Latest news with #MercedesSprinter
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
If you plan on buying multiple cars, consider this Turo host's approach
Stephen Carter isn't your typical car owner. Not only does he own five vehicles, but he rents them out on Turo (think Airbnb for cars). But last fall, Carter didn't qualify for auto loan approval for that fifth vehicle. The other four were on his personal credit report, which meant that his debt-to-income ratio was out of whack. Eventually, Carter learned about a lender that offers a unique product: an auto line of credit. 'When Carputty came along, it was a godsend,' says Carter, who's based on the Gulf Coast and financed a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van last October. He adds: 'My business year to date is almost twice what I did last year with just an additional vehicle.' Whether you need a fleet for your business or prefer multiple sets of wheels for your personal life, Carter's journey might help you understand alternative financing options. Before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, Carter got into Turo 'by accident.' His car was giving him problems, and a friend suggested he trade it in for a Mercedes Sprinter. The large vehicle could be used for his transportation and logistics gig for his government contractor work. 'Then, the pandemic hit, all government contracts kind of froze,' says Carter, who also worked as a car salesperson for 10 years earlier in his career. 'And I was like, 'Now, what am I gonna do with this car note on the vehicle?' A friend suggested that he list the vehicle for rent on Turo as a way to generate income. 'And 240,000 miles later, it's still — I think right now it's in Tennessee somewhere,' Carter says. 'So yeah, I just fell into it.' The Turo business has proven lucrative enough for Carter to keep at it, continually adding to his fleet of vans, which are routinely rented by large groups. 'That typically is my clientele, the family that's going somewhere… the church group that's going to a baseball game or a football camp or a water park,' Carter says. 'I get those calls regularly.' Carter previously used auto loans to finance the purchase of each new vehicle in his Turo fleet. But with four such debt accounts on his personal credit report, his debt-to-income ratio made lenders wary of funding a fifth vehicle. When Carter encountered auto loan lenders that didn't want him as a new or repeat customer, he considered alternatives. After all, his rental business was thriving, and he wanted to reinvest in it. One realistic option was an unsecured personal loan from a reputable national lender. 'With American Express, I would basically only get enough to do maybe one or two cars, three really cheap cars… and AmEx was at 10 percent [interest], almost 11 percent for a third of the money,' Carter says. Eventually, while browsing a Reddit forum for Turo hosts, Carter came across a mention of Carputty, which requires a minimum credit score of 680 and operates nationally (except in California, Mississippi, Nevada and Washington). The nature of its auto line of credit — up to 15 cars and as much as $250,000 for personal use and $800,000 for LLC operators — gave him the flexibility to avoid another lump sum debt on his credit report. Carter was thrilled to secure an interest rate below seven percent. The only issue he experienced was skepticism among car dealers. No one had heard of Carputty, a fintech that was founded in 2020. 'Craziest name ever… I had at least two dealerships just hang up on me, just saying, 'I never heard of it, click, it sounds like a scam,'' Carter recalls. Average number of cars per Carputty 'Flexline' Consumers, personal use 1.7 Consumers, commercial use 2.2 Carter says his goal is to refinance all of his vehicle loans to house them on the Carputty line of credit, which can be used to buy new or used cars, refinance auto loans or buy out leases. As for the Sprinter van he most recently financed through Carputty? 'I couldn't even tell you where it is,' Carter says, 'but it's been gone [rented] since October.' In most cases, if you're looking for an auto loan and having trouble qualifying, it's likely a sign that you're not ready to borrow. After all, traditional car loans are the best way (besides paying in cash) for most of us to finance our vehicles. And their eligibility criteria are meant, in part, to keep you from borrowing a loan you can't afford to repay. But if you're in a situation like Carter's, where you have strong credit and still can't find the ideal loan, consider being flexible about the type of financing you're seeking. Carputty's line of credit is a unique option — you can finance multiple cars on one account, even if you're not a small business owner — but this company doesn't have a monopoly on atypical financing. Some lenders offer commercial auto lines of credit (Ally Financial and National Business Capital, for example) or business auto loans. The keys are to consider your options, shop around with various types of lenders and prequalify to limit any impact to your credit. Carter's advice on becoming a Turo host 'Now, if you're going to buy a couple of $5,000 cars, and you can afford to pay them off, that's different, but … you may want to do a little bit more research before you just buy that dream car and put it on Turo, because I see the horror stories. And we talk amongst the hosts about people buying used Ferraris because they thought it was a niche market for an antique car, and they're stuck with a note.' — Stephen Carter As Carter did, it's wise to consider all of your options, including auto loans and lines of credit as well as personal loans for cars. Consider the pros and cons of various financing types. A line of credit might give you more flexibility, for example, while a loan might carry a lower interest rate. Once you find the right product for your situation, you can spend more time on finding the right vehicle and calculating your potential loan repayment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Powys County Times
