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Dodge Sprinter
My local Freightliner dealer now has the Freightliner Sprinter cargo vans in stock and is expecting one or two Sprinter passenger vans later this month. My question: How do I come up with a fair offer? I know what they want, but can't find any dealer's cost or the like on Edmunds (or any where else?)
Does anyone have any thoughts?
Does anyone have any thoughts?
0
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Corcerning the VW Eurowan, I now have a '90 Vanagon Multivan with the Wesfalia top, and will miss it if we move to a Sprinter. Westflia (which is now partly owned, I believe, by Daimler Chrysler) does make a full RV verson of the Sprinter for Europe (called the Marco Polo or Jim Cook, etc.) If you'r familar with Sportsmobile who did really nice camper conversions for the VW bus way back in the '60's and now do camper conversions of full size Ford, Chevy and
Dodge vans, I did receive email from Sportsmolbe TX that they "plan" to do Sprinter conversions "probably" starting next spring.
The only two issues now holding me back from ordering a Sprinter is (1) being sure that I can get a good wheelchair lift for the side sliding door for the Sprinter (all the wheelchair lifts I've seen in Europe on Spritners are mounted on the rear door); and (2) how to know what a "reasonable" offer is?
Anyway, with an overall height of 74" this means the floor should be way low like only about one foot off the ground which should make it an ideal vehicle for the wheelchair lift and I would have to think a rear wheelchair lift makes sense except that it means most of the floor has to be clear of everything. I also noted the short wheelbase Sprinter is only 184" long (in Germany, maybe US bumpers add a bit) making it a bit shorter than any current US available minivan, but undoubtably it has more useable space than any of them with a ceiling over 1 foot higher than the rest. Dimensionally, it is what I am looking for and I would opt for the passenger van or comparably dimensioned cargo van. The raised roof is out because the 74" high version can fit my garage and most parking garages and it still has amazing head room. Although I can see that for an all-out camper one want the raised roof which allows one to walk upright in the van.
I also like the economy and durability of the direct injection turbo diesel which maintains all of it's power at high altitude.
Which brings us to the only problem, they look a bit expensive. I saw some reference to "starts at about $26K" and another starting from $27K. This probably refered to the smallest basic cargo van. The Sprinter site "sprinter-savvy.com" is not working. Not easy to get much info on the internet - Freightliner needs to get this fixed if they want to market effectively. I got some of my info from the Mercedes Vito site. This is really a breakthrough design.
As far as MSRP, I'll quote from an email I recieved a week or so ago from a TN dealer: "I have one extended van available now. The one I have now is $32,985, the 6 I have coming are priced at $34,560 they have just about every option available."
I haven't seen any clue as the MSRP of a passenger Spritner, but it will be more than a cargo Sprinter.
All said, I am still seriously considering placing an order -just waiting to hear from a wheelchair lift installer to make sure I can do what I need to re two wheelchairs.
My numbers were taken from the Vito site and it really impresses me. Best wishes on the Sprinter. .
Daimler hopes to go from just reassembling Sprinters in the US to manufacturing them here. Also, plans are to eventually make the american "Vito" in the US. Looks like along wait for that Vito that I like so much and by that time it will be the next generation model.
By Diana T. Kurylko
Automotive News / December 10, 2001
Ninety Dodge dealers next year will sell a full-sized Sprinter van built by
Mercedes-Benz and badged as a Freightliner.
DaimlerChrysler will begin looking for a North American plant to build
commercial and passenger versions.
Offering pricey Mercedes-built vehicles to Dodge dealers could undermine the
vaunted Mercedes brand identity. But it's the quickest way for the company to
expand sales of Mercedes full-sized commercial vans in the vast U.S. market.
"Dodge dealers are used to selling the Ram van on price. There will be no deal
of the month with Sprinter," said Tim Reuss, CEO of DaimlerChrysler Vans LLC,
the South Carolina sales and marketing company set up in June. "We will have to
teach them how to sell Sprinter on its attributes and quality."
DaimlerChrysler said that the Sprinter, with a base sticker of $26,300, costs
about 10 percent more than the competition. That's similar to the premium
pricing of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
In addition to a cargo version used for such things as delivery vehicles and
service trucks, a model with bare-bones passenger seating will be offered for
uses such as airport vans.
