Fuel for Thought

My Take On The Ford Transit

The one thing I know about the Ford Transit is that it isn’t here yet.

I love the fact that the Transit is direct competition to the Sprinter. As a consumer I love this kind of competition. Even with it not being here yet, the Transit puts pressure on the Sprinter, because there will be potential Sprinter buyers who hold off on their purchase to see what Ford has to offer. That being said, the Transit does little for me, because it isn’t here. I can speculate all day long on what it will offer me, and I can be spot-on in predicting what it will offer my business, but I am making the decision on my next vehicle as we speak, and the Ford Transit is not here to participate in that decision. So like I said before…maybe next time.

If the Transit was available today, I would still be leery about jumping into one. I’m still gun shy from my 2007 Sprinter experience. 2007 saw a major change to the Sprinter line, and it was basically an entirely new vehicle. I ended up being a lead-the-fleet pioneer for the first two recalls. Fine and dandy that the pre-recall issues were covered by warranty, I was still out of service for months waiting for parts, special tools, or ideas to come from Germany. And then there were the times that the dealerships improperly serviced my vehicle, because the technicians weren’t up to speed on the new vehicle. Ford might have better dealership coverage now compared to Daimler/Chrysler in 2007, but I would rather wait to see if Ford dealerships are ready to work on a euro-style vehicle. One thing that may help Ford get past the emissions problems I experienced is that the transition from low-sulfur diesel to ultra-low-sulfur diesel is complete. I’ve started to think that maybe I wasn’t always getting the required ultra-low-sulfur diesel at the D2 pumps back in 2007-08. Regardless, I’m willing to let someone else lead the fleet with the Transit.

For planning purposes, anyone deciding to buy the Transit should approach Transit ownership like Sprinter ownership; not traditional, American vehicle ownership. Don’t get creative with servicing the vehicle. Follow the service schedules precisely. American vehicles are going to get more finicky and Sprinter-like than the other way around. Budget for Mercedes-style service and parts costs. Picture it this way—Ford is getting into the euro van market, because they want a part of the high dollar Sprinter market. If I’m wrong, we can all be pleasantly surprised.

The one thing we should hope for is that the competition is brutal.

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