Bongo buying Scotland

[C&DCam]

Hi - we're new to Bongos, but are seriously thinking about buying one. We live in Scotland (east central belt), so thought this would be a good part of the forum to post to. We are looking for a vechicle both for long distance travelling and camping and also for longer day trips out. If anyone had any buying advice it would be very welcome, in particular where you'd recommend to buy from, any thoughts about what to look out for, and how much we might expect to pay.

Basic thoughts so far are:
MPV rather than conversion - as 2 adults + 2 young children (under four) with another on the way...
Diesel rather than petrol - as better fuel economy and longer lasting engine
2wd vs 4wd - no strong preference
Grade 4 or above newly imported vechicle - to reduce risk of rust and mechanical failure

Any steer as to what we might expect to pay for something along the lines of above?

We've visited Bill at Campercraft (now Kirkcaldy), who was very helpful. Has anyone else bought with him?

All advice much appreciated.
Many thanks!

Claire & David

[charlieD]

Hi Clair and David,

Welcome to the forum and glad to see another north of the boarder.

I've had no dealings with Bill but he has an excellent reputation on here . I bought mine down south just because there is more choice and they may be cheaper, I got a 2 wheel drive diesel AFT with a camper conversion and she's fine, the guys with 4x4 get on better in the snow and muddy fields.

As for current prices, look on autotrader and in the for sale section on here.

Have fun and good luck

CD

[dunslair]

Give Dickons of Perth, Dairsie Autopoint, Campers Scotland and the folks in Kilmarnock a look as well (although Kilmarnock had more converted vans a couple of weeks ago). Read through all the buying tips on the forum and take your time to inspect and test drive. have a look at wheelquick in Wigan and Durham Direct imports as well (both of whome tend to be a little less expensive than up here ) Don't get too hung up on age, condition is King, some vans which are 12 years old look fantastic when they are fresh imports.

Best of luck, you won't regret it when you find one.....

[Bongopoet]

We bought ours from Bill at Campercraft two years ago and have had no problem with it
Chrissy

[rapiddescent]

could definitely recommend bill, he looks after mine and I've had quite a bit done to it. Bill doesn't have many bongo's for sale (they tend to go) but he's probably got the most expertise in the area. There's some buying tips on the forum somewhere that I wrote about buying from an individual.

[Annandale]

We hired one from Campers Scotland first to check how we felt. Of course we were smitten. He does a discount if you buy from him too. Bought ours from Dairsie, had it imported and its in very good nick, but I wasn't wild about the service we got. But then I know nothing about buying cars at all and probably didn't know the etiquette. Currently getting it serviced at the dark and dickensian GBL motors in Gorgie, Edinburgh who seems cheap and reliable. But then I don't know anything about cars . . .

[The_Gordons]

We bought ours from Bill last March after visiting Campers Scotland, Dairsie and Campers Direct (Kilmarnock). Our Bongo hasn't given us any trouble and sailed through it's MOT this year.

[systemshock]

Happy to add my recomendation for Bill - he's very strong on the after sales support as well and knows his stuff. A real character as well...

[mountainmummy]

Hi - this is my first post. We are in a similar situation to Claire and David, thinking of buying a Bongo and have two young children (3 and 4). Does anyone know if Bill has a website? I've tried to google him without much luck. So far we've only looked online but are thinking of visiting Campers Scotland and Darsie at the weekend.

[dunslair]

This contact info should help you track down Bill, but give him a call first to let him know when you hope to see him (plus he may not have any vans to look at just now)
Campercraft
Unit 5 MUIRHEAD ENTERPRISE COURT MITCHELSTON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY1 3LN

p: 07907661175

Let us know how you get on and we can help you with any other suggestions for places to look if need be.

All the best

David.

[mountainmummy]

Thanks for the help, have located him now and e-mailed.

[iBongo]

I'm not long home from visiting Bill@ Campercraft. I spent about 2 hours with him. I didn't buy my Bongo from Bill, he's going to convert it for me.

My Bongo is a 1998 tin top, 63,000 miles LPG/Petrol conversion. 2.5 V6. She was imported last year.

Within minutes Bill was underneath, front, back, inside unscrewing things above wheel rims. He let her cool down and then he was in to the coolant with a Haydn DIP stick (which he gave me) he checked all hoses for leaks.

I was pretty nervous wondering what he was going to find

After about 20 - 30 minutes he turned round to me and said "She's a really clean Bongo and I did well"

He didn't have to do what he did, I was there to talk about a conversion. He said there's no point in converting her if she's a piece of junk lol

I'm going to start a new thread in the Conversion part of the forum. Bill said he would send me daily updates (with photos) after he had the van for 3 or 4 days

Bill starts work on my Bongo this Monday 8th of August 2011.

P.S He didn't like the idea of me NOT having a spare wheel (neither did I TBH) so he gave me one

[MikeBongo]

I'll add my praises for Bill. My van was originally coveretd by Campercraft although I got it from Mill Garage in Duns who do VW conersions (and are really decent folk as well). After I had done about 4000 milkes I took it back to Bill for a service and some extra interior lighting, learned the full history of the van including the great news that the engine was a replacement which had only 26,000 miles on it when he installed it. Service fantastic and so much enthusiasm. Very good value too.

The point about age is very true. Mine (on an 'N' plate) is virtually rust free apart from a bit of flaking where the Fiamma awning brackets have split the paint. While I was away last week I met someone with a much newer one which had lots of rust bubbles .. so it pays to look carefully!

Mike

[bongodonkey]

I definitely would stick with Bill. He is an absolute marvel.

Now the best way to approach getting a bongo is to let Bill source one from Japan.........Bill only deals in high end grade 4 vehicles. He has enormous experience with Bongos and other marques of Jap imports too!

His work is excellent too!