Sprinter service???

[PSW]

Time to think about a new B and the more I look the more Sprinters I see. Lots going for them IMO.

Here is my concern/question: am I the only one that is concerned about spending that much dough on a new B and then finding such a limited number of places to get it serviced? No problem in many metro areas but once you get out of the larger cities.....????

For example, there is a dealer/service center here in Oklahoma City, one over in Tulsa. The Mercedes site shows NO dealers in Kansas or Arkansas, only in two locations in Missouri, only in the Denver area in Colorado and so on.

And the service is mostly at Freightliner dealers and who do you think will get priority: a guy in a little B motorhome or their commercial customers?

Yes, some independent garages work on them and know what they are doing, but they don't do any warranty work. What if you breakdown or have a problem in many places, particularly in the West, where it may be Albuquerque and the next one north Denver?

Chevy and Ford have someone in most county seat town that can work on them. I was told by one rv Sprinter sales guy that the warranty would allow you to be towed to the next service center. Nice way to spend a trip: being hauled two hundred miles or more.

Any experiences to share?

[chevyman2]

Well I know when Diamler (Benz) owned Chrysler, there were a very limited number of Sprinters sold with the Dodge name. I think most were sold as empty cargo type vans, either way it is a Sprinter under all those Dodge badges. (We do have a delivery driver that visits our business nearly everyday with a Dodge Sprinter).

I think I would contact any local Dodge dealer and just check with them to see if they can/will service the Sprinters.

[overbrook]

PSW wrote:
Time to think about a new B and the more I look the more Sprinters I see. Lots going for them IMO.

Here is my concern/question: am I the only one that is concerned about spending that much dough on a new B and then finding such a limited number of places to get it serviced? No problem in many metro areas but once you get out of the larger cities.....????

I've had two Sprinter motorhomes - a 2006 Winnebago View which I bought new, and a 2005 Great Western Class B I bought with 60,000 miles on it.

I really like the way Sprinters handle, but I had more breakdowns in the two Sprinters than all the other motorhomes (and vehicles) I've owned.

In some cases, I was lucky - close enough to a Dodge dealer to get the work done under warranty.

In other cases, I ended up spending the night in a Dodge parking lots, only to learn the next morning that the required part would be available 4 days later. In other cases, I learned the nearest repair center was more than 100 miles away.

Parts on Sprinters are expensive, and so is the labor. While many Sprinters will go 200,000 with only the recommended maintenance, some won't. And if you break down out in Montana or Wyoming, or many places that we RV travel, you may find yourself stuck for several days waiting for someone to tow you to a dealer.

I learned early on to purchase a scan gauge so I could clear the codes that caused limp home mode in the Sprinter. I also learned to carry spare parts like the turbo resonators, fresh air sensor and spare hoses so I could supply Dodge dealers with parts they didn't have on hand.

It got so bad that I was paranoid about driving my Sprinter RVs, for fear of breaking down again.

I sold the Sprinters, got a Ford based unit, and even though I miss the fuel mileage of the Sprinter, I feel comfortable knowing the Ford is reliable, and if it should break down, I can get parts at autozone, and get it fixed in almost any small town in the world.

Go to http://sprinter-source.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3 and read the messages from other Sprinter owners, and you'll find horror stories about expensive ($5,000 to $10,000) repairs as well as simple problems that cause limp home mode.

Like I said, I love the way the Sprinter drives. But being someone who travels a lot of backroads, I didn't want to be stranded waiting for repairs or parts.

Bill

[applegater]

We drove our first sprinter for 75000 miles and never had to have it towed. We have not had to tow our newer one yet as well. There are now more Mercedes dealers who are sprinter dealers and more are being added. I have heard before on this forum how nice it was when Dodge dealers serviced them. That was not our experience, many Dodge dealers did not service the sprinters and my experience with those that did was not very satisfying. At least three dealers we used only had one sprinter technicians per dealer and if they weren't working that day or loaded up we were out of luck. That is not the case with the Mercedes dealers we have visited. However as David said if you are concerned don't buy one.

[Davydd]

You know the answer already. I'd say if you are concerned then don't buy a Sprinter.

[jjrai]

I have not had trouble finding people to service my 2006 model. But, it has not been under warranty. Your concern is valid. You may want to wait until they start making units based on the Ford Transit and Dodge/Fiat Euro van, which are direct competitors to the Sprinter. I hear that all Ford and Dodge dealers will be required to work on them. Good luck.

[mlts22]

I asked this same exact question a couple years ago. If you can do the scheduled "A" and "B" upkeep, then having a dealer around is not as crucial.

Sprinters are pretty reliable. If they were not, the sprinter-source and other forums would be full of posts about this. As far as I read, if one does the proper upkeep (emptying the DEF tank come oil change time), problems are relatively low, other than the issue with long idling and clogging the DPF (a new DPF costs $3200.)

Right now, one has two choices with "B"s. Buy a Sprinter (Freightliner is taking orders for September delivery on the 2014s), or wait until late this summer to see how the Dodge ProMasters fare, with Winnebago's upfit (The Winnebago Travato). If you have time to wait, I'd see how the Fiat... ahem, Dodge vans fare as class Bs, because in Europe, Ducato vans are the most common motorhome type on the roads there. If you wait until next year, the Ford Transits hit the roads, and they are decent vans as well, although I have yet to read about a "B" maker committing to Transits.

[georgelesley]

No actual experiences (bad anyway) to report, but I have found a truck garage in the nearest city to us, Duluth, MN that does all the UPS & Fedex trucks that use the Sprinter chassis. No warranty work but anything else good to go.

We may find out differently, but from what I have heard from other Sprinter owners if you stay up on the scheduled mx you will likely have few problems. As many as are out there, finding a place to work on it should not be much of a problem.

Now that we have done some travelling in ours, you would be hard pressed to get us out of it.

Good luck

[midnightsadie]

I have one 2007 only thing that broke was a moderator filter, my local dodge dealer does my oil filter, nearest warrenty is 50 miles ,but like me you don,t need them. best rv I ever owned and I,ve had A,s C,s and aB. and I love the leg room and the mpg.