Bongo Fury

Trouble at t'Mill wrote:And, of course, don't forget the AA and RAC. I think it's around £100 for a good check and test drive - they'll soon pick up on any problems.

But here's an interesting thought. Since its a specialist car and yer average AA/RAC man many not know exactly what to look out for. I wonder if there is a Bongo specialist (e.g. the guy in S Croydon) who might come out and inspect it for a fee.

The other possibility is one of the many knowledgeable Bongo owners on here. They might offer if fuel costs and a few beers were offered.

Inspections / surveys are tricky things. You may well be advised of bad points, but you still have to move through on the (now trickier negotiations), and you are now £100 down (and still with no guarantee - just an opinion). I'm pushing it a bit here, but it could be argued that Bongo faults fall in to 3 broad categories

1) General condition indicators (scruffy, evidence of botched wiring, excess rust, components like aircon, heater blower etc. 'needing a cheap fix')

2) Normal wear and tear things that will cost you soon after purchase (water pump, starter motor, alternator, droplinks etc. etc.)

3) Things that could be v costly but maybe hard for anyone to predict (auto gearbox failure, overheating that cracks the head etc.)

You should get good at spotting (1) after viewing a few Bongos (Murphys Law dicates you'll realise the first one you saw was a beaut and you let it go but....). Walk away from (1).

(2) Should be reflected in the price but budget to have to spend on it

(3) Not a lot you can do, but be aware this is an occasional risk with a car like the Bongo. You can ask searching questions like 'has it ever overheated' or 'have you had any trouble with the gearbox' and hope you get a straight reply.

Interestested to see if others think this 1-2-3 strategy has any merit - it's a bit off the top of my head.

I would say that if there is only one thing to look for in a Bongo, or any vehicle that is 10 to 12 years old, its the state of the coolant. If its rusty coloured then walk away. The coolant in the header tank should be either blue, green or pink (unless they have used some other colour which I'm not aware of). You should be able to see the level of the coolant clearly from the outside of the header tank (without having to unscrew the cap). This would indicate that the coolant has been changed regularly. If they have taken the trouble to change the coolant when they should then you can assume the rest of the sevice items have also been carried out when they should.
Not many Bongo's come with their Japanese sevice history, but this is one way of checking that it has been seviced.