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I have been offered a diesel Bongo fairly cheap to use as a bike van. So I hope the ST van gang can answer a few questions for me.
1 Can you get spares easily and are they expensive ?
2 Are they hard to work on ?[ it's done a lot of miles so this may be important]
3 How economical are they? I have heard that 25mpg is good going which would be a pain hacking up and down to Scotland.
Proud owned of a fully converted Bongo.
Love it, though it is a bit pricey on fuel (2.5l diesel)
Yes 25mpg is good going for urban, but can get more on motorways.
Great to drive and has a brilliant engine. Mine is at 105k km.
Check Bongofury for stories and common issues.
if you're going to use it as a camper then its great
if you're just going to use it for folks/bikes, I would suggest there's better value for money in the non-imported sector (galaxy etc)
What age and model? Assuming it's not been fitted out as a camper with a kitchenette etc...
Pop up roof is great for fast overnighters- bikes stay in the van.
They're not as long as you'd expect, and aren't particularly wide- most bikes need to go in diagonally unless you take a wheel off, so you can't expect to line up 4 bikes in the back as you can in most commercials, tow is probably the limit without breaking them down.
The split rear seat version is better than the one piece, if that makes sense- else you'll need to take the seat out to use it as a bike van.
Older one's are now expensive to get european breakdown cover for.
Pretty easy to work on, fairly reliable, roll a bit, thirsty. Nice to get zircon in a van at that price. Like said above, you can find out all the general issues by browsing/asking on bongo fury. Some rusty ones about.
Parts are by and large cheap and easy to come by, there's a fair few write-offs around to cannibalise, the bongo specialist that does the work on ours charge £30 an hour.