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Hi All,
In search of a long lasting & durable car like a Volvo 240, I came across a Mercedes Sprinter and then this couple's journey.
If you have time, read their blogs. If you don't have time then please see their photos. There are some breath taking photos, not the nudes. Enjoy.
Stevie is mom & wife. Tree is husband & father. Kiki was their dog, recently died but lived the like no other. Now, they have a daughter named Soleil.
This is their old web site. You will find more blogs here.
http://sprinterlife.com/
This is their new web site. I haven't had a chance to visit the site.
http://nomadlyinlove.com/#sthash.aCUmS6Su.dpuf
Thank you as always.
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Great blog from a well-to-do couple of newly weds. I have also lived in foreign countries with the same experiences with the locals. Unfortunately, we were on the low end of the income stream. No Mercedes Sprinter for us.
Now that I am older, but not wiser, and retired, I don't wish to live out of a sprinter or any other RV and enjoy the nomadic life. Hotels with real beds and hot showers, thank you!
As far as owning a Mercedes diesel, I have one - GL320. The ride and handling is sports car like, not bad for a 6000lb box. The seats are not as comfortable as a Volvo. The maintenance is really expensive, ie. 9 quarts of Mobile 1 which is only sold at a Mercedes dealership! Tires that cost $1200 for 4. Taxes...
The 2009 plus MB diesel require a separate tank for the AdBlue junk at over $10/gallon - good for 10K miles. The EGR causes carbon buildup requiring head removal close to $2000 at the dealer, remember it is a V6 and removal gets quite complicated. The battery(s) is under the front passenger seat, you need to cut the carpet to wrestle it out of the car - doing this when it is 20F hurts!
Finding diesel on the road is not easy. The fuel opening is too small to use truck stop filling stations and not always available at regular gas stations. The cost of diesel fuel is equal to premium gasoline but the average mpg is 22-25 on the highway (sprinters are less because of weight and size).
Give me a comfortable V70 with just as much room behind the rear seats as an SUV.
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat
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I`m in Klaus`s camp! At this stage of my life, I`m firmly in favor of great hotels, creature comforts & driving a comfortable, reasonably "fast", "stylish" wagon.
At 23, I began driving a series of 544`s & on up thru 122`s, 144`s, several 240`s , 850`s & to the current XC70`s. In corporate "speak", I`m brand loyal!
The 544`s, et al. were great fun but would I go back? Not a chance!!
Rich
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Hi Klaus,
Sorry for very late reply.
I envy their life style. I wish I could be brave as they are. I think he speaks Portuguese which helped them during traveling.
My friend just bought a new Honda CRV, she misses her V70 seat. I laughed my butt off. At least, she doesn't have to worry about her V70 front grill disappearing.
I meant to tell you about your MB. If you have time and bored. Please remove one of the front wheel, remove plastic liner. Look for a long black plastic bag that contains foam, it's located in between the fender and sub-frame. Check to see if it's collecting water. My friend's car collected about 2 quarts of water. I think the bag got punctured during installation, water made its way and stayed in the bag. His car is a sedan not SUV but I have a feeling that they are using similar sound deadening system.
I agree 100% about a Volvo seat.
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I have relegated the 855T to local errands and the MB for road trips and more than 5 grown ups.
The MB is completely sound proof. My daughter was in the way back seats, we were on I-80 somewhere in Nebraska doing 84mph, and I heard this 'click', 'click', 'click' noise coming from the back. She was scrolling through her playlist!!!
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new
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Hi Klaus,
Ooops, my friend had a S70 not V70.
I like the Mercedes cars except their seats & glorified logo/image in US market. They are durable and reliable if it's well maintained. The Mercedes engineers could have kept things a little bit simpler like a wiring route under the trans pan, slide and push electrical connectors and more. That wishing thinking also goes out to some of the Benz forum members who writes 10 pages on how to replace trans fluid. It's like trying to pass a bar exam. Yikes... :)
Enjoy your car! As they say best or nothing. Thank you as always.
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The "B" service at MB replaces windshield wipers. The new wipers have the MB logo printed on them!
I am planning on selling this car next spring. I enjoy the 6-7 seats, but then there is absolutely no storage in the rear. The cover for the storage area weighs about 25lbs and has to be moved from behind the middle row to behind the back row, but the engineers didn't bother themselves with the hole covers.
The center row passengers cannot see out of the front of the car. The center row seats are the same height as the front row.
The nice looking running board on the side of the car does nothing but collect mud and snow. If the running board is installed, one cannot also install front mud flaps. The front tire is so wide that the tire is past the fender from 9:00 o'clock to 7:00 o'clock with the wheels pointed straight.
BUT, the car drives like a sedan. Better cornering than my 1998 V70R. With exceptional handling. What snow? I floored the throttle in 6 inches of new snow, hands off the wheel, and it stayed straight up to 30mph and then I slammed on the brakes - still a straight line without touching the steering wheel.
Ice is a different story. Did I mention that this thing weighs more than 6,000 lbs? It will not stop on ice, why should it? The ABS works great, but inertia cannot be overruled.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new
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The "B" service at MB replaces windshield wipers. The new wipers have the MB logo printed on them!
I am planning on selling this car next spring. I enjoy the 6-7 seats, but then there is absolutely no storage in the rear. The cover for the storage area weighs about 25lbs and has to be moved from behind the middle row to behind the back row, but the engineers didn't bother themselves with the hole covers.
The center row passengers cannot see out of the front of the car. The center row seats are the same height as the front row.
The nice looking running board on the side of the car does nothing but collect mud and snow. If the running board is installed, one cannot also install front mud flaps. The front tire is so wide that the tire is past the fender from 9:00 o'clock to 7:00 o'clock with the wheels pointed straight.
BUT, the car drives like a sedan. Better cornering than my 1998 V70R. With exceptional handling. What snow? I floored the throttle in 6 inches of new snow, hands off the wheel, and it stayed straight up to 30mph and then I slammed on the brakes - still a straight line without touching the steering wheel.
Ice is a different story. Did I mention that this thing weighs more than 6,000 lbs? It will not stop on ice, why should it? The ABS works great, but inertia cannot be overruled.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new
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Hi Klaus,
" The new wipers have the MB logo printed on them!"
Does it leave a MB logo like water streak? :)
"but the engineers didn't bother themselves with the hole covers."
What were they thinking! Just cover them with their logo!
No snow tires on your MB?
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The regular all season tires cost $1200 and they are good for 45K miles. The majority of my driving is on plowed, cleared roads. There are only a few evenings where the truck is driven on ice/packed snow. That's what my Volvo is for!!!
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new
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Hi Klaus,
Ooouch! It's a lot of money. It seems like choosing lower speed rating doesn't help much either.
I can also say same thing about my brick. My car really shines under bad weather. When it rains or snows, it drives like no other cars. It's amazing.
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