FOR SALE 2017 MB Sprinter Van 144 tiny home with stunning interior design

jdzl

Member
Having designed, built and sold a tiny house, I have some experience... This took 2000 hours because you were learning, I would call $30/hour pretty generous. Most customers are not willing to pay for someone to learn. Next time do it in 500 hours for $25k = $50/hour, and a van that you can actually sell for a reasonable amount ($45k van + $10k material + $25k labor = $80k) and still make a healthy profit. It also means you could do 3-4 of these a year, earning somewhere between $90-120k. That's not a bad living for what basically is some carpentry and assembly.
 

nastav

Adventurer
I wondered where this van would receive actual (negative) feedback.
It has been posted for sale everywhere, with gradually reduced asking prices.
I think The seller initially dipped their toes in the water at $120,000 or something insane.

2wd with a DIY level of quality, looks like it smells like patchouli and weed, and certainly a questionable aesthetic isn’t worth anywhere near the ask, or the first ask, or the second lowered ask, etc.

I can’t imagine that there are many people that would like the old hippy dead tour look, and also have the the money to pay cash for this van.
But, you never know. It only takes one person (trustafarian) to make the sale.

I personally hate the interweave cave fake outside van look for a sprinter, but if I were building to sell I’d strongly consider going that route. This van displays a very personal feeling of the individual builder, one that severly limits the demographic interested in a purchase.


That said: the floor plan is pretty good for two, the little succulent planters are pretty freaking cool, and at least you don’t have a vanlife blog.

A genuine good luck with sale to the seller.
 

Andre Landau

New member
I always appreciate negative feedback because it makes me think harder, and I don't grow on positive feedback, other than more content.
1) I don't smoke weed anymore, and I love the grateful dead.
3) The original price was chosen relative to what other companies charge. I have talked to so many people who have paid upwards of 150k for their 2WD, both custom and not. This is more than a DIY with insulation hanging out everywhere, and we have treated it as artwork. So I feel like coming in above 80k is ok. If I drove it 30k miles first, I would have priced it accordingly. And yes, I dropped the price after initial reactions to it
4) I boost the asking price above what I really want because I expect to be negotiated with.
 

s.e.charles

Well-known member
the consideration when buying artwork is that it has to appeal to the buyer. once an artist develops a following, he can cater to that style. targeting a demographic can be more easily done by starting with generally accepted considerations, and then refining those as the process unfolds. you're sort of done that, but I think you are defending considerations which may be only receptive to a specialized niche within a specialized field. cart before the horse kind of thing.

I think all creative people want their ideas/ craftsmanship/ esthetic to be appreciated. but appreciated and sold are not the same thing. the inside of the van initially reminded me of the Mr Sharkey Bus Barn website of yore. it was always a go-to for me, but hardly demonstrated vehicles which I would consider building in kind. can't remember the "Woodstock handmade busses" book title that goes for megabucks if it even can be found, but
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Roger's "some turtles have nice shells" also comes to mind as examples of "hey that's cool" but, "not for my daily driver".

something can be said for Joe Checkbook when you are trying to market a product, especially an expensive one. not to imply it has to be an RV with brass 'n' glass, but it has to have some latitude for the buyer, or his significant other, to be able to personalize after the ink on the check is dry. you're really not giving birth; at some point it has to be let go.

there's a jeep floating around here which has quite a sorted past and should have been allowed to rest many moons ago. when I read the thread, all I could think was Steven King's Christine. it was resurrected and made somewhat usable, but it looks like a swiss army knife. obviously there is only so much real estate in a fourteen foot space, but it looks like what I believe the owner did was use every scrap of dissimilar material he had in the garage. extra piece of wood? make a shelf. extra sailboat cleat? not gonna throw that out: screw it on over here. had a coupon so I bought a piece of this stuff - lets glue it to that. and in the process, I think it diffused the idea and workmanship required to get it to the completed stage.

anyway, not to imply every vehicle has to have a wrap with swoops and swirls, but unless you are in a position to hold out for That Special Buyer, you might consider modifying your designs to a more "white bread" audience. let them add the sparkly mosaics and dhurries after they get it home.

ps: where'd the #2 go?
 

happytraveler

New member
Nice van. I can see that you have a ton of hours in the work.

I find the unrequested business advice you are getting rather funny. You are being very polite about it, but hope you are not taking any of it too seriously. My guess is you don't have much interest in appealing to "the masses" or the "General overlanding community" and I don't blame you. The masses usually get (and want) boring things.

You should build what you want to build. If I wanted a Sprinter conversion, I would be far more interested in working with someone like you than someone whose idea of customization is picking out items from a "options" list.

good luck with the sale
 
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Roger M.

Adventurer
What a bunch of pedantic twits.
If the van doesn’t interest you ... move on, and do so sans comment.

Although the builder is politely feigning interest ... nobody here really gives a crap what “you” think of the build.
 

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