Sprinter Thefts...!!!

[nick mercedes]

The Sprinters are the best vehicles in their league (apart from the rust/bodywork issue) as mechanically they can do 20 000 miles plus in between servicing and the engines are solidt.

Its is quite possible that they are being exported to a foreign market where they will get a good price for them (considerably more than selling in the UK market)

I do not know if they are all face lift Sprinters or not but one of them certainly was a face lift Sprinter and was a 05 plate.

Note: Alarm/Immobiliser on a Sprinter is an extra/option and is not standard. So all the thieves would have to do is change the ignition barrel plus 4* door locks (driver/passenger doors, side cargo door lock and rear door lock!)

Don't the later ones have chip keys?

It might also be that the vans are being stolen for what in them, rather than for the vans themselves.

 

[Flash]

Hi nick,
A Officers from the stolen vehicle squads are frequent visitors to our ports and regularly seize vehicles bound for foreign shores. If these vehicles are on open display then it must be the Police officers dream come true?

If the thieves are going to go to the trouble fo using a low loader/lorry with crane then cloning the vehicles' indentity with "genuine" number plates is not difficult...

 

[Flash]

Don't the later ones have chip keys?

It might also be that the vans are being stolen for what in them, rather than for the vans themselves.

The brand new shape Sprinter (which has recently been laucned and has several quality issues) may possibly have chipped keys BUT not the previous shape Sprinter that myself/Glojo/Silestanix have...

Too much of a coincidence to steal six Sprinters in a short space of time using the same technique within a certain radius just for the contents when thay have solid rear doors with no way of looking inside the cargo area. Too much of risk to use a low loader/lorry just to guess if there is valuable contents inside the vehilces. The 05 plate Sprinter stolen was a plain white van.

 

[nick mercedes]

The brand new shape Sprinter (which has recently been laucned and has several quality issues) may possibly ahve chipped keys BUT not the previous shape Sprinter that myself/Glojo/Silestanix have...

They don't have a built in trasnponder?

I thought all the Cdi Sprinters did.

 

[dava]

They don't have a built in trasnponder?

I thought all the Cdi Sprinters did.

I think 51 plate onwards do.

 

[nick mercedes]

Too much of a coincidence to steal six Sprinters in a short space of time using the same technique within a certain radius just for the contents when thay have solid rear doors with no way of looking inside the cargo area. Too much of risk to use a low loader/lorry just to guess if there is valuable contents inside the vehilces. The 05 plate Sprinter stolen was a plain white van.

I suppose they might break well, there's no shortage of Sprinters around:

Engine £1200?

Gearbox £500?

Doors £500?

Seats £200?

Front end panels £400?

Axle £300?

Steering rack £150?

etc

The theives might end up with about £4k worth of parts from each one, villians could get less than that doing post office raids...

 

[glojo]

Note: Alarm/Immobiliser on a Sprinter is an extra/option and is not standard. So all the thieves would have to do is change the ignition barrel plus 4* door locks (driver/passenger doors, side cargo door lock and rear door lock!)

I keep forgetting that simply because we have always stipulated it. Totally agree about the Sprinter being the best van in its range, hence my doubts over breaking them for spares. I still reckon they are buzzing about our cities as courier vans with perhaps cloned numbers. If they were going to the ports then I would expect the towns\cities with roll on facilities to be targetted in a big way.

Since your post I have contacted a friend of mine and in this area there has been NO change in current thefts, with no spike of any types of vehicle. Most popular thefts down here are still joy riders taking older cars.

Have you seen many Sprinters that are rusting worse than any other panel van? Thanks to your warning I have given ours a thorough inspection and there are no signs of any corrosion anywhere, but it is not treated like a 'normal' van. We have problems with the premature wearing of windscreen wipers but that is our fault and NOT a design fault.

Please keep me updated with ANY problems you experience with the Sprinter as we are very much a minority race on this excellent forum.

We ought to see what colour our vans are? How many 'white van' men are there?

John

 

[Flash]

I
Have you seen many Sprinters that are rusting worse than any other panel van?

Honest answer is YES!

Every panel on mine had rust on it (except front wings and bonnet) and was only 19 months olds.

I have seen plenty of Sprinters coverd in rust/corrosion (especially white ones as it stands out on them alot!). Vans of similar age i.e. VW do not suffer from corrosion that I have seen from my observations .

 

[glojo]

Honest answer is YES!

Every panel on mine had rust on it (except front wings and bonnet) and was only 19 months olds.

Going way off topic but..... Unless I am very much mistaken the latest version of Mobilio does not cut in until the second anniversary? All of your complaints have possibly?? been aimed at the wrong target (Unfriendly fire?)

You are right to complain about the terrible condition of these panels but should the complaints have been aimed at the correct authority?

I don't think our own Sprinter has either Mobilio, or a three year warranty, I believe this came out just a few months after we purchased it, although I have had several 'goodwill' replacement bits and I do accept that newer Sprinters do have a three year warranty??

John

 

[Flash]

I was not having a go at you John....

The only thing that lets the Sprinter down is the corrions/bodywork/paintwork and that is DCs own fault an no one elses!

 

[glojo]

I was not having a go at you John....

The only thing that lets the Sprinter down is the corrions/bodywork/paintwork and that is DCs own fault an no one elses!

Hi Flash,
Many, many apologies if I gave that impression! Your a good egg I was merely pointing out that your awful van was perhaps still covered by the manufacturers warranty and not mobilio? No excuse for rust unless of course you are one of our local fishermen that transports freshly caught sea food

John

 

[gaz_l]

Our sprinter at work has had a fairly easy life (only 73K miles in 6 years), but it is riddled with tin worm. It started life as gloss black, but has faded to a matt finish.. most of the panels now looks like they were painted with blackboard paint.

