Rusty Mercedes Sprinters
Discussion
Brinyan said:
Willy Nilly said:
We get couriers in umpteen times every day and they don't half beat their vans to death.Some of them are spectacularly knackered with dents just about anywhere on the vehicle.
Sprinters do stand out as always being rusty, like they buy their paint from The Early Learning Centre. We bought one that was on about 250,000 when the previous owner bought it and about 350 when we inherited. It limped on to about 455,000 with most of the original components getting replaced. It went like stink though.
They may well rust, but they've certainly got some go in them. Don't think there's many times I've ventured into the outside lane and not had a Sprinter appear behind me.Sprinters do stand out as always being rusty, like they buy their paint from The Early Learning Centre. We bought one that was on about 250,000 when the previous owner bought it and about 350 when we inherited. It limped on to about 455,000 with most of the original components getting replaced. It went like stink though.
They also get driven with, err, a rather liberal approach to the legalities of driving. Often wondered if the rust was caused by the heat of re-entrysleepera6 said:
That's because VW build the California, to their own quality specifications. As a result the build quality, sticker price and resale price is much better on a proper build than panel van conversion.
They may well do, but the question was over the quality of Spinter motorhome /campervans.sleepera6 said:
TVR Sagaris said:
... Are everywhere.
When was this taken ?!That Sprinter has been off the road since early 2013! SORN'ed as well.
The driver is a naughty boy..
So it may just be an old photo.
finlo said:
sleepera6 said:
That's because VW build the California, to their own quality specifications. As a result the build quality, sticker price and resale price is much better on a proper build than panel van conversion.
They may well do, but the question was over the quality of Spinter motorhome /campervans.
DoctorX said:
Vans in general really. Is the finish, rustproofing on a Cali better than a transporter? Is that new Merc Marco Polo camper which looks rather swish going to be a pile of dust in a few years like the base vans appear to be?
Motorhomes in general tend to live pampered lives and cover very few miles.We have several Vw crafters and Mercedes sprinters in work for use as service vans, they lead a fairly hard life.
The oldest van is a 2008 sprinter, she is completely rotten, thankfully she is being retired at the end of the month.
She has 240 thousand miles, on her second engine and gearbox, multiple exhausts, the rear and side doors are completely rotten, and the paintwork has been touched up numerous times.
Unlike the Ford transit, sprinter seems to rot from the inside out, the seams on the doors are first to go and once they start there is no stopping the rust.
Good driving vans but I'd never buy a second hand one over 5years old!
The oldest van is a 2008 sprinter, she is completely rotten, thankfully she is being retired at the end of the month.
She has 240 thousand miles, on her second engine and gearbox, multiple exhausts, the rear and side doors are completely rotten, and the paintwork has been touched up numerous times.
Unlike the Ford transit, sprinter seems to rot from the inside out, the seams on the doors are first to go and once they start there is no stopping the rust.
Good driving vans but I'd never buy a second hand one over 5years old!
It's certainly not all vans - Mercedes have always been particularly bad - although as mentioned they do tend to cover more miles.
VW T4 / T5 don't rust anything like as much - my T4 has a few scabs where stonechips have been left for years but I'm talking three or four not the hundreds you'll see on a similar age Merc
VW T4 / T5 don't rust anything like as much - my T4 has a few scabs where stonechips have been left for years but I'm talking three or four not the hundreds you'll see on a similar age Merc
Stone chips at 160 mph take their toll.
As a youngster, in my first job I used to go out for the day with the van driver as part of my training, was ace, that was a Merc van, empty it didnt half move and he could drift it nicely, he also introduced me to the majesty of the Donner Kebab on a lunch stop.
As a youngster, in my first job I used to go out for the day with the van driver as part of my training, was ace, that was a Merc van, empty it didnt half move and he could drift it nicely, he also introduced me to the majesty of the Donner Kebab on a lunch stop.
TVR Sagaris said:
VW LTs and Crafters appear to have suffered exactly the same fate
I've heard that this is the key reason why VW Group ended the large van partnership with Daimler Benz. The new Crafter is a 100% VW product, as opposed to the previous model that was essentially a Sprinter with a VW engine, lights and grille, and built by Daimler Benz.
OldGermanHeaps said:
I think trafics never rust because the wiring looms and most of the electrical components act as a sacrificial anode protecting the bodywork.
I know my neighbour would agree, after several big Sprinters he downsized and got a Traffic and has had endless problems with the electrics.Mr2Mike said:
OldGermanHeaps said:
I think trafics never rust because the wiring looms and most of the electrical components act as a sacrificial anode protecting the bodywork.
I know my neighbour would agree, after several big Sprinters he downsized and got a Traffic and has had endless problems with the electrics.Never mind the electrics, I was driving a 16 plate Vivaro (Traffic with a Vauxhall badge!) hire van with 7.5k miles on it down the M5 last Friday and as I was approaching a queue I went to change down to fifth and for some reason it decided it didn't want to have a clutch anymore, the pedal was on the floor. I got my foot underneath the pedal and lifted it back up, pumped it a few times and it came back and was fine for the rest of the day, a new van shouldn't be doing things like that shirley?
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