The confusion of car buying | Page 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

The confusion of car buying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_wdo4ihcd8

If "real People" Chevy dependability.

LOL

Please keep buying T1XX, nothing to see here!

Tell me about it. T1XX has paid a few bills. I want it to be good ... but I gotta call it the way I see it, and it just doesn't impress me. I'm sure they will still sell lots of them.

The other one that has been paying a few bills lately has been JT (and JL not long before that). Jeeps are generally not my cup of tea but this new generation looks very well designed. Production start for JT should be right around now.

Come to think of it, P375 (Ranger) has paid a few bills, too. I like those.
 
I don't follow FCA products but does the ProMaster still have the minivan transmission? When shopping for our fleet the front wheel drive and transmission were huge NO's for me

One of my competitors who has more trucks than me tried one. The thing was in the shop just about every week for one problem or another. He swore never to lease one again and couldn't wait to return it.

I've had no issues with mine. And I bought it because of the front wheel drive ... which allows a lower load floor ... which makes for easier loading and unloading of bikes.

For what it's worth, transmission problems on these appear to be rare. There's a recall on some 2015 and 2016 models because of a clearance issue in the oil pump.

The Transits, on the other hand, are ALL being recalled (2015 - 2017) because Ford cheaped out and used a flexible coupling to connect the transmission to the drive shaft, instead of a proper universal joint.

20170708_150819-1-L.jpg

caution: 82 page thread ... https://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/ford-transit-general-discussion/48225-driveshaft-recall.html

There is no enormous thread dedicated to 62TE transmission failures on the Promaster forum. (Very few problems have been reported)
 
LOL



Tell me about it. T1XX has paid a few bills. I want it to be good ... but I gotta call it the way I see it, and it just doesn't impress me. I'm sure they will still sell lots of them.

The other one that has been paying a few bills lately has been JT (and JL not long before that). Jeeps are generally not my cup of tea but this new generation looks very well designed. Production start for JT should be right around now.

Come to think of it, P375 (Ranger) has paid a few bills, too. I like those.


Yes we have JT about to start up as well. Are you into any of the CX482/483 or the U625/611?
 
I don't follow FCA products but does the ProMaster still have the minivan transmission? When shopping for our fleet the front wheel drive and transmission were huge NO's for me

One of my competitors who has more trucks than me tried one. The thing was in the shop just about every week for one problem or another. He swore never to lease one again and couldn't wait to return it.
I also bought because of the front wheel drive, no transmission issues just stupid electrical problems works like a champ just made with poor electrical components and bad design.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I've had no issues with mine. And I bought it because of the front wheel drive ... which allows a lower load floor ... which makes for easier loading and unloading of bikes.

For what it's worth, transmission problems on these appear to be rare. There's a recall on some 2015 and 2016 models because of a clearance issue in the oil pump.

The Transits, on the other hand, are ALL being recalled (2015 - 2017) because Ford cheaped out and used a flexible coupling to connect the transmission to the drive shaft, instead of a proper universal joint.

View attachment 39606

caution: 82 page thread ... https://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/ford-transit-general-discussion/48225-driveshaft-recall.html

There is no enormous thread dedicated to 62TE transmission failures on the Promaster forum. (Very few problems have been reported)

All 3 of our Transits went in for the recall. No big deal,. They got repaired easily at no cost with all new parts as they were due for their routine maintenance anyway. The transit does Like to eat rear brakes but that's a cheap service. Rotors are always fine, just new pads. That transit forum you reference is a great source of information for me in the past. Apparently the Ford engineers biased the braking system more to the rear hence the rear pads wearing out quicker. Would be nice of they allowed adjustable bias.

Zero issues with any of them with the oldest being a first year 2015 model. Our 2014 Sprinter on the other hand..... Won't be buying another one of those again.

Since we are on the subject. The old E series were amazing vehicles. We still have two in the fleet, one with 500k on it and still runs ok on original engine despite it's hard service life including towing.

Long live Ford trucks.
 
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All 3 of our Transits went in for the recall. No big deal,. They got repaired easily at no cost with all new parts as they were due for their routine maintenance anyway. The transit does Like to eat rear brakes but that's a cheap service. Rotors are always fine, just new pads. That transit forum you reference is a great source of information for me in the past. Apparently the Ford engineers biased the braking system more to the rear hence the rear pads wearing out quicker. Would be nice of they allowed adjustable bias.

Zero issues with any of them with the oldest being a first year 2015 model. Our 2014 Sprinter on the other hand..... Won't be buying another one of those again.

Since we are on the subject. The old E series were amazing vehicles. We still have two in the fleet, one with 500k on it and still runs ok on original engine despite it's hard service life including towing.

Long live Ford trucks.

It is interesting peoples experiences with vehicles, I currently have 9 Sprinters in the fleet and other than routine maintenance have had zero issues with them.

Wouldn't hesitate in the least to buy another one tomorrow.

