Just got back from sealing the deal on my first car!

Richdog

Richdog

Richdog

Caporegime
Joined
8 Sep 2005
Posts
27,733
Location
Utopia
The car in question is a silver Renault Clio 1.4 RT, Saw it in autotrader and rushed down to SUtton to see it and for the money it was a steal!

Originally my budget was 3k and I wanted a Seat Ibiza but then logic kicked in and I thought "why spend so much", Here is the ad for the car:

1997 RENAULT CLIO RT 1.4 3dr Hatchback

50,000 miles, Silver, e/windows. e/sun roof, e/ mirrors, PAS, foglights. Full service history. 11 months MOT, central locking. Excellent condition. £1,500.
Click to expand...

When we got there we found the car had a few scrapes on it and a couple of fag burns in the drivers seat but nothing major that couldn't be sorted easily, and to be expected of a car 10 years old. Took it for a test drive and wow it's so different to drive compared to my diesel ford mondeo it's untrue. Very sensitive clutch and accelerator, will take some getting used to, I felt like a new driver. :o

My dad managed to beat him down to £1'325... not bad seeing as it only has 50'000 miles on the clock! It'll need a new back light (cheap from a scrapyard) and a couple of scratches/marks to touch up but nothing major. I'll also be sticking some alloys on there as I think they'll improve the look a lot over the regular boring ones, and I need to get a decent in-car CD system too.

So gents, care to give me some reccommendations on:

a) Inexpensive yet decent looking alloys.

b) Inexpensive yet decent CD/Radio.

And lastly, I can't find many specs for the Clio 1997 1.4RT, can anyone tell me what BHP and top speed they have? :)
 
Ahh cheers guys some good info and links there, thanks!

Are there any car CD players in particular you'd reccommend that look good on a budget? Will need speakers too, also on a reasonably small budget. Not looking to pump out some crazy volume/bass, just have good quality sound.

Those Ebay alloys look good but cant afford them till next month, is that average price for cheap-ish sets of alloys?

Also do you think the car was a decent buy for the money as a first car? :)
 
saitrix said:
Whats your budget for all your audio equipment?
Click to expand...

As low as possible really, judst the best value I can get. Good audio quality with maybe a 6 CD changer on a budget. :)

Ev0 said:
Get some phase 1 or 2 Clio 16v wheels :)
Click to expand...

Where's the best place to get those, Ebay?

Quantic said:
Well I don't know how accurate Parkers is, but these are the prices it is indicating:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/us...46&model=710&plate=55&pay=false&buyorsell=buy

You always love your first car though. Even if you do pay over the odds for it like I did! :D
Click to expand...

lol if you look on autotrader those parker prices are completely unrealistic, so don't think they're too accurate. :)
 
Is this JVC autochanger good value? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...16&crumb=31371&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

With these speakers? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...65-31371-38225&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

Quantic said:
Well, looking on Autotrader the prices for 1998 1.4 RTs are around the 1k-1,300 mark. So looks like your paying just above average price for one.
Click to expand...

For the specs and mileage if you consult this list mine was well priced imo... http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WW...urce=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH :)
 
saitrix said:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pro...d=4012&cadid=82c3f9f6b1bcdc166baafdf18d2347fb

Thats the HU i reccomend. Its all you need, i have a couple of CD with 160 songs on each. No need for a changer really at all.
Click to expand...

Looks sweet, quite pricey though. What speakers would you reccommend to go with that bearing in mind a reasonably tight budget? :)

Haly said:
Congrats on the car :)
I almost got an RT when I was looking around as they had a nice load of extras for the price but in the end couldn't quite afford it so went for a RL model instead.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between the RT and RS and what did you fork out for it? :)
 
Haly said:
Afaik (bearing in mind I don't know much) it's just the bits of kit. My car's not got PAS, nothing's electric, no central locking. Fanciest thing it has is a sunroof and an alarm.
Also the car I got in the end was a 1.2l not 1.4l like I was looking at with the RT.

I paid £895 for it, 56k on the clock, full MOT, new timing belt and few other bits and bobs replaced on it. It's 1996 too rather than 97.
It's been good to me so far :)
Click to expand...

Doees no power steering make a big difference? Never driven a car without it. :)

saitrix said:
Just how tight a budget are we talking? At least give me a range to work with.
Click to expand...

