The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is built by Daimler AG located in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is sold around the world with the Mercedes name except in the North American market where it is sold under the Dodge and Freightliner names. Volkswagen also uses this same design under a mutual joint venture agreement.
Over 1.3 million Mercedes Sprinters have come off the assembly lines. The numbers for the Dodge Sprinter as well as the Freightliner version sold under 23,000 units in 2005, giving them just a miniscule 3.5% of the full size van market. So although the you are able to find a used Sprinter from a used car dealer, you’ll want to consider the fact that they are more costly to repair and by buying a used model you increase the chances of bigger repair bills in the future.
In Europe, the first generation was introduced in 1995. It was scheduled to replace the popular, but outdated Mercedes Benz T1 van. In 2006, the second generation Sprinter was released into the European market place and was voted the Van of the Year 2007, by Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine.
In the United States, the first generation Sprinter was unveiled in 2001 under the Freightliner brand name. It was launched in Canada under the Mercedes badge. Daimler-Chrysler introduced the Dodge branded model in 2003 to the entire North American market. It was identical to the Freightliner version, with only a few minor design changes. The Dodge Sprinter basically took over from the Ram van when DaimlerChrysler decided it was no longer going to produce them.
The Sprinter was able to surpass the Ram van in so many different areas. One important feature, to many consumers, was the fact that the Sprinter was much more fuel efficient. Between the years of 2003 until 2007, the Sprinter was made in Germany, then it was broken down into manageable sized units, shipped off to South Carolina and reassembled.
The Sprinter has been designed for the main purpose for business uses, although they did offer conversion packages that transformed it into a recreational Japanese vehicle. The average Sprinter wagon can hold anywhere from 8 to 10 passengers and is primarily available in a standard white color.
The North American versions of the Sprinter are sold and used as cargo type vehicles. These cargo style vans are especially valuable to the companies that ship smaller packages through out any city. The Sprinter has a cargo space of 4.1 m, which give them plenty of room to haul 3 skid sized loads, with a load bearing weight of around 3000ibs or 1360 kg.
The Sprinter has become the vehicle of choice for some of the largest delivery companies around. FedEx and DHL have begun to eliminate the larger, fuel guzzling truck in favor of the smaller, more fuel efficient Sprinter. They are also popular with all kinds of trade’s people because unlike the traditional van, they allow for even a person as tall as 6 feet to stand up straight.
One of the concerns that arises about the Sprinter is that they tend be more expensive to repair and maintain then an American version. This is one of the areas in which you should do your homework, not doing so may cost you some large cash.
Although the Sprinters are designed most specifically for business type use, you’re starting to see many more use the conversion package turning their Sprinter into their personal recreational vehicle.
The engine is a big factor in choosing a business van of any kind. The Sprinter offers a four and six cylinder diesel engines, as well as a six cylinder gasoline engines in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. A six cylinder turbo diesel ir a six cylinder gasoline engine are the only options that are offered.