I tried to buy a Transit in Nov '14 when the were first showing up at dealers but I couldn't find a dealer that had one in stock that I could drive. They were all either sold orders or had that first transmission recall and were not able to be test driven. I was not going to order a custom van without driving it first. I just wanted to look at a different dash board after putting 330k on a '08 Sprinter and 405k on a '10. Ended up with a '15 Sprinter. Still in the fleet, 347k on the clock, runs like a top.



Ended up with a '15 Sprinter
 
My first new GM was an 1980 Buick
- the passenger window dropped out of the channel the first day
- it ran fine until the lease was up but paint would flake off the roof in spots for no reason
Next 1983 Buick Skylark X car with documented history of deliberate GM defect cover ups Defective brakes and steering
Then an 1985 Cavalier. Other than the starter bolts once snapping and leaving me stranded it was OK
1987 Chev Celebrity Good car other than they missed honing one cylinder and it burnt oil. A/C line ran where it rubbed on something and caused a failure
1997 Astro van, came from factory with a defective differential but after a week of dealer tinkering it served me well other than a fuel starvation issue because of a defective fuel sensor not designed for North American fuels
1997 Chev Uplander Leaky water pump right from the factory but served well afterwards
2004 GM Safari Exhaust vibration problems right from the start but served well after being fixed.

The bottom line is that the vehicles were generally good (X car excepted) but quality control sucked.
 
Rust scared me away from the Sprinter. They rust everywhere. Rust starting in the middle of body panels means the paint process is wrong. The rust process persisting through >10 years and two body styles means they're seemingly not interested in fixing it. This is bizarre coming from Mercedes-Benz.
 
Is it poor paint process or contaminents in the steel? It looks like badly sourced sheet metal on the sprinters, like recycled metals. The rust blooms in the center of a panel look like they start under the paint.

Its a really big concern in the RV market with van conversions. Paying $189,K for a rust bucket isn't fun.
 
It is interesting peoples experiences with vehicles, I currently have 9 Sprinters in the fleet and other than routine maintenance have had zero issues with them.

Wouldn't hesitate in the least to buy another one tomorrow.

I tried to buy a Transit in Nov '14 when the were first showing up at dealers but I couldn't find a dealer that had one in stock that I could drive. They were all either sold orders or had that first transmission recall and were not able to be test driven. I was not going to order a custom van without driving it first. I just wanted to look at a different dash board after putting 330k on a '08 Sprinter and 405k on a '10. Ended up with a '15 Sprinter. Still in the fleet, 347k on the clock, runs like a top.



Ended up with a '15 Sprinter


Do you take them to M-B dealers for maintenance? the ones around here are all clueless.


As for going with a Sprinter, I do believe many are swayed by the badge on the front grille. In 2014, we needed another van, and I knew the Transit was coming, but not available yet and didn't want to get a now dated E series. So we bought a Sprinter to try. What swayed me was the sweet 4 cyl diesel power train with 7 spd auto. it seemed like a winning combination and proven power train. On top of that, they offered 3 years, 60Km FREE maintenance.

Sorry to say, but we experienced all kinds of problems with it starting in the first year. problems with sensors, oil leaks, air condition failing, mystery lights on the dash lighting up, problems with the emmission system, and Im sure others I can't think of right now.

When researching this van, I was impressed with its "20,000km" service interval. But what they don't tell you is that every time you take it in, they find something wrong with it, and I leave with a thousand dollar invoice.


With the Transits, i spend $60 on an oil change, and the odd $200 for a brake job once in a while. Other than that, they have been flawless.


Rust has not been an issue thus far on the Sprinter, if I did my research correctly at the time, they "fixed" the rust issue starting from 2014 model, otherwise I wouldn't have bought one. If I recall, they started using galvanized metal or pretreated it somehow, and they sprayed rustproofing on the inside of the panels I think. I can't remember full details, but the description seemed like they took proper steps to stop the rust.




Sorry, but my Sprinter experiment is done, won't touch one again. We went with an 2018 Transit this year, and will definitely be buying more in the future.
 
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A buddy repairs a lot of Sprinters and says you really have to know where to get parts. MB prices are Mind Boggling.
 
MB prices are Mind Boggling.

Their 2GB SD card for the NAV unit is only $59 (USD). I guess the star on it's label is worth the extra $54.01 :confused:

194bjljjw3wiljpg.jpg
 
Rust scared me away from the Sprinter. They rust everywhere. Rust starting in the middle of body panels means the paint process is wrong. The rust process persisting through >10 years and two body styles means they're seemingly not interested in fixing it. This is bizarre coming from Mercedes-Benz.
Paint issues in the older Sprinters for sure. Very poor paint process with very thin paint. On our '08 and '10 all of the rust was surface rust caused by paint chips. Neither of those vans rusted all that badly because we actually wash them on a semi regular basis. If you got close you could see small rust spots above the windshield but from 15 feet away it looked okay. Not like most of the regular beat up company Sprinters that never get washed and have giant cancerous spots of rust on them. That is neglect.

All of our Sprinters newer than '15 have had no issues with rust spots what so ever, but again they get washed regularly.

