Bongo Fury

Hi all,

Where to begin... my partner and I have wanted a Bongo for years and as recent circumstances meant we needed to acquire a second vehicle, we decided to go for it. After a lot of searching we came across one being sold around the corner. You can literally see their house from our kitchen window. It was a 4WD Y plate, with minimum rust and the sellers appeared very genuine and tentatively accepted our offer of £2000 for a quick sale. They advised us that a few bits needed doing which were mainly the advisories from the recent MOT, but nothing that seemed too expensive after a phone call to our local Bongo specialist.

So.... we bought the Bongo and drove it 2 seconds round the corner to our home. This morning we took it to the specialist who gave it a very long inspection. Now, we know near to nothing when it comes to mechanics and we were accepting of the fact that buying one so cheap would mean it needed a 'bit' of work, but sadly this Bongo needs A LOT of work. Here is the list so far:

* ABS (they don't think it is the sensors but chance it could be)
* Radiotor needs replacing
* Pump may need replacing (I don't know much more than this... but it was to the right of the radiator)
* Potentially warped break disk/s
* Significant engine leak (mechanic seems to think this isn't a problem to fix), also a leak on the radiator but guessing the new radiator what sort this
* Slight reverse play on parking break
* Electrics on passengers window
* And worst of all...... there is pressure build up 'on the system', coming from a hose. I may know nothing about mechanics, but I know head gasket failure is a biggie.

I can cope most of the above list but we seriously don't have the funds to replace the head gasket. Plus, it has already had a cylinder head (same thing?) fixed/replaced a year and a half ago (it was maintained by same garage previous to our purchase, but the sellers simply didn't have the money to do anything but the basics, as it turns out) so the mechanic didn't recommend another head gasket change but a new engine. According to the mechanic he can't see that it is losing water and doesn't seem to think jot needs doing right away, but will need doing at some point. He said it could be months or years.

We just don't know what to do. We know we have been naive and frankly stupid in buying it in the first place, and sadly this has really tarnished our whole experience and we wish we never bought it, but the seller is saying she can't take it back. The main worry for me is that the head gasket is a ticking time bomb and we won't have the money to fix (nor want to spend it in the first place) when it goes. Therefore I would be on edge whenever we used it.

What would you do? Sell it? Fix it?

From two very unhappy Bongo owners!

I'd Look into fixing it
£2000 is cheap
What engine is it diesel or petrol?

Gasy wrote:I'd Look into fixing it
£2000 is cheap
What engine is it diesel or petrol?

Thanks for your reply (I hope I am replying correctly, not used a foam in years!) It is a diesel 2.5, and has done 90k miles when converted from KM. That's what the mechanic keeps saying, that at least we got it cheap. On the plus side the interior is in good mic with no tares or nasty stains. Only minimal rust on wheel arches. But the thing is we simply don't have the money to fix the head gasket.. plus I'm also worried as it will need to be driven 25 miles everyday Mon to Fri. Is this practical with 'press in the system' (his words!).

Would an engine replace really be better than a second head gasket replace?

Apologies for the typos.

Need more info on pressure in system
Has head gasket been checked

The rest of the probs are just wear and tear type of problems discs , rad , etc

Not yet.. he's French so it's tricky to understand all of what he says (no offence intended at all). But he said he pressed a hose and there was some build up of pressure from the driving we have done in the last 24 hours and asked how heavily we would be driving it. The concern here is that we would be driving it 25 miles everyday... on top of lack of funds to fix. The guy seemed to think it wasn't a big deal but to me it is a massive deal.

What sort of checks should they do? I've read about oils mixing or something, which I'm sure they would do anyway. I can call tomorrow and ask for more to be done but I have no idea what I'm asking really.

Has anyone left theres with similar issues? Or do people generally get this fixed asap when pressure starts building up.

The water system will be pressurised just after driving
They check for fumes in the water . The test kit can be bought of eBay for about £20
Think I'd try a bongo specialist garage
All might not be as bad as you think

Someone with more expertise than me will be along soon to help I'm sure

Give Allans in Plymouth a ring on 01752 403400 - they'll give you good advice and are real Bongo experts
There should be some pressure in the system but, as long as the coolant isn't coming out of your header tank, there may not be a problem at all.

1st off, don't panic. If it's not using water, then you don't have a cylinder head / head gasket problem. (rarely is it just a gasket change, more often a replacement head / skimmed head). Keep an eye on your coolant level. Fit a low coolant alarm as a super duper A1 emergency priority! - this is a must.

