Miles or km?

[Kevin_of_Braunton]

I have just purchased a 1996 N reg Bongo and it was sold as having done 146000km. In fact it had km on the previous MOT certificate. However, on checking the miles per gal - it comes out around town at approx 25mpg. Looking at the total mileage (or kilometers), it appears that this is going up exactly at the same speed as the trip odemeter! I would expect this to be going up faster as I was told it was in km. To be fair I'm not sure if the garage knew any different either! Has anyone out there got a total reading in miles and not kilometers? It looks as though I've bought a 150000 mile Bongo for just under £4k when I thought it had done approx 90000 miles. Or am I going completely mad? This has not been converted to campervan status.Kevin

[casls650]

could it be that your odemeter is also in KMs, hence why they goes as same speed?

My freeda records in KMs and also the odometer. The speedo shows the speed in miles. Only just got Freda, but worked out last time it is doing about 21mpg (it does have a small diesel leak) so to me 25 mpg sounds good.

Cas x

[missfixit70]

It vould be that it's been "chipped" to read in miles & mph, best way is to compare the miles clocked up to an accurate known distance, or against a sat nag.

[Bob]

Just zero your trip meter before you do a known journey, say to a town 10 miles away.

If it goes up 10 it's reading miles, if it goes up 16 it's in kms.

Welcome aboard.

[missfixit70]

Also bear in mind, the bongo speedos are not known for their accuracy, especially if it's got non standard wheels/tyres on which will affect the reading.

[mister munkey]

There are a few mods available to sort a speedo.

Cheapest is to stick a MPH face on. this leaves all the mechanics the same hence the odometer reads in KM but the speeds are altered to read in MPH.

Middle option is to fit a Chip in the speedo. This electronicaly converts the signal from KPH to MPH.

Previous KMs will remain on the odo unless reset, but will from now nudge up in miles. Can be tempremental though.

Or - fit a Mazda GA5R speedo from a mid 90's 626 or UK SpecMX6, maybe from a breakers.

Easy fit & all reads in miles as it should but sometimes hard to find.

From what you say it sounds like yours has been recently chipped. 25mpg sounds about right. Most of your previous miles are likely kms

[helen&tony]

Hi
In a 30 MPH zone, lampposts are approx 200 yards apart. Set your odometer to zero and measure 10 lampposts .It will measure just around a kilometer if set in KPH....and nowhere near if set in MPH (1083 yards in a Kilometer, 1760 yards in a mile). It is required knowledge in a driving test to know whether you are in a 30 MPH zone by the spacing of lampposts if there are no signs.....well it was in my day
That's how I checked my odometer
Cheers
Helen

[dave_aber]

10 lampposts @ 200yds = 2000yds - closer to a mile than a Km, more like 2KM.

In fact, 11 lampposts = 2200 yards = 2.01168Km


N.B. 200 yards / 183m is the maximum spacing for lighting in a 30 mph zone - they can be closer together.

[mikeonb4c]

Just zero your trip meter before you do a known journey, say to a town 10 miles away.

If it goes up 10 it's reading miles, if it goes up 16 it's in kms.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome Kevin_of_Braunton

Simple sensible advice from Bob. Do that, then come back to us. Is yours a four wheel drive Bongo? 25mpg around town sounds suspiciously good if so - could almost be 25kmpg? To check fuel consumption you need to do a tank top up to tank top exercise, noting fuel needed, then compute that against the trip odometer. The fuel gauge is not that accurate. The speedo (and odometer) may over-read by about 5% if you are on standard 15" wheels and tyres. Mine appears spot on with 17" wheels and 225/55/17 tyres.

Hope this helps - keep us posted.

PS - If its any consoloation, I reckon that less than £4k for an Autofreetop, even with 150k on the clock, is not that awful a price if the car is in overall good condition.

[rita]

Hi,you could try this,

Gear Ratios
(mph/2000rpm) for each
gear.
1st – 11.2MPH
2nd – 20.4MPH
3rd – 32.0MPH
4th – 50.3MPH

+/- 8%

[tricky]

or against a sat nag.

Is that when the missus is sitting in the passenger seat?

[helen&tony]

Hi Dave
Sorry...2Km...My head wasn't working yesterday...but yes...counting lampposts is a rough guide to see what you register...I think I only counted one at a time anyway....I don't do satnav...don't like them
Cheers
Helen

[Kevin_of_Braunton]

The garage says that it could have been chipped and that without paperwork its a guess as to how many miles its done. They also added that they usually get imported at between 100000km and 120000km so may have been done by the importing garage which was in Southampton so I could ask them if they know when it was done.Have just spoken to previous owner and he said he has the import papers so will drop them into me at some time. On the mpg front, I did calculate 27.84mpg on a trip of 154 miles (complete fill up before and after) Mostly at between 60 and 70 mph...maybe a bit over on a couple of occasions. Thank you all for your replies, they have been most helpful. It's not just like buying a car... it's like joining a community! Kevin