Back in a bargain Berlingo
Discussion
The 23rd of October. That was the last time I bought a car for myself.
And some would say "why would you buy more cars? You have an elephants sufficiency already".
They would be right.
9 long months I studiously avoided vehicular transactions, Concentration was focused on the current fleet, and progress made.
Then, a friend casually mentioned a desire to get rid of his Berlingo, and that was me off the wagon again.
Why?
1. Who doesn't Ike a new car?
2. Have you met me before?
3. It's MOT'D til March 21
4. It had a new rear axle in March this year
5. 4 new tyres
6. I need an estate/van for lugging some s
t about
Anyway, enough natter.
2005 2.0HDI. 207K
It's the Desire* spec
Meaning:
Remote central locking which works
Abs
Turbo
Electric front windays
Opening rear side Windows
Rear wash wipe
It's also the #multispace so has hunnerts of cubbyholes
fk knows what I'mma do with it..
And some would say "why would you buy more cars? You have an elephants sufficiency already".
They would be right.
9 long months I studiously avoided vehicular transactions, Concentration was focused on the current fleet, and progress made.
Then, a friend casually mentioned a desire to get rid of his Berlingo, and that was me off the wagon again.
Why?
1. Who doesn't Ike a new car?
2. Have you met me before?
3. It's MOT'D til March 21
4. It had a new rear axle in March this year
5. 4 new tyres
6. I need an estate/van for lugging some s
t aboutAnyway, enough natter.
2005 2.0HDI. 207K
It's the Desire* spec
Meaning:
Remote central locking which works
Abs
Turbo
Electric front windays
Opening rear side Windows
Rear wash wipe
It's also the #multispace so has hunnerts of cubbyholes
f
k knows what I'mma do with it..
thrillseeker2020 said:
These are great. Took mine to Spain beginning of the year and came back for lockdown. Check when the cambeltwas done, it’s the only thing that’ll kill one of these. Taken the back seats out of mine and replaced with a bed & cooker. Endless amounts of fun on banger money. Enjoy!!
That looks a nice thing. Aye will have to get in about it to see what state it's in. Is the cambelt a difficult job?DanG355 said:
Red panels to cover up the windows & a black & white cat in the passenger seat and you’re away!
I don't think the Burd would like a cat on her seat..Not sure if you’re interested in this sort of thing but there are great kits to turn them into mini sleepers.
Would be fun for a fishing trip or something. You can also get awnings etc for longer stays. I think the one above is called an Amdro Boot Jump, there is probably loads more.
Would be fun for a fishing trip or something. You can also get awnings etc for longer stays. I think the one above is called an Amdro Boot Jump, there is probably loads more.
bungz said:
Fancy one of these as I am shifting my other "do it all" car along.
Does the Hdi handle being run on veg? I know the older 1.9 could.
Rear beam being done is a bonus weak point of the whole thing.
I dunno if it copes with Veg yet. I'll get it all serviced and then see about starting to introduce it.Does the Hdi handle being run on veg? I know the older 1.9 could.
Rear beam being done is a bonus weak point of the whole thing.
My ML 270CDI was hap on up to 70% veg - impressive for a common rail lump.
I'll likely start it off at 5L veg in a full tank (so 55l derv, 5L veg) and then increase the veg with every tankful.
JFReturns said:
Not sure if you’re interested in this sort of thing but there are great kits to turn them into mini sleepers.
Would be fun for a fishing trip or something. You can also get awnings etc for longer stays. I think the one above is called an Amdro Boot Jump, there is probably loads more.
We seen some of them when I was looking last night for parts etc. It may be a plan if it stays on fleet for a whileWould be fun for a fishing trip or something. You can also get awnings etc for longer stays. I think the one above is called an Amdro Boot Jump, there is probably loads more.
Took the Burd out in this today. She didn't mind it, so I am calling that a win!
Decided it could benefit from a bit of an internal clean, as it was showing its 207k miles..
First up, I marvelled at the headroom available with the tailgate up. This pic was taken with the phone on top of my head.
It makes a nice, dry shelter - most impressed.
I started cleaning at the back first
The hoover was deployed, then some scrubbing wipes to clean the plastics and trim.
I also cleaned the inside of the windows.
Then my attention was turned to the roof storage space.
This got a scrub and was much improved - you can see the central storage doors are pretty mangled - I can hunt a set down at some point.
It also provides quite a lot of storage..
Next up was tackling the "map of Africa" on the passenger seat..
Before applying the skoosh and agitating
After agitation and sponging off.
The other seats were then done
I'll likely get the wet vac onto the interior at some point soon, but that was enough to make a decent difference.
Last up was to do the door cards/dash/windows and steering wheel.
This was the first pass on the wheel. It feels much nicer now!
I also spotted a piece of design that annoys me. Why couldn't they just make the binnacle meet the centre of the dash?
