Look how the poor Euros have to suffer!

[witoke]

Not strictly SMB but since folks have been worrying about what will happen when the end of the world comes, oops, sorry, I mean when the E series vans go away, I thought it germane.

I came across these today and was, to put it mildly, amazed. Look at the specs, layouts and price of these new vans. Beats the hell out of anything we can get here.

SUNLIGHT T 58 Modell 2013 Sonderedition $51,365

ADRIA Twin SHX Modell 2013 $58,013

versus $100K for a Sprinter here Roadtrek SS-Agile
or get one from SMB for somewhere the other side of $80K

[AndrewST]

We have the same difference of price between the Sprinter and the Ducato (Fiat) + other bases as US have it between the Ford and Sprinter.
Then as always the difference will be what equipment you add.

My 2 cents

[witoke]

Andrew, the point I was trying to make is that in an area of the world we consider very expensive and limited, one can buy a very well equipped, modern camper van for considerably less than you can here in the US, regardless of the base vehicle or level of trim. I challenge anyone to find a new camper van of any sort, outfitted in a comparable way for a similar price in the US. They just don't exist, campers here are very expensive.

[dhally]

Go Big

2013 Four Winds 22' Class C RV for Sale
? $56,577.00

http://www.mhsrv.com/2013-thor-motor...s-c-tx-i590584

[witoke]

Okay, okay, I submit! I could quibble about the MSRP being $75k and the $56 being a sale but I won't. Still I hope the point is made. As I think I have noted before, we are expected to pay a lot more for vehicles here than they do in Europe and I think it's odd. I thought we were the most efficient, market driven, non-union economy, you'd think vehicles would be cheaper here than they are in Europe?

[Spenard]

Originally Posted by witoke

As I think I have noted before, we are expected to pay a lot more for vehicles here than they do in Europe and I think it's odd. I thought we were the most efficient, market driven, non-union economy, you'd think vehicles would be cheaper here than they are in Europe?

um, Many european companies use eastern europe assembly plants or temporary immigrant labor with limited benefits to keep the costs down. And those plants in western europe have national health insurance which also lowers the company overhead, in exchange for typically higher taxes on income and higher sales taxes and higher license fees and fuel taxes. Does the prices in noted include local sales taxes? If you put those factors into the equation I suspect they match or exceed US costs.

[llamadave]

The other thing is that Sprinters are fully assembled in Germany, then taken apart, crated, shipped to the US, then re-assembled. They do this to avoid duty. This must add a lot to the cost for us compared to the same product in Europe.

David