New and need help please

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MEnHER

New and need help please

Post by MEnHER » Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:52 pm

Hello all,

ME n HER have been looking into possibly buying a Bongo for a few months now, but having looked at lots of details we are trying to shortlist which one would be best for us. Just recently I spoke to a local mechanic who was woking on a Bongo so asked to have a quick look at it. He asked why I was interested and when I said I was looking to buy one he had a short intake of breath, shook his head and said "wouldn't touch them with a barge pole". He went on to say he had had 15 Bongo's in for blown head gaskets in 2 months!!!!!!!!
On a bit more questioning, he said all of them were 2.5 diesels.
Can anyone put in a good word for the Bongo?
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Re: New and need help please

Post by dandemann8 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:58 pm

Interesting post, can you say which and where this garage was, I wouldn't think he's an approved Bongo garage with a comment like he made :?: :?:

You've only got to look on here and see how many happy Bongo owners there are around the country. Yes they have there faults but so do lot's of vehicles it's just a matter of knowing how to look after them. :D :D :D :D
Bongo no more........... ;-(
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Re: New and need help please

Post by Muzorewa » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:00 pm

We've got a 2.5TD, done over 120,000km in 2 years, no issues whatsoever. Ours has taken us to Europe (4 times) and an extensive tour of the Scottish highlands & islands amongst other numerous tours we've embarked upon. Couldn't recommend the Bongo highly enough as an ideal assault vehicle for a family of four. :wink:
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Re: New and need help please

Post by scanner » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:17 pm

Most of those head gaskets could be due to people letting mechanics like him work on a Bongo.

From what I can see, many Bongo problems stem from letting "I know how to do my job and don't need you to tell me!" so called "expert"mechanics" loose on a vehicle they don't understand.
MEnHER

Re: New and need help please

Post by MEnHER » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:41 pm

thanks for all your comments.

Yes the local mechanic is a private guy that all the main garages send the Bongo's to. they say there is no profit in working on them as they are too time consuming to repair???

Have noticed a place in Southampton that sells Bongo's is sayinh they have "a rare post 1999 2.5 diesel" for sale, does this mean the manufacturer thought the diesels were a problem?

I have checked many sites, forums and owners comments and getting so many conflicting bits of information, so any more info would be much aprreciated as really like the look and versatility of the Bongo.

Thanks again.
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Re: New and need help please

Post by g8dhe » Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:11 pm

But there are Bongo's and Bongo's the 2.5V6 and the 2.0 Litre petrol's to date don't seemed to have had quite the same problem's with head's going due to problems with the coolant setup. Possibly because the the temperatures and complexity of a Turbo Diesel isn't quite matched in the petrol setup's and yet the power of the 2.5V6 is very similar and the running costs of the 2.0 L petrol is a big improvement. I know they each have one or two other oddities put they don't seem to have the same impact on the wallet as the head problems on the diesel.
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Re: New and need help please

Post by MEnHER » Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:16 pm

Thanks Geoff,

Yes the petrol one's are looking a little more like the way to go so far.

I will keep checking on here for any other comments and keep looking around. I will post how my continuing search goes.

Regards
MEnHER
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Re: New and need help please

Post by Alison01326 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:29 pm

How many? :shock: I know there are a lot of Bongos around down here, but if that's 15 with blown head gaskets, how many has he had in for routine maintenance/servicing I wonder?

Having posted this in the Devon & Cornwall forum, do you want to enlighten us whether you are in Devon or Cornwall?

We've had two meets locally in the last two months with 15+ Bongos attending each and I don't believe any of those have had their head gaskets go in that period :roll:

I have a 2.5 diesel and it's truly the best vehicle on the planet as far as I am concerned. I agree that more care needs to be taken over the cooling system and it needs to to be included amongst the weekly checks, as neglect or poor maintenance can lead to major problems but it's really no hardship.

Hang around on here, read lots. You will find that as with many forums you will read of problems, because it's the best place to come if you have a problem or question, but if you look beyond the techie sections you will see wonderful accounts of life with a Bongo, fabulous trips away and everything you will need to reassure you that life with a Bongo as a member of the family can't really be beaten in most cases.

Incidentaly, for Bongo, read Bongo OR Freda :wink:
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Re: New and need help please

Post by bongoing-mad-simon » Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:39 pm

if you are in cornwall take a look at the mazda bongo company they have a range of diesel, petrol v6, 2ltr and gas converted bongos and he seems to know his stock... as for your local mechanic he must be worth a fortune if he's doing that many bongos, i've got a friday bongo (had my fair share of problems) but i'd never get rid as its one of the family :D
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Re: New and need help please

Post by dunslair » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:53 pm

Most of the bongos around are 10 years+ old, if you couple that with folk who don't look after them, and garages who don't know how to, it is not surprising that some have problems. Take any 12 or 14 year old vehicle and you would find the same. Whilst or bongo is fairly new (2003 2l petrol) it has cost us less in the last year to look after than out Ford, which is two years younger, with similar miles on the clock. i know which one I would get rid of first :wink:
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Re: New and need help please

Post by missfixit70 » Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:15 am

MEnHER wrote:thanks for all your comments.

Yes the local mechanic is a private guy that all the main garages send the Bongo's to. they say there is no profit in working on them as they are too time consuming to repair???

Have noticed a place in Southampton that sells Bongo's is sayinh they have "a rare post 1999 2.5 diesel" for sale, does this mean the manufacturer thought the diesels were a problem?

