Sprinter 2004-2006 Low miles vs 2008 High miles

dolphin · Oct 21, 2012

I have a question for all you Sprinter owners. If you were buying a used Sprinter would you go with option A or B? (Considering your carrier age limit is no problem)

A) 2004-2006 under 100k miles, good body no problems.

B) 2008 high miles 300k miles, good body no problems yet.

I am kinda in confusion about this question. I do have a good Sprinter mechanic so I
can always fix the B Sprinter if in town. Prices seem close on these two @10-15k$ for either.

Will need good MPG's as highway long distance travel.

I have been going back and forth and not sure. Probably hard question to answer.

Thanks,
Steve

xiggi · Oct 21, 2012

Not going to compare the two but personal would not buy an 07 or 08. Any other year but those.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC123 via EO Forums

OntarioVanMan · Oct 21, 2012

not so hard IMO....the 04-06 would be my choice....much better MPG and plenty of after market parts at good prices for repairs....

Turtle · Oct 21, 2012

Well, the 02-03 models had significant problems that were fixed in the 04-6 models. The 07-08 models had significant problems that were fixed in the 09-11 models. The jury is still out on the 12 models.

mzraik · Oct 21, 2012

Hi Dolphin,

I drove a 2006 Sprinter Extended version with the 5 cyl. motor for a fleet owner a little while back.

The starting mileage was around 150K. At around 183K, the tranny free revved and was toast.

Replacement tranny's can be priced from $1500 (Extremely used) - $11,000 (New), plus installation costs. I have read (and experienced) that anything above 150K on a sprinter van with concern to the tranny, is borrowed mileage, so, I would look at the 300K van as spent on the tranny, and the 100K or less as mileage limited up to the 150K, using a value of at least 12K to fix it with a good rebuilt tranny. The motor didn't give us any major problems once we fixed a sensor or 2, and driven with a feather foot, afforded us 24-26 mpg (and did not require DEF), cruising between 60-65 mph. Maintenance every 10K including the air filter, tires, etc. kept it running well.

IMHO, I would go for the 2006 under 100K, and negotiate the future impending costs to be deducted from the asking price. You won't get it all, but you can use it to lower the price.
The 300K Sprinter diesel engine would put me in a frame of mind that, like the big trucks, 500K miles is usually a marker for performing an engine inframe rebuild, and I don't know what that would cost, but the new motors are around 25K. So, a 300K Sprinter looks to me like a $45,000 maintenance costs in the not so distant future. The 100K or less models looks like about half of that. Again, that's just my opinion.

xiggi · Oct 21, 2012

The older model trans tend to go 350 to 450 k miles. Factory remanned motors on the 08 can be had for around 12500. Before lab9r around 17 with.

New model trans will go at least that and a good remanned is around 3500 if i remember right.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC123 via EO Forums

Turtle · Oct 21, 2012

Average lifespan of an original Sprinter transmission is 350,000 miles. Any that get significantly less than that have been subjected to towing or hauling-weights out of the recommended tolerances, or they have not had their fluids changed at the proper intervals or with the correct fluid. At 183k, another cause was likely a contaminated circuit board inside the tranny housing that could have been solved by dropping the pan and flushing the circuit board. A really lot of transmissions were incorrectly diagnosed as toast and improperly replaced due to that very situation. The overwhelming cause of most Sprinter premature failures can be traced directly to improper maintenance schedules and/on incorrect fluids.

The price of a new OEM dealer transmission at a dealer is $6400 ($8000 at way too many Freighliner dealers, though) including installation, and a newly rebuilt Silverstar with a better warranty than the OEM is $2100 plus about $600 installation.

The price of a new plug-n-play engine (the engine and everything attached to it) is $12,000.

When buying a used Sprinter, detailed maintenance records are a must. If they aren't available, don't buy it, or negotiate the price down by a considerable amount.

skyraider · Oct 21, 2012

Never owned a Sprinter, but I rode in a few. I know what the payments were and I could not sleep nights knowing I was paying a 1000 a month on a new one. There would have to be a lot of freight to make that payment plus insurance and such,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a lot of freight. Don't let your ego override good judgement and car fever so to speak.

xiggi · Oct 21, 2012

You can get a new one for close to 700. Pm.