For info the howf on the stalk above was cleaned out too - cotton buds are good for that!
When I bought it, I knew it leaking some oil /sweating power from the back of the engine - likely suspect is the oil return line from the turbo.
New gaskets are not expensive - bit I don't know how difficult the job is -has anyone tackled it and can advise?
Cheers
Decided it could benefit from a bit of an internal clean, as it was showing its 207k miles..
First up, I marvelled at the headroom available with the tailgate up. This pic was taken with the phone on top of my head.
It makes a nice, dry shelter - most impressed.
I started cleaning at the back first
The hoover was deployed, then some scrubbing wipes to clean the plastics and trim.
I also cleaned the inside of the windows.
Then my attention was turned to the roof storage space.
This got a scrub and was much improved - you can see the central storage doors are pretty mangled - I can hunt a set down at some point.
It also provides quite a lot of storage..
Next up was tackling the "map of Africa" on the passenger seat..
Before applying the skoosh and agitating
After agitation and sponging off.
The other seats were then done
I'll likely get the wet vac onto the interior at some point soon, but that was enough to make a decent difference.
Last up was to do the door cards/dash/windows and steering wheel.
This was the first pass on the wheel. It feels much nicer now!
I also spotted a piece of design that annoys me. Why couldn't they just make the binnacle meet the centre of the dash?
For info the howf on the stalk above was cleaned out too - cotton buds are good for that!
When I bought it, I knew it leaking some oil /sweating power from the back of the engine - likely suspect is the oil return line from the turbo.
New gaskets are not expensive - bit I don't know how difficult the job is -has anyone tackled it and can advise?
Cheers
Excellent cars.
I've had two. First up was a 1.6 petrol 03 plate. Basic but nippy bought sight unseen and delivered for £1000 4 years ago. Few minor niggles but still running.
Second one was a rough 1.9d desire 04 plate. Bought sight unseen again (drunk eBay purchase for £525 2 and a half years ago. It taught me the importance of momentum. Still running but only just.
Both have had the bare minimum of
maintenance.
Rear most door cubby should have an Allen key to allow the roof bars to be adjusted to an horizontal position to allow a roof box to be fitted.
Replacing the two cubby doors is expensive. A couple of cable ties will fix the covers and be far cheaper.
Have a look at space campers previously simple campers for a cheaper alternative to the amdro bootjump.
They have jumped in price in the last 12 months, much more so in the last 6. People seem to hold onto them and for good reason.
A fine purchase OP.
I've had two. First up was a 1.6 petrol 03 plate. Basic but nippy bought sight unseen and delivered for £1000 4 years ago. Few minor niggles but still running.
Second one was a rough 1.9d desire 04 plate. Bought sight unseen again (drunk eBay purchase for £525 2 and a half years ago. It taught me the importance of momentum. Still running but only just.
Both have had the bare minimum of
maintenance.
Rear most door cubby should have an Allen key to allow the roof bars to be adjusted to an horizontal position to allow a roof box to be fitted.
Replacing the two cubby doors is expensive. A couple of cable ties will fix the covers and be far cheaper.
Have a look at space campers previously simple campers for a cheaper alternative to the amdro bootjump.
They have jumped in price in the last 12 months, much more so in the last 6. People seem to hold onto them and for good reason.
A fine purchase OP.
After the Burd had made generally positive noises (or at least no obvious distain expressed) I decided that this was to be the chariot for our impending trip to Skye.
With that in mind, it was time to prep it for the 600ish miles it will be doing.
First up was the wet Vac - starting with the passenger seat and carpet.
Seat before
Seat after
Carpet before
Carpet during
Carpet after
Armrest before
Armrest after
After that little lot, the tank of the wet vac was Minging!
I then carried on and did the other seats and carpet.
The worst bit was the veg that had been spilled into one of the floor cubbyholes
I have no idea what the big pin is for, but out it came.
I then soaked the cubbyhole with a strong washing up liquid and hot water mix and let it soak in.
It scrubbed up lovely, and is now nice and clean.
All in all, it was about 4hrs of cleaning over two days. Inside is much cleaner, and the car smells significantly better.
Next up was a level check - everything seems fine, bar an incontinent washer fluid bottle.
I did spot this fine piece of engineering though- how to make a cable throttle work with electramatricity..
Next was as run to the petrol station to fuel up and check the tyre pressures.
The left rear was at 13, so I'll need to keep an eye on that. All the others were close to the desired 34psi.
Time to feed it, it has a 60L tank, so I am hoping for more than 500 miles from a fill.
I also got it set up in my mpg app - a useful tool to track fuel use and vehicle costs
With that in mind, it was time to prep it for the 600ish miles it will be doing.
First up was the wet Vac - starting with the passenger seat and carpet.
Seat before
Seat after
Carpet before
Carpet during
Carpet after
Armrest before
Armrest after
After that little lot, the tank of the wet vac was Minging!