Hmm well seeing as I dont know anything about car audio therefore what gets you good sound at the cheapest price im not sure. Just try the cheapest speakers that produce good quality sound, nothing fancy. £50 or so max but as I said, cheapest possible that provide decent/passable sound. :)
 
Last edited:
Hi mate nice to hear from a renault-guru! What do you mean my version is the bug headlights? Mine is still the old version I thinkm wasn't it the newer 1998 model/shape that had the bugs or am I on the wrong track?

75BHP is fine for me as it stands, my insurance/wallet couldn't take anything meatier. I guess at 120mph it would be almost falling apart though? Probably take about 5 mins to get there too. :D

I will scour Ebay for alloys, want to pay £200 max so will have to keep a beady eye in the auctions for somnething good. Im not painting them any other colour though lol, anything other than silver looks daft on a silver car in my opinion!

What kind of non boy-racerish mods could I get away with doing to the car then? :)
 
Hmm does what does "mods" cover, just large stuff or even minor stuff like alternative lights, pedals etc?
 
Last edited:
Would the car fail the MOT if you got it de-catted? What does it replace it with?

Please post the link to that other renault eould be interesting to see. :)
 
I'll bear that in mind mate. Alsom what is the cheapest quality car insurance group btw, is it better to get an online-only company? :)
 
Guys got a question: what size tyres can the clio 1997 1.4 rt support without modification, is it 16"/17"? :)
 
Last edited:
Ultra_Extreme said:
Clios.............suck.............balls............end
Click to expand...

I picked it up last night it's a very nice drive and also very comfortable. No offence but please keep the negative kiddy comments to yourself and find another thread to stick them in, or at least provide clear and detailed reasons for why in your opinion they suck balls when in many others opinions including car reviewers they clearly don't. Showing a bit of maturity, and respect for someone who's just bought one and is happy about it wouldn't go amiss eh?
 
Last edited:
Ultra_Extreme said:
Hey leave my ball sucking mother out of this.

Clios with the exception of the 'special' models are slow and boring to drive
The steering is lifeless
The acceleration is all but non existent in any gear especially in 1.4's
They look horrific like a punto humped a fiesta
The interior is cheap plastic and tacky
Handling is crap

Enough or you want more?
Click to expand...

For a first car it's not slow or boring to drive, the handling is very light and responsive and whacks round corners easily, it's fun to drive. Lifeless it is not.

Acceleration is fine for a first car, budget and insurance dictates I can't get anything bigger.

I like the looks and so do lots of other people in the world so that's your personal opinion and a completely moot point.

Interior isn't great but then it's 1997 and it was an inexpensive car... so duh.

Handling isn't crap, see above.

To be honest though, regardless of your actual age, from the way you talk you sound like a kid, so don't take great offence if I don't take much notice of your "sucks balls" comments lol. :)

FincH said:
Yes and that's why they're one of the best selling super minis ever.
Click to expand...

How DARE you some inject logic into this thread! :p

Tesla said:
As for those ebay alloys, they seem a bit cheap and cheerful so are likely to be made of a quite soft metal.

I still think in almost all circumstances OEM alloys seem to suit cars the best. Well certain styles anyway.
Click to expand...

Yeah they do look a bit iffy, do halfords sell alloys just out of interest? I'm going to get a CD/MP3 player today so i'll have a gander at what they've got. :)

Got to say though I am loving this car, coming from the diesel mondeo it's like a breath of fresh air! Fun to drive, nippy, and silver... all it needs now are alloys and a decent CD player, as well as a few other tasteful additions i'm going to make to smarten it up.

Is it worth getting a cat 1 alarm fitted?
 
Last edited:
Decided i'm getting this stereo the Kenwood KDC-W6031 http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pro...d=4110&cadid=82c3f9f6b1bcdc166baafdf18d2347fb

b_kdcw6031.jpg


Just got scratch filler kit so am going to start preparing them for a nice touch-up therapy session. :)
 
Just out of interest is it worth getting a Cat 1 alarm fitted, and if so how much do they cost?

Just ordered some alloys and all I have left to buy now are:

*Seat covers
*Rear spolier (discreet one)
*Renault tax disc

:)
 
jpmonkey69 said:
Which alloy wheels? Pics at all?

Get a Magnex Tax disk holder from Halfords. :)
Click to expand...

Well I know I posted them earlier and they got slammed but it's these ones http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8030574770&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

I've done some research and they are a good make, Dezent, they are usually £350+ for the alloys alone, and when you factor in that the tyres are almost brand-new I got a stonking deal the likes of which I can't quite believe. The alloys only have minor scratching too. £200 inc for those alloys and tyres I am well chuffed!

As for tax disc holder, I was thinking this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Renault-Clio-...605900383QQcategoryZ10410QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom