Buying a Bongo

[funtimedave]

Firstly thanks for letting me join the forum

Apologies that my first post is going to be questions but hopefully can add more than that in the future.

Bit of an intro
We are a couple with a 6yr old and 9yr old. Love camping and were lucky enough to drive a motorhome across europe a few years ago and fell in love with the 'van' life. We then looked at the price of a 'motorhome' and that put a big dope of realism onto our plans

So here we are looking to buy a Mazda Bongo. We were looking to 'try' before buying by hiring one - however the one we found came back to us and said they were no longer hiring it but looking to sell. This has sent me into a mad flurry of internet research on what to look out for on buying a bongo. An emotional journey of worries on overheating, undderseals, fuel consumption, LPG conversions to people's absolute love of their 'Bongo'

The one we are looking at is a 1996 with 110,000 miles on the clock. 4WD Automatic Diesel. We are waiting to get a lot more detail but as advised I checked the MOT History which has thrown up the following. I am guessing the mileage at the top for the latest MOT is a typo and is actually KMs not miles

My fundamental question / seek to learn is - are the minor defects , advisories big warning lights to let this one go?
I am going to ask the owner what they have done to rectify and show me evidence of repairs etc - but would really appreciate any advice

Phew - that was a lot to post - but I did not want to just dump and run

[Bob]

Hi, and welcome aboard.

My main concern would be the removed front prop shaft, I'm guessing it's been done for a reason and may be hiding a serious transmission fault. Plus you won't have four wheel drive.

The rust doesn't sound too serious, but welding can cost £££.

I would go ahead with your plan to rent one for a trip and see how you get on with it - they are 'cosy' for a family of 4, and youngsters generally insist on getting bigger.

Hope that helps.

[g8dhe]

Hi, For me Minor defects suggest that they are things that are deteriorating but not yet critical, so I need to have them looked at, at some convenient time, but often they can reappear year after year on the MoT. For instance I have had "Front Coil spring corroded (5.3.1 (b) (i))" appear for 2-3 years now each time I ask my garage they look at it and say "yes some rust but nothing critical or that unusual to be honest" so I keep leaving it. If your not certain or not in a position yourself to verify, why not get the AA/RAC to make an assessment.

[oibaf]

Hi, and welcome aboard.

My main concern would be the removed front prop shaft, I'm guessing it's been done for a reason and may be hiding a serious transmission fault. Plus you won't have four wheel drive.

The rust doesn't sound too serious, but welding can cost £££.

I would go ahead with your plan to rent one for a trip and see how you get on with it - they are 'cosy' for a family of 4, and youngsters generally insist on getting bigger.

Hope that helps.

Just before you read my comment any further Funtimedave, bear in mind I don't currently have a Bongo but am actively looking and might even be close to getting one. I've read an awful lot on here!

I've looked into the removal of the front prop shaft and, it seems, people do that in an effort to improve their fuel economy slightly. Whether or not it ACTUALLY does improve fuel economy is another question. From my research, problems can appear if you were to remove the rear prop shaft and leave the van as a front-wheel-drive. That can damage the rear differentials I think. All this being said, I'd rather keep it as a 4WD because that's how it was designed.

Interesting/non-interesting side note - you fail the CVRT (Ireland's commercial MOT, applies to campers too) if you have a missing prop shaft. If the vehicle originally had 2 prop shafts then it's gotta have them in there for the test.

[funtimedave]

Hey thanks everyone who has read the post and those that have replied.

Still looking

• Spoken with Phil at JAL
  Spoken to Aaron at New Dawn Conversions
  Thinking to avoid 'the dealer' in Bristol (is that right?) - he has a lot of vans but reading around it feels very risky
  Trawled facebook and gumtree and ebay

The world has gone Bongo mad

[Bob]

The whole world has gone mad.

You'll be fine with JAL or New Dawn.

[oibaf]

Same thing over here in Ireland, seems like every second person wants a camper so the prices have gone a bit mad.