The van strategy is complex:
a.. Within four years, both the Freightliner Sprinter and the Mercedes-Benz
Vito, the luxurious passenger van sold by Mercedes-Benz dealers worldwide, will
be built in North America, possibly in a new factory. Chrysler has excess
capacity, but it may be more efficient to build from scratch than refurbish an
aging Chrysler group factory.
b.. The Vito will come to some Freightliner and Dodge dealers in the 2004
model year after a major redesign. The Vito is built on the same platform as
the Sprinter, but has a more aesthetic shape and has the luxurious trim and
upscale equipment of a traditional Mercedes-Benz car.
c.. The vehicles will wear "Powered by Mercedes-Benz" badges and have a
high-technology diesel engine used in Mercedes cars in sold in Europe. Thus,
shoppers can buy advanced Mercedes diesel engines at Dodge dealerships.
Dodge needs big vans
The Sprinter and Vito will fill a product gap in the Dodge range. The aging
full-sized 3500 Ram Van range, priced at $21,045 for the Maxi-van version, is
being phased out at the end of 2002 because of declining sales.
The segment is led by Ford Motor Co., whose Econoline and Club Wagon had 45.5
percent share of the market in the first 11 months of 2001.
But DaimlerChrysler is counting on Sprinter product attributes, such as
Mercedes-Benz engineering and safety, an independent front suspension, a
five-speed electronically controlled transmission and a five-cylinder 2.7-liter
common rail diesel engine. The same engine is offered on the Mercedes-Benz C-
and E-class cars and the M-class sport-utility in Europe, with better
fuel-economy than the competition's gasoline engines.
The Sprinter will be offered in three different wheelbases and two heights.
Search starts in January
In January, Mercedes-Benz will begin searching for a site to build both the
Sprinter and Vito beginning in 2006 with an annual capacity of up to 120,000
units. Consideration is being given to using the Chrysler group's Windsor,
Ontario, factory, which assembles the full-sized Dodge Ram Van, said Rolf
Bartke, senior vice president of Mercedes-Benz Vans, the unit in charge of
manufacturing and marketing both vehicles.
"We will probably build a greenfield plant in the U.S. because both Mexico and
Canada require a local content of 62 percent in vehicles built in their
countries. We aren't likely to approach that number for our vans," Bartke said.
Bartke recently met with Chrysler executives at the Windsor plant to discuss
the options.
A new U.S. factory would require an investment of $1 billion - $700 million for
the factory and $300 million for engineering and other costs, said Bartke.
About 4,000, new jobs would be created.
Bartke said the site selection process hasn't begun.
The Sprinter is currently built in Germany and reassembled from kits in
Gaffney, S.C. The Gaffney plant can't assemble more than 20,000 units annually,
Bartke said.
M-B has high U.S. hopes
The vehicles, which are sold everywhere else in the world as Mercedes-Benz
models, debuted for sale this year in the United States with the Freightliner
badge. The first sales were to FedEx Corp., which asked DaimlerChrysler to
export to the United States. FedEx bought 1,900 Sprinters.
The decision to rebadge the vans as Freightliners - the commercial vehicle unit
that makes and sells heavy-duty trucks in the United States - came after
extensive research in which potential customers said they didn't want their
business vehicles wearing the Mercedes-Benz name, said Reuss.
"Florists and cargo carriers said if their customers saw them driving
Mercedes-Benz vehicles, they'd wonder if they were paying too much for their
services," Reuss said. "Mercedes-Benz is regarded as more of a luxury brand in
the U.S. than it is in Europe, where taxis and even big trucks have the name."
Freightliner's dealer network is also being used to sell the Sprinter. By the
end of 200
First Drive: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter
Steve
Host
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I don't think I could ever own a Sprinter though . . . it would never fit in my carport!
I could never imagine owning one for a daily driver. Unless you drive school buses during the day, the sprinter would have to feel like a school bus to drive.
It is my understanding, based on a MotorTrend report, etc., that "some" Dodge dealers will start selling the Sprinter sometime this year "badged" as a Freightliner, and that a Vito model will be coming over in '04.
The Vito will come to the U.S. in 2004 after a redesign makes its debut next year. The Vito, which is slightly smaller than a Dodge Caravan, is built in Spain.
There is a third, smaller van called the Vaneo that has just gone on sale in Europe. At this time, there are no plans for it to come to North America.
Both vans will be marketed and distributed through DaimlerChrysler Vans, LLC. DCV is a business unit similar to the German van unit, but it is not a subsidiary of the Mercedes unit. Ultimately, DCV will have responsibility for all North American van activities, including the Chrysler and Dodge minivans.
DaimlerChrysler is currently looking for a site for a new van assembly facility. Sites under consideration include Jacksonville, Florida, Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Sprinter cargo vans are currently assembled at Freightliner's Custom Chassis operation in Gaffney, South Carolina. A new plant could be operational by 2006.