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Powys County Times
Motorcyclist airlifted after crash with van on border A-road
A motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital after suffering serious injuries in a collision with a van. Emergency services rushed to the scene of the crash which happened along the A488 near the Powys border at Moreswood, east of Snead, at around 12.15pm on Saturday, June 28. A spokesperson for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said: 'We were called to reports of an RTC on the A488 near More, Bishop's Castle at around 12.15pm on Saturday (June 28). 'On arrival, crews found a van and a motorbike had been involved in a collision. 'The motorcyclist, a man, was treated for serious injuries before being airlifted to Royal Stoke University Hospital.' Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said a crew from Bishop's Castle used an environmental grab pack to absorb leaking liquids from the collision. The crash happened the day after another collision, also involving a van and a motorcycle, near Mellington Hall. A white Mercedes Sprinter van and a yellow motorcycle collided at around 1.45pm along the B4385 road towards Bishop's Castle between the Blue Bell Hotel in Pentreheyling and Pentre.
Powys County Times
30-06-2025
- Powys County Times
Investigation launched after motorcycle and van crash
Police are investigating after a person was airlifted to hospital following a crash involving a motorcycle and a van on Friday (June 27). The two vehicles collided at around 1.45pm along the B4385 between the Blue Bell Hotel in Pentreheyling and Pentre, near Mellington Hall, not Montgomery as previously said by police. The incident involved a white Mercedes Sprinter van and a yellow motorcycle. Dyfed-Powys Police are now appealing for anyone with information or dashcam footage that could help them with their investigation. RECOMMENDED READING Motorcyclist died after crashing into back of car in queuing traffic The Powys projects left in limbo while Government mulls £6m funding Rescue dog from Newtown reunited with owner after going missing for 18 days A Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "At 1.48pm on Friday, June 27, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crew from Montgomery Fire Station was called to an incident in Churchstoke. "The crew responded to a road traffic collision involving one van and one motorcycle. "One casualty was conveyed to hospital by air ambulance. "The crew was involved in assisting Ambulance Service paramedics in transporting the casualty and making the scene safe using small tools and absorbing granules. "Crew members left the scene at 3.29pm." Dyfed-Powys Police officers can be contacted online at by sending a message to 101@ or on social media, or by dialling 101 quoting incident reference 25*528101. Alternatively, the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting
Motor Trend
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter AWD Yearlong Review Verdict: Should Your Next Pickup Be a Van?
If you've been keeping up with our Mercedes Sprinter van saga, you know the backstory: My family's pet roster includes a couple of mules, and for years we've owned a pickup truck expressly for equine chores. In 2023, we tested a Nissan Frontier to see if a midsize could sub for our heavy Chevy. This time around we decided to go continental and use the wheeled tool favored by European equestrians, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. We outfitted it like we would a pickup, with all-wheel drive, back seats (crew cab, meet crew van ), and the biggest box possible. Now, with 12 months and over 16,000 miles behind us, it's time to evaluate whether a van is a viable replacement for a pickup truck. Over a yearlong test, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 AWD van impressed as a pickup alternative with its hauling capacity, fuel economy, and driving comfort. However, it struggled with towing and build quality issues. Despite these, we are convinced a van could replace their pickup in the future. