Thinking about buying a bongo - ADVICE PLEASE

[RU lovesskiing]

Hello Bongo World,

My wife and I are looking at buying a van. We are a rapidly expanding family, one toddler with another baby on the way (and fingers crossed, another child in the next few years too) and 2 large dogs. We love the outdoors and camping. We are looking around for a practical vehicle that I can use to get to work everyday, about 25 mile round trip, and we can use at weekends and holidays for exploring europe and britain. Alos, it will be used to transport the brood around. The bongo seems to tick alot of boxes. What sort of things should I look out for? Any good dealers (we live in north devon)? Looked at VW and vito - but both have issues and are expensive.

Any advice or guidance or stories, good or bad about the bongo you can offer would be great. Looking to buy in next few months, will have to be finance and we have a px car.

My concern is that the van will last, do 200000 plus miles if looked after. Body work will be ok. Cheap to service and repair if a problem. That sort of stuff. As I said, any advice would be great.

Look forward to hearing from bongonauts that can spare sometime to help us out.

Cheers.

[M 80NGO]

Hi The bongo is a great all rounder but it does have a few drawbacks, its not the most fuel efficient vehicle i get about 26mpg out of my 2.5 TD but i can live with that for the miles i do, i think that a petrol engined Bongo with an lpg conversion would be the way to go to be honest.

Rear arches can also be a weak point so check them carefully, also check the underside for corrosion inner sills, floor, rear heater pipes etc, lastly is head gasket issues, allow a couple of hours to veiw and drive a vehicle take a tourch a stp ladder and a fridge magnet with you ensure the vehicle you buy has a decent service history and that the coolant header tank and rad have good clean coolant in them, murky water could be hiding addatives to mask a head gasket issue, take it for at least a 30mile drive to ensure all is well and that the temp gauge sits at the recognised 11:00 position. Also check that the AFT goes fully up and down and that all the switches and electrics work inc the air con.

With your criteria dogs kids etc i'd get an unconverted AFT and a little trailer to carry your camping gear when you want to get away.

Keep us posted, Pete.

[umbongocat]

All of above and I would always recommend is that you test drive quite a few of them first before you buy. We didn't do this with our first one and had a few issues with it being sluggish etc but didn't have anything to compare it to. It was only after having watched posts on here about how they easily pull caravans and things that I realised ours wasn't right. Luckily we had a warranty for a year and it was exchanged as there was issues with it that would take time to sort out. Now we've happily been bongoing all year around it and taken it to France on our travels with 6 of us (3 year old, 7, 9 & 14).

I've not looked back since we got ours, they really are fab machines if you check properly that you're buying a good one

[dobby]

Probably going to get thrown off the forum for this but:

1. Regular commuting - Make sure that you get a bongo that is reliable enough for this, buy as new as you can and in the best possible condition and be ready to have it serviced and maintained regularly - you'll need a friendly and local bongo mechanic for the special stuff (cooling system). I would seriously appraise the benefits of having the bongo as a second car and buy a very economical car for commuting (spreadsheet time!)

2. Space - we had ours when the kids were 7 and 5 - it seemed like a lot of room but quickly fills up, with two dogs and three children you'll definitely need a trailer as previously suggested. They can be a bit too cosy with 4 in it when camping for more than a few days but when the kids are toddlers it should be ok.

3. Buy a decent awning that one of you can put up on your own - Khyam's potentially. As you'll need extra quickly accessible space.

I used mine for work everyday for 5 years and was happy with it but it's 15 years old now, needs TLC and rest periods!


Good luck!

[Doone]

Hello and welcome to the forum. All of the above is sensible advice.
I don't know if you spotted the 'frequently asked questions' about buying? If not, it's worth a read and is on THIS LINK.
There are also Bongos for sale on the main website ON THIS LINK. I haven't checked to see if there are any local ones on it, but you never know your luck.
If the Bongo you look at has been in the country for a while and isn't a new import, look for full service history. Whether the work's been by the owner or a garage, it will give you an idea of how well it's been looked after. And do take it for a very long test drive, as advised above.

[RU lovesskiing]

Thanks to all who replied offering advice.
I have been reseraching different vans for about 2 years now - its just such a mine field!
We really want something we can use everyday but also for weekends and holidays.
As for camping, we have a big tent to use, so as long as we can get places comfortably then I dont have an issue not sleeping in the van.

Anyone know of some good places to buy from in Devon?

I have read all the areas on here and on other websites about what to look for - just thought that you as the experts may highlight something extra. Sounds like they have an issue with coolant and radiators. Will keep looking.

Thanks All.

[dobby]

I don't know about where to buy a bongo in Devon but there's a post above yours with a link for one of the best bongo repair and servicing garages in the country and they are located in Plymouth