Hello (also)

[Alisonmb7]

I intend to be a Berlingo owner, so I hope you don't mind a current fiat punto owner crashing your site.

I'm hoping to buy a second hand one - 7 seats - they seem to be lie gold dust, however, so it may take a while.

Any advice on what to get and what not to get? I'm used to a very small car and am a little nervous about driving something bigger, but the Berlingo seemed to offer the internal volume without being a tank like some of the 7 seat people movers.

Anyway - Ill look forward to reading down your threads.

Alison

[3rensho]

Welcome Alisonmb7. Lots of good info here, don't be shy about asking questions. I migrated from a small Nissan Sunny to a Berlingo Multispace last year. It's easy to get used to and the extra space if fantastic. Even have a small electric refer I take with me to keep meat, cheese cold when shopping in the summer.

Tom

[Alisonmb7]

Thanks. We're intending to do some major camping and the punto is frankly ridiculous. We probably would buy new but given the lag in making them up and the possibility of missing parts from Japan might mean we get the car while we are on holiday. So all round it seems to make more sense to buy a second hand one. A good indication of how popular they are is that it seems no one sells theirs!

[shedpete]

Hi Alison, welcome.

We moved to a Berlingo (2003, Mk 2) after several years using my girlfriend's Punto. As a taller bloke I must admit I suffered rather in the Punto, mainly because the seat wouldnt' go back far enough and the pedals were too close together for my big feet.

We did both find the Berlingo felt huge at first for parking etc but after a few months we're now very used to it. Ours has no parking sensors but we got a Fresnel lens for the back window which is still helpful - see

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=161

But as someone said there the flat back and big windows & mirrors make it relatively easy once you get the hang of it.

I also find it much more stable and relaxing for motorway driving than the Punto was. And all the space is very handy.

As to what to get... whatever you can with 7 seats I guess :-). This thread is relevant:

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=389

Seems like on Mk1 & Mk2 versions you're limited to the very rare side-facing seats option. On the Mk 3 Berlingos (post 2008) a third row of seats is a standard option - as part of the 'Family Pack'. But there won't yet be many cheap secondhand ones...

Pete

[Alisonmb7]

Hello! Cheap is less of a problem than 'available', but we will see. Even a few thousand off the new price would be good. I'd love parking sensors and if I went new we'd get all the whistles and bells, but I don't think we are going down that route. We just have two criteria - seven seats and air con as we drive to Spain each year - and even in this country it is a little unpleasant in the summer.

Glad to know people have scaled up from small to large. We ruled out some of the bigger people carriers because they just seemed vast (and I have coveted a Berlingo for over a year now). I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I do love knowing I will always be able to squeeze through that gap.

[shedpete]

One on Autotrader, but no mention of aircon:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/a...3383431402

[Andre]

Welcome along Alison, ill leave the advice to those who own/have purchased a multispace recently!

Good luck :thumbsup
:

[Seaman]

Hi Alisonmb7,
We are still awaiting delivery of our new Berlingo.
We live in Essex but have found what we think is the best deal and that is from Barclays of Warrington. The staff seem very friendly and helpful and the discount rather surprised us. Well worth the trek from Essex.
Whilst ours is being made and delivered Naomi of Barclays is phoning and giving us the progress report every week. We've found nothing pushy about any of the staff from the manager downwards.
Hope this is of some use to you. They do seem to have/keep several Berlingos in stock so that a test drive is very achievable.
Best wishes,
Jim & Tracey

[andy-womble]

Hello Alison and welcome to the forum,

We made the change last October after finally deciding that our Peugeot 306 5 door hatch was too small for two (sometimes three) "robust" adults, 2 dogs and all our stuff plus a caravan on tow.

Never looked back really, my only concern was that the wife might struggle handling it but no worries, drives it better than the old "Pug" and enjoys driving it.

At 5'10" I am not particularly tall but have a big torso and short legs, my head used to rub on the headlining on the Pug (think that is why I have a bald patch appearing) but acres of room in the 'lingo.

Good luck with your search and let us all know how you go on.

[Mike]

Hi Alison and welcome to the forum.

I changed to a Berlingo in May last year, having had a Xantia previously. I like the headroom (being 5'11") and also it's possibly for me to pack stuff in and not need to try and fit it all in like a jigsaw. It's a great car.