I am a fleet owner and purchased several of these because they are very functional with a great overall design and platform. They safely handle a lot of weight and have superior freight space. They are actually kind of fun to drive because you are setting way up high like an old flat nosed tractor. They are front wheel drive and do pretty good in the snow and ice and gas mileage is far superior to the others. So it sounds great right?, so why the poor review? What a piece of JUNK! Headlight bulbs are about every 6 weeks, headlight capsules melting right onto the bulbs at the tune of a $1000 per occurrence. The factory built in Jake brake is so overly sensitive that even empty on the slightest of down grades it is downshifting abruptly and the rpms shoot up to 4500. There is coolant loss that apparently is impossible to detect? Lifter knock will form around 85,000 miles faithfully. I have had so many problem with these I know the Ram customer care rep by name and memorized her extension. I put 200k bumper to bumper warranties on them at the tune of $5,000 each, which is great but between actually trying to get them in for service within 3 to 4 days, waiting for parts for days and crazy expensive repairs it is a constant nightmare and almost not even worth it. Then once they are repaired they try to get out of warranty by saying it is maintenance or normal wear and tear. In general Ram dealers are the pits for service work, usually only having 1 or maybe 2 techs who are even "certified" to work on the Promaster. The worst is Ram knows these problems exist and take no responsibility or have figured out any fixes for it. I have a dealer service bulletin I "acquired" outlining the problem but they refuse to recall it. The 2018 engineering marvel to remedy the problem..... they eliminated the daytime running lights and put the old headlight manual on and off switch. Ram customer care will help pay for the premature repairs a couple times but after one or two you are on your own. I am not brand loyal, and had no preconceived brand bias one way or the other. It is on very seldom occasion that I leave reviews on any products, but the Promaster is deeply flawed when it comes to durability. I have a few Ford Transits, the cargo space in narrower, they are rear wheel drive and about 2-3 miles per gallon less but very reliable. The 2016 Transit that has 305,000 miles on it has had less cost in repairs then the 2017 Promaster with 45,000 miles. Chevy Cutaways are bulky with poor gas mpg but cheap, quick and easy to fix. The Chevy Cutaways typically need transmissions at about 150k miles, but they are readily available and takes about 5 hours at the dealership (GM crate one installed for about $3200 - $3700) I will not be buying another Promaster and I hope this review helps any business owner out there make a better choice for your business needs.
