Is my bongo just scrap?

[tacky]

Our bongo might have a blown head gasket or possibly a cracked head. I've taken it to a bongo specialist in Bristol and they have found quite a few things wrong. The main problem is that lots of the radiator hoses are leaking. To pressure test the engine I'd need to have these hoses replaced costing nearly £800
Once the hoses are replaced they can do a pressure test which if it reveals a cracked head is going to cost around £2000 to fix.
They have also found that the steering rack and suspension arm needs replacing. I didn't even bother asking how much that was going to cost.

It's really disappointing as we only bought it from classic campers in pontypool six months ago with a full MOT, we have only driven it around 2000 miles.

I'm I best just biting the bullet and selling it for scrap?

[Bob]

Oh dear.

Sorry to hear that, but welcome to BF.

The answer will depend on several things, is it in good condition, particularly regarding rust?

Does it have a camper conversion, and how would you value that?

I'm pretty sure the (trade) seller has a responsibility up to 6 months but after that you're out on a limb.

Did the engine overheat, and is it the diesel? If 'Yes' to both it's very likely the head is damaged.

I can't comment on the prices quoted but if you can list the hoses needed another garage may give you a price, but bear in mind you do need to use a Bongo Savvy garage for this work. It's the bleed process which is vital.

No doubt others will have some thoughts.

[Flanners]

Obviously I don't know the full circs but given you purchased within the trade and you allude to the time frame you have owned it I would be going back to the said 'Dealer' you purchased it from with the problems you have experienced/suffered and asking them to rectify them (Consumer Rights Act etc). It would depend on what you paid for the van initially as to whether you consider it economically viable to fix it yourself, that's a personal financial decision.

Not suggesting all the Trade are the same for one moment but since having purchased a Bongo and been on here and read posts and then personally visited some so called 'Specialists' and 'Traders' and fallen foul in the 2nd week of ownership of a needless £200 bill from a so called Bongo Specialist for work that was not needed and did not cure the simple issue (I fixed it with info from here!) I have to say that in all the years of owning maintaining and cherishing motorcycles and sports cars I have met and read about more unscrupulous and mechanically ignorant so called 'Bongo specialists' fleecing many of their customers in 6 months than I have in 20+ years. The stories of people buying complete buckets, vehicles not having had work undertaken on them as stated, misdiagnosis of mechanical issues seems a big problem in our community for some (prospective) owners'.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Katka]

Really sorry to hear your predicament.
As the main cost is in the head replacement - should it be needed, would it be financially advantageous to have the head removed and visually checked or bench checked first and if it appears ok you'll know the pipes replacement will (probably) be the cost to get your Bongo on the road. If the head has obviously failed, you'll know the maximum cost you face and can then decide what to do. It's a bit back to front, but might help clarify what bills you face......

[mikeonb4c]

If this advert is anything to go by,

https://www.gumtree.com/p/campervans-mo ... 1287230756

.....Classic Campers make big claims for saying they refurb Bongos prior to sale and that they fit all Bongos with a low coolant alarm. Maybe you should feed back to them what the Bristol garage has just said, especially if the Bristol garage can confirm the hoses etc look as though they've been in poor condition for some time?

Out of interest, if yours has a low coolant alarm, did it ever go off?

[Eratosthenes]

Sorry to hear this news.
Did Classic Campers trade under a different name 2 - 3 years ago?
I think so.
If it is the same place, I almost bought from there.
Paid a deposit as some one else was interested too, or so I was
led to believe. Sorted out insurance but later that evening didn't
feel comfortable about it. Went back to the site with a colleague
(a minder). Took a big lamp and got underneath the bongo and give it
another look over. There was extensive welding underneath which
resembled snail trails and I may have been wrong but I am sure I
would have noticed, but there were 4 different make wheels/tires on it.
However I went the following day and said I wasn't proceeding with
the purchase. It was quite a tense time.
I lost my deposit, it could have been worse, but I think overall
I won. (recommendations and word of mouth etc).
I know this doesn't help you but hopefully other potential
bongoers may benefit from searching the forum.

[tacky]

Thanks for all your thoughts. It's a tricky decision, in a way it would be better if the cost was either £1000 or £10,000. It would certainly be easier to make up our mind what to do!

Having had a good chat to the garage who are looking at it (ADS) I think the rest of the van is in pretty good shape. No horrible bodge welding etc. So what we are going to do is replace the hoses and get the pressure test done. There's a chance the head isn't at fault and if it is at least I'll know.

As for how much classic campers knew about the problems with the van, it's hard to say. What I can say is they aren't helping resolve the situation. I would have hoped they would offer to do the repairs at something approaching cost price. In the end there was no benefit paying over the odds buying the van from them.

Fingers crossed with the pressure test, let's hope for a bit of luck!

