Possibly buying 2008 Sprinter, what to look for?

Hey guys, looking to join the Sprinter world. I found what seems to be a pretty decent deal on a 2008 2500 diesel van with only 59k miles. We are going to look at it tonight and was wondering if there is anything specific to look for or check out that could be a potential deal breaker.

We will be using the van for hauling dirt bikes and mountain bikes and putting a simple couch/bed in it for overnight trips. Far from a full RV conversion, just enough to haul toys and sleep in. We also will be a few times a year towing a smaller camper trailer for longer weekend trips but really 90-95% will be non-towing, just hauling bikes.

Some ideas can be found in this thread

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55205

'08 with that few miles MIGHT suggest short trip, urban vehicle. I would have it scanned and look especially at the DPF soot load. Also, if it was an urban vehicle, look at the brakes fairly carefully.

Icarus

icarus said:

'08 with that few miles MIGHT suggest short trip, urban vehicle. I would have it scanned and look especially at the DPF soot load. Also, if it was an urban vehicle, look at the brakes fairly carefully.

Icarus

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We went and checked it out last night. It was used by a local construction/remodeling company that did mostly smaller jobs in this area with a few trips to New England over the years. I didn't have any way to scan it but did check it out pretty well and the brakes were in good shape, no pulsing when we drove it and the pads seem to have plenty of life left. The engine was dry, no visual leaks at all. It was dirty so it was obvious the seller didn't clean it up real good to hide anything. We made him an offer and he has to get it approved with his wife and if that happens its a go

After seeing two disasters yesterday that are still running--just about!!

Cobbled together to give the new buyer (and now my hapless customer) I would suggest you seek out a knowledgeable Sprinter mechanic to check the thing BEFORE you buy and get a tail light bye bye "Phew" warranty from the seller !
Notice someone familiar with Sprinters --Not race car mechanic, not a boat mechanic, not even a motorcycle mechanic but someone with a scanner that can interrogate the bloody thing!
Caveat Emptor Rules!
Dennis

As a post script
I like to make friends not enemies but cobbled up junk is hard to garner any customer confidence.
And !!
Why do I see the crappiest maintained & cobbled up used vans from the Mid West ?
Is it something to do with the "environment" over there?
Notice I didn't use the used American car sales term or description "Pre Owned"--Pre dicked up more like!
D

There are a couple of used Sprinter van dealers in the Chicago area that when I was in the market to buy, advertised a lot of banged up vans for what seemed to be a very good price. I found one near home and bought it. My next option was to go to Chicago and pick one out. They may be the cobblers, not sure but they are selling volume

crfnick56 said:

Hey guys, looking to join the Sprinter world. I found what seems to be a pretty decent deal on a 2008 2500 diesel van with only 59k miles. We are going to look at it tonight and was wondering if there is anything specific to look for or check out that could be a potential deal breaker.

We will be using the van for hauling dirt bikes and mountain bikes and putting a simple couch/bed in it for overnight trips. Far from a full RV conversion, just enough to haul toys and sleep in. We also will be a few times a year towing a smaller camper trailer for longer weekend trips but really 90-95% will be non-towing, just hauling bikes.

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Make sure that there are no warning lights illuminated.

I'd consider taking it to a Mercedes dealer and paying the diagnostic to have it hooked up to the computer and scanned. Hopefully a commercial dealer that works on Sprinters (not all Mercedes dealers have a focus on Sprinters/commercial vehicles).

Maintenance records? Type of oil used?

Rust. Door seams, under the plastic body side molding (look carefully), forward facing part of the sliding door where the body side molding is attached, rear wheel well pinch weld where the tire tub and floor are joined, windshield area, cracks in the body putty where the A pillar and roof meet, lower rear corner of the side door opening where the floor and upright come together (right/passenger side, left door probably similar).

Mechanical woes are painfully expensive.

Sprinters, at least through 2010, rust badly.

lindenengineering said:

Why do I see the crappiest maintained & cobbled up used vans from the Mid West ?
Is it something to do with the "environment" over there?

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I'd guess that the freight forwarding market is strong in the Midwest, large number of vehicles, no one wants to spend money to fix them...

Yes the benchmark seems to be about 165 to 175,000 miles then dispose of it.
Dennis

That's likely a historical average mileage when downtime due to repairs starts showing up and the point where resale value is still ok under 200k miles.

Seems reasonable to assume that just a couple/few days a month will cost more than the payment on a new van (Sprinter or not). That mileage is probably 2 years or less.

Yes its called fleet optimization and disposal asset retention.
Most big corporations like Penski, Ryder, Enterprise etc etc have this basic formula against operating cost overheads and assert retention. Even some factories lease out the vehicles for ultimate used sales through used car lots to get more of their parc in the marketplace.
This is especially so with the car rental companies. like Avis et al.
Dennis,