Bongo Fury

Hi all,

We took our Bongo that had failed its MOT due to rust along to Bongo Spares. They got our Bongo up on ramps and took a look at it and it wasn't too bad but needed a little patching up. He mentioned it would be around £1600 of work which I was pretty shocked at. He did say that a few pipes would need replacing and others might need doing when they get started, as once you're in there with things in bits it only makes sense so could creep to £1800.

We weren't sure what to do and they offered us £500 to take it off our hands, other than the rust it's in good shape, 2.5 diesel auto-top, and scrubs up cleanly.

We decided to go ahead with the work and left it with them to do on Tuesday and they rang this afternoon (Friday) to say it had been finished but it was £2100 in the end as a few more pipes needed replacing and one of their guys took it for an MOT which was £80 for the MOT and the time for his guy to take it. I'm still in shock and feel a bit sick, I didn't expect it to be £1600 in the first place let alone £2100! I would at least expect them to phone and talk through if we wanted the additional work to be done and the MOT. They did say they called and left a message but that was just to say they were doing the last few bits and it was basically ready for picking up rather than additional work.

In their defence, we said we were taking it away for Sunday so they were being proactive in getting the MOT done.

Is this normal for Bongo's to cost so much to get patched up?

I guess I feel a bit like I might be being taken for a ride but their reputation looks good and they specialise in Bongos so I'm just not sure. I know how these things can be though and I don't want to be a crappy customer either. My ignorance means I feel a bit like I've got my pants down.

Anyone else had any experiences with them?

We're off to pick it up and pay tomorrow, feel sick.

Any welding will cost regardless of vehicle. It’s a horrible job, requires skill, materials etc. So I’m not surprised that the cost mounted up. Often an inch of rust requires six inches cut out before you get back to solid metal. Hope your holiday goes well and you enjoy your Bongo for a few more years now it’s fixed up.

Thanks and I don't want to bad mouth them, they're friendly and showed us around our Bongo so we could see what would need doing. They obviously have a wealth of experience and knowledge with Bongos, so they might be so used to getting work done on them and knowing what's best that they just go ahead and do it. Possibly saving us money in the long run for all I know.

I'm just weary as it's an awful lot of money and I don't know how much or whats really involved with welding, despite doing it at college many years ago!

If it sounds about right then we will just thank them and pay and put it down to experience..

You’ll be hard pressed to find another campervan for £2,600.

They're a good bunch and know what they're doing. Secondhand parts service is second to none. A couple of years ago we needed a new (SH) airbag clock-spring and they supplied one - but there are two types and although the thought they'd sent the right one based on age, it was wrong (which wasn't apparent until the Bongo was in bits on someone's driveway). Who else would open up their industrial unit on Easter Sunday and swap the parts, and even though the replacement should have been more expensive they didn't quibble. They've also twice sorted problems on ours in a field, you can't say fairer than that.

Its always a bit of a problem with these sort of estimates, I recently had a lot of rust work sorted out, but made the point in advance of carrying out the work that I had a Max. price that was in excess of the estimate they had given that I would not be happy with them exceeding without due warning, given that it was an estimate and not a quote for the work. As it was the price did exceed the estimate but not my Max. however they did keep me up to date, mainly because I actively called them and they also posted photo's of the work being done. Click the image for all the images.

That is a lot of money, but their reputation is first class so I can only think they did what was required, and we all hate a repair bill but need to remember that there is little depreciation on these old vehicles, where a new one could easily loose that amount in a year or two.

Replacing a 'few pipes' may well have been difficult and time consuming, and the parts cost a bit, plus bleeding the system...

So let's hope Bongy now gives many years good service.

In any situation involving me and a tradesman no work is undertaken until at least a call and a discussion on what is needed and a price to do it has taken place. £80 for an MoT and their 'time' after paying out £2K for work from them would of been a tad disconcerting for me too. Still you now have a van to enjoy and on time too!

this is a really difficult and not uncommon problem in the trade generally, not just bongos.
there really are not enough facts given for others to form an accurate opinion on what has happened here. i must declare an interest and am friends with the guys at bongospares so i may be slightly biased.
if they offered you £500 quid for a bongo with no mot it sounds like he had a low opinion of the quality of the bongo and was offering you the going rate for a bongo that would have been broken for parts.

there is a world of difference between an estimate and a quote and we all have felt we have been caught in this in the past whether its building a house extension or getting your roof fixed.

the guys at bongospares are in business so will want to make money, but they are also pretty fair, if you feel that things are not as expected find the ugly one with the beard (the owner) and express politely how you feel, he will listen to your concerns and thoughts, better to say it then both walk away happy (ish).
having done major rust on several bongos for friends it is always worse than it looks when you get into the job, and if paying for garage time etc 3 or 4 hours more time knocks the bill up in £100 lumps.

hope this helps a little.