Desperately seeking Bay Area Sprinter Mechanic!

CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
I have had my sprinter at Hilltop Dodge a couple of times. Once to replace a HID lamp,under warranty,another time to replace the window in the rear door. They had a sprinter Tech on site. The work they did was fine, and quick. While there I priced a fuel filter ,oil, the fue things I priced were higher priced thin I have paid. I saw 6 sprinters there ,so they have some experience with them!
 

minigoogoo

Member
A quick note on Beshoff and responsiveness (or lack thereof).

We were just down in the Bay Area for Spring Break. Unfortunately, despite believing we still had some front brake life left, we went metal to metal on one rotor coming down the hills of Mt. Tam. Given our 8000# van and the hilly environment, I wanted to have this addressed enroute, not wanting to risk the trip home to Oregon with questionable brakes. I can definitely say that I was in a 'whatever it costs' frame of mind at the time.

Based on this thread, I called Beshoff to see if we could have the van looked at. The gentleman who answered the phone seemed very accommodating. He assured me that they 'always have availability for safety issues', so we should not worry about getting the van in for service. He had a difficult time locating a service advisor and came back to the phone several times to make sure I would continue to hold while he tracked somebody down. After two or three cycles, I was simply sent to someone's voicemail. Assuming it was the service advisor he was looking for, I left a message detailing our dilemma and requested a call back. Five days now and no response back. I'm guessing I won't be hearing back at this point... :rolleyes:

I tried a few other avenues to fix, and was met with other roadblocks. No matter, we're back home now thanks to careful driving, avoiding heavy travel times, compression braking in the mountains, and minimal brake use. I ordered the proper brake kit from Europarts-SD, it was sent the same day, and am waiting for next weekend to do the repair myself.

Surely a small event and probably not one to judge an entire dealership over, but worth sharing since the follow-up (or lack thereof) was 100% different than the attitude conveyed over the phone. Had I called back again, I suspect I would have been able to motivate a response from the service department, but should I have to do that?

I'll pass on Beshoff in the future.
 
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airslide

New member
Mercedes-Benz of Santa Rosa authorized Sprinter sales and service

Mercedes-Benz of Santa Rosa is also a factory authorized full service and sales facility for Sprinter.

707-542-4810

Matt Forsyth is your service consultant contact.

www.mbofsantarosa.com
 

jimmiejoe

2500 High Roof 144" WB
I am using Fletch jones in Fremont. Just off of 880 and Auto Mall. They have 2 Sprinter Racks which stay pretty busy. I have not found on independent yet, that can handle the full vehicle. Most can only do the dodge portion, or the Mercades portion, but not both that I have found so far.
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
OK another 10000 miles and another Sprinter. This time I didn't go to the Freightliner dealer as they were CRAZY expensive and the new RV is a Dodge. All my other cars are Mopar so it was great going to the Dodge dealer in San Leandro (www.sanleandrocdjr.com). WAY cheaper. Got the whole 40000 mile tune-up service for just over $350. Had it back the next morning, much nicer than the Freightliner place and didn't get the oil overfill issue, so it seems these guys know better how to work on Sprinters.

I will likely do the same trick as on my other cars, every other oil change at the dealer but save money by taking it to the oil changers the rest of the time.

-Randy
 

JTIA

Fleet Coordinator
Any new leads for independent Sprinter (Dodge & Mercedes) mechanics in SF/the Bay area?
We've gotten work done at the Freightliner dealer in Oakland (Golden Gate Truck) but they get swamped in the summer with the large semis, and Fletcher Jones in Fremont were not up-to-speed on Sprinters when we sent one in summer 2012.

Like jimmiejones was saying, I'm having trouble finding places large enough to fit our high roof/170".
 

chromisdesigns

New member
OK another 10000 miles and another Sprinter. This time I didn't go to the Freightliner dealer as they were CRAZY expensive and the new RV is a Dodge. All my other cars are Mopar so it was great going to the Dodge dealer in San Leandro (www.sanleandrocdjr.com). WAY cheaper. Got the whole 40000 mile tune-up service for just over $350. Had it back the next morning, much nicer than the Freightliner place and didn't get the oil overfill issue, so it seems these guys know better how to work on Sprinters.

I will likely do the same trick as on my other cars, every other oil change at the dealer but save money by taking it to the oil changers the rest of the time.

-Randy
Do you happen to know if they have the space to work on the cab/chassis RV versions as well? We will be looking for a shop for our new coach after we pick it up in April and bring it back here from Florida.
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
Do you happen to know if they have the space to work on the cab/chassis RV versions as well? We will be looking for a shop for our new coach after we pick it up in April and bring it back here from Florida.
They do have the big doors, they wheeled my RV in w/o breathing hard. Of course my RV is under 10 feet, but the doors looked quite large and my RV was dwarfed by the cavern of the service bay. They only do work on the Sprinter part of the vehicle.

