Another Scottish newbie

[cmm303]

Front brake pads: looks standard stuff, DIY job. Pads about £30 pair. Member's fact sheet here: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... kepads.pdf

Fuel pump leak: leaky seals are a common problem on diesel engine so assuming it's a diesel. Side seals can be done with pump in situ with thin hands, internal seals need pump removal and peeps generally opt for a recon pump. So DIY (all from above engine) cost ranges £20-£400! Add maybe 1-3hrs labour unless you are near Bongospares (W Yorks) who swaps a fuel pump in 30 mins reportedly.

Oil leak: assuming diesel from above. Obviously really need to know where leak is but rocker cover is common. Sometimes resolved by nipping up the bolts, otherwise new gasket. Had mine replaced by a garage with other work. Can't think it was any more than an hours work. Gasket is about £20

Peeps do lots of Bongo work underneath using axle stands or ramps. Bongo is over 2 tons so use good spec stuff.

Others will be along soon with answers to your other points. Good luck!

[richrx]

Hi, thanks for the great reply! Looks like I'll need to budget 400 for a new pump ...

I'll go have a look But im skeptical about actually buying a van with leaking oil and fuel that the owners happy to sell on. If it was me i would fix it. I dont expect perfect but morally i wouldnt sell it like that!

Obviously I'm taking the mot history, he may have fixed it with reciepts etc.

Rich

[cmm303]

Hi, thanks for the great reply! Looks like I'll need to budget 400 for a new pump ...

I'll go have a look But im skeptical about actually buying a van with leaking oil and fuel that the owners happy to sell on. If it was me i would fix it. I dont expect perfect but morally i wouldnt sell it like that!

Obviously I'm taking the mot history, he may have fixed it with reciepts etc.

Rich

Agreed. It all builds up a picture of the level of TLC bestowed upon the van. If you are checking if the work has been done.... Fuel pump leaks only leave marks on the ground when really bad (and by then probably resulting in poor starting or rough running) so best run your hand underneath the pump.

[Jim the Box]

The costs can be never ending on these vans if you get the wrong one, also make sure you fit, or it is fitted with a low coolant alarm and a TM temperature sensor, as the dash temperature gauge is useless.
As these vans can be 20 or so years old you will need to keep on top of things to maintain it anyway.
I purchased my van in 2012, wax oiled it twice, purchased a full set of coolant system hoses, replaced the HT leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm, new front discs, all the brake pads, drop links, serviced annually even though I was only doing about 6000 miles per year, but spent well in excess of around £500 each year maintaining my bongo so it was as in good nick as the day I purchased it from Jal.

[richrx]

an interesting twist, the van had a new mot appear on the website on friday 3rd of feb, no mention of the fuel leak or power steering leak, still has an oil leak. No mention of front discs and pads but now required rear pads and needs a new wishbone soon by the sounds of it.

Still to see it in the flesh and make up my own mind.

Good tip about the fuel pump, I'll check it out when i get there, I've still got no idea about the layout of the engine, untill i see it i doubt I'll get my head around it.

£500 a year running costs its too bad. Especially when you get peace of mind reliability and the vans still looking good! Unfortunately i cant afford a jal import, I'll need to fight my way through the lower end of the market and hope 500 sorts out its mechanical worries when i get it....for the first year at least

Rich

[richrx]

So an update on the Glasgow bongo...

After weeks of checking ebay, gumtree, autotrader, ebay again, gumtree again and Autotrader again and again.... (You get the point) for any Scottish or North of England Bongos , in budget there were only a handful. One seller didnt have time to sell it, one was Aberdeen and a bit far away unless i was to be 100% it was the right one, the rest were Devon, Bristol or Pontypool.

So Monday comes and i head to receptionless and mostly wifi-less centre parcs Cumbria, i think this is good, I'll ignore the internet and come next week maybe my Bongo will be for sale

But no i had to look and there it was, Glasgow city Centre, Bongo, unconverted and in budget. I managed over the next hour to scrape enough wifi to get onto the gumtree advert, the photo looked ok, but i couldnt load any more, the only option was to sms or call... I sent an sms asking if i could see it at the weekend and if the bodywork and service history were good.

Almost immediately the phone rang, i answered and it was an enthusiastic guy named James, "hi you have questions about my Bongo"? He told me the camblet had been changed, and the bodywork was "mint" excellent I'll text or call at the weekend i told him... Only a week to wait

It did strike me odd however that he called immediatly. A dealer trait?

After a week i got home, arranged to meet on the sunday, great, i checked the advert again, i looked at the photos. They looked ok, a bit bleek perhaps but that was maybe the weather. Now onto the mot web page to look at the history, it had previous advisories of a diesel leak,power steering leek and brake pads needing replaced, then on Friday just the day before a fresh mot, no mention of leaking fluids, just a small oil leak, brilliant possibly its been sorted then and its pretty good all round.

The only thing was i had alarm bells ringing already. Just a gut instinct...


1. James had called immediatly and i was suspecting a dealer and trade in...
2. The van was advertised in the city centre and was actually for sale in Aridrie.