All Sprinter vans are manufactured in Duesseldorf, Germany. Cargo vans are shipped in "kit" form to Gaffney for final assembly. Passenger vans are shipped over fully assembled. This is due to tariff regulations.
Since I have five kids and there is no more room left in my '96 Caravan, I am seriously considering this as a replacement. Has anyone else purchased or considered one for personal passenger use?
I have not ordered my Sprinter yet, so cannot verify these prices.
The Address Is:
http://www.geocities.com/ghendren/
http://www.geocities.com/freightlinersprintervan/index.html
97 Safari AWD van. This combination has worked out for us except for
the mpg (11). We do a lot of ice fishing with the van and the AWD is
great. It seems that for pulling the Scamp, the Safari is more then
we need and we could get better mileage if we had a different van. I
have been considering the Sprinter as a tow vehicle because of it's
22 MPG. Has anyone considered the Freightliner Sprinter Van as a tow
vehicle?
http://www.sprintersavvy.com/home/index.html
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Also, the article from Edmunds mentions that the Vito will replace the Ram van, not the Sprinter.
http://www.la-strada.de/en/index.htm
Question for yu.....why is it that my link at the 15 passenger vans forum worked yesterday (Roadtreck link shows a GMC van at 30mph crashing into a wall), yet it doesn't in this forum? Everything was done the same way. I don't get it! This computer has a mind of it's own.
Steve, Host
Not the prettiest van, but really, IMHO, none of the current vans or minivans are attractive. It is kinda growing on me. But I REALLY, REALLY dig that small diesel. Finally, a diesel in a passenger vehicle bigger than a jetta and that isn't aimed at the 6000-lb-horse-trailer-towing-crowd. Too bad it doesn't have a manual tranny also. Any idea of the MPG on one of these?
The European and Asian vans are so boring and they make no fun driving them. Ok, the only interesting one is the VW-BUS (you call it vanagon?).
My company vehicle is a Mercedes Vito '96. I am driving this little van since 7 years, every day ---terrible! Its uncomfortable, small (i am 6'3"), has a loud diesel engine, and something is broken all the time. My boss had a Mercedes V (the luxory version of the Vito, a passanger van). It was the most time in the garage because it didnt worked and Mercedes Benz had to take it back.
Its a shame that Dodge/Chrysler cant create a modern, american-looking new van.
Where are the proud Americans? Not in the Chrysler panning office!
In the net i heard about thoughts of Ford, that they talked about the european Ford-Transit-Van!!!
Whats happening over there?!?!
Greetings from Germany
The vehicle was a few years old and was in the US as a German couple toured Canada and US for a few months. The CDI and TDI engines aren't at all like those horrid diesels that Americans remember from the early 80s.
I notice that you created your profile for this post. Maybe you are just trying to get our dander up.
Don't worry. If you want a Dodge Ramvan, there will probably be plenty left over. We'll have them all shipped to you if you want.
i am the driver of the vito. that means iam sitting inside, not outside! :-) and inside its loud!
mercedes diesel sounds terrible like all other european diesels. In our company we have the newest c-class, a-class, vito, and m-class diesel mercedes'. if you hear them comming you think the ups-van is comming!
greetings from germany
PS. the dodge "sprinters" are the same EXACT THING AS A FREIGHTLINER SPRINTER.. THE BADGEING IS CHANGED AND DIFF COLORS....I THINK THE SPRINTER IS SO MUCH NICE AND MORE DURABLE!
pps. TO HunterMan: there are a million configurations, i had to spend a month choosing what i wanted. i have a medium wheel base, and a jumper seat in the back for when i have to take the kids with me. Its great on fuel...and QUIET
How about 450 miles per tank of fuel? Otherwise, I want one too!
I might mention that the UPS regional facility is just down the road from us so we see lots of UPS trucks around here.
http://forums.casitaclub.com/thread_view.cfm?Thread=2840
I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has considered a Sprinter to tow a 2500 pound trailer?
With regards to the Chevy, you are dealing with a 1-ton chassis, a much larger and more powerful engine, and substantially more hauling capacity. I will admit that 10mpg is low and is actually lower than most people that I know get with a Chevy van. I am guessing that either it had problems or you had the 7.4l motor in it which means great power but lousy mileage.
I am not a Chevy apologist, I just don't like one sided stories.
I think that the sprinter will be a great van for you and if you get the diesel motor you should get much better fuel economy. Be a little careful in the wind with its high profile and it should serve you well.