Mazda Bongo and the like, experience?
Discussion
Don't worry about age or if its a facelift or not - you have to go on condition with these.
It seems that the longer its been in the UK the worse condition it will be in.
keep searching (check Bongofury and the Facebook page) and one will pop up eventually.
We have had our 1998 2.5V6 for a year now and it has been amazing. I have been so impressed by it.
It seems that the longer its been in the UK the worse condition it will be in.
keep searching (check Bongofury and the Facebook page) and one will pop up eventually.
We have had our 1998 2.5V6 for a year now and it has been amazing. I have been so impressed by it.
mr shoddy said:
Don't worry about age or if its a facelift or not - you have to go on condition with these.
It seems that the longer its been in the UK the worse condition it will be in.
keep searching (check Bongofury and the Facebook page) and one will pop up eventually.
We have had our 1998 2.5V6 for a year now and it has been amazing. I have been so impressed by it.
I wouldn't agree with that , more like the longer it's been with the current owner the better.It seems that the longer its been in the UK the worse condition it will be in.
keep searching (check Bongofury and the Facebook page) and one will pop up eventually.
We have had our 1998 2.5V6 for a year now and it has been amazing. I have been so impressed by it.
My daughter and son-in-law have owned a couple and personally I think they're brilliant. Bought the first one from these guys http://www.andysimports.co.uk/index.php?category=&... and they're a decent bunch.
They then emigrated to Australia and bought another one and we've done some massively long trips in it, just north of Brisbane up to Cairns and back for instance and they really are pretty comfortable to do that kind of distance in.
They then emigrated to Australia and bought another one and we've done some massively long trips in it, just north of Brisbane up to Cairns and back for instance and they really are pretty comfortable to do that kind of distance in.
Trabi601 said:
I'm looking for a fresh import so I can see the metalwork before it has been under sealed.
I used to have a mk1 MX5, so know what happens to 1990s Mazdas after some British winters!
Have you considered getting a van and converting? It does sound like a Bongo may not be for youI used to have a mk1 MX5, so know what happens to 1990s Mazdas after some British winters!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
The Bongo is just about the only vehicle that fits our criteria (although the Elgrand and Regius are on our radar, too) - this is replacing the wife's car, she's not going to accept a Trafic or similar as her daily driver! - and I'll not be wanting to drive a commercial vehicle to Austria, either!We're looking at an 8 seat Bongo to convert ourselves, to our spec. (tintop, rear kitchen, leisure battery with 240v hookup and split charging and a top loading compressor fridge).
A few years ago, it would have been easy - a fresh import 2.5 petrol was the ginger stepchild of the range and available quite cheaply. But there are very few coming in now - and many of the vehicles for sale have been over here for several winters with unknown levels of protection so are a gamble on the rot front.
I'm open to suggestion - but not if it's a Trafic / Vivaro / etc.
Trabi601 said:
The Bongo is just about the only vehicle that fits our criteria (although the Elgrand and Regius are on our radar, too) - this is replacing the wife's car, she's not going to accept a Trafic or similar as her daily driver! - and I'll not be wanting to drive a commercial vehicle to Austria, either!
We're looking at an 8 seat Bongo to convert ourselves, to our spec. (tintop, rear kitchen, leisure battery with 240v hookup and split charging and a top loading compressor fridge).
A few years ago, it would have been easy - a fresh import 2.5 petrol was the ginger stepchild of the range and available quite cheaply. But there are very few coming in now - and many of the vehicles for sale have been over here for several winters with unknown levels of protection so are a gamble on the rot front.
I'm open to suggestion - but not if it's a Trafic / Vivaro / etc.
You say ones in the UK have unknown levels of protection but somebody selling will have records of when its been undersealed. We're looking at an 8 seat Bongo to convert ourselves, to our spec. (tintop, rear kitchen, leisure battery with 240v hookup and split charging and a top loading compressor fridge).
A few years ago, it would have been easy - a fresh import 2.5 petrol was the ginger stepchild of the range and available quite cheaply. But there are very few coming in now - and many of the vehicles for sale have been over here for several winters with unknown levels of protection so are a gamble on the rot front.
I'm open to suggestion - but not if it's a Trafic / Vivaro / etc.
We've had ours something like 12 years so I'd be able to show bills for all that work.
In your case once the petrol price goes up I think a few decent v6's will be on the market.
For me the Bongo is too narrow. Its great having all the toys that go with them but if there's 2 of you and you're planning to spend any amount of time in it then I think a T5 will be a better investment provided you choose wisely.
I saw a Toyota Granvia with a Wellhouse leisure conversion in it. 1996 P plate with a conversion which was at least 5 or 6 years old. The dealer was trying to punt it for nearly £16k! I'd have thought it was worth no more than £6k.
I saw a Toyota Granvia with a Wellhouse leisure conversion in it. 1996 P plate with a conversion which was at least 5 or 6 years old. The dealer was trying to punt it for nearly £16k! I'd have thought it was worth no more than £6k.
Chicken Chaser said:
For me the Bongo is too narrow. Its great having all the toys that go with them but if there's 2 of you and you're planning to spend any amount of time in it then I think a T5 will be a better investment provided you choose wisely.
I saw a Toyota Granvia with a Wellhouse leisure conversion in it. 1996 P plate with a conversion which was at least 5 or 6 years old. The dealer was trying to punt it for nearly £16k! I'd have thought it was worth no more than £6k.
Yes the Bongo is narrow. It's all to do with Japanese parking regulations.I saw a Toyota Granvia with a Wellhouse leisure conversion in it. 1996 P plate with a conversion which was at least 5 or 6 years old. The dealer was trying to punt it for nearly £16k! I'd have thought it was worth no more than £6k.
