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172/182 reliability?



  Black 172
I'm keeping some money aside for "when" my 172 needs it... if it doesn't need it then I'll consider it a bonus.
My car's been good so far but I realise, being relatively modern and french, that there's a bill coming somewhere down the line.
 
  Ph1 ITB'd 172
The thing with threads like these are the people who have had problems will generally shout louder than those who haven't!

I have had my 182 for 18 months, I have done 12,000 miles in it, and it has never once missed a beat. I bought it from salvage so it was accident damaged, replaced the bumper headlights and bonnet, serviced it after 6 months including a cambelt change other than that it has not cost me anything! There are plenty knocking around with over 100k miles, I think that alone says a lot.
 
  182
had mine for just over a year and it has been great.
Obviously every car at some point will have problems you just have to look after it, i have spent ££££s on mine but i think i have o.c.d and like to change/refresh things lol.
 

Tom

ClioSport Club Member
  EV (s)
Most reliable car I've ever owned outside of warranty. 140,000 miles of pleasure.
 

Gally

Formerly Mashed up egg in a cup
ClioSport Club Member
Most reliable car I've ever owned outside of warranty. 140,000 miles of pleasure.

Can't say fairer than that. The reliability of them worry me but forums do that to you.
 
  VaVa
Owned since Nov 2003. 54k. One break down (broken wire in loom found out by some exceptionally damp weather in Barmouth lol). Apart from that just the consumable stuff and the odd niggle.

I'm not trying to make out they're the peak of reliabilty, because they're not, but they're certainly not as bad as the reputation of French cars might have you believe.

I'd say the engines are very good.
 
  Astra SRI/ Hornet
100% reliable in my experience and i abused both rs i had and both had 2 previous owners.dave88 didnt you buy your 182 as crash damaged? maybe why youre having issues tbh. car components dont like heavy impacts. lol
 
  french bit of tat
my 182 has only done 60k and its a 2004. the electronics are s**te and constantly got the management light on. i feel like the thing is just falling apart in front of me. i am starting to think that it is because the mrs just mooches about in it doing the school run and the like. seems like if you thrash em they love it more and last longer instead of getting all choked up. poor thing never even gets warm.
got another kiddie due in march so going back to a german derv i think. think my days of owning a car with half decent performance are over.
:(
 
Looking on the forum, you would probably think they are the worst car in the world, but in reality, as with ANY car, if you treat it with respect and service it regularly then they are brilliant.

Nobody is going to post a thread on a forum and say "OMG, I haven't had any problems with my gearbox", whereas you will probably find a few threads that say "OMG, My gearbox is fucked"
 
  Civic Type R
I have had three, none of them have cost me much in up keep, I have had a few niggles ( mainly water inlet) but to be honest they have been the most reliable cars I have had. Before I brought my First RS I was swapping cars every two or three months!! I have had about 30 cars in the 10 years , the clio's have been the most reliable. I have had honda's / nissans and from my own per experience they are not as reliable as people make out.
 
Looking on the forum, you would probably think they are the worst car in the world, but in reality, as with ANY car, if you treat it with respect and service it regularly then they are brilliant.

Nobody is going to post a thread on a forum and say "OMG, I haven't had any problems with my gearbox", whereas you will probably find a few threads that say "OMG, My gearbox is fucked"

This.
Fourms are great places, fantastic info and people but they are terrible for scaremongering (sp). I bet if you was to log on to any car fourm they would be full of horror stories
 
  107 Track Car & C4
I've had mine about 9 months now. I've had to buy a new exhaust and have the belts done, but this is knew when i brought the car. Other than that all i've had gone is the windscreen washer pump and a headlight jet, these 2 were fixed for about £30-40.

It's the best car i've owned, you wont regret it! :)

HTH
 
  Renault Clio RS182
i don't get the whole french cars are unreliable thing...i've owned 5 of the things and only had one issue in probably 100k of motoring. the worst ive owned was a spannish built german derv :S
 
  197 FF Glacier White
JAP OR ford for reliability for sure

Except for Ford Diesels which are famously unreliable! My mate makes a killing from the problems the diesel unit has (although it's the same for a few marks as it's a shared engine amongst a few manufacturers)

Lexus/Toyota have a bit of a tarnished reputation recently, including my neighbours 11 plate Avensis which has been back to Toyota 5 times in 3 months and broke down on him two weeks ago in the middle of nowhere!

As a rule though, Japs seem to be on the money for reliability.
 
  172 Cup
I have owned 4 french cars now (one 106, two Saxo's & the Clio) and i have never had a problem with any of them (touch wood lolz), as long as you maintain them to a good standard and are'nt very unlucky i dont think you will have a problem ;)
 

realnumber 1

ClioSport Club Member
Ye but diesels will always have more problems over the equivalent petrol model

How's that then?:S
They always do mega miles as Taxi's, motorway hacks, vans etc. Most of the millions sold go through life with few major problems.

As for my 172 it has not got me home once because of a fooked driveshaft. Other for that it's just been wear and tear parts and the odd silly thing like resistor pack. It's just turned 100k the other week which I think is nothing really. Any modern car should be able to handle far higher mileage.
 

Tom

ClioSport Club Member
  EV (s)
Clio is a supermini not a mid sized saloon. It's not been designed for mega high mileage.
 
  182, 6r GTi
my clio 1.2 16v now that was unreliable owned it just over a year,

new engine
2 sets of driveshafts
2 gearboxes
2 clutches (due to gearbox leaking)
leaking sunroof

my 182 coming up to a year now only problem was the alternator and i put that down to how little milage it had when i got the car. fantastic car!

the nissan i had bag of s**t.
 
  Clio 172PH2
My clio 172 which was immaculate on 35k when i bought it with 1 owner, lasted 5k miles then my drive shaft snapped, then i had an issue with the cam sensor and loom, loose gear box mount - which i then replaced with powerflex, now ive got a rattle because of the extra rigid mount! Touch wood since fixing those issues all is ok ...

Prior to this i had a 182 which never missed a beat, again build quality not the best though. Have to say i think its a lot to do with luck not just how you look after it, i had a focus rs after the 182 which was awesome not a single problem, regularly service well maintained no expense spared the build quality was on a different level to the clio, however i sold it and the guy that bought it had nothing but trouble!

I think generally as most have said, look after it and it should be ok....i dont think the majority buy a clio sport for its build quality and reliability, they buy it for the performance and because of the smile it slaps across your face...hence my return to the cliors.
 

E11OOT

ClioSport Club Member
  Evo 6/Ph1 v6/R34
I have had 2 RS's over a 5 year period and I have never had any issues, only thing i can think of is a battery replacement for both cars and a few bulbs here and there.
 


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