Sprinter life expectancy

[OntarioVanMan]

I to like the room in a Sprinter and have had the opprotunity to ride in a few, and have been in a box truck that was set up nicely, both are good, its a lifestyle of likes and dislikes too.

Exactly..the price one is willing to pay for comfort...I stay out 5-7 weeks....so my comfort is important....

 

[Steady Eddie]

No one really knows the Life Expectancy of a Sprinter, faily new here. 300,000 miles should be a very easy mark to hit. I will hit 600,000 in the next few months, Tranny, Intercooler, and a starter. I replaced the Alt for a bigger amp one, carry it as a spare or if someone needs it. As you can see, you will get a lot of replies from "Sprinter Want-a-Be's".

Yes they cost more, but you make more. A cargo Van is the bottom of the gen pool in hauling freight. (Bottom Feeders)

Do not take short cuts on PM's! Do not add any additives to the enigne, tranny, or fuel.

 

[Brisco]

Now if I was to crunch the numbers based on mpg at a 1,500 mile week the CV getting 15 mpg and the sprinter getting 20 mpg my savings would be 50.00 to 100.00 dollars a week depending on the CV being gas or diesel.

And this is where you need to seriously research even further before making any decision on what vehicle it is you plan to purchase.

At figures above, with "unit" staying out a full 50 weeks out of the year, that's only a $2500-$5000 difference. Now let's say you need some major maintenence done. We'll go with the worst possible tragedy here.....you blow a motor. Motor replacement for the Sprinter, $10K-$12K, new long block for a V8, maybe $2500. Plus, you'll find there's probably a 100 to 1 ratio when comes to finding shops that can replace that V8 motor over shops that can replace that Sprinter motor. So, in reality, is that 5 MPG savings really worth it in the long run???

Think Hard about your decision.............

 

[aileron]

I am working on adding up all my expenses and fuel costs and mileage and parts and everything that went on my van for the 400k miles. I added it up a few years ago and what I saved in fuel cost over a v8 gasser would have paid for a blown engine and transmission. And the higher the fuel price gets, the more I keep saving. I would not buy a gasser ever. I will probably start a new thread in the truck talk in the next week or two.

 

[scottm4211]

My mpg avg over 300k in my 4.8 Chev gasser is 18.6.
62 mph all the way.

 

[tbcabs]

I have 426000 on mine..... BUT I also have a new motor and tranny..... BUT that is cause of drivers that dont treat equipment right...... I know a friend of mine just traded his in and he had over 800000 on his

 

[westmicher]

We fully believe that, if everyone were completely truthful, virtually all failures of Sprinter lubricated parts are because of unapproved lubricants and/or exceeding the recommended lifespan of the lubricants. We always use Mobil 1 oil, change the engine, transmission, and rear end oils as recommended. If you own a Sprinter, you absolutley must do that or you will be buying new of each pretty soon. We adding a tranmission cooler as well, just to be on the safe side. Our advice is that if you can't keep a rigid lubricant replacement schedule with the reccommended lubricants, NEVER own a Sprinter!

 

[flattop40]

Not a sprinter but I have 420k on my '07 Ford gasser. New starter, alternator, and converters are the only non-typical repairs done.

PM is a MUST!!!!

 

[purgoose10]

It's really personnel preference. If you take care of what your driving it will take care of you.

 

[NorthernBill]

Not to long ago a sprinter owner stated $.08 all in at 200,000 miles.

Any one else have the cost per mile on maintance they could share?

 

[aileron]

Not to long ago a sprinter owner stated $.08 all in at 200,000 miles.

Any one else have the cost per mile on maintance they could share?

I will have that available by the weekend. That, and fuel cost per mile. I am curious too. But I suspect my maintenance is a lot less than 8 cents per mile. Stay tuned.

 

[jeff4637]

Thanks NorthernBill, thats definitely a number to be crunched. The one thing that remains the same in the transportation industry every thing boils down to per mile. From point A to point B is X amount of miles. The vehicle gets X amount of MPG,The oil has to be changed at X miles,and so on and so on. My brother is an O/O his figure was .10 per mile for an 18 wheeler. Thanks again to all, Jeff

 

[Brisco]

Originally Posted by NorthernBill
Not to long ago a sprinter owner stated $.08 all in at 200,000 miles.

Originally Posted by jeff4637
My brother is an O/O his figure was .10 per mile for an 18 wheeler.

If both of these figures are referring to "MPG", then somebodys figure is wayyyyyyyy off!!!!

18 wheeler - might average 6 MPG.

Sprinter - might average 20 MPG Plus.

One of the 2 above needs to recheck their mathetimatttics.

 

[scottm4211]

If both of these figures are referring to "MPG", then somebodys figure is wayyyyyyyy off!!!!

18 wheeler - might average 6 MPG.

Sprinter - might average 20 MPG Plus.

One of the 2 above needs to recheck their mathetimatttics.

Those numbers were for maintenance.

 

[jeff4637]

You may have misunderstood we were talking about maintenance per mile not fuel

 

[Brisco]

Still way off............

Oil changes for 18 wheelers - $135 (??)

Sprinter - what - $60 (??)

Tires for 18 wheelers - $400 a piece (??)

Sprinter - $100 (??)

OR....

Is one trying to say here that the CPM for a Sprinter owner when it comes to maintenance is right up there with the big rigs?????

If so, question as to which vehicle, Sprinter or CV, is most economical to run OTR should be easily answered with these comparisons alone.

 

[jjoerger]

Still way off............

Oil changes for 18 wheelers - $135 (??)

Sprinter - what - $60 (??)

Tires for 18 wheelers - $400 a piece (??)

Sprinter - $100 (??)

OR....

Is one trying to say here that the CPM for a Sprinter owner when it comes to maintenance is right up there with the big rigs?????

If so, question as to which vehicle, Sprinter or CV, is most economical to run OTR should be easily answered with these comparisons alone.

A full PM on our straight truck is around $250.

 

[aileron]

Still way off............

Oil changes for 18 wheelers - $135 (??)

Sprinter - what - $60 (??)

Tires for 18 wheelers - $400 a piece (??)

Sprinter - $100 (??)

OR....

Is one trying to say here that the CPM for a Sprinter owner when it comes to maintenance is right up there with the big rigs?????

If so, question as to which vehicle, Sprinter or CV, is most economical to run OTR should be easily answered with these comparisons alone.

Dealers rip you off. I have heard of $400 oil changes for new sprinter. However, I do all maintenance myself. Save lots of money that way.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Good Lord....cost per mile for maintenance?

What per say would ever this number be good for as it would be an after the fact number?

You'll know when it costs too much...you'll be broke....

I've lived 11 years without this number and have many more ahead of me....Red Box has some good movie deals ya know...

 

[jeff4637]

I'm just a newbie here.and I'm just trying to make an educated descion before I throw a career away that once done I cannot go back. I'm not looking to start some kind of internet arguement. I drove tractor trailer for 10 years as far as oil changes from what I've read the mileage between is way different between sprinter/cv than an 18 wheeler so posting price differance has no bearing. And while some people don't keep track or don't care what they pay for maintance is their business. The bottom line is if you can't make dollars it don't make (cents) sense. I'm 50+years old I have a 401k,and savings that I'm not willing to part with to put a transmission in a vehicle unless I know I can recoupe it. Maybe this is just a pipe dream and I don't belong here. Thank you all for your input.