The Ford Transit

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Are these as good as the old "Freightliner" MB/Dodge sprinter vans? Are they as good or better than the Ram Promasters? This Transit has almost 400k on the clock! So they seem to last if well maintained.



https://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/ ... 14415.html

[brokencase]

Are you in the market for one?

[Ed Lijewski]

Exceptional condition. Incredible for 400K Mike's. No signs of wear visible in the photos.

78 service records = substantial maintenance and substantial maintenance expenditure.

YMMV

[Rainbow83]

I have a job that includes driving a 12 person passenger van full of college students, and we recently replaced our E-350 with a Transit 350. While I can't really speak to the Transit's mechanical aspects much, since ours is still pretty new, and someone else keeps track of maintenance and does the repairs, I have found it to be an enormous upgrade over the old Econoline as far as driver comfort goes. It is a million times quieter at highway speeds. The seats are pretty comfy for as much as a 3 hour drive. The controls are pretty ergonomic. It's got a lot of storage spaces and cupholders. I really can't complain, it's a very solid modern driving experience, and does pretty dang well for long trips. I will say, I feel like the one we have is a bit slower than our old E-350, but I suspect we got the smallest engine (I haven't looked under the hood yet) for this one, which the old van didn't have.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Are you in the market for one?

Not currently but possibly in the future. I remember at a place I worked seeing Sprinter vans coming in sometimes. Things were beat but still going well past 500,000 miles. Can't imagine newer stuff lasting that long. I'm always looking at stuff listed for sale to see what's out there.

[brokencase]

I miss the old Aerostar Vans. Our family had two of them over the years and they were great.

I'm sure the new Transits are much better technically. But it seems they are more directed to commercial use rather than a "family van".

[Ed Lijewski]

I miss the old Aerostar Vans. Our family had two of them over the years and they were great.

I'm sure the new Transits are much better technically. But it seems they are more directed to commercial use rather than a "family van".

Aerostars were truck-framed. Good for sturdiness, but Transits' suspensions should drive and ride more car like.

YMMV

[brokencase]

Aerostars were truck-framed. Good for sturdiness, but Transits' suspensions should drive and ride more car like.

YMMV

Yeah, but the Aerostar ride was fine. It was a live rear axle with separate coils springs. I drove one from Pennsylvania to Indiana for my brother's wedding and it was a very comfortable drive. I think we had six passengers ad we were getting about 23 mpg with the 3.0L engine. But the 3.0L was anemic on the hills.

I did not find out until many years later that they offered an all wheel drive option. A full size 4.0L with all wheel drive would have been a nice vehicle to have.

I wonder if Transits have an all wheel drive option.