End of the line for Bernard?

[pidgeonpost]

We bought Bernard in 2011, second owner, and he was our trusty Jack-of-all-trades until we passed him on to our daughter-in-law almost 2 years ago. Since then he's been her runabout, but lately she's suffered several breakdowns on the road, and despite some work being done to try and  resolve the problem she has decided that it's just too risky to live with the unreliability and is in the process of buying another car.
But what do with Bernard? The story so far... 

26/2 Morning. Engine cut out right at the end of a c. 23-mile journey. ‘Anti pollutant fault’ on dashboard. RAC called out, flushed out EGR valve, advised to try changing EGR but that it would get home safely.

26/2 4 pm: Broke down c. 20 miles into the home journey, same fault. Managed to drive it home with RAC following - suspect this is because it had cooled down.

28/2: New EGR valve fitted.
A few journeys made with no incident during the next couple of days. 

4/3: Cuts out again about 12 miles into the return leg of 20-mile work commute. Same fault on dash.

5/3: New air sensor valve fitted.

8/3: Cuts out again about 15 miles into the return leg of c.20-mile commute. Same fault on dash. Able to get home after 10 minutes of cooling. RAC not called out.

Local mechanic was pretty confident that the new components should fix the problem, but it seems not. He thought "the pipe and even the old egr valve were not blocked enough to cause it to cut out like it does. It seems electrical in that it cuts out hot and then starts perfect when it cools down , that why I went for the air intake sensor which was showing a fault code". 

I'm not in a position to investigate the problem further. D-in-L isn't either, nor can she afford to take it to a dealer and say 'Fix it'. At the moment it looks likely she'll be scrapping it. We're wondering whether to offer it on here for scrap value as it may appeal to someone as a project. In addition to the existing problem it has a small drip from the windscreen or roof window, and really needs a new front wing. It has a genuine approx 120k miles on the clock
 Attached are a few pics of the car. It has MOT until 26th September, and would need collecting from the GL14 postcode just outside Gloucester within 7-10 days.

Any thoughts or interest? 

A few pics here.

[Multispacer]

We bought Bernard in 2011, second owner, and he was our trusty Jack-of-all-trades until we passed him on to our daughter-in-law almost 2 years ago. Since then he's been her runabout, but lately she's suffered several breakdowns on the road, and despite some work being done to try and  resolve the problem she has decided that it's just too risky to live with the unreliability and is in the process of buying another car.
But what do with Bernard? The story so far... 

26/2 Morning. Engine cut out right at the end of a c. 23-mile journey. ‘Anti pollutant fault’ on dashboard. RAC called out, flushed out EGR valve, advised to try changing EGR but that it would get home safely.

26/2 4 pm: Broke down c. 20 miles into the home journey, same fault. Managed to drive it home with RAC following - suspect this is because it had cooled down.

28/2: New EGR valve fitted.
A few journeys made with no incident during the next couple of days. 

4/3: Cuts out again about 12 miles into the return leg of 20-mile work commute. Same fault on dash.

5/3: New air sensor valve fitted.

8/3: Cuts out again about 15 miles into the return leg of c.20-mile commute. Same fault on dash. Able to get home after 10 minutes of cooling. RAC not called out.

Local mechanic was pretty confident that the new components should fix the problem, but it seems not. He thought "the pipe and even the old egr valve were not blocked enough to cause it to cut out like it does. It seems electrical in that it cuts out hot and then starts perfect when it cools down , that why I went for the air intake sensor which was showing a fault code". 

I'm not in a position to investigate the problem further. D-in-L isn't either, nor can she afford to take it to a dealer and say 'Fix it'. At the moment it looks likely she'll be scrapping it. We're wondering whether to offer it on here for scrap value as it may appeal to someone as a project. In addition to the existing problem it has a small drip from the windscreen or roof window, and really needs a new front wing. It has a genuine approx 120k miles on the clock
 Attached are a few pics of the car. It has MOT until 26th September, and would need collecting from the GL14 postcode just outside Gloucester within 7-10 days.

Any thoughts or interest? 

A few pics here.

As you don't want to continue trying to trace the fault, I would list it on here for a short while for sale with the faults listed [there is a separate section to list Berlingos for sale] as from your images I can see it is a Modutop version [with the overhead storage bins] and the interior looks in reasonably good condition and it appears to have air-con [which many M59s did not] so you should get more than you can get for it as scrap value [Scrap value is normally around £200-£300] If you do not get any takers on here, I would suggest listing it on Ebay, again listing the faults clearly and with the caveat of Cash on collection only and insist that buyer brings some photo ID, so you can fill in bill of sale/log book correctly] as a Berlingo 1.6Hdi especially with Modutop and air-con and without any DPFs or AdBlue is a desirable vehicle anywhere that isn't in a ULEZ type area. I would still have my M59 model now [one of the last built] if someone hadn't driven into the back of it and written it off. I used it on numerous trips around Europe, as well as my daily commute vehicle and it returned nearly 60MPG on average, not many more modern vehicles achieve that, especially with the carrying capacity of a Berlingo.

By the way the leak from roof is quite common on the Modutop version and is normally fixed by cleaning out under the rubber seals around the roof insert and putting a new layer clear silicone sealant, the main difficulty is normally finding the exact point of the leak.

[pidgeonpost]

Thanks Multispacer. Although the car has its problems we feel that there's still life in it for someone prepared to invest time and perhaps not an awful lot of money. It's a good spec, as you have noted, and was dealer serviced for most of its life. I was interested that you mention it has no DPF. I've always believed it has one, though I've never checked, and have pondered whether a blocked DPF might be the cause of the breakdowns. I don't have the VIN to hand to check further.
We'll have a chat and decide next steps.

Thanks again.

[Multispacer]

Thanks Multispacer. Although the car has its problems we feel that there's still life in it for someone prepared to invest time and perhaps not an awful lot of money. It's a good spec, as you have noted, and was dealer serviced for most of its life. I was interested that you mention it has no DPF. I've always believed it has one, though I've never checked, and have pondered whether a blocked DPF might be the cause of the breakdowns. I don't have the VIN to hand to check further.
We'll have a chat and decide next steps.

Thanks again.

DPFs didn't appear on the Berlingo until 2010, my M59 Multispace didn't have one [which was a newer year than yours] neither does my current early B9 model.

[pidgeonpost]

Thanks for that. I guess if I'd known that when we bought it it might have saved me some worry!
An update. They have reluctantly decided on the scrappage route. There are various factors contributing to the decision, but time, distance, insurance, SORN, new job are some of them.
In other circumstances I'd have taken the car back and got it back on the road, but I'm 75 and trying to keep our two cars going is work enough. Taking on a third isn't really an option. Sad to see him go though.