Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 14:12:24 -0400
Reply-To: "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Outside magazine article Vanagon/Sprinter content
In-Reply-To: <B8B5560A-42BB-48FA-BB97-1829E9B65139@comcast.net>
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Here is the problem I have. If you own a Sprinter in their native habitat
of Europe or the United States it might not be too bad. But if you want to
travel with one through Mexico, down through Central America or South
America, I would not do this. Or if my USA travels took me to the backside
of no where all the time.
Here is a common problem that is minor in a Vanagon and major in a Sprinter.
You leave your radio or some interior light on all night by mistake. You
wake up the next morning and your vehicle battery is low or dead. With a
Vanagon manual, get a push start and you are up and running, or if you have
an automatic, get a jump from another camper or go buy a new battery and
install it or jump off of it.
Sprinter, have van towed to nearest Mercedes dealership, have Mercedes
recharge or replace battery. Van must be hooked up to Mercedes factory
computer tool and ECU needs to be reflashed to key in ignition. This is
not a speculation, this happened to an owner that I know. Except his
Sprinter was in Belize so we had to remove the ECU and the keys, send them
to a place in Washington state that specializes in this problem, have the
ECU installed into a Sprinter there, and have the keys resynced with the
ECU, send these parts back to Belize, reinstall in the van, and it would
finally start and run. It only took a few months to accomplish all of this
mailing things back and forth, etc.
And that is just one example. I am not even going to start on the fact
that diesel filters need to be changed constantly, they are expensive,
diesel service needs to be done very regularly, diesel fuel quality needs
to be top notch where ever you go (forget going south of the border
folks). It goes on and on. The expense of the parts is very high and if
you get an early sprinter, they are very difficult to get. I was trying to
get parts for the same guys Freightliner Sprinter. I called Mercedes.
Nope we don't support it, call FL. Called FL, nope we don't support it
either. Finally got some of the parts from Chrysler dealership, but they
didn't have access to everything.
Vanagons are way easier to work on, none of this computer that has to be
logged on to Mercedes factory in Germany junk, and the parts are much
easier to get and less expensive.
Just my experience with them. My brother had one that I worked on for
him. He saw the writing on the wall when a simple brake job was $800 in
parts alone. I see them being driven everywhere by fedex and plumbers, but
I don't know how they are getting to work on them or get the parts from.
It is a real frustration.
Ken
On Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 1:52 PM, OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@comcast.net> wrote:
> I've owned 3 Westys since 1979 ~ a '76, an '83.5 (Which I bought
> new ~ 'twas the 1st 1 in NM I was told)
>
> & my current '90 ~ I Love them for what they are CapableOf ~ Not 'cause
> they are a VW ~ I would actually Love
>
> them if they were a Ford or Chevy or Chrysler ~ There Simply HasNot&IsNot
> anything else on the road that will
>
> do what they can do ~ If you just want to travel the Hi'ways & "Camp" in
> "Camp"grounds there are probably lots
>
> of Other & Probably Better choices out there ~ Sure, the Astro/Safari
> PopTops may come somewhat close ~ But
>
> there are Places that I have been in my 2WD Westys that I AmSure an Astro
> could not have gotten to (I own a
>
> '96Astro & Have driven it to some AmazingPlaces & Have Slept in it more
> than once in the 15yrs I've owned it ~
>
> But for ~ Ability to Get You WhereYouWantToGo, Ease of Entry & ComfyFeelin
> when You Need to FeelComfy ~
>
> There JustAintNothinLike a Westy ~
>
> I Suspect there are some places that an AWD Sprinter could go that
> my 2wd Westy couldn't ~ But ~ I also
>
> Suspect that there are some places I HaveBeen in my Westys that
> ThatSprinter Couldn't Even Get Close To ~
>
>
> ORR ~ DeanB
>
> On 21 Apr , 2015, at 9:51 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
>
> > I guess......But I certainly don't see the value in paying 100 times more
> > for a van just because it's a VW....
> >
> > If money is not a concern, the VW does have a bit more class, no
> > argument there. But if you are looking to impress everyone else with
> your
> > camper, why not get a PBY sea plane or a Chinook heliocopter and REALLY
> > impress people? You could probably get one for only 100 times the cost
> of
> > a Go Westy restored Syncro.....grin...it is only money....
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 7:40 AM, vw_van_fan_Mark <madvws@cox.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Might as well say this is a better choice:
> >>
> >> http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/4959450186.html
> >>
> >> than this:
> >>
> >> http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/4985218983.html
> >>
> >> Vanagons offer somethings that nothing else does. If you don't know what
> >> they are and can't tell the difference then I pity you.
> >>
> >> Mark
> >>
> >> Don Hanson wrote:
> >>
> >>> ...Even more impressive than either, are the older mid-size GM vans
> >>> like Safari and Astro, which match performance with the Collector
> Syncro
> >>> and the Gucci Sprinter, but do it at 1/100th of the cost and are a
> dime a
> >>> dozen for parts and availability.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 5:33 AM, Dean S <predsmaniac@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> http://www.outsideonline.com/1965851/2015-sprinter-4x4-cheaper-safer-and-smarter-your-ancient-vanagon#slide-1
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
>
--
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
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