I have checked many sites, forums and owners comments and getting so many conflicting bits of information, so any more info would be much aprreciated as really like the look and versatility of the Bongo.

Thanks again.
The diesel was phased out in later production due to tighter emissions controls in Japan I think, not reliability issues.
My opinion (& others) is that a lot of the head gasket issues are down to the mixing of incompatible coolants where they are not properly flushed out on import, leading to acidic coolant & sludging, old thermostats not opening properly, basically it's down to correct maintenance.
Unfortunately, the bongo is a bit of a victim of it's own success, the very "extras" that attract people to the bongo can be the cause of issues, the fact that it's got a front & rear heater & it's mid engined, means the coolant system is fairly complex with 17 hoses & numerous metal pipes (same issues in petrol models too, just as complex, just less of them in the country, until a year ago there were very few petrol bongos, therefore less reported problems).
I wonder if this mechanic just blindly replaces the head gaskets, or actually looks for the cause, pressure tests the heads, etc, I wonder how many of those 15 were returning bongos that needed redoing?
Look into any used vehicle & issues will flag up, you've just got to weigh up the pros & cons
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Re: New and need help please

Post by Doone » Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:41 pm

He went on to say he had had 15 Bongo's in for blown head gaskets in 2 months!!!!!!!!
That's either gaskets/heads that have reached the limit of their normal lifespan... nothing lasts forever... Or vehicles that haven't been serviced properly.

The question has been asked before, SEE THIS LINK.
Allan's closed. We recommend PGS (Plymouth Garage Services) or Mayflower Auto Services in Plymouth.
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Re: New and need help please

Post by mikeonb4c » Sun Feb 14, 2010 2:10 pm

missfixit70 wrote:
MEnHER wrote:thanks for all your comments.

Yes the local mechanic is a private guy that all the main garages send the Bongo's to. they say there is no profit in working on them as they are too time consuming to repair???

Have noticed a place in Southampton that sells Bongo's is sayinh they have "a rare post 1999 2.5 diesel" for sale, does this mean the manufacturer thought the diesels were a problem?

I have checked many sites, forums and owners comments and getting so many conflicting bits of information, so any more info would be much aprreciated as really like the look and versatility of the Bongo.

Thanks again.
The diesel was phased out in later production due to tighter emissions controls in Japan I think, not reliability issues.
My opinion (& others) is that a lot of the head gasket issues are down to the mixing of incompatible coolants where they are not properly flushed out on import, leading to acidic coolant & sludging, old thermostats not opening properly, basically it's down to correct maintenance.
Unfortunately, the bongo is a bit of a victim of it's own success, the very "extras" that attract people to the bongo can be the cause of issues, the fact that it's got a front & rear heater & it's mid engined, means the coolant system is fairly complex with 17 hoses & numerous metal pipes (same issues in petrol models too, just as complex, just less of them in the country, until a year ago there were very few petrol bongos, therefore less reported problems).
I wonder if this mechanic just blindly replaces the head gaskets, or actually looks for the cause, pressure tests the heads, etc, I wonder how many of those 15 were returning bongos that needed redoing?
Look into any used vehicle & issues will flag up, you've just got to weigh up the pros & cons
A lot of good points there, plus Doone's and others. Mechanics are a funny bunch (waits to get mugged by Dandy, Allan et al). I've known a couple of good ones but once they get an idea in their head, its all sucking of teeth and shaking of head. My local mechanic (who is great and I'd take the Bongo to him if the roof of his workshop was high enough) gave me a real lecture on the dangers of grey imports when I told him I was considering getting a Bongo.

At the end of the day (and there are a lot of Bongos in Cornwall, many probably bought as dream machines and without a thought to getting to know them and taking the right precautions) it comes down to knowing what to look out for before you buy and while you own it. Buy a good one and look after it properly and with luck you won't have trouble. And most of us bought Bongos because no other car offered so much for so little. And may other cars too can throw big bills. And your mechanic only sees Bongos needing work done, and the Bongo is very solid in most departments so he'll particularly remember seeing them with head problems (and maybe sometimes autobox problems, though he'd have to refer those to a specialist anyway).

I think the 2.0l is the safest bet. But it lacks the power of the other two. The diesel is a great motor for pulling heavy loads and the 2WD is probably the best mpg of all the Bongos. The V6 is powerful and smoooooooth.

I'm a dieselhead myself, and proud of it. :lol:
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Re: New and need help please

Post by Doone » Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:51 pm

Yes the petrol one's are looking a little more like the way to go so far.

I will keep checking on here for any other comments and keep looking around. I will post how my continuing search goes.
If you're buying petrol, think about how you're going to use it... if you're carrying a lot of weight or towing something substantial, you may find the 2 litre Bongo feels a bit underpowered on hills compared to the 2.5 diesel or V6 Bongo. EDIT: You'll see what I mean when you compare the torque figure HERE

If you're looking for one that's already UK registered one (not 'newly imported'), for a bit of peace of mind you could look for one with full service history.
Or, if the owner is a DIY mechanic, look for receipts for all regular servicing items and replacement parts.
These would both some idea of how well it had been looked after. :)
Allan's closed. We recommend PGS (Plymouth Garage Services) or Mayflower Auto Services in Plymouth.
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Re: New and need help please

Post by tigs » Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:05 pm

My Bonnie pulled a 24ft caravan around the country with no probs, but blew the headcasket on me 2.8 Pajero.
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