Actually not too far to our RV mechanic, the Dodge dealer is in San Leandro, CA and 8 miles south is BEAR RV who are collision experts, but also do modifications and repairs on RV parts.

Of course I would have rather been to the dealership, but La Mesa RV, the dealer for LTV, didn't wanna work on the collision damage and while BEAR was using them to order parts from LTV (who only ships to dealers) La Mesa went OUT OF BUSINESS here. They still have other locations on the planet, but nothing too close. In general NOT impressed... Fortunately I have no warranty work to do and feel if I do wanna make big mods to the RV I'll do the trip to Manitoba to have LTV do the work.

-Randy
 

johnk

New member
I just took my sprinter to CK Auto exclusive in Santa Rosa and they seemed to know what they were doing and dealt fairly with me. They didn't even give me grief when I asked them to install parts I supplied myself.
This was a strong contrast with a shop in San Rafael who said they'd install the part but when I went to pick it up they said it was the wrong part and wouldn't fit. CK installed the same part (electric coolant pump) without any problems.
http://www.ckautoexclusive.com/
Just a happy customer spreading the word on a good shop.
Johnk
 

longboarder63

New member
I just had a bad experience at Steven's Creek Dodge where I was quoted $2K+ for a transmission valve body replacement based on p2203 and p2225 error codes. I asked the service manager how did he know that the entire valve body needed to be replaced as opposed to cleaning, connector plate, or connector.... Hi just repeated what the tech said...

I take all my cars to Mid Auto on Reed Ave in Santa Clara. Zoran is the only mechanic that I know that shows you the bad parts and takes you through what needs to be replaced.

Chris
Just took my 2006 Airstream Sprinter to Zoran (MiD Auto Repair, Sunnyvale) for an AC Condenser replacement, and he's great. Genuine Mercedes parts, did the service in a day, and had the van back to me that same afternoon. And it was a third of the cost of the Merc dealer in San Jose. He also went over the Van and made sure nothing else was wrong and gave me some good advice. His brother has a T1N in Europe with 400K miles, runs perfectly. I'd highly recommend Zoran.
 

Grizzly Adams

New member
This is my first post on the forum so please excuse me if I have posted this incorrectly, however I feel obligated to share my recent experience at a mechanic in the SF Bay Area. 400 miles into ownership of a 2004 Sprinter with 157,000 miles I experienced LHM and a check engine light as I was passing an RV on a large climb in Trinity County. At the time, I was not sure what the issue was with the van, but seeing as I needed the tires rotated and was having an issue with the left taillight I decided to take her into the shop. A quick reference to this thread directed me to Collie Auto Works in San Rafael. I dropped the van on a Thursday and heard back the following Monday that after a diagnostic scan I would need ~6K in work done to replace the turbo, O2 sensor and speed sensors (also a few other miscellaneous items). Shocked at this diagnosis and using the information I know about the van; driving normal, could hear turbo spooling and functioning, engine temp running within range, and LHM was triggered when I had floored the vehicle to pass the RV, letting out a small plume of black smoke, I quickly realized that I probably didn’t have a failing turbo, but merely a leak in my turbo system. Alas, I call Collie Auto works to authorize normal maintenance and no turbo or sensor replacement and wait a week for Collie Auto Works to have my van ready (after repeated delays). When I went to pick up the van I asked if the check engine light was reset when the diagnostic scan was performed, they assured me it was, I double checked that all the standard maintenance I had asked for verbally and in writing was done, I was assured it was. Not the case; not only did the check engine light pop off within the first 20 miles of driving the vehicle, but the tires were never rotated. I order a new O2 sensor and intercooler hoses that I will install myself upon arrival.
 

chromisdesigns

New member
You might try MB of Fairfield, they have a dedicated Sprinter shop and seem to know what they are doing. They don't oversell on service, unlike many dealers. I take mine there. No long waits to get in, either.
 

fitek

New member
I went to Murrays Truck Repair in San Mateo. $75 for labor for an oil change. They also checked various other things, inflated the tires, etc.
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
I have had excellent service from Smothers in Santa Rosa. Matt is the Sprinter service manager and is a square shooter that tries very hard to do the right thing. Parts and service are not cheap, but at least Matt is doing what he can for your benefit within the limits placed on him by Mercedes.
 

jesusgatos

New member
Lino at West Coast Sprinter is awesome! Has all the Sprinter-specific diagnostic tools. Stopped what he was doing to trouble-shoot and fix my sprinter, and really seems to know what he's talking about/doing. His rates are very reasonable too.

831.975.4304

1054 Terven Ave
Salinas, CA 93901
 

bjlafrance

2006 T1N 158" High Top
I'd like to echo what Grizzly Adams stated about Collie Autoworks. I've just purchased a salvaged 2006 Sprinter, and brought it for a tune-up/check at Collie Autoworks. They quoted me at $5,000-$10,000 for repairs (and an identical laundry list of O2 sensor, turbo, miscellaneous). Nice enough mechanics, but I won't be using them.
 

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