Vllad - transportation questions.

[Vanraw]

My wife and I are throwing around the idea of buying a utility vehicle and convert into a sleep / camper. Looking at Ford's Transit, Nissans NV3500, and Mercedes Sprinter. All with raised roof. Preferably Diesel but we will see.

I noticed Federal express uses the Sprinter a lot. In fact most transportation companies I see with a smaller van like these are almost always the Mercedes.

Any insight on that? From a cost perspective, maintenance, MPG etc?

Curious.

[Vllad]

The Transit is cheaper and cheaper to maintain.

With the amount of miles we put on the vehicles their is no real difference in the longevity of any vehicle once you throw out the anomolies and care. Since we care for all vehicles equally you always end up spending less going with the cheapest vehicle that also cost the least to maintain.

A Transit may last 300k miles before a complete overhaul while the Sprinter may last 320k miles before the overhaul however that last 20k in extra miles ends up being irrelevant. We are going to overhaul at 300k anyway since the risk of letting go longer isn't worth it.

Unless their is a specific feature you are looking for I would buy the vehicle that cost the least amount to maintain. Typically that is often the cheaper vehicle over all. To do otherwise only makes sense if a specific model has a feature you desire you can't get elsewhere.

i.e., I drive a Chevy because I was willing to pay 5k more for a truck my ass actually fits in.

[strife]

As a random side question... 300k miles on a vehicle... that is what... 1 year?

[Vanraw]

Thanks Vllad. Its interesting that the Mercedes diesel is standard and on the transit its a significant upgrade. Once said and done, the Mercedes and the transit in the configuration we are looking for are pretty similar. I was surprised. One thing the new 2015 Mercedes has is cross wind traction control. With the raised roof this seems like a good idea.

I was curious, , any time I see a midsized van with fedx or ups, its almost always the sprinter.

[Vllad]

As a random side question... 300k miles on a vehicle... that is what... 1 year?

Naa, for vehicles that small we only average about 50,000 miles a year depending on the region. For tractors we average about 125,000 miles a year.

[Vllad]

I was curious, , any time I see a midsized van with fedx or ups, its almost always the sprinter.

Ultimately when you aren't buying something based on personal preference their is only one thing that matters. Cost.

You would be surprised how little difference their is in all vehicles over the long run statistically. The brand really doesn't matter, all vehicles are pretty much the same as long as they have no inherant flaws.

Take Pick-ups. You always here the story where one guy swears by Ford because his Ford ran for 300,000 miles. The driving factors in how long a vehicle last depends on how well it is cared for, how it is driven, climate and luck. So the same guy who swears by his Ford (assuming he didn't relocate) had he bought a Chevy probably would have had the same results with a Chevy give or take 3% (10,000 miles).

Basically the differences in quality are so small they aren't even worth considering when purchasing a vehicle.

[Vanraw]

So why do you guys buy the sprinter as opposed to something like the ford transit or Nissan NV?

[Vllad]

When you buy in bulk that was the cheapest option. We also get free parts.