WHERE TO BUY THE SPRINTER?

[windguy]

thanks for the info K9 and posting pics on your other thread. most impressive.
yes, I've considered the other available shower options but still leaning towards the stall concept.
your custom shower pan solution is very interesting. If it was up to me alone I'd shower outside.
The problem is that my wife and I haven't camped in 15 years and back then it was tent camping out of a pickup truck so I don't have the more recent van experience behind me. I've gotten used to taking a shower before going to sleep and it's hard for me to sleep without doing so. not sure if I can or want to break that cycle just for camping so having a good shower setup is important for us. I figure the toilet doesn't matter much between a portable and marine but would like to feedback from others on using them since I haven't myself. I see pros and cons for each design. Appreciate the help!

[RickL]

Regarding the shower: Just get a porta potty and store that in the shower cabinet. If you need more room to shower, you can temporarily remove the porta potty. I think SMB will install any size shower cabinet that you want with a porta potty, just ask them.

[windguy]

Originally Posted by RickL

Regarding the shower: Just get a porta potty and store that in the shower cabinet. If you need more room to shower, you can temporarily remove the porta potty. I think SMB will install any size shower cabinet that you want with a porta potty, just ask them.

thanks Rick. that's exactly what I was thinking of doing. that maximizing the amount of space when you shower but still provides a bit of privacy for toilet use and a layer of containment and ventilation when adding in a window

the porta potty eliminates the need for a black water holding tank which I guess is a plus.
Any drawbacks to using a porta potty that others can share?

Ideally the center of the van would be the best area for showering because of the added height for me. The side of the van where the shower stall is normally placed is reduced in height on the side of the van because of the curvature of the body. By removing the toilet you can stand sideways at least and make this work. Otherwise for me it wouldn't. I was planning on placing the shower stall in the left rear of the van. I'd rather keep the water contained in a stall than trying to use a floor drain or pan in the middle of the van since we'd be using the shower daily, at least that's the plan. Water usage I'm sure will be an issue.

[johnnymac]

Hey Windguy,

I went through a very exhaustive process of researching and ordering. Tried used. Couldn't find what I wanted. Decided on new. Beat the heck out of the Body Builder info and came up with my list of options (standalone and packages). I negotiated with three dealers -- 2 in CA. (Hey it is what I do for a living!) Very little play at the end of the day. Get the new Sprinter in January. I am happy to talk to you about the process and where I landed. Rather not go blog with it for fear of annoying the dealers. you can email me if you want to discuss further.

[billwilson]

Where NOT to Buy:

Laguna Niguel Mercedes

Wanted to see a sprinter
Drove over
no parking on the lot
found a spot
a salesman yelled at me HEY, no parking
found another spot
Hiked in
had to interupt 3 sales guys,
Asked them "hey, want to sell a sprinter" , they grunted
and pointed me to another office
When to other office
walked around twice
one guy in the back, did not even acknowledge me on my second lap

walked out
walked past the three salesguys
hiked back to car

was dressed in button down and khaki's

tried calling manager three times
only got VM, no one live ever picked up

YMMV

[docd]

I think that if you can afford to wait, it is best to order your Sprinter to your specifications. Most of the Sprinter's on the lot are not going to be a perfect match for your conversion. I studied the options for the Sprinter and then spoke with SMB to help me choose wisely. The van was made to my specifications and then the conversion began. For the amount of money these things cost, I would suggest spending as much time contemplating the platform i.e, the van, as the conversion. Since the dealer does not have to justify the cost of the van sitting on their lot, they should be more flexible in the pricing Just my thoughts.

[jage]

Originally Posted by billwilson

had to interupt 3 sales guys,

They were busy arguing about how nobody can sell anything these days due to the economy.

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by jage

They were busy arguing about how nobody can sell anything these days due to the economy.

probably !

i have been toying w/ pricing out a custom ground up build
wont be pricing the sprinter there!

[theSprinterGuy]

Thank you for the kind words.

Dave G

Originally Posted by RickL

Although Dave Graham is in Austin (Mercedes of Georgetown) he has a great blog and has posted a 2011 MY Sprinter Options guide:

http://mbgtown.wordpress.com/m-b-sprint ... e-2011-my/

There are little things like the folding hand brake option so that you can swivel the front drivers seat (if you get swivels). Of course, there are some options that aren't available to folks here in the US.

He also gives folks who are working with SMB Texas special deals; I'm not sure if he does this for folks getting their SMBs done in CA or IN. He can do out of state sales although I imagine the shipping costs might wipe out any savings. There is also the local dealer thing to consider as well.

In reviewing the SMB Sprinter options sheet I found some things that I wanted were missing so I'm glad to have found the above guide.

HTH

RL

[windguy]

thanks for the input guys.
will send johnnymac a PM.
someone wrote on the Sprinter Forum that she got their Sprinter via a Costco car buying program.
something like $500 above invoice. need to check that out.

I'd still like to see a list of the options that folks are ordering for their Sprinters.
Maybe Dave G can share that info since he's the Sprinter dealer of the century.

I visited our local MBenz dealer and learned that they only have one sales guy that deals with the Sprinter line. Perhaps that's why the available sales person isn't always available. He wasn't there on a Sunday morning when I went. Not working 7 days a week. What a slacker. I'm sure over time more sales reps will be trained and onboard. Also learned that the dealer has to have two trained mechanics as part of the MBenz dealer requirements for selling Sprinters.

BTW - I just got back from a quick trip to San Diego (from LA) and I saw a phenomenal amount of Sprinters on the 405/5 freeways, heading north mostly on a Thursday. These were non FedEx ones. I take it they were mostly commercial use because I only saw one on the way back (Sunday). Spotting Sprinters on the road took some of the boredom out of the drive. We kind of make a game out of it like when we were kids, not that much has changed since then