Now that are sprinter is out of warranty we signed up for the Good Sam ERS even though the person we talked with indicated they would only take our sprinter to the closest professional service center and if we had to tow it to a Dodge dealer to work on it we would have to pay extra. So I sent GS an e-mail for clarification and received this reply.
"The RV will be taken to the nearest repair facility WE VERIFY in advance of the tow via phone that can actually work on the vehicle. Not all Dodge dealers work on the Sprinter, also there are a number of
independent repair facilities that work on them as well.
Good Sam ERS also has a team of RVIA / RVDA and ASE Certified Master
Technicians on staff 24/7 to help diagnose, troubleshoot and make
arrangements for repairs at the verified repair location."
I hope we never have to use GS but feel a lot better after receiving their clarification.
I'm in the same boat as you. When purchased my Sprinter I did not realize that service would be so far and few in between. We broke down in Yuma, AZ. and we where able to limp to San Bernardina, Ca. for service, 350 miles took 10 hrs. A 2 day wait until the dealer could get to the van for service as other where ahead of us. The part was $34.00 ( the 3rd intake air temp. sensor) the diagnostic fee $89.00 1 hr labour $120.00, from the time the van was driven in for service to when it was driven out of the shop, about 45 min, for $200 + in labour.(My dentist does not charge this kind of hourly rate) I now feel I should have got a Chev. anybody can work on it, probably closer to where I'm at and cheaper, and less often
I'm not sure who sent you to southern,ca but there are places in/around phoenix that work on sprinters and they are only around 175 miles from Yuma.
Certainly people who travel far from major cities should consider the service issue on sprinters vs. chevy/ford but it seems like in your case you were unlucky to be in Yuma when it happened, and for some reason wanted to go to southern, CA rather than Phoenix. I think you're misfortune is the exception rather than the rule but no need to spread the "you'll be 350 miles from service!" fear to other buyers.
STRACOS... Bill Luke Chrysler, in Phoenix, Az. When I called for service said to me that I would have to leave the Pleasure-way camper there, find a motel room rent a car for up to 10 day's while my vehicle was being serviced. It's a matter what name plate on the vehicle, Dodge or Freightliner. I'm not trying to put fear in to other buyers, I'm trying to say, this is not a vehicle with out fault, but by my experience break down very often compared to other vehicles I now own or have owned, and service or parts are not always available where you break down.
Sorry you've had such bad luck. I had a view and didn't run into service problems in Phoenix. Has anyone ever done a survey/vote online of sprinter owners to see how often people have problems? That would be interesting.
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