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Used Berlingos - Buying advice requested.
#1
I am going to replace my twenty year old Rover Maestro diesel van and I've decided that the best vehicle to suit my needs would be a Berlingo with seats (not a van). I like simplicity and am not interested in performance but I do like economy, so it looks like a 1.9 diesel is the one. My ideal budget is about £1500 with a £2000 maximum.

What advice would you offer when looking at second hand Berlingos, are there any areas that need special consideration? I've been advised to look for rot and corrosion (where?) and also rear suspension wearing/failing (what do I look for?) Are there any other areas that require a close look and more to the point what am I to look for?

Any advice and comments would be most welcome as I'd rather avoid buying a dog with all the hassels that involves, by seeking the knowledge of fellow Berlingo owners. Sorry if this post is in the wrong place but I've used the search function and found nothing that answers my questions. Once I have my new vehicle I will of course show you it on here. Many thanks in advance.
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#2
The economy of the 1.9d isn't great. The 2.0hdi is far better, but of course will probably set you back more.

I am not aware of a problem with corrosion. Certainly my 2004 petrol model doesn't have any after 90k.

Besides the obvious things like service history etc.. these days I would always take a fault code reader with me and plug it in to read the ecu for any stored faults.
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#3
Not really encountered corrosion being a problem on these cars, but suspension knocks at the front certainly are common place. Try your full lock for one. Also worth looking for uneven tyre wear all round, can prove to be more of a pain in the a&! If you purchase and never locate the reason why.

As suggested, try looking at the newer engines, they won't be as asthmatic!
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  • baxta
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#4
Thanks for you replies so far, it is really helpful. Following on from your suggestions.......

Don't the 2.0 Hdi engines have more complex electronics associated with them than with the 1.9 which I was told was simple (single point mechanicle squirt injection, rather than electronic), although reliable but a little slow?

What is a fault code reader and where would I get one from? Where are they plugged in and how are they used? Is this appropriate to all models?
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#5
There are a dozen 2.0 HDi on Autotrader all around the right price.
Also plenty of 1.9D models.......for good fuel consumption I'd go with the
2.0HDi But you need to see at least a good service history.
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#6
What is the realistic range of fuel consumptions for 1.9 and 2.0 diesels?

The sort of driving I do is country lanes, A roads and motorways. Average about 8000 miles a year as have company vehicle to get to work so only use my vehicle as a second one for general running about and holidays/trips.

Sorry to keep badgering you all for info, but your replies are very helpful as a some other posts I've found on here. Many thanks.
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#7
The 1.9d will average 30 to 40 mpg, where as the HDI if I recall is over 50 mpg.

A fault code reader can be had for £20 to £30 new and plugs into a socket above the internal fuse box on the right hand side of the wheel.

Basically is a good way to make sure you are buying a car with no serious engine faults.

If the car isn't running right, has any faulty components, ignition issues, injection problems, electrical issues etc.... it logs a fault code on the ecu. Unless you read the ecu, you may have no idea it's there.

There have been several people on here of late who bought a second hand car and discovered faults within days that would have been spotted had they checked the ecu.

Not essential, but I wouldn't buy second hand without looking personally.
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#8
1.6 Hdi is capable of around 60 when driven carefully strictly in the range of the turbo 1300 - 2000 rpm (ish)
I do a daily 30 mile commute on a combination of twisty lanes,flat 50mph limit A-roads and 30mph urban with a twice weekly additional 10 miles of steep hilly lanes.
Terrain and payload are the biggest factors-how much load is on the engine.
I get 58 to 62 dependant on which side of a service the engine is at.
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#9
Wow this is really interesting. I'd been inclined to steer clear of 'modern' cars with electronic systems as I don't know how it all works, I'm reasonable with old fashioned manual mechanics but the 'modern' world of electronic control and management systems is new to me. Fault code readers seem to offer some way into the hidden world of the magic electronic digits manipultating the engines and may help me avoid buying something with loads of faults and also to bypass the dealers' expensive 'plug in to the computer sessions.' A couple of more questions if you don't mind, but it really is helping me understand a bit about what I may well buying.

With fault code readers is it just a matter of resetting the fault using the reader or buying new components to fit to the vehicle?

And does anyone else have their fuel consumption figures for 1.9 versus 2.0hdi diesel engines.

Also how else do these two engines compare especially in reliabilty, low running costs and hassle free operation?
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#10
If the ecu detects a fault it will flag a code.

The reader can delete it, but if the fault is a problem on the vehicle and it is almost certain to be, it will come back and get flagged again.

The reader doesn't fix anything, it simply tells your what the issue is and points you in the direction of where to start looking to repair it.

The 1.9d is every bit as likely to have problems with like this as the 2.0hdi. If you read back some of the 'problem' threads you'll see the 1.9d is not going to equal trouble free motoring just because it's a more basic engine. There's one or fewer things to go wrong on it but there have been a few people on here of late that have bought one second hand and discovered problems that were there prior to purchase.

If unsure, get it inspected.

The official combined mpg for the 1.9d is about 38mph. Given that those figures are often very hard to achieve, expect less than that.
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