It still goes like stink though...

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[glojo]

It started life as gloss black, but has faded to a matt finish..

I no where your coming from, the red paint on our Sprinter has bleached. BLACK paint, on a panel van on a hot summers day!! I'm breaking out into a sweat just at the thought of it

Regards,
John

 

[DuFFmAn]

Im a white van man

Got the sprinter 313cdi on a 52 plate with all the driving aids (traction control etc...

Its got 55k on the clock, and the rust isn't bad but it will be in due course... around the entire windscreen there is traces of rust and on the roof..

But ive seen transits that are far worse... it depends on how the vans treated... mines in the builders trade so i see alot of vans far worse than this one

 

[glojo]

Im a white van man

Got the sprinter 313cdi on a 52 plate with all the driving aids (traction control etc...

But ive seen transits that are far worse... it depends on how the vans treated... mines in the builders trade so i see alot of vans far worse than this one

I think you are spot on, our van is regularly polished!!!!! and there is not a trace of the dreaded rust anywhere. It is also a high top so we cannot see the roof, but if the rain starts coming in then I will let you know.

Our Sprinter is the 213cdi so it has the same engine as yours but we have the SprintShift transmission which I can only describe as weird!! Poor old wife falls out with it at times but as a highly qualified back seat driver I just have a few quiet chuckles. This is our second Sprinter having converted from the legendary Ford Transit!! What a differenceThe Ford was the old 2ltr petrol so it was not slow, our first Sprinter was the older 212 which had the 2.7ltr diesel, it also had all the bells and whistles including traction control, this vehicle was simply a generation better than the Transit, it was quieter, smoother, soo much quicker and far more reliable. Our second Sprinter although allegedly more powerful has a smaller engine and I regret not getting the 216CDI. We would never take advatage of its power, but having a bigger engine simply makes for relaxed driving

Is the 216/316 too powerful for a tradesman's vehicle??

Is there finally a better van out there?

Has anyone else driven a Sprinter with SprintShift? (I would like to compare experiences)

Take care,
John the back seat Sprinter driver

 

[DuFFmAn]

Is the 216/316 too powerful for a tradesman's vehicle??

Hell no... I wasn't actually sure the 316 was available until i found my 313.. (purchased second hand so was really hard to find the 313 in the first place).. To be honest, ive never come across a 213/216 either so you must have one of the few available...

Before this Van, my father had a Nissan Urvan for the past 16 odd years, which NEVER broke down and only had the usual service done.. (done 150k) and we've sold it but still see it around today.. I don't think i can get a more reliable Van than that... That van was a bit slow and a tadd small compared to the sprinter, so needed to move on...

In comparison... This sprinters ALOT more "drivable" than the Nissan and is alot easier.. Still got to remember that i moved from a 16 year old van to a 2 year old van so theres alot of change...

Sadly .. This sprinter has broken down on me once cost £150+ labour in repairs (fuel injector) and has been behaving abit badly on startup lately.. (not starting on first key)..

All in all, The sprinter is the most ideal van for me out there, and to be honest... nothing can beat the 3 pointed star on the front

As for the sprintshift, I don't have one but my mate who has an identicle van to mine has it and has never complained. He describes it as "just like any auto" so am not sure if theres a problem with yours glojo...

Anyway, theres my 2 pence :bannana:

 

[dchaddah]

Has anyone else driven a Sprinter with SprintShift? (I would like to compare experiences)

Take care,
John the back seat Sprinter driver

John,

Im personally hate driving vans but there are occasions when I have to borrow a uncles LWB Sprinter with SprintShift, and it really is like any other Auto. It actually makes the drive bearable. Means I can concentrate on not hitting the van anywhere (its a little bigger than the CLK!)

 

[glojo]

Interesting that both of you describe it as being just like any other automatic. Our previous Sprinter was the older version with a 'proper' automatic gearbox, and that is just what we wanted in the replacement. Unfortunately it was not an option, so we had the Sprint Shift instead. The literature describes it as NOT being an automatic gearbox, simply a cluchless manual six speed, or a sequential automatic (what on earth does that mean). When going uphill ours tends to hold the lower gear for too long, but I sometimes feel it is 'the boss' who tries too hard to make my journey as comfortable as possible.

I must confess to really enjoying listening to the gearbox 'doubling the clutch' when changing down, (it even does it changing up first, then nuetral, then into second). Certainly does not behave like a conventional automatic.

I note that this box is no longer an option?? It is reassuring to read the comments about how the new box is smoother!! These comments confirm the observations of 'She that must be obeyed'

The 213/216 is an option, but the 216 would be an absolute flying machine and perhaps not practical as a commercial vehicle. I have seen one or two as emergency vehicles, but the 316 is more common both in that role and also as a breakdown, recovery vehicle.

John

 

[DuFFmAn]

Sprintshift? - Automatic? ... I thought they were pretty much the same accept the sprintshifts also a tiptronic?...

 

[glojo]

Sprintshift? - Automatic? ... I thought they were pretty much the same accept the sprintshifts also a tiptronic?...

Definitely not. SprintShift is a six speed clutchless manual gearbox. Our previous Sprinter was automatic and they are completely different. I have some literature somewhere that describes the differences.

For those that have driven vehicles that did not have any sychromesh, they would appreciate listening to the silky smooth matching of revs with the SprintShift, it certainly fetches back memories.

John