[Bob]

I don't know if this is practical, but could you (or ADS) cut and bung the pipes which are to be removed, then pressure test just the engine part of the cooling system before fitting all new hoses?

[mikeonb4c]

Thanks for all your thoughts. It's a tricky decision, in a way it would be better if the cost was either £1000 or £10,000. It would certainly be easier to make up our mind what to do!

Having had a good chat to the garage who are looking at it (ADS) I think the rest of the van is in pretty good shape. No horrible bodge welding etc. So what we are going to do is replace the hoses and get the pressure test done. There's a chance the head isn't at fault and if it is at least I'll know.

As for how much classic campers knew about the problems with the van, it's hard to say. What I can say is they aren't helping resolve the situation. I would have hoped they would offer to do the repairs at something approaching cost price. In the end there was no benefit paying over the odds buying the van from them.

Fingers crossed with the pressure test, let's hope for a bit of luck!

Did Classic Campers fit a low coolant alarm as they say they do. If they did it should have provided insurance against coolant loss leading to possible cracked head etc

[teenmal]

Thanks for all your thoughts. It's a tricky decision, in a way it would be better if the cost was either £1000 or £10,000. It would certainly be easier to make up our mind what to do!

Having had a good chat to the garage who are looking at it (ADS) I think the rest of the van is in pretty good shape. No horrible bodge welding etc. So what we are going to do is replace the hoses and get the pressure test done. There's a chance the head isn't at fault and if it is at least I'll know.

As for how much classic campers knew about the problems with the van, it's hard to say. What I can say is they aren't helping resolve the situation. I would have hoped they would offer to do the repairs at something approaching cost price. In the end there was no benefit paying over the odds buying the van from them.

Fingers crossed with the pressure test, let's hope for a bit of luck!

Did Classic Campers fit a low coolant alarm as they say they do. If they did it should have provided insurance against coolant loss leading to possible cracked head etc

Good shout Mike, they might also be able to put in a claim against the Low Coolant Alarm Trader if it was found to be faulty.

Take Care.

[mikeonb4c]

Thanks for all your thoughts. It's a tricky decision, in a way it would be better if the cost was either £1000 or £10,000. It would certainly be easier to make up our mind what to do!

Having had a good chat to the garage who are looking at it (ADS) I think the rest of the van is in pretty good shape. No horrible bodge welding etc. So what we are going to do is replace the hoses and get the pressure test done. There's a chance the head isn't at fault and if it is at least I'll know.

As for how much classic campers knew about the problems with the van, it's hard to say. What I can say is they aren't helping resolve the situation. I would have hoped they would offer to do the repairs at something approaching cost price. In the end there was no benefit paying over the odds buying the van from them.

Fingers crossed with the pressure test, let's hope for a bit of luck!

Did Classic Campers fit a low coolant alarm as they say they do. If they did it should have provided insurance against coolant loss leading to possible cracked head etc

Good shout Mike, they might also be able to put in a claim against the Low Coolant Alarm Trader if it was found to be faulty.

Take Care.

Good luck with that one (ping pong comes to mind). But the OP has not confirmed whether one was even fitted and it would be interesting to know, as a starting point.

[sean2306]

Many thanks for the post Tacky, I have one on order due for collection on Friday from this dealer. I had to leave a £400 cash deposit as their card machine allegedly was not working so looks like I may have to write it off. I did a trader search with no results for Classic Campers before buying

[Billybongo123]

How are you getting on with this? We have had a similar nightmare from a dealer. It shattered our dreams, has caused tears and sometimes felt like it's trying to financially ruin us, but we are fighting through it. I now have a low mileage engine and box in, airflow meter swapped, camber and water pump sorted and changed all the water pipes. Just welding to tackle now as the rear end is shit. Bloody cars. This isn't what we had in mind. To be fair the vans are lovely to work on. I've enjoyed it, just not all the extra issues I've found, as you can imagine. At least it's getting better.

We are fighting trader through citizens advice and trading standards as we speak, but trader ignoring us so far.

[garethwilliams]

Sorry to reserect this thread, firstly hi! Potential newbie to Bongo ownership here!

Came across your website via searching for buyers guides to Bongo's as from what I gather there's good vans out there and bad ones and then came across this thread.

I live in South Wales and saw Classic Campers in Ponty on eBay as a Bongo specialist so we're potentially looking up there soon. They have on eBay number 273124386844 for £4790 a Bongo that looked good and they said they service them, put a low coolant alarm on them and do the cambelt also.

From what I read above, are these a place to avoid as £5k is a lot of money for me and I can't afford big repair bills!

[Bob]

Hi, and welcome.

Obviously we can't suggest avoiding any particular business for legal reasons, but if you read the personal experiences above I'm sure that will help you come to a decision.

Caveat Emptor.