The welllhouse is a very respected conversion and includes insulation and many other modifications that Make it a proper conversion.
Yes £16k is steep but £6 k is very wide of the mark when you look at all the really really sh*te T4 conversions that are around at 6k
We had a regius for 4 years lovely van and one I do regret selling, we bought it one week before Christmas and saved £3k doing so.
Unless you pay big dosh your choices are
A bongo/ regius/grand via
A camper conversion based on a fiat/ French turn of the century van or smiley faced transit (autosleeper)
Or you go down the insanely overpriced "scene" that is VW
I did look at converting my own van,bought a book about it, the guy doing the very nice conversion spent 350 hours doing it.
Where in your life right now are you going to find 350 hours?
Bongos and their ilk tick lots of boxes it may just be a case of patience.
egor110 said:
You say ones in the UK have unknown levels of protection but somebody selling will have records of when its been undersealed.
We've had ours something like 12 years so I'd be able to show bills for all that work.
In your case once the petrol price goes up I think a few decent v6's will be on the market.
It's quite an eye-opener, running eBay Bongos through the MOT history site. Vans which look really nice are coming back with corrosion around belt mounts and inner arches. That's if the 'plate is in the advert - there's a 'specialist' near us where every van has a blanked out plate! (and a quick google suggests lots of bodged vans slapped with thick underseal and a dodgy MOT).We've had ours something like 12 years so I'd be able to show bills for all that work.
In your case once the petrol price goes up I think a few decent v6's will be on the market.
Trabi601 said:
egor110 said:
You say ones in the UK have unknown levels of protection but somebody selling will have records of when its been undersealed.
We've had ours something like 12 years so I'd be able to show bills for all that work.
In your case once the petrol price goes up I think a few decent v6's will be on the market.
It's quite an eye-opener, running eBay Bongos through the MOT history site. Vans which look really nice are coming back with corrosion around belt mounts and inner arches. That's if the 'plate is in the advert - there's a 'specialist' near us where every van has a blanked out plate! (and a quick google suggests lots of bodged vans slapped with thick underseal and a dodgy MOT).We've had ours something like 12 years so I'd be able to show bills for all that work.
In your case once the petrol price goes up I think a few decent v6's will be on the market.
If i was looking now i'd just stick a post on the bongo facebook sites least then at least you can cross reference the sellers forum posts for work done/problems.
egor110 said:
There's a really dodgy bongo salesman from Bristol on ebay.
If i was looking now i'd just stick a post on the bongo facebook sites least then at least you can cross reference the sellers forum posts for work done/problems.
I'll assume this is the one who offers his 'import scheme'. Yes, dodgy as hell with, it seems, no legal comebacks as he's just acted as an agent for a fee.If i was looking now i'd just stick a post on the bongo facebook sites least then at least you can cross reference the sellers forum posts for work done/problems.
Trabi601 said:
egor110 said:
There's a really dodgy bongo salesman from Bristol on ebay.
If i was looking now i'd just stick a post on the bongo facebook sites least then at least you can cross reference the sellers forum posts for work done/problems.
I'll assume this is the one who offers his 'import scheme'. Yes, dodgy as hell with, it seems, no legal comebacks as he's just acted as an agent for a fee.If i was looking now i'd just stick a post on the bongo facebook sites least then at least you can cross reference the sellers forum posts for work done/problems.
With a Bongo i would be more inclined to try and buy privately rather than go through a dealer.
Obviously, if you want to spec the conversion yourself this isnt an option, but as has been said earlier when you go to look at a private sale and the owner has tons of receipts and stories about their van it does give you a good feeling. Im not sure if its because you live in them or because you do memorable trips/holidays but many owners do get attached to their Bongos. The FB page always has someone spending more than the vehicle is worth to repair as they cant bear to scrap it.
We did the NC 500 route earlier this year and the van did not miss a beat and it has made me more attached to it than some of the other cars i own/have owned.
With regards to economy - i get 30MPG on motorway runs (stick to 65MPH apart from overtakes) and 25MPG around town from a petrol V6 with a side conversion (so the van is pretty heavy).
Good luck with the search.
Obviously, if you want to spec the conversion yourself this isnt an option, but as has been said earlier when you go to look at a private sale and the owner has tons of receipts and stories about their van it does give you a good feeling. Im not sure if its because you live in them or because you do memorable trips/holidays but many owners do get attached to their Bongos. The FB page always has someone spending more than the vehicle is worth to repair as they cant bear to scrap it.
We did the NC 500 route earlier this year and the van did not miss a beat and it has made me more attached to it than some of the other cars i own/have owned.
With regards to economy - i get 30MPG on motorway runs (stick to 65MPH apart from overtakes) and 25MPG around town from a petrol V6 with a side conversion (so the van is pretty heavy).
Good luck with the search.
bristolracer said:
Trabi601 said:
Drove a fresh import Bongo today. Bought a V6 Alphard. Oops!
FantasticAre you going to do much conversion?
Hopefully will get some ideas at the Motorhome and Caravan Show tomorrow.
Anyone who has a diesel Bongo might consider running on veg oil. I fitted a 120w wrap around blanket to the fuel filter housing for cold starts and plumbed a heat exchanger into the rear heater pipework. It would run nicely on 90% NVO (new veg oil, forget the old chipshop stuff) in summer and 50% in winter. I used to but NVO wholesale in 20ltr drums and never paid more than 66p per litre.
I also fitted a low coolant alarm, fan override switch (which would manually operate all 3 engine fans in case of hot weather or traffic holdups) and a Waeco cruise control unit.
Happy days.
I also fitted a low coolant alarm, fan override switch (which would manually operate all 3 engine fans in case of hot weather or traffic holdups) and a Waeco cruise control unit.
Happy days.
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