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Old 04-27-2013, 03:37 PM   #21
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Your problems, was it with the chassis or the house unit? And if house, was it a FR product or someone else? And if chassis, did you take
It to a real sprinter service establishment?
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Old 04-27-2013, 03:48 PM   #22
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Don't have any idea what state VannBranch lives in. Most states now have "lemon" laws that protect a buyer of a new vehicle from ongoing manufacturing defects. Had I had those problems and no satisfaction from a servicing dealer, I would have contacted my state Attorney General's office and initiated a lemon law claim.

I've never owned a Mercedes passenger vehicle. However, from experience of friends who have, I know MB dealers go out of their way to satisfy customers, whether they sold the unit or not.

Sad to hear of VannBranch's problems.
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Old 04-27-2013, 04:33 PM   #23
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Hope VannBranch loves his Lexington as much as I love mine.
Intended to purchase Solera, but required more towing power and moved to Lexington
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Old 04-28-2013, 02:47 PM   #24
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Debbie, I only wish someone had told me ahead of time. I lost about $40k on mine. I loved the unit size, mileage, design, etc. The truth is, it was not worth what I paid for it, I had numerous problems and had a hard time getting service. You can hide your head in the sand ....but I would rather be warned and I hope you and all other owners never have a problem...I now own a Forest River Lexington and can't look back...if my Mercedes unit was what it was suppose to be, I would still have it or another one like it...but I refuse to own something that isn't worth the effort....I wish you the best as well as other Solera owners...
Again, asking if your problems were with the chassis or the house? And if it was the house, who was the manufacturer? If it was the chassis, did you take it to a Sprinter dealer for repairs and they didn't repair it? Really would like more info, please.
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Old 04-29-2013, 10:13 AM   #25
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Debbie, problems were with both the house and the Chassis...MH dealer wanted to blame Mercedes/Chrysler for electrical and vice versa...no one wanted to take responsibility. Many house problems, plumbing, antenna, radio, blinds, floor, roof leak, and on and on. Chassis problems included motor shutting down, not starting, electrical, etc. The unit was a Winnebago view. As for a sprinter dealer, you have to make sure they have a bay door high enough to get your unit inside. In my case, there is one in Memphis that didn't want to work on motorhomes and one in North Mississippi that was pretty good. My problem was worsened because I lived 75 miles from the dealers and had to always take a second vehicle to allow for leaving my unit. My unit spent more time at the dealers than it did at my home. On the last trip I had planned on a two month trip to Colorado with my daughter coming to stay one week. Just prior to her arriving the entire electrical system went out. I contacted an authorized dealer, 600 miles away....no other closer would consider a last minute repair, drove it to the dealer and upon arriving, stated that they could not get to it for another week. That was the last straw as far as I was concerned...I traded it for the first unit I could find that was not a Chrysler/Mercedes product.....and by the way, my wife drives Mercedes autos and has for many years....they need to stick to cars! ....and, if you ever stop by someone driving a sprinter vehicle, ask them how they like it? I have, and almost always get the same comments.....'great mileage, lot of problems, especially electrical!'.....for what it's worth.........
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Old 04-29-2013, 11:29 AM   #26
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Debbie, problems were with both the house and the Chassis...MH dealer wanted to blame Mercedes/Chrysler for electrical and vice versa...no one wanted to take responsibility. Many house problems, plumbing, antenna, radio, blinds, floor, roof leak, and on and on. Chassis problems included motor shutting down, not starting, electrical, etc. The unit was a Winnebago view. As for a sprinter dealer, you have to make sure they have a bay door high enough to get your unit inside. In my case, there is one in Memphis that didn't want to work on motorhomes and one in North Mississippi that was pretty good. My problem was worsened because I lived 75 miles from the dealers and had to always take a second vehicle to allow for leaving my unit. My unit spent more time at the dealers than it did at my home. On the last trip I had planned on a two month trip to Colorado with my daughter coming to stay one week. Just prior to her arriving the entire electrical system went out. I contacted an authorized dealer, 600 miles away....no other closer would consider a last minute repair, drove it to the dealer and upon arriving, stated that they could not get to it for another week. That was the last straw as far as I was concerned...I traded it for the first unit I could find that was not a Chrysler/Mercedes product.....and by the way, my wife drives Mercedes autos and has for many years....they need to stick to cars! ....and, if you ever stop by someone driving a sprinter vehicle, ask them how they like it? I have, and almost always get the same comments.....'great mileage, lot of problems, especially electrical!'.....for what it's worth.........
Thanks for the detail. I've had mine since October and use it for a car as well - have almost 10,000 miles on it. So far, I haven't had a problem with either the chassis or the house (with the exception of the Magnadyne). Sorry you had so many problems. Maybe you got a lemon? I don't think everyone has problems with the Sprinter chassis.
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Old 04-29-2013, 01:07 PM   #27
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Here is my list of items that had to or still are to be addressed:

