First Impressions

So, we had arranged to go over to view the Bongo with the owner, and as we drove into the cul-de-sac, there it sat in the driveway. On first viewing, not too bad at all! Could do with a polish, but not bad, definitely potential! Wullie came out to meet us, a big friendly bear of a guy, a builder or plasterer, I think, and opened the van up. Central locking! Looking inside, and trying to remain as objective as possible, despite my growing interest, and although needing a damned good clearout and a clean, everything looked not too bad at all. In the rear, there was a full width seat / bed ( a rock n roll bed) which pulled down flat to form the bed. There was a small cupboard type thing, with a stove in it, and loads of junk, as well as some camping stuff and a long grey bag which contained the awning. So, with the sale were included – a small generator ( which I sold on), the awning, a set of steel wheels and trims ( the idea was to fit in the winter to save the alloys), a toilet tent, and a caravan step – the step I told Wullie just to hang on to, he had young kids, so more use to him than me. The seats front and back were recovered, with a kind of wipe-proof heavy duty green canvas stuff, all professionally done, and matching between the front seats and the rear. There were tartan curtains in the back window. Everything was covered in dog hair from the family pooch, and strange sticky marks from the kids. But, first impressions were, not bad. The pop top roof, it turned out, was fully electric! This was new to me – I have seen folding roofs before, on VW buses and more modern campervans, but not an electrically folding one. So, Wullie fired up the 2.5ltr turbodiesel, and pressed the button for the roof. Accompanied by the whir of the drive motors, and an insistent beeping in the cab, up it went, and extended to a fair height, too. In fact, with the roof up, I could see the potential even more, as ther was easily room for two adults in the roofspace, which had a fold-up floor. Push this up, and increase the headroom in the main rear area. Drop it down on it’s gas struts, open the hatch, and climb up into the tent and the airy upper room, which had ample zips, a fly screen, a light, and a sliding moonroof. The sides in fact could be unzipped in fair weather, leaving an upper deck with a serious panoramic view!

Looking good indeed!

So, time for a test drive….

We dropped the roof, careful to fold in the roof tent under the plastic hard shell roof, and with Wullie in the back, off we set. Initial impression was of quite a responsive diesel lump, coupled with a smooth automatic gearbox, and we burbled out the cul-de-sac and headed for the A77. A bit of an issue with the steering, which felt like there was a tight spot in the steering rack or column ( later it would turn out to be just a sticky universal joint in the steering column, a few squirts of WD40 and it was sorted!), a loud clunk going over the bumps, like a bush gone or a broken spring, but otherwise, all pretty good. The ride was smooth and well sprung, the engine responsive, gearbox smooth, and we headed onto the dual carriageway, took it up to 65mph for a mile or two, turned at the next junction and headed back to the driveway. The Bongo was easy to manouver, being a bit narrower than the Skoda Superb I drive, as well as a bit shorter, the mid engine design gave it a cleverly compact footprint, and the decent turning circle and handy reversing mirror made parking it in the narrow driveway a doddle. This was getting better.

So, we said we were interested ( Lorraine had already capitulated with the standard “It’s not up to me, Murray, you decide” line) and left to do a bit of research, mull it over, and leave Wullie guessing a bit. He was desperate to sell, having already replaced the Bongo with a newer model Transit, he needed the van away, and had said he would haggle a bit if needed.

At home that evening, I looked up Bongos on line. What a clever little van! I liked the fact that it was diesel, even though the DVLA are coming down on them more heavily every year. I just like the low down grunt you get, and the economy is always that bit better. There are less bits to go wrong too! Having looked up a few for sale, his price didn’t seem to far off the mark. All was looking good, the whole idea of owning a little campervan of my own, even a 24 year old one in need of some serious TLC, was really appealing. I loved the colour, a nice deep metallic green. I liked the alloy wheels. I liked the idea of the pop top, and the full width bed. I could see myself starting to imagine what it might be like, given a bit of a clean up, a polish, and a clear out of the crap and the dog hairs.

I realised, as you probably did a few paragraphs ago, I had decided I wanted it – not just a Bongo, but THIS Bongo. I had developed a soft spot for it, and could see huge potential for fun. I decided to give Wullie a call the next day to arrange a second viewing, this time I would give him a definitive answer, and negotiate a deal. I arranged to go back on the Thursday evening, and I would take James, my son with me, as a fresh pair of eyes, and hopefully he would agree that the van was worth a go.

In the time between, I started to search for more information – where to get parts, how much the common bits were, prices from dealers, and any other information I could find. I was getting obsessed….