overall build quality

[cheeky chappie]

Hi,

Im new to the forum, great set up, lots of good topics so Im hoping you can help me!

A friend of mine is thinking about getting a 182, but a few people are warning me to tell her not to due to overall build quality of the car, e.g. poor interior quality, problem gearboxes, expensive overall to maintain, service and repair. Obviously theyll be basing their comments on the 172 and other clio models.

Im looking for genuine, unbiase advice on the quality of the car and would be grateful for current owner feedback. I myself love the look of the car but dont know any owners so need some help!

CC

 

[iPap]

Welcome, Im in a rush but the rest of the chimps will try and answer your question!

 

[007]

Well mine is a M reg Williams with 32k - build quality is actually good. Ive had one problem in about 1 year and that was the alarm going faulty.

The materials used on the interior arent so good - im comparason to my old Fiesta they are flimsy and theres a few squeaks and rattles. Its only a small price to pay tho because its there to be driven not for refinement.

Renaults parts costs do seem to be high but thankfully ive not need much except a service(which cost a fortune)

 

[Dash]

No 182 owners yet ( but soon ) The Renault is better than a lot of cars and not as good as some.

If you buy a car for £80k theres always going to be something better built.

Thats life. Thats cars.

 

[cheeky chappie]

thanks for the tips so far, I myself (dont go mad ) Im thinking about getting a CTR during 1st half of this year and there are a few ex 172 owners on their forum who advised me to tell my friend to think twice. Thats why I thought Id join the Clio forum, to get 1st hand current experiences of the car.

Dave

 

[007]

Some people have had bad experiences some not - most of the problems seem to really come from Renaults customer service (or lack of).

 

[Dash]

Dont forget as with most forums, we only here about the problem ones.

Not enough people post about just how fantastic their cars are.

( apart from Cup owners of course )

 

[Ben H]

Ive had three Clios. Just fine, as long as youre not expecting a hardcore hot hatch to be as solid as a Volvo if you thrash it every day.

 

[Cheeky_Chappie]

Quote: Originally posted by cheeky chappie on 11 January 2004


Hi,

Im new to the forum, great set up, lots of good topics so Im hoping you can help me!

A friend of mine is thinking about getting a 182, but a few people are warning me to tell her not to due to overall build quality of the car, e.g. poor interior quality, problem gearboxes, expensive overall to maintain, service and repair. Obviously theyll be basing their comments on the 172 and other clio models.

Im looking for genuine, unbiase advice on the quality of the car and would be grateful for current owner feedback. I myself love the look of the car but dont know any owners so need some help!

CC

arrrghh ... Imposter!!!!

 

[rt172]

Providing you dont mind creak and rattles (and the odd clonk and bang) and poor dealer/customer service, then your matell be fine.

They really are great cars to drive, and you get a hell of a lot of performance for your cash, but it can get so frustrating when battling dealerships and when you find yourself sat in the boot for the 4th day in a row trying to find out where the latest rattle is coming from.

 

[2 live]

well my williams has covered 72k miles , the last 25k of them with me...............





and still no annoying rattles bangs or squeeks, and in 2 years of ownership nothing has failed that isnt usual wear and tear........touch wood

 

[BikeMan]

Honestly, theyre not as good as they should be. My £9500 Saxo VTR was better built than my £13,000 Clio Cup. If youre happy to live with rattles, squeaks, the odd water leak, paintwork problems and mechanical issues then fine. I dont think you should have these problems on a new car, period. The Clio seems to have a lot of niggling faults, and the odd major one.

Its probably not just a Renault thing, but as I say my Saxo was a lot closer to how I expected a new car to be.

After my problems, I will certainly never buy a Renault again and I will never buy a new car again either.

If your mate still wants a 182, then he should examine the exact car hes buying in minute detail before signing paperwork or handing over cash. Problems can be hard to rectify once youve taken ownership.

 

[Lagerlout]

Hello Cheeky Chappie, prepare yourself for my 2p ;-)

I personally dont think Renaults are as bad as some people make out. Certainly no worse than any other french car manufacturer !!!!!!(i.e.Peugeot, sh*troen) My 172 has so far fulfilled my expectations of a new car.

