Hi all,
Looks like time has come for me to make a decision on my vehicle - 2006 Mercedes Sprinter LWB. I've had it for the last 6 years and it's been an absolutely perfect vehicle for me. 3L V6 turbo diesel has been rock solid reliable and has more than enough power.
But I put it in for a service on Friday, needed glow plugs + relay etc. as it simply would not start in temps below about 5ºC. Needed a new reversing camera, I'd already replaced rear shocks & brakes. Well he started taking stuff out of the engine bay to do the glow plugs and is just finding stuff like a broken turbo-something bracket that was allowing components to move under boost and I was loosing turbo randomly as I'd be driving along. New bracket, easy fix - but overall he said it's time to think about whether I really want to keep it... It still works, I've only put about 75,000km on it in the last 6 years, but things get old and need replacing like rubber bits (propshaft seals and maybe bearings I think he mentioned) and it just brings back memories of the old used Walker I first had, spent about $3k in one month on repairs one summer and that was what made me decide to buy new and haven't regretted it at all.
Budget is probably only around $30-40k, maybe just maybe stretch to $50k... wife is not keen on buying used again and would much rather have peace of mind of a 5-7 year warranty. I would be happy to buy a later model Sprinter but then they are more expensive to service and run (average around $700-800 service for me, newer models might be even more). Average 12-13L/100km as well. That is V6 tho, not sure I'd trust a use little 2.1L 4cyl diesel in such a big heavy vehicle. And I am reaching the limits of the 3.5T GVM, so I'd be looking at a 4 or 4.5T GVM on another Sprinter which is not as common as the 3.5T.
I've never had a trailer, the van fits the Walker, push mowers and everything else including up to about 400kg green waste when I need to. I've even had a half cube of sand in the back - yes the loader bucket fits in the rear doors with a skilled operator at the helm! So like I said, amazing vehicle and it's been perfect for me so far.
But to appease the wife I agreed to consider a new/runout/demo Triton they're around $35k. I think the missus is kinda keen on being able to go 4WD'ing actually... but then I would need a trailer as well, but I'd only want to tow that when needed for the ZTR or other big equipment, garden tidy ups etc. Ideally want to be able to do regular push mow jobs with just the ute so my budget would need to include drawers/racks, lockable canopy etc.
While I'm considering different options, a truck could be handy but I'd need toolboxes etc., a bit of custom work to install ramps etc. and not sure how much that would cost. And not sure it's worth getting a light truck that isn't a tipper. (Is split tray tipper a thing? Half tipper, half flat tray?)
Anyway, just wanted to ask opinions on the 2018 Triton and see how others setup their utes to keep all the gear safe and secure? Or is it not realistic to have majority of tools & push mower on the back of a ute?