Bongo Fury

Hello everyone - I've had a good browse through the threads and thought a clueless buying question seemed a reasonable way to lose my Bongo Fury virginity...

I had a look at this N reg AFT Bongo this evening. 67k on the clock, rear kitchen by Imperial. All seemed quite smart, but for the telltale bits of orange on the back arches. I haven't looked at many so far - how does this compare:









The arches have obviously had some paint and filler in the past, but to a good standard.

Sills and seams underneath had evidence of light surface rust just starting: nothing serious as far as my prodding could tell. No underseal or waxoyl as far as I could see. The Bongo is up at £5800 - worth another look, or is the above the tip of a big rusty iceberg? Thanks for your help - I'd know all this if I'd seen a few more...

The rust dosn't look to bad and with the right attention can be sorted but I think at £5800 it's overpriced but that's only my opinion

dandemann8 wrote:The rust dosn't look to bad and with the right attention can be sorted but I think at £5800 it's overpriced but that's only my opinion

yep me too with the rust that could be under the paint and filler...... £580 is more like it.... Walk away..... well I would..

Welcome to the forum This recent similar thread may help as a comparison - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ch#p424686

missfixit70 wrote:Welcome to the forum This recent simiLad may help as a comparison - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ch#p424686

Thanks!

Mmmm, I had seen that thread - looks like the same extent of the problem.

Just been for a wander round the block and looked at 2 parked up Bongos. Neither has rust like in my pics, and also their arches look more 'even shaped' than those on the Bongo I looked at. You can see especially in pics 3 and 4 how 'lumpy' the flange is - I wonder how much surgery it's really had!?

If opinions are allowed, that ain't no well looked after set of arches. Its had a quick fix - on a budget - to get rid.

Although not a major headache or expense to sort (£160 + labour/paint) it raises questions as to other likely shortcuts.

Ask probing questions, if you smell a twitch of nerves, just walk away.


Theres plenty good'uns out there still.

Got to agree. The rust itself looks very minor - on a dark colour it would hardly show up at all - but the lumpiness of the arch has to be an alarm bell ringer. MM's hit the nail on the head - is one quick fix an indication that there are others lurking?

At a budget price, it would be worth the gamble, and keep the saving for any future bills - but it seems too dear for that.

Those arches have gone!

They looked better than the ones on mine which needed a lot of cutting out and welding done. The tell tale 'wobble' on the spot welded arch lip is a give-away.
As per Mr M - allow at least £160 + per side. Others have paid a lot more.

Thanks folks - that's very helpful.

I'm looking at another one later today, so stand by for the next daft question!

Where there are signs of rust have a look underneath about halfway down the body there is a seam in the sills if this rusty then it will have to be dealt with fairly soon.

Walk away .There are loads of Bongos out there

Even so, rusty rear arches are pretty much the norm these days. Its not fair to dismiss what could otherwise be a reasonably well looked after example for something that has been the victim of the elements after 10+ years.

Every potential purchase needs to be assesed individually. There seems to be a bit of a panic on here sometimes about issues that some may consider to be minor details. Rusty arches are fixable - albeit at a cost. If you keep a Bongo long enough it will need to be done at some point.

Question being, do you buy one thats been recently repaired to an unknown standard & run the risk of having to get it done again properly in a year or two, or build a discount into the initial outlay & get it done youself at the start to a finish that you're confident will be a good job.

Another one that gets shouted is the discoloured header tank, possibly a sign of previous overheating but not nessacarily so. Most I have seen are stained.

The amount of plus/minus points when looking at an unfamiliar van can be quite confounding. The secret is to quiz the seller. Ask the right questions & try to assess the honesty of the answers. Tricky from a dealer as they may have little idea of previous abuse but most of the more succesful ones will do a thorough service, change cambelt, rad, waterpump & give it a Waxoyl to prevent future warranty claims. Obviously this comes at a premium but you pays your money & takes your choice . . . .

mister munkey wrote:Even so, rusty rear arches are pretty much the norm these days. Its not fair to dismiss what could otherwise be a reasonably well looked after example for something that has been the victim of the elements after 10+ years.

Every potential purchase needs to be assesed individually. There seems to be a bit of a panic on here sometimes about issues that some may consider to be minor details. Rusty arches are fixable - albeit at a cost. If you keep a Bongo long enough it will need to be done at some point.

Question being, do you buy one thats been recently repaired to an unknown standard & run the risk of having to get it done again properly in a year or two, or build a discount into the initial outlay & get it done youself at the start to a finish that you're confident will be a good job.

Another one that gets shouted is the discoloured header tank, possibly a sign of previous overheating but not nessacarily so. Most I have seen are stained.

The amount of plus/minus points when looking at an unfamiliar van can be quite confounding. The secret is to quiz the seller. Ask the right questions & try to assess the honesty of the answers. Tricky from a dealer as they may have little idea of previous abuse but most of the more succesful ones will do a thorough service, change cambelt, rad, waterpump & give it a Waxoyl to prevent future warranty claims. Obviously this comes at a premium but you pays your money & takes your choice . . . .

I agree with MM (as usual). You could though suggest to him (the dealer) that the arches are gone and will need cutting out and replacing at a likely cost of £500 and would he like to respond with a reduced sale price? Then do the decent thing and have the job done properly

Mine is a 1995 with no signs of rust on the archesThe key is that I had it waxoyed when it came into the country . When rust starts it is very expensive to erradicate. If you were buying a bargain basement job then fair enough but for that sort of money you are just taking on trouble at the outset

Hi
If you really want to check a car over, pop along to your local paint factor, and buy a paint thickness gauge...they can determine how much is on there, and whether there is a whole bag of filler!
Cheers
Helen