ph1 clio 172?

milgo

milgo

milgo

Associate
Joined
21 Aug 2003
Posts
651
Location
Essex
Hey,

I've been eyeing up clio 172's lately. Thinking about replacing my volvo for a clio for some cheap fun but a have a couple of questions.

Any common faults other than rotting exhausts? I'm aware that the aux belt needs changing with the cambelt and the importance of that.

I've always had a soft spot for the phase 1. I hear these are close to the cup in terms of weight and performance?

What price should I be looking to pay for a decent one? There are a wide variety of prices. Some are for sale at £2000-£2500 with 50-60k and service history, then others with higher milage up for £3000+

This is only really a viable option if a decent one can be had for around £3000 because I already have a project car and i'm saving for a house deposit.

Any input is much appreciated.
 
Gearboxes are a weak point as Gilly said - worth checking, it's also worth giving it a good check over for accident damage due to the type of car it is.
£3000 should get you a decent range of good examples to pick from, decent ones start from about £2500 or lower dependant on how fussy you are.

Not sure if you've seen it, but there's a large thread here which covers a lot, and there's also the buying guides available on cliosport.net.
 
Biohazard said:
The gearbox thing is just pure luck, with any of the JB3/4 boxes on most of the F7x lumps.

Luck of the draw. :p
Click to expand...
Its and F4R lump and its using a JC5 box ;) :p. I've had 3 and haven't killed a box yet, its all down to how they've been treated.
 
Cant you stretch a little further and get a phase 2 172? I like rawness of the phase 1, but the looks arequite dated compared to the phase 2.
 
As Gilly said, the not much in it between the cup and the phase 1, it weighs a little more but benefits from slightly different ratios, smaller wheels, and you get air con and nicer seats :p

I personally preferred the phase 1 over the 2, but then I wasn't too fussed over the looks (if I was I wouldn't have been buying a clio, externally the 172 cup looks the best I reckon). There's not much in it price wise now though and if you're hung up on having cliamte and xenons then a phase 2 is the way to go.

I've loved mine, finding it hard to decide on a replacement as they are relatively cheap to run compared to other cars that offer similar smiles/performance. Nothing has really gone wrong with it either bar the exhaust rotting a few years ago, easily sorted though :)
 
Brilliant thanks for the replies.
The ph1 looks dated but I actually prefer it to the ph2 anyway. I could just go and spend quite a bit more on a car, but i'm trying to be sensible. Will be doing a fair bit of milage too so i don't want to go buy something thats going to depreciate loads from high mileage. If its already cheap there isn't far for it to go.

Anything to look out for with the gearbox? Any signs it might be going? Or do they just go pop? Other than the obvious whirring noises. If the gearbox goes I assume you can fit one from a later spec?

Also how much is a new standard exhaust roughly?

I'm really quite tempted now. With 15" wheels as well i can get a set of 4 toyo's for £140 fitted. So track days wouldn't cost the earth :D
 
I've put what would be classed as above average miles on mine and it's been fine, never really had any problems.

Don't think you can fit a later model gearbox to the 172 without fiddling as how the spedo is driven is different. Although this might just be between the cup and non cup boxes (as on later 172s it uses abs sensors for the speedo I think). No idea how you know they are going, guess they just feel naff and start making dodgy noises :p

New standard exhaust works out to about £400. From the factory the mid section and back box is all one piece, when the backbox goes you then have to buy the 2 pieces.

But then you still get the problem of the backboxes breaking, much better getting an aftermarket one that doesn't have a silly heavy backbox :) Also when I had my custom exhaust done they didn't use the Renault rear mount as it's naff and made me up a new one thats been loads better.

15 inch wheels are great, makes tyres nice and cheap too ;)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom