Sprinter for motorhomes £10k max

[HustleRussell]

Trying to help out a friend.

More choice than I thought there would be at £10k.

Is there any particular model or engine that should be avoided?

Does rust continue to be a problem on second generation?

Gut says that total mileage is perhaps less important than the type of use and abuse. Ex-DPD vans for example worth avoiding?

Cheers

[scorcher]

Coloured ones seem to rust less than white ones. They’re all basically the same engine with different power outputs.Ought to be plenty of 313/314’s about.

[HustleRussell]

Interesting about the paint. Looked at probably 15 white ‘14’ and ‘64’ plate ex-DPD vans yesterday and they were all developing rust on the external bodywork pretty much at random. Nothing that threatens the structural parts but enough that the game of ‘whack-a-mole’ has already begun. Will go and look at some non-white ones.

[leggly]

That will be due the drivers not giving a toss about the van. The only thing different is the colour... White vans are a blank canvas, the coloured ones will rust the same given the same treatment.

[reddiesel]

HustleRussell said:

Interesting about the paint. Looked at probably 15 white ‘14’ and ‘64’ plate ex-DPD vans yesterday and they were all developing rust on the external bodywork pretty much at random. Nothing that threatens the structural parts but enough that the game of ‘whack-a-mole’ has already begun. Will go and look at some non-white ones.

I have a few of these vans and I wonder how much of this rust is down to Mercedes and how much is down to poor repair work after DPD Drivers prang them . Perhaps they no longer repair minor bodywork damage , if so it wouldn't surprise me . In comparison to DPD I run a minuscule Business but the sight of almost £30k of Sprinter perhaps a few months old and already badly damaged really gets on my nerves for some reason , if these were my vehicles and the Drivers my Employees I think I would be suicidal , its astounding levels of carelessness and incompetence .

[DirtyHands]

I have a Blue 14 plate and they do still suffer from rust if neglected. They don't rust on their own accord though only through neglect. I tend to go around mine once every couple of months with an airbrush and just blow over the stone chips as they tend to start rusting pretty quickly if left.

[anonymous-user]

Our local Asda was using Mercedes vans, not the Sprinter as such but I guess the front half was much the same.
Two weeks out of three, I had to go and meet them as they had broken down. They were 15/65 plates with 300k miles or more. Totally had it , was the verdict from people I spoke to at Asda.
They now have Fords. I doubt if they will last that long.

[HustleRussell]

reddiesel said:

HustleRussell said:

Interesting about the paint. Looked at probably 15 white ‘14’ and ‘64’ plate ex-DPD vans yesterday and they were all developing rust on the external bodywork pretty much at random. Nothing that threatens the structural parts but enough that the game of ‘whack-a-mole’ has already begun. Will go and look at some non-white ones.

I have a few of these vans and I wonder how much of this rust is down to Mercedes and how much is down to poor repair work after DPD Drivers prang them . Perhaps they no longer repair minor bodywork damage , if so it wouldn't surprise me . In comparison to DPD I run a minuscule Business but the sight of almost £30k of Sprinter perhaps a few months old and already badly damaged really gets on my nerves for some reason , if these were my vehicles and the Drivers my Employees I think I would be suicidal , its astounding levels of carelessness and incompetence .

I don’t suppose you have any for sale? There is upward flexibility in the budget for a good van...

By the way, plenty of filler to be found in the sills, flanks and rear doors of many of the DPD vans...

Edited by HustleRussell on Monday 24th May 11:09

[reddiesel]

HustleRussell said:

I don’t suppose you have any for sale? There is upward flexibility in the budget for a good van...

By the way, plenty of filler to be found in the sills, flanks and rear doors of many of the DPD vans...

Edited by HustleRussell on Monday 24th May 11:09

I have only one van at the moment Russell , a 61 plate with 130,000 miles up and it runs like a swiss watch , new clutch , propshaft and dual mass fly wheel , new tyres and a solitary injector . This solitary injector was the cause of all the other unnecessary expenditure in that the van had a vibration but no warning light . Propshaft we thought and before you knew it you were on a wild goose chase to find the problem . I was given the number of a Mercedes Technician one night and he simply told me the problem over the phone . Injectors normally mean an EML light on a Sprinter but sadly for my wallet not in this case . Its a spare van with excellent Bodywork and I couldn't even tell you what its worth , £5k ? You ask yourself do you need £5k despite the Van being barely used and the answer for some insane reason is No . I must get attached to them lol .

[HustleRussell]

Thanks for the post. I would’ve loved to have had the time to assess the options more completely but she dropped about £13.5k with the vat on one of the ex-DPD vans at the end of last week. I hope it will turn out to be a good base for her project.

[reddiesel]

HustleRussell said:

Thanks for the post. I would’ve loved to have had the time to assess the options more completely but she dropped about £13.5k with the vat on one of the ex-DPD vans at the end of last week. I hope it will turn out to be a good base for her project.

Great news , the good thing is that there are complete conversion kits you can buy for the Sprinter , I dont know if you shall build your own but good luck with the Project .