Bongo Fury

Dear all at Bongo control, I'm considering buying a Bongo BUT I'm hearing rumblings about overheating and I see adds on ebay for new heads. am I being paranoid? or are there some bongos that have head issues. I'm interested, as a cracked head has just made my Hilux surf beyond ecconomic repair and I had to put a new one on my old Toyota 4Runner which was the best part of a grand. I probably won't be put off but would like to go into this eyes open (wallet shut)

cheers

Overheating can be a problem, and there are lots of tales on this forum about it, but there are a lot more that don't overheat. A lot of the problem stems from the fact that nearly all Bongos have old hoses.

I'm sure others will chip in, but it has to be said that this is an increasing problem. It is because many of the recently arrived (I mean over the last 2 or 3 months) Bongos being sold in the UK are in shocking condition, and may well be prone to overheating. A replacement radiator will usually sort out the problem, but many of the sharks selling these dodgy vehicles on eBay or elsewhere wouldn't dream of doing this. In my opinion, you can do one of three things.

1) Buy one for a rock bottom price and factor in the cost of a new head and/or radiator if it overheats.
2) Buy one from a reputable dealer, i.e. somone who will give you an extended warranty and who has a reputation to lose if things go pear shaped.
3) Buy privately and get an RAC inspection, and take it out for a full test drive including going up steep hills.

Remember, if a Bongo is being sold for £2,500, there is probably a very good reason!

everything Ian said is good advice

I for one am having mine done for a cracked head at the moment and the advice I would give anyone buying a bongo is put a new radiator on they cost about £150

It seams most of the problems are caused by sediment in the radiator not giving suficiant flow and causing hotspots in the engin which dont allways show on the needle.

Having said that the vast majority of bongos have no problems at all but like the waxoil its a precaution worth taking IMHO

having had the cracked head problem would I recomend a bongo?

hell yes

We had to have a replacement engine, due to gunge in the coolant system and dodgy hoses once flushed out and good quality coolant added and most importantly the system was bled. I too would still recomend a bongo, best vehicle we have had great fun to drive and so many great friends made on this forum

cheers folks We're still real excited about buying one but are concerned following the hassles noted above about buying a pup. Prices up here in NE Scoltand are a bit higher eg£4,200 for pop top 8 seater 75k miles and I haven't seen a camper version for sale locally. We were thinking about a factory camper from Algy's Autos 30-40K miles for around £4500 as a starter Bongo but there's a 12 week+ wait and bit nervous about handing over cash for something I've not seen, although he does seem to get good feed back......