ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Anybody drive/ own a Sprinter

FYI...When I neded a replacement truck, I was pleased with what I saw at the federal government's auction site, www.gsaauctions.com.
I actually ended up with a truck that the POCO surplussed out. Maybe it only gets 9mpg, but it has power to spare, and cost well under $4K.

Any larger online photos of the Sprinter?

Bjarney... www.google.com, click on "images" and type in Dodge Sprinter

There you will find virtually every type, size, colour and variation of Dodge Sprinter available.

Enjoy.

One of the best things is that it is a vehicle actually designed for the abuses of city delivery work. I heard that Fed-Ex people were involved in the design and comitted to a large number of them. The price of admission is a little steep but it will be very dependable, require minimal maintence, and likely last many years. It should still be an economical, serviceable unit 10 or 15 years out. You really have to look at the big picture - like it or not, appearance DOES make a difference, it will have a long life, it is well designed to actually work out of, and its heavy duty enough to do almost anything you'll ask of it.
I think you will see a lot of them as soon as they get production ramped up.

I think the sprinter will outlive it's usefullness. A dedicated work truck tends to get beat up and bumped into when used in the city and may not look very well in ten years after all the abuse.
I am also not sure about it holding up to the constant weight of a work truck. Take a look under the van and it has no frame, unibody, the axle looks very small as well as the front suspension. As a delivery truck I doubt they see the weight a electrician would put in one daily

I have always found that Dodge vans, while very reliable are the least soundly built. Ford and GM have always used a full frame under their full sized vans where Dodge opted for unibody construction. This is probably a factor in their being able to sell them for a lower price but it also means that a hit causes much more serious damage or even a total where the others will survive.

I know that TELCO's use Dodge vans pretty much exclusively but I wouldn't take that as a recommendation. It's probably only because of the lower cost which adds up when you buy by the thousands. FEDEX is probably doing the same thing.

-Hal

hi,
the better you look the more you get paid.

when you interview for a job you dress up right? believe it or not you can actually get more money if you look and act professional..

i may be the hardest working electrician in the world but if i cant meet and greet the public without offending anyone then i am limiting myself..

i always try and put on a shine whn i go to meet a client for a bid or to chat about a job..sometimes it may help to show up looking like you have been doing some work but not like you are desperate!

comb your hair, brush your teeth, put on some smelly stuff, it WILL pay off.

when i first started out i drove everything from a 75 Cheyenne to a buick lesabre to get to and from a job..

now, i would not drive anything that is not late model..

a company truck needs a business name, telephone number and a license number on it in most places..if you have that on the truck it hardly ever matters what the vehicle looks like..i know million dollar companies that still have some pretty old trucks running..BUT they will have a company name on the door...it may have a dent in it but thats ok..it adds charachter!

big fancy rigs cost big bucks..

-regards

mustang


[This message has been edited by mustangelectric (edited 09-30-2004).]

Hbiss, you'l be glad to hear that these Dodge Sprinters are actually rebadged Mercedes Sprinters made in Germany. And FedEx isn't buying these because they are cheaper than any of the other vans, the sticker is around $33,000 and they aren't offering much off. But we will save over $100 per month on fuel cost.

There is a Freightliner Sprinter that is basically the same van and it is assembled in South Carolina.

Wow, I can't believe how much interest has been generated by this van.

For the record, just because its badged a Dodge, means nothing. This is not a Dodge engineered product. The engine is Mercedes Benz and gets amazing fuel mileage.

Car and Driver did a full road test of this van....if you are considering buying one, you may want to read this first... http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=7365

I forgot to mention that the design of the Sprinter just cries out to be a rolling billboard. Some attractively designed graphics and it carries your company name and message everywhere, all the time. If you are service oriented company, that should be a real consideration