Looking for a second hand Berlingo

[EvilSteve]

Hi folks,

just joined to ask you chaps some questions as I'm looking at getting myself a van. I currently ride a bike and need a van for scooting back and forth to the DIY stores as I've just bought a house. As such I'm not going to be doing many miles in it - possibly only 2K a year - and I've been looking at vans in the £1K-2K range.

What do I need to look out for when viewing a van? What are the usual things that go wrong?

So far I've gathered that the timing belt and water pump should be changed ASAP unless they were done recently and the service history proves it. However, I'm not seeing many vans on autotrader that have any sort of history.

Anything else I need to look out for or models to avoid?

Cheers, Steve.

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After some more reading I think I'm looking for a 1.9D model. Prefer the reliability over performance.

I need to make sure that the cambelt has been changed at 80-100K miles.

[Opensauce]

If you only want to spend that amount then new mot would be good & van should start & run ok. For that money I would avoid 2litre turbo diesel & go for 1.9 diesel which probably most vans in that price range will have unless petrol which would be ok as well for low mileage. You might be better looking for Berlingo cars because older ones might be in better nick, probably cheaper insurance & you can remove rear seats if you want full space.

[ron]

Hi & welcome Steve.Look at Multispace (car version) as there is no VAT & insurance is normally cheaper.The 1.9 is a good reliable plodder but as you said,be careful about cambelt etc.At over 120,000m check valve clearances as they tighten up & cause bad starting. Good luck & let us know how you fare.:thumbsup:alut:

[Gadgetman]

The 1.9 may not be the 'sharpest tack in the box', but it's pretty indestructible.

Make certain that you try it when the engine is cold. Be very, very vary about it if the engine is already warm when you go to inspect it.
Also, consider walking away if the engine compartment has been steam cleaned.

The rear axle...
Check the bearings carefully. They're a real pain in the seating area to replace.
(Sure, check the front bearings, too, but they're slightly easier to replace.)


A 5 seater is definitely a more flexible solution than a van version.
(I transported about 40meters2 of 14mm thick parquet flooring, 10 rolls of burlap wallpaper - the type you put on drywall and paint over - 5 4L buckets of wallpaper paste, a 20L bucket of spackle, 10 3L buckets of paint and quite a few other items on one trip when I was finishing my apartment back in 2007. The 1.4i really struggled in the uphills... )

Note that a MOT is all about pollution and the safety of the car.
This means that quite large problems can be ignored on the test.
And some safety issues may also not be covered.
(Here in Norway, they didn't start checking the airbag system until this year)

That reminds me, if the car has airbags, make bl**dy certain that the lamp lights up when the ignition is switched on.
Some people has been known to place a black tape over the lamp to hide that there's a problem there.

[stuartinlancashire]

RE the airbag lights. I had a problem with the light coming on occasionall on my van, especially when the drivers seat was moved. I cured it by using cable ties around the connectors under the seats to stop them working loose.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Gadgetman]

Yeah, it's usually the connector under the seat, which is a quick fix.
But some Berlingo owners aren't on this forum, or can't be bothered to google the problem, and do a bastard 'fix' to hide the issue.
If someone has done this, they may have done similar things to other parts of the car, too...

[EvilSteve]

Thanks for the advice so far. When you say check the bearings, you mean jack it up and see if there's any notchiness as the wheel rotates? Or can you just visually inspect them underneath? I assume they'd be sealed units or covered in a rubber grommet.

What does a steam cleaned engine bay signal? That a major event has occurred which required The Wolf from Pulp Fiction to sort out?

[Trevor]

Look at the rear of the car from some distance behind and make sure the rear wheels are vertical, any lean in or out will show the beam axle bearings are shot which is an expensive repair!
If the engine bay has been steam cleaned then moisture may have gotten into the electrics.

[Gadgetman]

The best way to inspect bearings is to jack it up, yeah.

Steam-cleaning can of course destroy electronics, if it's done by an amateur...
but more importantly, it washes away oil and other liquids that have leaked.
Dirty Engine = Honest engine.
(See Wheeler Dealers on Discovery)
Of course an engine in a car the age you're looking for is never going to be completely tight...

The rocker cover gasket tends to dry out, for one. That's an easy fix.
The sump gasket is also no biggie, but has to wait until you plan to change oil, or it gets a bit more expensive.

Leaks around the master brake cylinder, though, can quickly become expensive. You don't want to see too much leakage around the servo pump, either.