i would have to disagree just based on the amount of those heinous looking mercedes sprinter passenger vans sold. i dont miss working on those terribly made horribly engineered crap cans!

i would love to see everyone switching back over to a ford transit! i am excited to see one up close.

 

Were they actually made by Mercedes? Or made by Dodge and a MB grille installed? I am not a MB fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I find it hard to believe they would make anything that was horribly engineered.

Jim

 

You have to remember, BMW and Mercedes are crap cars in Europe.

 

That would explain why you see so many of them as taxi cabs.

Jim

 

the sprinter vans are 100% mercedes, which in 2002 was Daimler chrysler owned along with dodge and freightliner.

since the split of daimler and chrysler, the mercedes sprinters are now produced by daimler vans, a subsidiary of daimler, who owns mercedes.

the badging was the only thing that was not mercedes, however eventhe badging was made by mercedes it just had somebody elses name on it.

as for the crap engineering, i had many customers who though just like you. "Mercedes wouldnt do that" was my favorite and most used reply by my customers when i had to explain to them what broke and why...for the 4th time in 20,000 miles.

we had SEVERAL lemon law lawsuits per month, unfortunately for the customers the lemon laws for a sprinter are those that would apply to a commercial vehicle, not a mercedes 2 door coupe. the commercial lemon laws are VERY well catered to the manufacturer, for good reasons, but i think a sprinter van (or E-350) should adhere to the same rules as a mercedes SUV (or F-150) because other than the overal shape of the sheetmetal the electronics, controls, and drivetrain are identical.

we also serviced the mercedes cars (not allowed to do warranty work on them, but we had a lot of fleet owners with more money than brains) and they were equally unimpressive when it came to quality and overall reliability.

a good friend of mine is a BMW mechanic, he has stories just like me.

my fathers family loves VW....i get to fix them. add them to the list of CRAP *** german junkers.

 

Interesting to say the least. Learned something new today.

Jim

 

I dont like those.

 

Not as bad as I thought it would be. I would love one with a turbo diesel but I wont hold my breath.

 

If you look at Consumer Reports reliability ratings, the newer Mercedes and BMW cars are not doing so well. IMO the Germans used to build the best cars in the world; I still have my '91 BMW 318is, which is a wonderful driving, and relatively simple car. But the massively complex BMW's and Mercedes of today are scary--I believe that even Hyundais are less trouble prone...

Once they started adding tons of electronics to cars, and Mercedes and BMW got competition in the form of Lexus and Acura, they started building "to a price" more than they ever used to, and nobody does electronics as well as the Japanese. Germany used to make the best cameras in the world, and totally gave that market to the Japanese in the 1970's. (Kind of like Switzerland giving the watch market to the Japanese because they thought electric watches were a gimmick.) VW still has some great finish quality and their cars drive great, but their electronics suck eggs...

I think the Sprinter could be a great van if Mercedes could price it at about $70k...but they can't.

I actually looked at Sprinters in 2003 when I bought our 2002 E150 (which will be my last big van). My next van will either be a minivan (which are no longer made in America with the exception of Chrysler--and their QC scares me) or possibly a new Transit. Problem is that I will not be spending $35 grand for a new van. The Transit Connect is appealing and hits the right price point, but I'd prefer it to be long enough to hold a 4x8 sheet of something...or at least a bit longer than 6 feet behind the front seats. And I'd rather buy an American made van than a Turkish one.

George

 

??? No they're not. Common yes, because they're good.

 

I can refrase that: "Merecedes and BMW offer base model cars in Europe." And I do think they're crap. Haha. We all have our preferences.

 

from what i gather the full size transit will be built in Kansas city. No diesel,front wheel drive and rear wheel models.the E series will be done at the end of 2014 as of now.I still dont see this new van as a family car.I for one would not want to be seen taking my family out to eat in this ugly thing.It only seems fitting to use this van as a work van loaded with ladders and tools.If they really cancel the E series I think Ford is making a mistake.

 

You obviously haven't driven one. The Econoline is dated seventies rubbish in comparison. The new Transit will be better looking too. No one uses them as family cars in Europe either. It's a working truck/van/bus.

 

its ugly.....but are you saying the econoline is, pretty??? i have seen plenty of the passenger sprinter vans, they are still ugly but plenty of people buy them and use them.

function over fashion.

 

I dont plan to ever drive one.If ford stops making the e van then I will look to another maker like chevy. 4 kids 1 dog and a camper = v8 E series for now. Try that with 4cylinder transit euro snob