A little under 800. Is probably closer now that i think about it.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC123 via EO Forums

Turtle · Oct 21, 2012

You can get a new one for close to 700. Pm.<br />
<br />
A little under 800. Is probably closer now that i think about it.<br />
<br />
Sent from my Fisher Price ABC123 via EO Forums

A new what?

The Enemy · Oct 21, 2012

Xiggi was refering to a new Sprinter.

The Enemy · Oct 21, 2012

I bought my 06 brand new in April of 07. From then till July of this year we put roughly 555k miles on it. Besided the general wearable parts such as alternators, belts, pulleys my major repair has been the trans. The trans finally went at roughly 530k miles. I attribute the parts lasting as long as they do to using OEM replacements and sticking to a very stringent maintenance schedule.

If it were My choice, i would go for the 04-06 T1N Sprinter over an 08 model.

As far as paying a higher price for a superior item, I'm sure you think the same about the guy who buys a $25 Million dollar Lear jet, sure he could always fly first class, but its better if you have your own Jet.

coalminer · Oct 21, 2012

Wow, I just bought an 05 long wheelbase model with 367k on it for 6500 cash. It needed a few things, had to change the trans fluid and filter (easiest trans filter I ever changed), had to free up the latches and hinges on the back doors, they were frozen. And will have to change the rear shocks and buy some new tires. From what others have paid for thiers, I think I got a pretty good deal.

One thing to check for sure on the 02 to 06 Sprinter engines is to pop the top plastic cover off of the engine and check for black death, as soon as the the cover comes off, it will be obvious if it is bad, as there will be black junk around the injectors. Now that is fixable, but will be a good way to talk the price down.

OntarioVanMan · Oct 22, 2012

Turtle said:
Average lifespan of an original Sprinter transmission is 350,000 miles. Any that get significantly less than that have been subjected to towing or hauling-weights out of the recommended tolerances, or they have not had their fluids changed at the proper intervals or with the correct fluid. At 183k, another cause was likely a contaminated circuit board inside the tranny housing that could have been solved by dropping the pan and flushing the circuit board. A really lot of transmissions were incorrectly diagnosed as toast and improperly replaced due to that very situation. The overwhelming cause of most Sprinter premature failures can be traced directly to improper maintenance schedules and/on incorrect fluids.

The price of a new OEM dealer transmission at a dealer is $6400 ($8000 at way too many Freighliner dealers, though) including installation, and a newly rebuilt Silverstar with a better warranty than the OEM is $2100 plus about $600 installation.

The price of a new plug-n-play engine (the engine and everything attached to it) is $12,000.

When buying a used Sprinter, detailed maintenance records are a must. If they aren't available, don't buy it, or negotiate the price down by a considerable amount.

Turtles prices are very much right on...just replaced my engine....dealer list price 13,900...I talked them down to 11,900....and 20 hrs labour...

LDB · Oct 22, 2012

Based on what little I know, I'd pick the older one for the much better fuel economy.

FlyingVan · Oct 22, 2012

I also vote for 04-06 T1N.

I am at 515k right now, and besides the wearables, the only thing I changed was the EGR once, ages ago. I guess I run on borrowed time.

FlyingVan · Oct 22, 2012

The Enemy said:
I bought my 06 brand new in April of 07. From then till July of this year we put roughly 555k miles on it. Besided the general wearable parts such as alternators, belts, pulleys my major repair has been the trans. The trans finally went at roughly 530k miles. I attribute the parts lasting as long as they do to using OEM replacements and sticking to a very stringent maintenance schedule.

If it were My choice, i would go for the 04-06 T1N Sprinter over an 08 model.

As far as paying a higher price for a superior item, I'm sure you think the same about the guy who buys a $25 Million dollar Lear jet, sure he could always fly first class, but its better if you have your own Jet.

Nick,
I thought I read on here that you changed the transmission at 513k. Is that correct?