Bongo Fury

Hi Can anyone help me, Is it possible to trace your Bongo's Japanese Service history with mileage etc. I have a fresh import 2001 Bongo. There is a sticker on the rear window which I assume is the service sticker. It was supposed to be converted when I bought it. I bought it from MVM imports in Fife. I bought it with the assumption it had 65K (miles) on the clock. I now realise the numbers are still rolling in Kilometres. so how does this affect my MOT which states Miles? Have I been mis-sold? I am starting to think it has just been randomly rolled back!! as the garage I bought it from have been less than helpful in assisting me. YES I HOPE YOU ARE READING THIS.

A great scenario would be if it has only done 65 kilometres then the miles would be much lower! I should be so lucky,

Other than that I love my Bongo as do the Kids!
Simon Shaw

Generally the vans will be 'chipped' by the importer and then read in miles from the point that the work was done. I would expect your import reading in kilometers (which is good news), and which could be substantiated by the Japanese auction papers. When it comes to your MOT, however, it will be shown in miles. For that reason I think it would be worth getting the dealer to confirm that the van now reads in miles, and that they have 'chipped' it to do so, otherwise your year on year mileage will be out to a factor of 1.6 (which could put buyers off when you come to sell in the future)

The mileage on the odometer is in KMs on import .. some dealers fit a chip to the speedo to convert both the KPH to MPH and the odometer to also read in miles ... most dealers tend to fit just a MPH conversion sticker over the KPH figures

Some dealer supply a BIMTA certificate to verify the miles on the speedo while the vehicle is still in Japan (but that's not to say the vehicle as not been clocked previously while in Japan ..!!)

A British Independent Motor Trade Association (BIMTA) certificate note the milage is in Kms and miles ..

Hi Simon,

With the odemeter most owners stick with the KM reading. There are kits out there to convert and 're-clock' into miles, though it I personally don't know how the change performs or the process involved.

Bongo's tend to be advertised to UK buyers in miles; for example I bought ours with approx 67, 000 miles which equates to 103,000kms. When we bought it there was no 'shock' as that's what we expected.

However, if you are unsure you can see red and think that you are being sold a lemon. Personally I have kept our bongo in KM's and I'm happy with it.

As for MOTs, currently there is no facility for the milage to be stated in KMs. So, that means your MOT history is out of kilter, as on initial inspection you have what appears to be a high milage motor. However it is relatively common knowledge that Japanese imported vehicles run in KMs.

The trick is to keep hold of all documentation from purchase; Invoice, sales bill that states the vehicles initial import mileage. Build up your history by keeping old MOT certificates and explain to any future buyers that your vehicle still trips in KMs.

I have kept a copy of the export certificate that states our bongos mileage in KM's, coupled with it's initial MOT as the basis for it's ongoing history.

The company that you used seem to have been a bit unfair and should of explained the differences to you. However, for some world class service track down Billy Bongo (I think he is in Kilcaldy, Fife). Bill is a cracking bloke and will make sure you are sorted out.

Other than that, Bongo savvy owners are aware of the Mileage/KM difference so in the very very far future when it's 'upgrade' time you shouldn't have any dramas with a sale.
There is no adverse results in staying in KMs as long as you can quantify the milage with documentated history. Any potential buyers on a test drive will realise that the trip is in KM's whilst the speedo states Miles as the main speed indicator.

Hope this has cleared it up a bit.

Always a nice touch to receive any relevant document ion with your purchase ..

Thanks everyone, interestingly 20 mins after i posted this the garage replied to me..............
HELLO SIMON

SORRY FOR DELAY IN REPLYING

HAVE MANAGED TODAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH COMPANY WHO DOES OUR CONVERSIONS AND THEY SAY THAT ON THIS YEAR THE BONGOS ARE CABLE DRIVEN THEREFORE THEY NORMALLY JUST REPLACE THE SPEEDO FACE WITH A MPH VERSION AND IF REQUESTED CALCULATE BACK THE ODOMETER TO THE EQUIVILANT MILEAGE FROM THE IMPORT PAPERS WHICH IN THIS CASE WAS 97KM AND THEREFORE THE MILEAGE EQUALLED 64K MILES.
THEY CAN SUPPLY A CONVERTOR BOX FOR THE CABLE AND REPLACE THE SPEEDO FACE AND THE ODDOMETER WOULD THEN RECORD MILES AND NOT KMS
WE CAN ARRANGE THIS FOR YOU FOC . IF YOU CAN GIVE ME A CALL ON FRIDAY AS I AM OUT OF THE OFFICE UNTIL THEN SO WE CAN SET A DATE FOR WORK TO BE DONE

I have requested the import papers and suggested whats the point of rolling back the meter only to leave it running in KM? surly either convert it.....or just leave it!!!

Interesting... no bongo has a cable feed to the speedo/odometer they are ALL electronic!

You can request the MOT station to record the odometer reading in either miles or Km. On both my Bongos, various garages have recorded miles instead of Km & vice versa. In each these, they were happy to correct it as required.

Some converters fit a chip to reduce the signal to the speedo so the speed & odometer display in MPH / miles. Others just change the dial such that the speed is correct but that leaves the odometer in Km's. In the former case, your odometer reading will be rubbish as it is over-inflated which sounds like what your convertors have done. On the other hand, to adjust the odometer requires using a small screwdriver to wind the dials back which is exactly the same method used to 'clock' the mileage, so that opens up the possibility of fraudulent activity.

I think the dealer is confusing issues by mentioning 'cable driven' as g8dhe says, they're driven by an electronic pulse from the gearbox. Technically, it's 'electric cable' whereas most people would associate 'cable driven' as being the old fashioned rotating flexible cable.

As people above have said your best bet is to ask the dealer for your Bongo's BIMTA certificate but it is not foolproof. Some people like myself have been lucky enough to receive the Bongo's original Japanese service logbook which fortunately uses the same Arabic numerals that we do so it is possible to make a guess at how things pan out. To be certain you need to find someone who can read Japanese.

Tony

My bongo is showing 158k, somethings - I have no Japanese paperwork, I have no idea whether it has been converted to miles or not.
I did a test run on 3.7 miles and it registered 4.6 miles!!! This is neither miles nor kilometres. Can anyone help me work out what the mileage or kms are please. I am trying to sell this vehicle but have no idea what the kms or miles are.

Hi

Most likely the odometer is recording in kms, though it may be miles.

Best bet is zero the trip meter and note total reading then drive a known 6 miles. If it records in kms it will add 10 of them.

Hope that helps.

Bob wrote:Hi

Most likely the odometer is recording in kms, though it may be miles.

Best bet is zero the trip meter and note total reading then drive a known 6 miles. If it records in kms it will add 10 of them.

Hope that helps.

Another option is to use your sat nav or get an android phone app that gives your speed and distance covered , although not absolutely accurate the android app is useful to check your speed against that displayed on the speedo.
Regarding the MOT as Simon says the test station can record it as miles or KM`s.You can also ask the tester to add an advisory regarding the odometer that way should any future buyer check your MOT history it will be recorded there.

Your garage may have the BIMTA certifcate, which will confirm the mileage when it was sold in Japan. That could put your mind at rest. http://www.bimta.org