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Vans & Minivans Dodge Sprinter Dodge Sprinter
1262 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 4:19 PM
You are in the Dodge Sprinter Forum. Your Host is Karens
| I thought they had postponed production for some time so I am surprised and glad to hear they are out. So, is the Sprinter at your dealer made in the US like originally planned or did they decide to rebadge and ship them from Germany? Mind if ask where this dealer is? I can't wait to check one out. For those new to this topic, the Sprinter is actually a Mercedes TDI van that could well be the foundation of an ultimate camper van (yes, even an improvement over the beloved Eurovan). | |
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jimjps - my local Freighliner dealer is Barton Freightliner in Memphis, TN. I went there last month and they had 10 or so Sprinter cargo vans. They had initially ordered 50 cargo vans, and expected all to arrive sometime last month. While I don't know for sure, I thought that they were asembled in the US. Per the "rumors" that I'm hearing, the trouble is the lack of Freightliner dealers willing to meet the requirements that Daimler Chrysler has for Sprinter dealership (including separate show rooms, etc.). But there seems to be more and more Freightliner dealers starting to handle the Sprinters. I received email from Freightliner of Knoxville stating that they now have several Sprinter cargos in stock, and expect Sprinter passenger vans very soon. 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? |
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I've done a little more research since last posting. Afraid I have little to contribute on determining fair price other than the obvious of starting with the MSRP and see if you can go down from there. What impresses me about this FWD design is the floor to ceiling height (which is the most important dimension for a camper/utility van in my opinion). The lower (not raised) roof van is way beyond any minivan (excluding pop-tops) with a 63" internal height. Compare that to Eurovan ~53" or Odyssey ~50" and the rest are 48" or less. Even the RWD Econolines/Expess vans with their very high floors offer aprox the same internal height as the minivans and yet they are overall higher than even the Sprinter. The Sprinter FWD puts them to shame as far as internal size/external size packaging goes. 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. |
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jimjps - I'm afraid you might be getting some conflicting data on the Sprinter and Vito. The Sprinter that Freightliner will be selling in the US is the rear drive model (I believe Merecedes does have a FWD Sprinter in Europe). The Vito is substantially smaller that the Sprinter - the exterior height of the LOW roof Sprinter is 92 inches (the high roof Sprinter is 101 inches high). We have an 8 foot garage door and it appears that we will be able to garage a low roof Sprinter IF we can do something with the roof mounted radio antenna that they all seem to come with. The only time I got to inspect the cargo Sprinters at my dealer, I did not have a tape measure - however, the floor is quite a bit more than 1 foot off the ground, it look more like 2 feet (definitely more than my '90 VW Vanagon. 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. |
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Well I guess it's the Vito that I'm so excited about and sorry we won't get it, or a close variant. My numbers were taken from the Vito site and it really impresses me. Best wishes on the Sprinter. . |
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Wearing a large unmistakeable Mercedes badge on the front. Maybe the are coming in from Germany instead of S.C.
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Sprinter vans are manufactured in Germany by DaimlerChrysler AG (formerly Daimler-Benz AG) at their factory in Dusseldorf. They are then knocked down and shipped in pieces to the U.S. DaimlerChrysler Vans, LLC is the official (and sole) importer. Once they arrive, the Sprinter vans are reassembled in South Carolina then sold through authorized Freightliner dealers.
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Here's a lot of info I found on another site. Of particular interest - base prices start at 26,300. 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 |
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"The clear performance advantages lay in the handling. The Sprinter didn't feel ungainly, despite its size and hauling capability...." First Drive: 2002 Freightliner Sprinter Steve Host SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards |
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| I saw the Sprinter last spring in Italy and I thought it might make a great platform for a modern version of the VW Camper Van. I then saw a FedEx Sprinter this summer and it renewed my interest. Finally, I saw that they are bringing it here as a Freightliner and I know the cargo version would be perfect as a platform for a pop up camper. I know VW still makes the pop up but it is too "pretty" now that Winnebago took over for Westfalia and too expensive. Am I off or does anyone see this too? | |
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