Scampermobile
Member
So... Uh yea been lurking around for a while... I probably read at least 80 or 90 build threads, busses, vans, trucks and cars. Opted for the Sprinter based on size, reliability, availability of parts, sex appeal, and resale value. Im picking this rig up to a sleep in 2-3 times a week instead of commuting home 50 miles from grad school. Basically its going to be my commuter/apartment. Once I got serious (and told my wife) started looking. I picked out the exact van I would order if I were buying from the dealer and then I set to look for it... My starting budget was 20k with less than 150k miles on 144 Crew with a clean slate.
I found a few that met most of my criteria but just didn't do it for me overall. I made a few calls and made a few more offers. Missed a couple great deals by minutes. Then today it happened. I offered a guy $20k on the nose for his van listed for well above that, and he bit.
2011 144 2500 Crew premium package, brilliant metallic silver, OM-642 V6 5g ironic/NAG-1 5 speed, 106k miles with beautifully detailed records confirmed by the local dealer.
I have a good bank of airline points so I dropped 12.5k points and $30 on a flight from Cali to Philly and ill post some pictures Saturday when I get the keys. I have done a few build threads of different vehicles before and they were always handy when I went to sell them later. My intention with this van is to slowly build it into a respectable camper and most likely upgrade to a 170 after grad school is over. For now the 144 is perfect combo between a crash pad for me and a grocery getter for the fam.
Lastly I am about to take a relatively unknown sprinter cross-country 2600 miles... any words of wisdom to start us off with?
I found a few that met most of my criteria but just didn't do it for me overall. I made a few calls and made a few more offers. Missed a couple great deals by minutes. Then today it happened. I offered a guy $20k on the nose for his van listed for well above that, and he bit.
2011 144 2500 Crew premium package, brilliant metallic silver, OM-642 V6 5g ironic/NAG-1 5 speed, 106k miles with beautifully detailed records confirmed by the local dealer.
I have a good bank of airline points so I dropped 12.5k points and $30 on a flight from Cali to Philly and ill post some pictures Saturday when I get the keys. I have done a few build threads of different vehicles before and they were always handy when I went to sell them later. My intention with this van is to slowly build it into a respectable camper and most likely upgrade to a 170 after grad school is over. For now the 144 is perfect combo between a crash pad for me and a grocery getter for the fam.
Lastly I am about to take a relatively unknown sprinter cross-country 2600 miles... any words of wisdom to start us off with?