Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

This is all good info - I can bring my voltmeter with me when I go to check some of them out. Thanks lads.

That said, if they've given it a blast the night before I'll still be non the wiser. But it's worth a look. There is a gadget that I've been told about that specifically alarms if the engine get's too warm. This is a good thing if it works ok.
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Hamradioop »

a Good battery should be reading 13.8 volts or there abouts, get some one to start it and test again if it drops below 13 Volts a new battery may well be required.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

Good call thanks mate.

List of Bongo checks:

Check battery voltage pre and post run.
Check coolant colour and cleanliness pre and post.
Check oil level and colour, check oil filler cap for dodgy residue (coolant).
Check oil filter condition.
Check cold start - smoke from exhaust, cranking time.
Check hot and cold idle and power delivery.
Check engine temp and thermostat function.
Check for rust, rot around wheel arches etc.
Check header tank (next to battery) for evidence of oil.
Check coolant hoses and evidence of coolant leaks.
Check for noise while driving, knocks, rattles, squeeks and grinding sounds (brakes).
Check brakes with torch (and whole underneath for that matter, hoses, cables, evidence of leaks)
Check brake flex-hoses behind wheels.
Check suspension joints and linkages by wiggling to find play.
Check all visible rubber bushes for perishing etc.


I had a good chat with my Mrs and we've decided we can't afford a nice one. So I'll be spending the winter trolling everything £2500 and under looking for a bargain.

Any other tips or ideas?
I love motorcycles like a fat guy loves cake. I also love cake.
ForgeCorvus
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by ForgeCorvus »

According to my Brother's Irish FIL.
Always take cash (but not all in one wad. If you've a mate along, give them some of it to "borrow") Haggle hard but politely (its your money after all.... But its his car)
Be willing to walk away (But make sure he can contact you if he changes his mind)
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Londonpreppy wrote: At its core all prepping is, is making sure you're not down to your last sheet of loo roll when you really need a poo.
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munchh
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by munchh »

Dangerman, i had a Bongo, i upgraded from a nissan Serena as i liked the layout but the family got bigger.

I will tell you the things i didnt like about it or would change if i had another (i would have another as we loved it)

The pop up top seemed like a good idea, but the truth is all it really does is makes it alot heavier and stops you getting into any normal car parks with a barrier, it becomes a total fad.

The idea that all the seats make into a bed is not reality, they DO NOT go flat, the best we got it was to lay them all down and then put a double airbed on top and inflate it about 3/4 full, which sort of defeats the object, the best nights sleep any of us ever got in it was when i bought a stand alone awning for it.

When dealing with the cooling system, there are two parts the front and back, if you have a leak (we had a pipe go), when you refill you must bleed the air out of the rear of the system using the bleed pipe under the passenger seat, none of the AA guys who came out to me ever did this, they just didnt know about it. I was taken to a garage twice with a suspected faulty thermostat, i finaly found a guy who did the work for a company called Bongo Bits, he is local to me, but he knew stuff no other mechanic knew.

You cannot take it to Mazda as they havent a clue and the computer will not talk to their system same with Ford, you have to either do it all yourself or find someone who does work on them all the time.

Mine ended its life with a cracked turbo housing, turbo is water cooled so it was puffing steam out of the exhaust, not good.

We were sad to see it go, everyone loved our bongo.

We have looked for another but have found that one without the pop up top has a different seat layout, the very rear seats are not split like the one we had and the fact you can take just one of them out was brilliant, so id have to wrangle different seats. The 4x4 is perminent, but without the pop up roof would save fuel, the auto box i had also had a snow/ice button which worked great the year we had a 2 foot of snow and even left the land rovers at the bottom of hills, it was wicked.

Over all it is like driving a tall limo, electric blinds on all the windows, front and rear aircon, really comfortable for 7 people (although the very rear seats have no head rests), if you take out one or both rear seats you can seat 5 with a massive load carrying space. It pulls a caravan so well you forget its on there. The engine is the same as the ford Ranger, so well known.

Id have another tomorrow, just remember, the Japanese do not use salt on their roads in the snow, so they do not underseal their vehichles, these have to be done as soon as the arrive here, the first mot i put mine through i needed welding as there was no protection underneath at all, it had only been in the country 18 months!

You will love it, just be realistic about it being an import and you are basicaly driving around in a long wheelbase hitop transit, so you wont fit anywhere normal.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

I've read up a little and know that mazda and ford won't have anything to do with them, but I checked with my mechanic and he said he likes them and will take care of it for me. I also know about the advantages and disadvantages of the pop top and 4x4, and yet I still think that for me, I still think they're a good idea.