The cooling fan of the microwave oven did not work, causing it to overheat and shut down after 1.5 minutes. Oven was replaced.

The stove would not hold preset temperature. It kept shutting down when the set temperature was reached. Replaced pilot light assembly.

The city water connector is cocked, making it difficult to attach the hose.

The screen door is difficult to close. It is not freely moving.

The dinette has a 2 inch gap between the seat back and the slide wall.

The rubber seals on the outside of the dinette slide stuck to the slide and tore loose.

The inside wheel valve extenders are defective in that the valve pin is 1/4 inch below the valve body top, making it impossible to measure the pressure.

One of the windows was chipped, but they painted over it in black so it wasn't visible until you look close up.
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Old 04-29-2013, 01:30 PM   #28
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Ya know nothing is prefect and some of the problems I'm seeing listed, to me are pretty small. My wife's car has had more issues than what I'm seeing about the Solera or Sprinter. I know when you get something new you want it to be prefect but let's face it that's not going to happen these days. And for every complaint I see on the forum I'm seeing several that are happy with their product. Sorry to see the one's with the problems but it's going to happen.
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:09 PM   #29
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Ya know nothing is prefect and some of the problems I'm seeing listed, to me are pretty small. My wife's car has had more issues than what I'm seeing about the Solera or Sprinter. I know when you get something new you want it to be prefect but let's face it that's not going to happen these days. And for every complaint I see on the forum I'm seeing several that are happy with their product. Sorry to see the one's with the problems but it's going to happen.
Henry: couldn't agree with you more. When you realize an RV is pretty much a house bouncing down the road, you can understand that problems do occur, and that enjoying the pastime involves constant maintenance and upkeep. So far, i've been delighted with my Solera despite a handful of minor problems (I'm even pleased with my Magnadyne! LOL). And yes, I once had a Class C on a Ford Chassis and had constant problems - with both the chassis and the coach. So, nothing is guaranteed. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. Unforunately, there seems to always be an occasional lemon with ANY product. It's always a good idea to do your research before you buy - check the dealer's reputation, the coach builder's reputation, user satisfaction - because once you drive it off the dealer lot, it's yours! I think I did my due diligence, and spoke with drivers of several sprinters (FedEx drivers, Church bus, etc.) before I took delivery (although did not know anyone with a Sprinter MH), and NONE had any criticism of the Sprinter. And so far, I've had no problems with the MB part of the package.
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Old 04-30-2013, 08:40 AM   #30
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I've said it before...I paid a lot more for my house and they gave me a 30 day punch list sheet, 90 day, 6 month and 1 year. I don't think I ever turned one in...easier to fix it myself than have to be there at some time to let some guy in my house to repair it.

And its not traveling down the road at 65. To each his own though...I've got a coworker that won't adjust his seat without taking it to the dealer.
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Old 04-30-2013, 09:57 AM   #31
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Just my two cents. I did almost a 6 month research before deciding on our Solera. That included visiting other competitors forums besides this one plus one for Sprinters only. My wife and I have been very pleased with our purchase and have put on 5000 miles since picking up on 2/28. Thanks to this forum I was able to find and fix two relatively minor problems myself.

We are planning two big trips over the next few months. One to South Carolina and one to Michigan with many stops in between. I am looking forward to reporting back to this forum both the good and the bad. Hopefully very little bad, but mentally prepard for the possibility.

We love our Solera.
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Old 04-30-2013, 10:28 AM   #32
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I hear you guys, I researched my purchase for almost a year before buying and am very happy with it. The forum is a great place to try to get answers on problems. And there is always youtube where I've gotten a lot of fixes from.
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