* ABS (they don't think it is the sensors but chance it could be) - sounds vague. Can't help there.
* Radiotor needs replacing - not the end of the world. I assume it's rotten? You are not losing water so that can be the only reason to replace it I can think of.
* Pump may need replacing (I don't know much more than this... but it was to the right of the radiator) - water pump? is it leaking? Bearing gone? why does it need replacing?
* Potentially warped break disk/s - they are warped or they aren't. They can't be "potentially warped". Mine are slightly warped and have sailed through MOTs for years (my brake pedal "wobbles" a touch when braking - you can feel the warp). It's not a big deal, and not expensive either if you replace them.
* Significant engine leak (mechanic seems to think this isn't a problem to fix), also a leak on the radiator but guessing the new radiator what sort this - I assume an oil leak. Again, don't panic. Your mechanic seems confident.
* Slight reverse play on parking break - reverse play? not sure what that is, but your handbrake is not a complicated device to repair. If it's not a safety issue or an MOT failure leave it. If he means it simply is slack, it's a 10 minute job to adjust up to normal
* Electrics on passengers window - Window doesn't work? That's not too bad. Find what's wrong and have it mended or source a part from ebay.
* And worst of all...... there is pressure build up 'on the system', coming from a hose. I may know nothing about mechanics, but I know head gasket failure is a biggie.

Also, when the speedos are converted, they typically still record KMs on the ODO, even though the speedo reads MPH. It might have only 90,000 kms.......

As long as you don't have a warped/cracked head it sounds like your van is not as bad as you think.

Buying any vehicles with "some advisories" is always going to cost a little to get perfect.

Cathryn wrote:Hi all,

Where to begin... my partner and I have wanted a Bongo for years and as recent circumstances meant we needed to acquire a second vehicle, we decided to go for it. After a lot of searching we came across one being sold around the corner. You can literally see their house from our kitchen window. It was a 4WD Y plate, with minimum rust and the sellers appeared very genuine and tentatively accepted our offer of £2000 for a quick sale. They advised us that a few bits needed doing which were mainly the advisories from the recent MOT, but nothing that seemed too expensive after a phone call to our local Bongo specialist.

So.... we bought the Bongo and drove it 2 seconds round the corner to our home. This morning we took it to the specialist who gave it a very long inspection. Now, we know near to nothing when it comes to mechanics and we were accepting of the fact that buying one so cheap would mean it needed a 'bit' of work, but sadly this Bongo needs A LOT of work. Here is the list so far:

* ABS (they don't think it is the sensors but chance it could be)
* Radiotor needs replacing
* Pump may need replacing (I don't know much more than this... but it was to the right of the radiator)
* Potentially warped break disk/s
* Significant engine leak (mechanic seems to think this isn't a problem to fix), also a leak on the radiator but guessing the new radiator what sort this
* Slight reverse play on parking break
* Electrics on passengers window
* And worst of all...... there is pressure build up 'on the system', coming from a hose. I may know nothing about mechanics, but I know head gasket failure is a biggie.

I can cope most of the above list but we seriously don't have the funds to replace the head gasket. Plus, it has already had a cylinder head (same thing?) fixed/replaced a year and a half ago (it was maintained by same garage previous to our purchase, but the sellers simply didn't have the money to do anything but the basics, as it turns out) so the mechanic didn't recommend another head gasket change but a new engine. According to the mechanic he can't see that it is losing water and doesn't seem to think jot needs doing right away, but will need doing at some point. He said it could be months or years.

We just don't know what to do. We know we have been naive and frankly stupid in buying it in the first place, and sadly this has really tarnished our whole experience and we wish we never bought it, but the seller is saying she can't take it back. The main worry for me is that the head gasket is a ticking time bomb and we won't have the money to fix (nor want to spend it in the first place) when it goes. Therefore I would be on edge whenever we used it.

What would you do? Sell it? Fix it?

From two very unhappy Bongo owners!

Get to Allan's .... He will advise what's best....A NON BONGO GARAGE COULD BE A WASTE OF MONEY

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Our Bongo is currently with Topsham Car Sales (a specialist import garage near Exeter), we wouldn't get it looked at by a garage that didn't know Bongos, just in case. We have decided to give them the go ahead tomorrow morning to fix all the wear and tear bits, they reckon it will come to about £500 which we had factored in already. As for the head gasket... I feel a little better reading your replies and will definitely take it to Allan in Plymouth when we get it back from Topsham (might as well leave it with them now for the rest of the work).

Here's to hoping this is just a very bumpy start to our Bongo ownership experience! You are all a very knowledgable bunch and we really appreciate your advice

Welcome aboard, Caththryn.

It doesn't sound too bad, but definitely visit Allans when you can. I travel from here to get work done.

Yes welcome aboard, Caththryn.

As you can see you will be so glad you found this site - all this help and advice in under 2 days

Please keep us updated on how you resolve your Bongo problems as this can also helps others (and me ) who may have or in the future may get similar ones.

Just thought I'd check in and let you all know how it went. Picked up the Bongo from the garage in Topsham today and paid a whopping £900 or thereabouts for parts and repairs. It's had a full service and a good check over, along with new radiator, abs pump, electric window thingy, amongst a number of other bits and pieces. As for the head gasket, mechanic thinks it's fine. Phew. We've jet washed all the matts today and starting to tackle cleaning the carpet and chairs.

Sadly, we have decided we may well have to sell our Bongo due to getting into quite a fair bit of debt we hadn't anticipated, which has put a strain on things. It's not completely decided but if anyone wants a 2001 bongo that's just had nearly 1k of work done,let me know.

Thanks again for all your advice!

Noooo, you can't sell it now you've just about got it sorted and ready for the summer.