But otherwise i thought maybe this is the one.... Untill i noticed CAT D on the sparsely worded advert! How on earth did i miss that!!!! It could be a bumper or panel... But that was really looking to be the end of the road for this van but i arranged to see it and hope it was good and not as bad as i feared.

So sunday arrives and off i go, i arrive in his street and there it is the Bongo, i chap his door and notice he's at 38 not the 28 he told me. Odd but maybe mistyped, james answeres the door as enthusiastic as ever... But with each step towards the bongo my enthusiasm disappears, rusty arches were not mint. Rusty outer sills were not mint. The cambelt i was told was done, no proof and he recommended i get it changed myself. The Bongo burst into life, rough, a quick look underneath shows no undertray and a big diesel leak.... Under the driver and passenger seats show the oil leak. Pads and discs were needing done front and rear.

James adamantly telling me its " mint for a 20 year old vehicle" ahh now its mint FOR a 20 yr old van. He dropped the price considerably but the damage was done and there were too many bugs with the seller, van and i walked away happily.

Could it have been a good van, yes 100% but not for me....

1. James had called immediatly and i was suspecting a dealer and trade in...
2. The van was advertised in the city centre and was actually for sale in Aridrie.
3. He passed the wrong house number but a Bongo is easy to spot in a street when your on the look out.
4. No history what so ever
5. Current mot that made no mention of a large diesel leak ( how thourgh an mot was it, again a dealer with a friendly mot station?)
6. Pads and discs needed
7. Average bodywork but declaired mint
8. New radiator and pipes showed some previous maintenance but no knowledge by the current owner of this.
9. Despite owning it a year and going a few trips couldnt talk about anywhere he had been and his camping experiance was good......
10. Oh it cut out when it was idling, james started it up again hoping i didnt notice, when i pointed out the cutting out might have been due to the fuel leak he got very defensive denying it cut out at all....

I hope i havent been massivly picky and seem like i have unrealistic expectations but there were a few questions in my head and decided to wait a while longer no matter how dissapointed i was.

All in all this must be the worst private sale I've ever looked at....

Rich

[Bob]

Does sound like you're well out of that one.

[Jim the Box]

Agree with bob
.

[richrx]

When i wrote that i did consider that i was maybe being harsh.... I am looking at the low end of the market, but at £3k surely i can expect a well used but well cared for van?

I was quite angry that he would allow me to drive away in the van with that fuel leak with my 15 month old daughter in it....he knew it was there,he commented "its probably just a seal"


Grrrrr

Rich

[Bob]

Recon its just life, buying and selling privately can involve some travel and you do get messed about by some people.

Its a case of balancing the saving against the hastle, but it is anoying when something is described as 'Mint' and it turns out to be a shed.

[Jim the Box]

Keep an eye on the forsale section here and also post in the wanted section of this site, that you are looking for a bongo in the region of 3k, it may be you will have to bite the bullet and take a trip down south, if that is the case also check out eBay, gumtree, auto trader at the same time, you may be able to set up viewing several bongos in say a 30 mile radius which gives you more scope and makes the trip more worthwhile.

[cmm303]

Well out of that one. I'd rather feel that the seller is genuine otherwise you can only expect the worst of what you see AND what you don't see!

One ploy is to plead ignorance and get the seller to demonstrate checking oil. If they can't do that, well .....!

I also spent nigh on 20 mins on the phone, walking through a checklist. Takes time and if seller isn't patient then either they have a dozen buyers already lined up or they can't withstand the scrutiny. Anyway by the time I got to physically look at a Bongo I felt as if I knew it inside out already. Also we had a price fixed and it was clear to the seller that any new discoveries were only going to make the price go one way! It saved a lot of fruitless travelling/viewings, except for the untaxed SORN van - a question that was promptly added to my phone checklist!

Can you expect better? I think yes. I bought for £2.5k 3 yrs ago and spent £1k straightaway on welding, cam belt, bushes, servicing, LCA, split charger, LB. It has still cost year on year but my depreciation is zero and now owes me nothing. Since then the market has strengthened so there is probably more rubbish being pushed. And the decent ones get snapped up very quickly. Hence my emphasis on the marathon telephone "interview" and prelim negotiation.

[richrx]

Ah well onwards and upwards of all the Bongos I've seen online, hundreds all over the uk for weeks ( did i mention that already?) my wife woke me at 6am on her phone ( my snoring and the little ones crying woke her) she had to show me a Bongo she had found, and i hadnt seen it before!

So watch this space, this one already has my wifes approval:)

Rich

[Jim the Box]

Rich
One in "Mazda bongo mart uk" Inverness owner 19000 miles new shape immaculate. £6000 I'd break the bank for it, no alterations required good to go.

[mikeonb4c]

Rich
One in "Mazda bongo mart uk" Inverness owner 19000 miles new shape immaculate. £6000 I'd break the bank for it, no alterations required good to go.

Just being nosey Jim but Google appears never to have heard of them