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next Flexible Hauling, Sure. Towing? Not So Much. Our primary truck chore is hauling hay and feed, and for this job the score is vans 1, pickups 0. Hay bales weigh about 100 pounds apiece, and the quantity that can be hauled in a vehicle is limited not just by weight but also by the volume of the bed. Even with our Chevy's 8-foot box, anything more than 10 or 12 bales requires some skilled Tetrising. Not so with the Sprinter, which has 11 cubic feet space behind its rear bench and a 2,988-pound payload, which is well into heavy-duty pickup capacity. No Tetris skills needed here; any clod with a forklift can get 30 bales in the back with room to spare. We tend to stock up on hay about every three weeks, and with the Sprinter, we could have saved a ton of money on fuel by going for hay every three months; the only problem is that our hay shed isn't big enough, and stacking the bales more than three high would require us to have a forklift of our own. After a few half-ton loads, we settled down to our usual six- to eight-bale runs. All in all, the Sprinter shifted nearly six tons of hay and feed, and even with pickup-size loads, the Sprinter diesel's 20.2-mpg average still saved us money over the 12-mpg Chevy (and the 16.4 mpg Frontier). A diesel-powered 2020 Ram 2500 HD we had in our yearlong review fleet returned 17.5 mpg. We also use our pickup to tow our two-horse trailer, and here the Sprinter disappointed us. We had difficulty getting a brake controller installed, though that's no fault of the nifty RedArc Tow Pro we used, which was an easy (and stealthy) install. No, the problem was the powertrain: Although the Sprinter's 5,000-pound tow rating is (just) enough for our loaded trailer, even with a single mule aboard the engine struggled in the hills, and the lack of an engine brake meant we had to rely on the wheel brakes way more than we wanted to. We decided we'd tow the horses with the Sprinter in a pinch, and in January 2025, a pinch came up. We were well clear of most of the fires that hit Los Angeles, but the Hurst fire could have changed directions and headed for the ranch, so we outfitted the Sprinter as our bug-out (or should we say mule-out) vehicle. We hooked up the trailer, loaded hay and supplies, set up a queen-size air mattress, and camped in the Sprinter, literally waiting to see which way the wind blew. No way we could have done that with a pickup truck. When the danger had passed, we put the Sprinter to work running supplies and donations around for our fellow Angelinos who weren't as lucky as we were. Better to Live With Than a Pickup Truck? One thing I was curious about was the creature comforts I'd give up by opting for a van rather than a pickup truck. Pickups have become common as daily drivers, so automakers have trimmed them out accordingly, but vans still seem to be regarded as commercial-grade vehicles. Ram kindly let us borrow a 2500 HD pickup similar in price and equipment to the Sprinter. No question, the interior of the Ram was a great deal nicer, with soft-touch materials where the Sprinter uses industrial plastics. (They did wear well, as did the wooden panels protecting the cargo floor and walls.) The Ram's stereo sounded better, as well. I discovered early on that the Sprinter's size is a huge inconvenience, but with its cruise-ship-size turning circle, the Ram 2500 had its own set of compromises. In terms of driving qualities, this was more of a toss-up than I expected. The truck had a lot more power, largely because it's meant to tow more than three times as much as the Sprinter. The van is pretty poky—10.7 seconds is its 0–60-mph time, though we managed to reduce that to 10.3 by running the right type of diesel fuel—but that was never much of an issue in daily driving. Still, the pickup got to 60 in seven seconds flat and was able to pass with authority on two-lane roads, something I rarely felt safe doing in the Sprinter. Surprisingly, the truck's fuel economy penalty was very slight considering the truck had two more cylinders and more than three times the displacement compared to the Sprinter's engine. The van was a nicer-driving vehicle than I expected, with responsive steering and surprisingly good directional stability—better than the Ram 2500, in fact. But crosswinds were the van's kryptonite. On a day when a pickup might get blown about a bit, the van was a real handful, to the point that a healthy gust could trigger stability control. Scary. One can blame the pickup's wandering steering on its off-road tires, but it turns out the van was pretty capable off-road, as well. We took it on an outing with a Jeep Wagoneer, and the Sprinter went everywhere the SUV did. Its automatic all-wheel-drive system made off-roading simple; just turn off traction control and feed in power until it figures things out and starts moving. The Sprinter's secret weapon is its massive ground clearance, though that also made getting in and out of it a pain, but truth be told the pickup wasn't much easier. The van's driving position was brilliant, and the short hood meant we could see into the cars ahead. (If a Sprinter van honks at you when the light turns green, it's because they can see you're on your phone.) I was rather surprised by the Sprinter's build quality, and not in a good way. Shortly after the van's arrival, I saw steam coming from under the hood, which turned out to be an improperly fit coolant pipe, which was fixed under warranty. When the parking brake stopped holding, the dealer diagnosed leaky rear axle seals that had allowed oil to seep into the mechanism (a drum setup separate from the rear service brakes) and contaminate the shoes. The fix involved replacing not just the parking brake but also most of the rear axle's components. Just before that trip to the dealer, the Sprinter threw a check engine light, which turned out to be from an improperly routed wire that had chafed and shorted. The passenger door was misaligned, but having it corrected would have required a trip to the body shop, and having been without the Sprinter for well over a week, I couldn't spare it any longer—after all, the mules need their hay. I left the door as-is. My primary reason for visiting the dealer was to troubleshoot our trailer brake controller installation. Turns out the van needed a software update to accommodate trailers with LED lights, which draw less power than incandescent bulbs and, in the case of the Sprinter, not enough for the van to detect the trailer. Trailers have been using LED bulbs for, what, 15 years? 