After a couple of disappointing van viewings, and poking around somewhat nationally looking at other vans of this era offered up for sale, seeing the conditions they were in and the prices they were asking, I was steadily working my way into “stay the course” mode – others have said “be patient!” And I was perfectly fine with that.
And then yesterday morning, I’m doing my geographic bouncing-about on Facebook marketplace. You can set a particular location and radius, a maximum of 500 miles, and I had gotten into a bit of a routine; Denver, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Rapid City, Boise. Those eight locations covered into the high ninety-percentile of the continental US, and even searching the whole country, there weren’t that many listings to go through, so it didn’t take very long to make the rounds.
That’s when I saw this oooooone listing – a 2005 Sprinter 3500 SHC. Around 250k miles – higher than I’d like, but well within the norm for these vans, and these rigs can last a very long time. I believe I ran across someone online about to tick over one million miles on their van. But what got me was the condition, and the price; granted, there weren’t many photos of this van’s exterior, but what photos there were showed it was in very good condition. It’s not uncommon to see various body damage all around these old vans, that were primarily used as commercial vehicles. And the price! Well below other listed vans with worse exteriors and more miles.
When I had decided that I wanted to go with a Sprinter, for various reasons (rear-wheel drive and diesel being two of the bigger factors), I began poking around that world online, and discovered the T1N models, manufactured by Mercedes-Benz from 2002 to 2006, and badged as either Dodge or Freightliner. It wasn’t until a redesign in 2007 that MB began selling these vans themselves.
There’s a whooooole lot of people out there who worship at the T1N altar, it turns out. The newer Sprinter design came with some changes that people didn’t like; one being a diesel particulate filter (DPF) system which can have troubles of its own, and by nature of its function, reduces one’s mileage. (I’ve since learned that “deleting”, a polite term for tearing out, the DPF system is A Thing; there are kits, there are shops that will do it. But it also seems to be rather illegal, meant only technically for off-road use.) The T1N models, on the other hand, are a simpler design, easier to maintain and repair, it seems. The 2006 model year seems to be the model year of choice, if it can be had.
In my digging around that smaller world online, it seems there are a handful of folks that everyone holds on high. One of them is Bill Gerker, aka Florida Van Man. He’s got a YouTube channel full of videos on these vans, things to watch for, how to address them, etc.
Last week, in my FB-poking-about, I ran across a possible candidate in Hialeah, Florida, and ended up reaching out to Bill to see if he would be willing to travel there and give it a look-over. And he was, for a fee (which is completely reasonable, it’s his time I’d be using). The problem with this van is it was a good several hours away from his home base, and after looking at the listing and the photos attached, he basically gave it a thumbs-down from a few hundred miles away. I figure, this fellow knows what he’s talking about and I should listen.
Over a few days, I ran across some other potential listings, and Bill was kind enough to give me his opinion and feedback on several offerings online; every time, he spotted some glaring issues.
So, yesterday morning; doing my rounds, searching 500 mile radius from Atlanta, I ran across this one listing. Hmm. Price is very nice. Mileage is ok. Exterior looks nice. I reach out to Bill, send him a link. After a while, he gives it a look-over, and sounds very positive.
(As it turns out, I am quite fortunate; a few hours later and it’s likely Bill would have ran across this listing himself, and would have snapped up this van on his own! I appreciate his scruples, that he didn’t just work a deal himself and cut me out completely.)
Long story short, I Paypal Bill some funds to cover his inspection fee, he makes arrangements to go inspect the van earlier this morning, which he does, and despite a couple of minor issues, he’s telling me I should buy this van. A few hours later, I’ve got a bill of sale from the owner, and the van is parked at Bill’s home! He’s got another van he’s finishing up for someone else, and then he’ll get to work on this rig, taking care of the issues that need taking care of, and in a couple of weeks, I’ll fly down to Florida, pay the man for his services, shake his hand vigorously several times, and begin the three-day slog back to Colorado.