I then carried on and did the other seats and carpet.
The worst bit was the veg that had been spilled into one of the floor cubbyholes
I have no idea what the big pin is for, but out it came.
I then soaked the cubbyhole with a strong washing up liquid and hot water mix and let it soak in.
It scrubbed up lovely, and is now nice and clean.
All in all, it was about 4hrs of cleaning over two days. Inside is much cleaner, and the car smells significantly better.
Next up was a level check - everything seems fine, bar an incontinent washer fluid bottle.
I did spot this fine piece of engineering though- how to make a cable throttle work with electramatricity..
Next was as run to the petrol station to fuel up and check the tyre pressures.
The left rear was at 13, so I'll need to keep an eye on that. All the others were close to the desired 34psi.
Time to feed it, it has a 60L tank, so I am hoping for more than 500 miles from a fill.
I also got it set up in my mpg app - a useful tool to track fuel use and vehicle costs
Edited by 320touring on Thursday 6th August 22:02
Now, lest you think I am getting all posh in my old age, let's have a look at some of the 'lightly used' vibe this wagon gives off.
First up, the paint ain't great
some rust on the bonnet
The bootlid has a scar - I wonder how it achieved that?
It also appears to have been parked by touch along the passenger side.
Lastly, the drivers side sliding door can only be closed when the drivers door is open.
This is because the drivers door top pin is worn, and the door droops slightly, causing a less than perfect panel gap
Mint it is not..
First up, the paint ain't great
some rust on the bonnet
The bootlid has a scar - I wonder how it achieved that?
It also appears to have been parked by touch along the passenger side.
Lastly, the drivers side sliding door can only be closed when the drivers door is open.
This is because the drivers door top pin is worn, and the door droops slightly, causing a less than perfect panel gap
Mint it is not..
I've been looking at basic micro-camper versions of these and things like the Fiat Scudo, for kayaking trips up to the North of Scotland where a nap halfway up would be a nice option (didn't much enjoy dodging the hundreds of deer in the middle of the night when i was up that way a few weeks ago!).
I'm headed up to Skye myself tomorrow, so if I see you I'll give a wave
ETA - you've done a cracking job on that interior, Toaster Pilot himself would be impressed!
I'm headed up to Skye myself tomorrow, so if I see you I'll give a wave
ETA - you've done a cracking job on that interior, Toaster Pilot himself would be impressed!
The drive up the a87 a joy -flowing bends and sharp elevation changes rewards a driver who can let a car go with the road.
Unless you are the driver of a certain 18 plate Audi A3.
This displayed :
A failure to understand that vehicle speed can be modulated using throttle only
A belief that each corner must be taken at no more than 35mph
A somewhat errant understanding of speed limits. 45 in a 60 but pulling away from me at rate of knots in a 40.
I dropped back some - the burds parents were in the car behind, and I thought better of a pass being made lest we lost them.
Instead, we stopped at Elian Donan Castle. It was as bright and inviting as ever!
That was taken at 4pm ish.
As soon as we crossed the bridge, the skies lightened and the weather became most clement.
Portree was achieved in good time.
Scores on the doors
Feet up and beer in Haun..
I'll do an initial driving impressions post later.
Unless you are the driver of a certain 18 plate Audi A3.
This displayed :
A failure to understand that vehicle speed can be modulated using throttle only
A belief that each corner must be taken at no more than 35mph
A somewhat errant understanding of speed limits. 45 in a 60 but pulling away from me at rate of knots in a 40.
I dropped back some - the burds parents were in the car behind, and I thought better of a pass being made lest we lost them.
Instead, we stopped at Elian Donan Castle. It was as bright and inviting as ever!
That was taken at 4pm ish.
As soon as we crossed the bridge, the skies lightened and the weather became most clement.
Portree was achieved in good time.
Scores on the doors
Feet up and beer in Haun..
I'll do an initial driving impressions post later.
mrtwisty said:
I've been looking at basic micro-camper versions of these and things like the Fiat Scudo, for kayaking trips up to the North of Scotland where a nap halfway up would be a nice option (didn't much enjoy dodging the hundreds of deer in the middle of the night when i was up that way a few weeks ago!).
I'm headed up to Skye myself tomorrow, so if I see you I'll give a wave
ETA - you've done a cracking job on that interior, Toaster Pilot himself would be impressed!
Cheers! The captain of the bread warming machine is a mate of mine - he thought it not a bad jobI'm headed up to Skye myself tomorrow, so if I see you I'll give a wave
ETA - you've done a cracking job on that interior, Toaster Pilot himself would be impressed!
How is the ex TP 75 doing?
Btw, of all the micro campers I have seen on this trip so far, it's about 60% Berlingos/partners (both old and new).
Think that suggests there are plenty kits and knowledge out there for them.
Have a safe run up to Skye
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