Is it poor paint process or contaminents in the steel? It looks like badly sourced sheet metal on the sprinters, like recycled metals. The rust blooms in the center of a panel look like they start under the paint.

Its a really big concern in the RV market with van conversions. Paying $189,K for a rust bucket isn't fun.


Super thin paint on the Sprinters. Like just enough to turn the metal the intended colour. I have no idea why they would have cheaped out like that. Very disapointing.

Do you take them to M-B dealers for maintenance? the ones around here are all clueless.


As for going with a Sprinter, I do believe many are swayed by the badge on the front grille. In 2014, we needed another van, and I knew the Transit was coming, but not available yet and didn't want to get a now dated E series. So we bought a Sprinter to try. What swayed me was the sweet 4 cyl diesel power train with 7 spd auto. it seemed like a winning combination and proven power train. On top of that, they offered 3 years, 60Km FREE maintenance.

Sorry to say, but we experienced all kinds of problems with it starting in the first year. problems with sensors, oil leaks, air condition failing, mystery lights on the dash lighting up, problems with the emmission system, and Im sure others I can't think of right now.

When researching this van, I was impressed with its "20,000km" service interval. But what they don't tell you is that every time you take it in, they find something wrong with it, and I leave with a thousand dollar invoice.


With the Transits, i spend $60 on an oil change, and the odd $200 for a brake job once in a while. Other than that, they have been flawless.


Rust has not been an issue thus far on the Sprinter, if I did my research correctly at the time, they "fixed" the rust issue starting from 2014 model, otherwise I wouldn't have bought one. If I recall, they started using galvanized metal or pretreated it somehow, and they sprayed rustproofing on the inside of the panels I think. I can't remember full details, but the description seemed like they took proper steps to stop the rust.




Sorry, but my Sprinter experiment is done, won't touch one again. We went with an 2018 Transit this year, and will definitely be buying more in the future.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. That has not been my case at all. Having worked on the shop floor at dealers for ~15 years I can say their are certainly just some vehicles that are doomed from day 1. At first you would just say it must be the driver if it's constantly breaking down, but I have had customers with good histories get a new truck and have nothing but problems until they switch.


Yes always goes to the dealer for service. That's one thing about German vehicles. They want their maintenance schedule followed exactly and will provide excellent service life if done.

The Mississauga standalone Sprinter dealer is the only one I have used for service for the last 5 years. I have been happy with them, but I have also worked with some of the staff at another dealership so maybe they treat me better. They certainly are the only dealer that seems to understand how a commercial vehicle has a different level of service expectation than a personal car. Never had to deal with them for oddball service repairs since I have never required any. Other than wear items the only repair my trucks have ever needed was a DEF heater for one of the vans. It was fixed the same day I dropped it off with no appointment.



I have 3 trucks with the 4cl/8spd combo. It's fantastic. Wish I could have gotten another one of them, but they don't sell the 4cl anymore. Apparently it's emissions programming department employed some VW engineers...

4cyl is a 30k oil change interval with the first 2 free if you financed it through MB finance, which I always do and then immediately pay off. The cost of financing if you pay it off on the 2nd payment is still far less than the value of the 2 services.

A buddy repairs a lot of Sprinters and says you really have to know where to get parts. MB prices are Mind Boggling.
MB prices are surprising.. Some items are super expensive, but other items are head scratchingly cheap. Overall I don't find the prices to be out of line with other manufactures. Super goofy promotional items aside.

For example, I can get 4 rotors, 2 sets of brake pads and hardware kits for a Sprinter all genuine MB parts for less than 1 GM rotor for a 3500 G-van.
 
Im pretty sure the 4cyl diesels have 7sp not 8. unless they added another gear in later years?

wheres this sprinter standalone in mississauga? I'll try them next for service.

I see the 2019 sprinters now have a 4cyl gas engine with 9spd auto to start, I would have chose that if they offered it back in 2014
 
Im pretty sure the 4cyl diesels have 7sp not 8. unless they added another gear in later years?

wheres this sprinter standalone in mississauga? I'll try them next for service.

I see the 2019 sprinters now have a 4cyl gas engine with 9spd auto to start, I would have chose that if they offered it back in 2014

Sorry you are correct it is 7spd. My wife's car is the 8spd.

The standalone Sprinter store is at 765 Boyer Blvd, west of Mavis north of Brittiana, behind the car dealership fronting on Boyer.

I had my eye on the new gasser, but no one has one in stock yet and I didn't have time to order and wait. Jan and Feb are the only slowish time of the year for us. Maybe next time. Also the '19's exterior has been updated and changed a bit. It looks like the back is still the same but I already had a full set of interior racks and shelves made up to fit the current body style. Didn't want to risk it not fitting properly.
 
2019 Sprinter is a full redesign but one article I found says this: "But the automaker is keeping the dimensions of the cargo space the same. That’s seen as a plus for all the so-called upfitters – third parties that customize the vans for specific types of businesses and uses. The new vehicle will require only minimal changes in engineering specifications, keeping the cost of modifications in check."

https://www.trucks.com/2018/02/06/mercedes-2019-sprinter-van/
 

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