Hello everyone!

[Ol'Jeffers]

My name's Geoff and I live near Maidstone in Kent.:wave:
Today I went to have a look at an '06 Berlingo with 49,000
miles on it. So still a Citroen virgin!
I'm downsizing from an '06 Passat diesel with only 41,000 miles as I do not do the long journeys any more and like the functional look of the Citroen.
I needed something smaller that had room for the fishing gear!
The car I saw has a glass roof and the internal roof storage bins, plus air conditioning so I suppose it's a 'Desire' and it's quite desirable!
Seems to go well too.
Any advice on specific things to watch for would be appreciated.

[Chris]

Hi Geoff

Welcome to the forum. It is a Desire that you are talking about and having a/c is a bit of a rare optional extra and in my opinion well worth seeking out. The Berlingo is a brilliantly practical car and usually easy to live with. If there is a weakness, then it seems to be electrics, so spend time making sure that everything works as it should. Higher mileage turbo diesels seems to have a few issues, but otherwise they are pretty robust.

I am not too far away (Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells area) if you want to have a proper look round one without a salesman hovering over your shoulder.

[RB WRX]

Welcome Geoff, how you like your new car if you get it!

[Northman]

Wecome, Geoff.

The car I saw has a glass roof and the internal roof storage bins, plus air conditioning so I suppose it's a 'Desire' and it's quite desirable!
Seems to go well too.

Sounds like a good one to go for. I got an early 2007 car 5 months ago, and am very happy with it.

Any advice on specific things to watch for would be appreciated.

I've been driving Berlingos for 9 years & 100,000 miles, and don't have any advice on specific things. The build quality on my first Berlingo, a Mk1, was pretty poor - but it didn't have any particular faults - trim coming loose, rattles, rear wiper that stopped working, and such like. Build quality on my current Berlingo is a lot better, and so far no problems at all.

[Coco]

Hello,

Only potential weak spot, as already mentioned, is the electrics. Expect them to play up in one way or another at some point and you won't be disappointed !! It is French after all....

[Chris]

Geoff, did you buy it in the end?

[Ol'Jeffers]

Well here we go with the second episode in the Berlingo research saga!!
Yes Chris, with heart in mouth I parted with the cash and drove it home. I'd already ready booked a full (inspect everything and report back to me) service as the garage which I use has always looked after all of my cars very well and they're totally honest.
Today they phoned me to say the the car was ready for collection and, thankfully, it's been well looked after with no nasties that anyone could find. So all of the usual things were done: all filters change brake fluid & oil and correctly adjust where necessary. It was serviced according to the Citroen bible and when I brought it home tonight it felt better than before to drive.

I have however been doing some homework and have made some enquiries about the correct oil to put in the engine as the handbook is less than clear on this. I rang the local Main Dealer and a local Authorised Repairer and both said that for my vehicle with the 1560cc turbo-diesel, the stuff to use is Total Quartz Ineo ECS 5W30 or an equivalent as long as it is made to the PSA B71 2290 standard. So I discovered that Halfrauds sell an oil manufactured to this standard (£40) and that's what's in it now!
When I enquired regarding the price of the Total oil with the two Citroen shops they quoted around £48 for 5 litres! :eek:
Today I came across a company online who will supply it, delivered to my door, £26 for 5 litres so tomorrow I'll be ordering a couple of those as oil prices aren't likely to go down!
For those interested here is the link:
http://www.nielsencdg.co.uk/acatalog/Tot..._5W30.html

I like this car a lot so far and I'm hoping that it will last for many years.
Has any one fitted alloy wheels to their Berlingo? There seems to be a bit of a problem in this area with obtaining wheels which fit the car correctly due to the available space between the back of the wheel and the bodywork inside the rear wheel arch.
Next post will be elsewhere as this one has gone OT for the Intro forum :oops: Sorry!

[Chris]

Glad to hear that all appears to be well with the Berlingo, it sounded like of good'un from how you described it.

With regards to alloys on a mk 2; the largest ones fitted either as standard or as an option from Citroen, are 15" with a 185/65 tyre. I don't know if you can go to a larger size without clearance problems, and that's before issues of ride quality and insurance/conformity?

Personally, I find that the 185/65/15 gives a nice balance between grip, ride, and looks and suit the overall character of the car.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing more posts, and you will find that there are also a few bikers and anglers on here as well!

[horseunderwater]

Not sure if this is right place for intro.
Am a bus driver who owns a green metalic b'lingo from 2000.
Seems to be one of the rarer models as it is a 1.8 petrol model and it has now done just over 79480 miles. I have had it since 2006 and it just seems to sail through most MOT's - apart from those pesky rubber gator boots that ping off if you put too much pressure on the steering lock.tudy: