Clio 172 running costs and common problems?

Stormster

Stormster

Stormster

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Joined
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Stoke-on-Trent
Hi guys, forever in the search to find my cheap but fast and reliable car, I'm still looking at 172's... but wondering just how cheap (or expensive!) they are to run. I'm not minted and can't spare hundreds a month for repairs... but wondering what stuff costs.

Stuff like shocks as I hear they go? Brake discs and pads just OEM stuff... random filters and consumables etc?

I know the aux and cambelt job is a biggie and expensive so if I could get one with that done then all good.

Not sure if they have probs like electric windows failing and if so, cheap and easy or expensive and hard to fix?

Cheers for any pointers folks :)
 
Gearbox's fail at an alarming rate. Not a cheap fix either £1200 fitted for a Renault supplied unit and another £200 for the clutch.

Add to your list Drive shafts, these also seem to randomnly fail [well on mine anyway]
 
As with any car, some are good and some are lemons.

The gearboxes are weak on them, but it should be ok if it's been looked after. Being French, most of the electrics can fail and it's not the best built car in the world - but it's not too bad IMO.

Front discs and pads (OE) are about £70 and £50 from Renault, although you can get branded aftermarket for a similar amount. Rear discs and pads are expensive, about £180 a set as they have the wheel bearings pressed into them.

Shocks are about £45-50 a corner from Renault, and nor much more than an hours labour per corner at a garage. Rear ones take 5 mins to do yourself, front ones take about an hour.

Tyres are about £70 a corner (195/45/16) depending on brand.


Check out cliosport.net and there's some really good guides on there.



I've had mine for just over a year and I've spent:
£50 Rear Shock
£50 Front Shock
£90 60k Service
£160 Aux Belt
£180 Driveshaft

I've also had the front bumper off yesterday to get at the headlights :o
 
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Gearboxes fail if you abuse it in 1st and drop the clutch at 5k rpm.

I've had mine 18 months with some very hard driving and it's not had a single issue.. You just need to look after it like most cars and it's fine.
 
Hi,

Ive had my 182 around 16 months now. They arent the pinacle of build quality but dont believe everything people say about french cars. They have a few rattles n squeeks but nothing the radio wont resolve.

Tyres are around £70 a corner for a decent tyre although if you use cheap ****e (not recomended) you can get them for £40ish.

Rear discs are more expensive than fronts but they last for ages due to the fact the rear brakes dont do a lot. Rear disks inc new abs rings and bearings can be had of ebay for around £100 delivered and prob another £20 ontop of that for pads.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CLIO-SPORT-17...14&_trkparms=72:1683|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

Front discs and pads are prob around £70ish for both from pmf.

Rear shocks do have a habbit of going but theyre only £50 from Renault and pretty easy to fit yourself if you know how to use a spanner. (Only 2 bolts to change the shock). Front shocks are pretty solid.

Headlight washers have a habbit of leaking as well, they are around £10 each from Renault and dont last 12months but Renault replace them (inc labour) free of charge under the Renault parts and labour warranty. Im just about to go onto my 3rd set in 16 or so months lol.

To do a basic service on my 182 (5l Fuchs fully synth oil, filter, air filter and pollen filter) cost around the £60 mark inc genuine Renault filters which is pretty good imo.

I tend to get around 35mpg in my 182 although ive heard 172s are actually better on fuel than 182's.

Might be worth you looking at www.cliosport.net
 
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AmDaMan said:
Gearboxes fail if you abuse it in 1st and drop the clutch at 5k rpm.

I've had mine 18 months with some very hard driving and it's not had a single issue.. You just need to look after it like most cars and it's fine.
Click to expand...

Well changing from 2nd to 3rd at 30mph and destroying every cog says different. :)

But i guess its like everything,sometimes you get a Friday afternoon one.
 
Cheers for the responses guys. Not toooo bad then all in all providing nothing really goes all at once. Gearbox sounds an expensive fix though, any way to tell if it's dead on test drive? Do they feel solid and positive or just plasticy, french and a bit flappy like on Saxo's and 106's I've driven?
 
You will know pretty much straight away if it is a bad one. The 2nd replacement i had was terrible,really sloppy between 2nd and 3rd,it only lasted 3 weeks as well! Serves me right for buying a 2nd hand one. As posted above, quite a few of us post on Cliosport.net and there is tons of info there and quite a few for sale.
 
Lads at work do mine so could not comment. If you get one either ph1 or 2 i would like to suggest the fastchips remap utility. Great backup and as many remaps as you want,well worth £200 [i think thats what they cost now]

Henk will even write a custom map for your car for £50!
 
ermmm not a bugger as such but you have to remove the upper manifold(?) the bit which says renault sport on. Which means undoing about 10bolts. Its one of them jobs once youve done it once youll be able to do it easily. Plugs arent especially cheap as its highly recomneded you stick with ngk plugs. There are some cheap bosch plugs on ebay etc and a lot of people have had trouble with misfiring etc when using them
 
Cheers for the heads up :) Heard of fastchips, sounds fun!

Just clicked aswell on my quest to save cash but go quickish, tax. Phase 2 will be a lot this time next year?

I wonder how close to a minter phase 1 I could get for 2 grand... :)
 
A pretty good one,paid £2300 for the wifes with 16" OZ SuperLeggeras cambelt service and 58k miles on it. That was last year and they have only got cheaper.

This one

IMG_0686.jpg
 
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Remember seeing your wifes motor on here on other threads, looks well :)

Be nice if I can find one on cliosport or similar with an owner who can extensively tell me about it and who'd have hopefully looked after it! Don't fancy an engine rebuild or a new gearbox though lol :D
 
Will be selling hers soon,has cost me 3k to keep on the road in the last 7 months! Although i have had a lot of work done on it just to make it right [didnt like the thought of my kids being in it with any niggles]

If you are after one and want one with a guarenteed gearbox and clutch let me know.

Also has Brembo hi carbon discs,CBA BMC. lowered suspension,and a group n remap. :D
 
I had one for all of 3 months and had an ABS sensor go which wasnt too cheap to fix as it was rusted into the hub and had to replace the lot. Also the interior fan for the climate control was noisy (in the interior light assembly), fixed with some spray grease. One other thing was that the lumber support in the drivers seat was not working, took the cover off and re-attached and all then ok. As for running costs, well it wasn;t exactly frugal but compared to the RX-8 it was nice to have MPG in the mid to high 20s.
 
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