Wandering Temperature Gauge

[haydn callow]

I reckon you will now find out if the garage is reputable and fair.....Personally I would have walked away from that one as at the moment it is a buyers market.

[scanner]

If there is any trouble or reluctance to put it right go straight to Trading Standards - selling an unroadworthy vehicle, not fit for purpose and not of merchantable quality.

Take you pick from any/all of those reasons to get your money back.

[The Great Pretender]

IMHO the reason it is overheating is becuase the head is full of air. You have had good advice off members and ignored them, now they could say........I told you so.
So you bought a trade sale car. Ignored advice, this hasn't happened before but I agree with Haydn.

[missfixit70]

IMHO the reason it is overheating is becuase the head is full of air. You have had good advice off members and ignored them, now they could say........I told you so.
So you bought a trade sale car. Ignored advice, this hasn't happened before but I agree with Haydn.

Sorry TGP, I just had to quote this for posterity as it's not likely to happen again

[Bob]

It has happened before.

[The Great Pretender]

IMHO the reason it is overheating is becuase the head is full of air. You have had good advice off members and ignored them, now they could say........I told you so.
So you bought a trade sale car. Ignored advice, this hasn't happened before but I agree with Haydn.

Sorry TGP, I just had to quote this for posterity as it's not likely to happen again

You are correct..................
We both understand there is a problem on the coolant system but disagree where the answer is..........

In this case a guy looks at a trade car, asks the club about problems he has found, disregards advice and buys it.

Sorry mate happy to help solve your Bongo problems but you aint listened to advice so far.......

[haydn callow]

IMHO the reason it is overheating is becuase the head is full of air. You have had good advice off members and ignored them, now they could say........I told you so.
So you bought a trade sale car. Ignored advice, this hasn't happened before but I agree with Haydn.

Sorry TGP, I just had to quote this for posterity as it's not likely to happen again

OH! yes it is (well it might)

[Trouble at t'Mill]

Parklife.

Hellish dilemma for you. Although you have additional rights when buying from the trade, I understand you may also have to give the garage involved a reasonable opportunity to correct the fault - often considered as being 3 attempts.

My real concern here is that (a)this fault has been present for some time - since you first looked at the car at least, and possibly long before that, and (b) this garage clearly hasn't a clue about Bongos and their heating quirks (if they had, giant warning bells would have sounded for them long ago...)

So, I doubt they can 'fix' it. Worse, even if they do 'appear' to, this car sounds as though it has already had a number of 'heating' episodes. Although the head might appear to be ok at the moment, there's a good chance it's come close - with some major 'expansion' going on there.

As said above, this is a buyer's market at the mo', so if you can - and make every effort possible using all the arguments here - reject the car officially and claim your money back. Look up on the 'net - or go to citizen's advice, or your local trading standards office - info on how to do this the correct way (even surf for Honest John...), and then do is asap.

Obviously, this is my opinion, but it is what I would do with this particular Bongo.

Good luck.

[missfixit70]

Well said TATM, I'd second that - you're going to end up with a whole load of grief otherwise I reckon & you're going to have trouble trusting the vehicle.

[ParkLife]

Sorry guys, but actually I listened very carefully to your advice, considered the options and then decided because of the price and general condition of the vehicle it was worth the risk.

Thanks to your information and opinions I went into the purchase with my eyes fully open, and half expected the overheating problem on the drive home, and had made plans in case my worries panned out. As a result I caught the overheating in plenty of time and no damage has been done. The car is now back with the garage who, to be fair to them, have dealt with the situation well so far. They obviously didn’t realise there was a problem as they’d be complete idiots to sell someone a car that won’t go a handful of miles before having a serious problem!

The radiator and water pump were replaced about three years ago and look to be in very good condition. I suspect the problem is either a dodgy stat or as someone else has pointed out, air in the system.

The engine itself seems to run fine and it's just flown through the MOT. Assuming I get it back shortly with the cooling system fixed, I'll check it over very carefully for overheating damage - with a bit of luck I'll have got myself a very nice Bongo, at a price I'm very happy with.

Of course, there's always the risk that it won't pan out and I'll lose a bit of money. But again, I was fully aware of that and have no one to blame except myself!

So thanks for all the help and info, but I could do without your derision and gloating!

[Trouble at t'Mill]

That's all fair enough, Parklife - and best of luck.

Have you asked the garage if they are aware of how the Bongo's cooling system should be bled? Pleeeeez ask them if you haven't already done so. If they don't know the 'quirks', then they'll refill the system like a 'normal' car (and the Bongo ain't normal...) in completely good faith, but won't realise it hasn't been done properly until it overheats again, and that isn't the best way to find out.

Fingers crossed for you.

[Trouble at t'Mill]

(PS And that isn't 'derision and gloating' - that's called 'in-fighting'!!! And it's best to stand at the edge and just look on...

[haydn callow]

I don't think peeps are gloating...(just don't understand your actions) Is the expansion tank very brown coloured and you cannot easily see the coolant level ? and is there any brown staining outside the tank on the exit pipes etc ? If this is the case then at some stage the bongo has overheated (almost certainly) and although no apparant damage has been done and bongo is running well..often weeks later for no obvious reason the head gasket will give up and even the cylinder head.
I don't thin peeps are gloating...and anyone who has never heard of this forum (thousands out there) may be forgiven for seeing a bongo..likeing it...buying it.
But having a little knowledge and you did know somthing about the cooling issues involved it just dosn't add up that you would go ahead......Bongos are cheap at the moment and there are "known" members of this forum selling theirs and also some reputable dealers that know what they are selling. Good cheap Bongos are out there in considerable numbers.
I do hope yours is sorted for you and you get many years out of it...The last thing you need is a recovery from the back of beyond and possibly a big bill.

[scanner]

I don't think peeps are gloating...(just don't understand your actions) Is the expansion tank very brown coloured and you cannot easily see the coolant level ? and is there any brown staining outside the tank on the exit pipes etc ? If this is the case then at some stage the bongo has overheated (almost certainly) and although no apparant damage has been done and bongo is running well..often weeks later for no obvious reason the head gasket will give up and even the cylinder head.
I don't thin peeps are gloating...and anyone who has never heard of this forum (thousands out there) may be forgiven for seeing a bongo..likeing it...buying it.
But having a little knowledge and you did know somthing about the cooling issues involved it just dosn't add up that you would go ahead......Bongos are cheap at the moment and there are "known" members of this forum selling theirs and also some reputable dealers that know what they are selling. Good cheap Bongos are out there in considerable numbers.
I do hope yours is sorted for you and you get many years out of it...The last thing you need is a recovery from the back of beyond and possibly a big bill.

I can only second all of the above. I didn't see any of it as gloating just surprise that you would go ahead and buy a Bongo that was so obviously not up to scratch. You say you bought it as it was still a good price - all I can ask is just how good that price could be if it is worth the grief of the troubles people like Simon Jones have gone through.
It is clear (to me at least) from what you have said that the Bongo is "not of merchantable quality" and I wouldn't have any confidence that

There's no point in me asking the guys at the garage, they're nice enough but I'm afraid pretty clueless when it comes to the Bongo - they're just a 2nd hand car garage and have stumbled upon a Bongo via a part exchange.

are going to have any success in sorting out the problems.

If you are going to let them have a go at putting it right you really need to either get them to join Bongo Fury and read ALL the fact sheets or print them out yourself and make sure they appreciate how important it is they read, understand and follow religeously the guidance they offer.

Personally I reckon that with the faults you've listed and the trouble you've had already if they are paying you less than £500 to take it away it's a poor deal.

Sorry........................