cons: i will be the fourth owner. first owner drove 11,000 miles, and there was an accident in the first couple months of ownership. So we will check for hidden damage tomorrow. the dealer has not inspected the truck yet, with tax and extended warranty will be 21k but back to the pros, it has 89k miles. i do not think DEF, ehxuast or injectors have been fussed with yet. my research says 85 -100k these issues may crop up. my wallet says ouch. ANY INPUT would be greatly appreciated. i plan to travel, trick it out a bit, put my carpentry skills to work. tks for reading my long intro
ps i will be putting 2500 miles on whatever i purchase in the month of December. another reason the diesels have me thinking long hard and clear.
I have friends with Sprinters and they’ve had some bad luck with them. One couple I know has a 2007 that’s been plagued with electrical issues, and just a few weeks ago the engine spun a bearing, so they’ll need a new engine. Van has 150K miles.
I’ve owned three older Mercedes cars, two of them diesel, and they were great, and have put many thousands of miles on their vans from the '80s and '90s, but something happened to their quality in the early to mid 2000s.
Don’t let your ego fool you into getting a “Mercedes.” Get a Ford and never look back. Every town in America has a mechanic that can work on a Ford if it ever breaks down, and it’s bound to be cheaper to maintain and repair.
Greetings & Welcome!
The quality of all vehicles sold in the US took a huge hit in the early to mid 90’s. Their quality, reliability, and lifespan have all suffered greatly, and the repair bills have skyrocketed. Great for repair shops, but not for consumers. Unfortunately that’s the world we live in, driven by greed and the stock market, instead of quality & customer satisfaction.
Cheers!