20? You'd think this software would be standard by now. The one reason we didn't visit the dealer was for routine maintenance, because we only ran the van up to 16,358 miles, well short of the Sprinter's 20,000-mile oil change interval. Credit the Sprinter's commercial focus; a van can't make money when it's in the shop, so the goal is to keep it away. The Sprinter's engine holds 10.6 quarts of oil, so there's plenty of capacity for dirt. Even so, the Sprinter did ask for a quart of oil at around 12,000 miles. Yes, it asked; the Sprinter's engine has no dipstick. You check the oil through the dash display, and it lets you know when it's down a quart. We called a couple of dealerships to ask about the cost of the 20,000-mile 'A' service, which includes an oil and filter change, fuel filter change, DEF top-off, and general inspection. One dealer quoted $850, another said 'anywhere between $300 and $1,400' depending on what the van needed. The only other fluid we added was diesel exhaust fluid, a total of 12.5 gallons, which cost us $133.75. That averages out to 1,132 miles per gallon of DEF, just over half the consumption of our 2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 diesel, which used a gallon of DEF every 579 miles. (That said, DEF usage does go up with higher loads, and we did more towing with the Silverado.) Like oil, the Sprinter asks for DEF when it needs it, starting when the underhood tank is 2.5 gallons low. DEF is sold in 2.5-gallon jugs, so that worked out perfectly. So Can a Van Replace a Pickup Truck, or What? A year of using the Mercedes Sprinter as my pickup truck has made me a van convert. With the notable exception of towing, everything our pickup can do, our Sprinter van did as well or better, including hauling, daily-driving, and off-roading. Yes, I would have liked a more upscale interior, and a year without drive-throughs did not have the intended effect on my waistline I was hoping for. A little more acceleration would have been nice, too. Of course, towing is a critical part of the equation for my own use case, and if we owned a Sprinter, we'd have to invest in a lighter-weight European-style horse trailer. (Most North American trailers have a tack and storage room at the front. European trailers dispense with the tack room, because if you're towing with a Sprinter van, you already have a storage room—the van. It's worth nothing that even with a 5,000-pound trailer, the Sprinter maintains most of its payload capacity.) Still, there are other vans that can tow more. Properly equipped, a Ford Transit can tow up to 7,500 pounds, and the aging Chevrolet Express can tow a trucklike 10,000 pounds. So my one major complaint about our van can be solved. Would I actually invest my own money in a van? Our old Chevy pickup still has plenty of life left in it, but come the day it needs to be put out to pasture, don't be surprised if you see a van parked in its place. For More on Our Long-Term 2024 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: Our New Pickup Truck Is... A Van? Off-Roading in the Sprinter—There Is No Turning Back This Van Is a Pretty Great Pickup Truck Our AWD Sprinter is Kind of a Pain in the Ass A Mission From Dog Trial by Fire Towing with the Sprinter: It's No Mule Can Different Fuel Make a Sprinter Van Faster? Would You Rather Daily Drive a Huge Pickup or a Sprinter Van?
Wales Online
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Wales Online
Man in hospital after crash between van and motorcycle
Man in hospital after crash between van and motorcycle Emergency services were called to the scene, near Lampeter, and a section of the road was shut in both directions The A485 near Lampeter in Ceredigion (Image: Google ) A man has been taken to hospital after a crash involving a motorcycle and a van. Emergency services were called to the A485 near Lampeter in Ceredigion on Monday afternoon. A section of the road, near the border between Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, was shut for more than two hours. The collision involved a motorcycle and a van with the male riding the motorcycle taken to hospital. The severity of any injuries sustained in the crash have not been confirmed. A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: 'We were called at 2.05pm on Monday, June 23, to a report of a two-vehicle road traffic collision on the A485 near Lampeter. Article continues below "The vehicles involved were a white Mercedes Sprinter van and a white Daytona Triumph motorcycle. "The male rider of the motorbike was taken to hospital. "The road was closed and reopened at 4.15pm.' Article continues below Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.
