Sprinter Deal Is Tip For The Top
Published: 7th December 2002
The vehicle mates a Mercedes Sprinter 308CDI chassis cab to a tipping body with heavy duty steel floor and anodised aluminium side and tail boards.
Mercedes-Benz has worked closely with two leading bodybuilders to put together the new package deal. As well as offering significant purchase price savings, the Sprinter tipper combines the ease of a ‘one-stop shop’ purchase arrangement with short lead times and the peace of mind of a three-year, bumper to bumper, unlimited mileage warranty covering both the chassis and body.
The retail price for a standard 308CDI chassis cab, which is powered by an 82bhp common-rail direct injection diesel engine, is £17,620 + VAT. Yet the new tipper, which has a body that would normally cost in the region of £2,500, is available from Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealers for an ‘all-in’ price of just £17,135 + VAT!
One of the first operators to take advantage of the offer is Parkin & Booth, a firm of building contractors based in Burton upon Trent. Founded in 1989 by Nick Parkin and John Booth, the company specialises in quality brickwork and structural repairs to both domestic and commercial properties.
Its new Sprinter CDI was purchased from Derby dealer Mertrux as a direct replacement for a 13-year-old Mercedes 308D tipper that had clocked up more than a quarter of a million miles and scarcely missed a beat.
"We stick with Mercedes-Benz vehicles because in our experience it doesn’t matter how much you hammer them, they will outlive anything else by a clear margin," says Nick Parkin, whose company also still operates one of the first Sprinter panel vans, dating from 1995.
"Mertrux were able to get the new vehicle for us within a few days and as well as being very competitively priced, with an excellent warranty, it also came with a year’s free servicing."
He continues: "We couldn’t be happier with
our Sprinter CDI tipper. It’s more comfortable and car-like
to drive than the old model, with a smooth, quiet engine,
and has an excellent payload comfortably in excess of a tonne,
which it carries really well."
