Bongo Fury

Had a quick look at an N reg Bongo at a dealers yesterday and aside from a few scuffs here and there which the dealer promised would be fixed up it was a decent looking van. The underside appeared to be waxoyled and the engine sounded decent. The head was a bit oily, but he mentioned replacing a rocker> (sorry - I'm not too techy)
Anyway - only 78k mile on the clock and with full side conversion and plenty of gadgets it looks a steal for 5k.

However - I checked the MOT status on gov.uk and whilst it passed this year (June 2016) - it failed last years on the following...


Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.4.G.2)
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.4.G.2)
Nearside Inner Front Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)
Offside Inner Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)
Offside Outer Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)
Nearside Inner Rear Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)
Offside Inner Rear Body or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings (6.1.B.2)

It also hasn't been driven since as the mileage was the same.

Given that it's passed it's MOT does it sound safe to buy? Or would you run a mile?

1st, have a look underneath and look for evidence of fresh welding
Ask garage (if theyve mot'd it)if they have any receipts for any welding done after that Mot.If they have some then it may be OK to purchase knowing it's been resolved BUT bear in mind there may be more corrosion come through by the time the next mot is due

Brian

Such welding would come as no surprise on a 20+ yr old van. I tend to think it as less for me to do but ....
As Bongoplod says, make sure that it isn't the start of a lot more welding. As well as the obvious structural, underneath and arches, check bottoms of doors and tailgate.

I would be after as much service history (receipts) as possible. Without any service history, you need to rely on inspection to guess the level of tlc it has had and you'd have to assume that the cambelt needs doing. tlc is more important than the low mileage and gadgets (unless these include LCA and temp gauge!). For £5k I would expect decent records of maintenance and personally, if the garage is not one of the few who preserve a good reputation amongst Bongo owners, I'd buy on face value and not take comfort in any warranty promises.

You may already know this. If you do follow it up, take it for a good long test drive, from cold if possible, on stop/start roads, hills and 60-70mph roads, with an eye on the temp and check for unusual changes in level of coolant, up or down. Check the aircon but turn it off for most of the test drive.

Conversions vary hugely so ideally there needs to be instructions on how everything works, with fuse locations. Some things can take time to test (fridge, EHU settings) and cost to fix. At £5k you are paying for a fully serviceable conversion in my view.

I would be dubious of a bongo that hasn't been driven since the information re MOT. Sounds like one that may turn up on a flatbed and dumped on your drive! Why has it not been driven and who actually MOT'd it. Some dealers have companies in their pocket.

No, I just think I would be dubious! Sorry for the negativity. It's not Bristol Bob is it??

Ummm ... As it been recently waxoiled to hide anything ..??

mikeWalsall wrote:Ummm ... As it been recently waxoiled to hide anything ..??

My thoughts also. Add £2k for welding and ask yourself if you still think it a bargain. Be careful is my advice, unless you really know your Bongos and the dealer is happy for you to start stabbing around underneath everywhere with a sharp screwdriver to check for (lack of) soundness.

No - not Bristol Bob - It's in Brighouse.

They do servicing there and he seems to know his stuff. I'm going back for a proper look/drive and will follow all advice - much appreciated.

Also tempted to the dark side by this beast!

http://www.candacars.co.uk/used-motorho ... pervan-330