I apologize, I accidentally posted this in conversion talk:
Hey All,
I've been looking for a half a year now for a 2006 T1N to buy and convert for full time living. I've got the bank loan ready to go, and found a van is waiting for me to pick it up this Friday.
I wanted to post and submit the issues the van has and gauge the opinions of those well travelled sprinter owners.
Those willing to read through and comment your time is MUCH APPRECIATED!
The van has 268k but is in beautiful shape for the mileage. The usual rust on the outside of the vehicle, not too much on the undercarriage. The interior is clean, and the blower powers on all settings.
The guy I'm buying from is the 3rd owner, the 2nd owner was a mechanic who maintained it. There are no maintenance records for the vehicle, but the carfax mileage readings line up, and it has never been in an accident.
I had the owner meet me at a Mercedes dealer that has full time sprinter techs who gave it a look over. I had them take the cover off the engine and the fuel injectors are beautiful, no apparent leakage indicative of black death.
Here are the issues the Mercedes techs found:
-serpentine belt will need replacement soon
-needs new fuel filter (don't know if it's ever been changed)
-passenger wheel bearing needs replacement or repack
-sway bar bushings have play
-emergency brake either needs adjusting or new shoes (can probably do myself)
-turbo muffler starting to leak
-driverside charge air pipe will need replacing
When test driving, the van displayed the characteristic rumble strip noise/ vibration on deceleration. The techs said this could mean that the transmission might crap the bed with new fluid, or start working well again. The owner took it to a transmission place (good ratings when searched) who didn't want to work on it with this noise. They suggested putting in a rebuilt transmission. When they dropped the pan, they said there was hardly any debris in it, so they instead just did a transmission service with new fluid/ additive/ gasket. The invoice said that no transmission codes appeared before or after the service. The tech at the transmission shop said for the mileage it drives and brakes beautifully.
I did take a look at the invoice from the transmission shop and the one item on there that concerns me is that they said that engine codes did pop up: "too many to list"
I am wondering what you all think about how this van sounds for someone about to pay borrowed money for it, and sell their existing car to fund a conversion.
I am looking to make a big change in my life, but want to try and solicit as much advice as possible to try and make an informed decision.
Thank you so much for your time!
-Max
Hey All,
I've been looking for a half a year now for a 2006 T1N to buy and convert for full time living. I've got the bank loan ready to go, and found a van is waiting for me to pick it up this Friday.
I wanted to post and submit the issues the van has and gauge the opinions of those well travelled sprinter owners.
Those willing to read through and comment your time is MUCH APPRECIATED!
The van has 268k but is in beautiful shape for the mileage. The usual rust on the outside of the vehicle, not too much on the undercarriage. The interior is clean, and the blower powers on all settings.
The guy I'm buying from is the 3rd owner, the 2nd owner was a mechanic who maintained it. There are no maintenance records for the vehicle, but the carfax mileage readings line up, and it has never been in an accident.
I had the owner meet me at a Mercedes dealer that has full time sprinter techs who gave it a look over. I had them take the cover off the engine and the fuel injectors are beautiful, no apparent leakage indicative of black death.
Here are the issues the Mercedes techs found:
-serpentine belt will need replacement soon
-needs new fuel filter (don't know if it's ever been changed)
-passenger wheel bearing needs replacement or repack
-sway bar bushings have play
-emergency brake either needs adjusting or new shoes (can probably do myself)
-turbo muffler starting to leak
-driverside charge air pipe will need replacing
When test driving, the van displayed the characteristic rumble strip noise/ vibration on deceleration. The techs said this could mean that the transmission might crap the bed with new fluid, or start working well again. The owner took it to a transmission place (good ratings when searched) who didn't want to work on it with this noise. They suggested putting in a rebuilt transmission. When they dropped the pan, they said there was hardly any debris in it, so they instead just did a transmission service with new fluid/ additive/ gasket. The invoice said that no transmission codes appeared before or after the service. The tech at the transmission shop said for the mileage it drives and brakes beautifully.
I did take a look at the invoice from the transmission shop and the one item on there that concerns me is that they said that engine codes did pop up: "too many to list"
I am wondering what you all think about how this van sounds for someone about to pay borrowed money for it, and sell their existing car to fund a conversion.
I am looking to make a big change in my life, but want to try and solicit as much advice as possible to try and make an informed decision.
Thank you so much for your time!
-Max