Bongo Fury

Hi total newbie so sorry if this sounds like a stupid question.

We have been planning on buying a bongo pop up top for what seems like ages and we now have enough funds to get the van of our dreams however it has just struck us that my wife may not be able to drive it.

I passed my driving test in 1987 so on the rear of my driving licence i can drive pertty much anything but my wife only passed her driving test in 1998 and on the rear of her driving licence she cannot drive as much as me, what category of licence will a bongo with a pop up roof be?

We went to the local police and they told us to contact the dvla and the dvla said to give them the chasis number and they would tell us but as we havent bought the bongo yet we cant.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

Phil & Shonagh

Your wife can check her categories here https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence click the Info link for cars and it will tell you what cars sizes you can drive etc.

g8dhe wrote:Your wife can check her categories here https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence click the Info link for cars and it will tell you what cars sizes you can drive etc.

Brilliant thanks will do it when she gets home

It would be wise to check but I think your wife should be ok to drive a bongo - I think it is classified as an estate or MPV so she should be able to drive it. I think the change between the 80s and 90s had to do with driving vehicles over 3.5 tonnes which shouldn't affect a bongo.

Yes only a category B licence is needed to drive a Bongo as its under 3.5t gross weight & doesn't have more than 8 passenger seats. Remember though if you were to be towing a large trailer/caravan you may need category BE on your licence which your wife won't have if she passed after 97.

I was under the impression you could drive one on a basic car license, my wife and I never even thought about this when we bought ours but there's been no problems getting insurance etc...

Seemer wrote:I was under the impression you could drive one on a basic car license, my wife and I never even thought about this when we bought ours but there's been no problems getting insurance etc...

Correct - they are just a regular car in that respect.

So much more than a regular car in every other aspect though!

One thing to bear in mind though and another thing we didn't put any thought into is most places wont insure under 25's, I only turned 25 this year but I never even checked this before I bought my Bongo, we're waiting a few weeks until my wife turns 25 as well before we put her on the insurance or it was going to triple the yearly premium

Thanks for all the replies and yes she is ok to drive it which is now going to result in a race to the bongo everytime as the winner gets to drive it!!!

Don't run too fast.

Let her win then you can have a cider.

Hi

Ive just bought a Bongo and I'm trying to insure it but do not have a clue onside of the questions the insurance companies are asking me.

its a 1996 bongo that has a pop up roof, side kitchen conversion and a rock and roll bed.


when its asking if its been modified do i say yes to a camper van? when it asks if its been imported do i say yes from japan? its all just confusing me.


any help would be appreciated.

Hi, and welcome.

Pretty much yes to both questions, just answer honestly.