£8.5k...On a Clio...Am I mad?

dadofsam

dadofsam

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Morning all,

Just a quick bit of advice, I have a company car, Smart at the moment, soon to be a Mini, but just need something a bit more 'fun' in my life, que a walk around some local garages where I found a Clio 197, in Nimbus Grey, 36k on the clock, 56 plate, for 8.5k, this seems an ok price form looking around, especially considering it's not just a private sale.

The better half drives an 02 Ka currently, sitting at 58k, and un-doubtably needing a big service soon, I'm thinking cambelt at least? It is also showing signs of rust around the fuel cap etc.

So, with her parents permission, they bought her it! It will be traded in for the 197, but before doing this, is there anything else I should be considering? And what should I look out for when viewing / test driving the Clio?

Requirements are a warm hatch, first 'fast' car for us both, something which won't lose too much value, and also has minimal running costs, bar consumeables & fuel.

Thanks
 

spaz

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The 197 is a great car, no doubt about that, but you might be surprised with the running costs for them, it's certainly not minimal, perhaps above average for that sort of car, and on par with cars in the class above.

It's hardly a premium car but Renault like to charge premium prices for parts and servicing and the fuel economy is ok but not amazing.

These are a few costs when I had mine (coincentally also a 56 plate with similar mileage when I sold it):

OEM Front brake pads: £100
Decent tyres: ~£90/corner
Servicing (12k miles or 1 year, whichever is soonest): £200-£350 (minor/major services at main dealers - probably a lot more too when cambelt time comes around)
Fuel economy: Typically an average of 28mpg, 33/34mpg achievable on a motorway run.

As for things to look out for, that age might develop a problem on third gear synchromesh, mine did, twice, before having the newer gearbox fitted, easily tested by changing into third at high rpm and seeing if it crunches.

Fraying on the seat bolsters (only the recaros).

Other things I'm not too sure tbh, mine was too new really for the sort of problems that start occurring with age but aside from the gearbox mine was totally faithful and had no real problems whatsoever...kinda wish I kept it!
 
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GinG

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[TW]Fox;17065037 said:
A big service on a ka? It's the simplest engine ever, don't think it has a cambelt!
Click to expand...

Was thinking the same...'big' service on the KA is like £200 or something.

If that worries you then god help you in a hot hatch with running costs 10 fold over the KA.

Are you sure you can cough up £~100 per corner tyre compared to £~25 for the KA for example?

Have you made sure this is something you can afford to run this? If things like the 'big' service was one point for you changing...I may reconsider.....
 

dadofsam

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Ahh, didn't realise the Ka is so cheap to maintain, I haven't really looked into it, cost wise I have no worries about running this or many other cars, I would just prefer to not be spending money where it could be avoided by buying an alternative!

Thanks for the advice Spaz, I will have to look into the gear box issue when I take it for a drive, it's either due, or has recently had a service so I'm sure it's something I could barter around!

It will be her car, but I will also use it at the weekends etc. rather than my branded company car.
 

spaz

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dadofsam said:
Ahh, didn't realise the Ka is so cheap to maintain, I haven't really looked into it, cost wise I have no worries about running this or many other cars, I would just prefer to not be spending money where it could be avoided by buying an alternative!

Thanks for the advice Spaz, I will have to look into the gear box issue when I take it for a drive, it's either due, or has recently had a service so I'm sure it's something I could barter around!

It will be her car, but I will also use it at the weekends etc. rather than my branded company car.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, it's not an expensive car to keep on the road, but it will cost significantly more than the Ka, another thing I forgot is tax, which I believe has gone up recently for the band it's on and costs £235/year.

The gearbox issue only really affected a handful of cars, many owners on the clio sites were trouble free, but the ones who were affected were around that sort of age.
 

Maccy

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Despite having slightly more power, I don't think the 197 has as much poise or is as fun to drive as a 172/182 tbh. Seems like a good price though for a 197.
 

widdyst

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The car is free is it not ?
Edit - doh misread.
Does seem like a good price though mate and obviously its gonna be quite a bit more expensive to run than the ka but hey most cars are :)
 
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Ev0

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dadofsam said:
Requirements are a warm hatch, first 'fast' car for us both, something which won't lose too much value, and also has minimal running costs, bar consumeables & fuel.
Click to expand...

The 197 is what I'd call a hot hatch rather than warm, not a bad first fast car, it'll lose a fair amount of value, and won't be the cheapest to run :)

Good cars though, personally I'd rather one over a 182, and Nimbus is one of the best colours for them.

Does it have any options on it? Climate, Xenons?
 

233

233

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just watch the belts on them, they like to go snap and its an interference engine so big bill if it does :(

so advice being dont neglect servicing esp belts
 
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