What bothers me is that you threw yours away just because of a cracked turbo housing - why was that such an expensive job to fix? I presume the reason you didn't fix it is because it wasn't economically viable?

I'm slowly being scared off the Bongo by these little experiences people are having. I don't know what I'd do if I spent all my money on one only for it to self-destruct immediately. It sort of makes me think that a safer bet while I'm so poor would be a boring Zafira or Sharan. :(
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munchh
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by munchh »

Dont let me scare you off, im just telling you me experience, i had a duffer, it had been got ready by the dealership for someone else and then they pulled out, it then sat on the forcourt and went rusty, they like to turn them around fast from the time they are imported as that way the underseal and all the other niggles (imobaliser you need one for insurence) falls to them unless you ask them to do it before buying it. so they kept a few things to themselves, i was green, i bought one that ran into problems right away.
i had a fuel pump go, it was refurbed and fitted buy my old mechanic whos "how hard can it be" attitune meant i got it back and ended up driving it around in "safe mode" which limits the gears and revs until i found a mechanic who knew why. the welding cost alot, the turbo was just the last straw, i had to do something else, i could not go on.
We had it for arond 4 years, money was my problem, or my lack of prepping for it, the best thing i did was get the AA top cover that covers the first £500 of mechanical (its doesnt cover everything) my man Bongo Bob said i had been very unlucky with it and hes looked after loads.

I would say best bet, look for one that has been loved by someone in the UK from the time it was imported, dont buy from a dealer, although i dont suppose they are all bad, but a good looked after one will be just that. They are well loved by all i spoke to, and dont be surprised at being waved at by other Bongo users, they all wave at you.

Like i said, i would have another tomorrow, not many of my cars made me smile like the Bongo.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

Thanks Munchh, I appreciate all your advice. I'm totally convinced that the bongo is what we need. There is nothing else quite like it is there?

I found one in Somerset, I went to see it the other day but it was a bit rusty and looked like it had been a bit neglected. Plus, it had had quite a bit of engine work done of late, new cylinder head and all that. Decided that I didn't want to gamble on it.

But then I found another, a Ford Freda and it seems perfect. Immaculate condition but it needed a leak on the power steering sorting. Also it needs an MOT. It had some oil on the engine below the cylinder head which is of concern but there was no smoke, coolant was clean and colourful and fired up from cold like a new engine. It also ran sweet as a nut even though I didn't stay long enough to let it get hot.

I am/was planning on making an offer and asking for him to MOT it and fix the main issues before purchase as part of the deal. But now my wife is causing problems, she doesn't like that it's a 1996 vehicle and she is demanding something newer than 2000. Which defies logic in my opinion. :(
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Briggs 2.0
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Briggs 2.0 »

dangerman wrote:Thanks Munchh, I appreciate all your advice. I'm totally convinced that the bongo is what we need. There is nothing else quite like it is there?

I found one in Somerset, I went to see it the other day but it was a bit rusty and looked like it had been a bit neglected. Plus, it had had quite a bit of engine work done of late, new cylinder head and all that. Decided that I didn't want to gamble on it.

But then I found another, a Ford Freda and it seems perfect. Immaculate condition but it needed a leak on the power steering sorting. Also it needs an MOT. It had some oil on the engine below the cylinder head which is of concern but there was no smoke, coolant was clean and colourful and fired up from cold like a new engine. It also ran sweet as a nut even though I didn't stay long enough to let it get hot.

I am/was planning on making an offer and asking for him to MOT it and fix the main issues before purchase as part of the deal. But now my wife is causing problems, she doesn't like that it's a 1996 vehicle and she is demanding something newer than 2000. Which defies logic in my opinion. :(
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Briggs 2.0
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Briggs 2.0 »

dangerman wrote:Thanks Munchh, I appreciate all your advice. I'm totally convinced that the bongo is what we need. There is nothing else quite like it is there?

I found one in Somerset, I went to see it the other day but it was a bit rusty and looked like it had been a bit neglected. Plus, it had had quite a bit of engine work done of late, new cylinder head and all that. Decided that I didn't want to gamble on it.

But then I found another, a Ford Freda and it seems perfect. Immaculate condition but it needed a leak on the power steering sorting. Also it needs an MOT. It had some oil on the engine below the cylinder head which is of concern but there was no smoke, coolant was clean and colourful and fired up from cold like a new engine. It also ran sweet as a nut even though I didn't stay long enough to let it get hot.

I am/was planning on making an offer and asking for him to MOT it and fix the main issues before purchase as part of the deal. But now my wife is causing problems, she doesn't like that it's a 1996 vehicle and she is demanding something newer than 2000. Which defies logic in my opinion. :(
Come all the way down to the South West to see a car and you don't call in on your mate, Briggs? Shocking :-)
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