A couple of my mates have a 172 and a Cup too, and the one Ive been in (172) has no squeaks or rattles and still runs as well as the day he bought it two years ago. I cant comment on the Cup, but they are thrown together by the same people, so the build quality should be the same (depending on which day of the week of course!!). My friend who owns the Cup has had a new gearbox, engine mounts and some work done on his passenger seat mounts (cant remember what that was exactly). All of his problems were dealt with impeccably by Renault however, so not ALL Renault Customer service is that bad.

In conclusion, I would say buying and running a Renault is no different to owning any other manufacturer in the same bracket. You get good dealers and bad dealers, good cars and bad cars. My mates 53 Focus diesel rattles inside much more than my 172 for example!! (although when you get a 172 wound up, the last thing on your mind are dashboard rattles!!!)

 

[JAY172]

i dont think there that bad after all i work on them and i still bought one.the only thing that lets them down is the poor quality interior(lots of annoying rattles/squeks) but its like any car they have good and bad points.

 

[Jones]

All new cars are the same, my mums new beatle has been in and out of the sh*tty vw garage about 9 times in 6 months due to rattles, breaking down, etc. and thats a supposid tank, vw make me laugh. everything is just thrown together in half the time to save money, its crap!!

 

[cheeky chappie]

thanks again for all the feedback, the major issue with you seems to be squeaks and rattles. Although I agree with BikeMan re: we shouldnt have lots of faults with a brand new car, I suppose its the luck of the draw, for every 100 off the line x amount will be duffers to varying degrees, shouldnt be like that but .....

Maybe I should advise her to go for the CTR , although judging by the posts on that forum qualitys an issue with that as well!

CC

 

[007]

Quote: Originally posted by cheeky chappie on 11 January 2004


thanks again for all the feedback, the major issue with you seems to be squeaks and rattles. Although I agree with BikeMan re: we shouldnt have lots of faults with a brand new car, I suppose its the luck of the draw, for every 100 off the line x amount will be duffers to varying degrees, shouldnt be like that but .....

Maybe I should advise her to go for the CTR , although judging by the posts on that forum qualitys an issue with that as well!

CC

You will get the same on every forum for most cars. Just buy the one you like the most and cross your fingers

 

[Lagerlout]

As above. Sad but true. Its seems somewhat of a lottery with a new car, regardless of make or model!!!!

 

[Liam_Dynamique]

i have a 1.2 instead of a 172... and if the quality is anything to go by then get the honda... or as just said get the car you actaully want but keep your fingers firmly crossed!

 

[BikeMan]

I would buy the Honda. Theyre probably not much better quality (the Type-R is built in the UK, not the Japanese factory) but I would imagine the Honda dealer backup is much better than Renault.

 

[riplash]

If you want customer service buy a Daewoo! lol

 

[D-CUP]

The running/servicing costs wont be high as youll have a warranty. MPG is also very good for a performance car.

 

[Weeman]

Lack of Build quality gives a car character and soul, Every other company car at my company is a Golf, passat or A4, yet everyday, someone comes and asks if they can borrow mine for 5 minutes, and then come back with a big smile on their face. Compare it to women, do you want a reliable, always the same, never changes girl, that gets boring after a while, or do you prefer a girl who argues, isnt always there, but gives you unbelivable pleasure everytime you take her for a ride

 

[viceroy]

Im on my second Clio now and have had no real issues with quality. Sure the interior plastics could be of a better quality, and there is the odd rattle, some people have had exhaust rattles, leaky cars, I still think overall the cars are built and most seem to be pretty bullet proof as far the engines are concerned...

I sort of abuse the car and drive her hard most times, and she still keeps on going.

Also keep in mind that the Volkswagens, BMWs, Mercs etc also have quality issues at times and their owners also complain about service quality, vehicle quality...you find it everywhere.

Id still buy another Renault even if there are supposed better cars out there, the Clio definately has character, and everyone who has driven mine has never once mentioned rattles and they simply just love how the car drives...even just a short trip to the shops is a pleasure.

 

[CUP80Y]

A lot of it will depend on what they want from a car and what they are used to driving.

The quality isnt great and if they own a VW / equivalent at the moment then things like rattles and crap plastics used for the interior trim will surely annoy them.

I for one bought my Cup purely based on performance, and that overshadowed everything else. They may be of a different mindset and want quality and pace, for which they will need to pay a premium.

A test drive of cars like a CTR / 182 / 206 180 / golf GTi 180 / Cupra will help them decide exactly what they want from their hot hatch!!

My Cup has been extremely reliable (Bar a couple of dodgy components replaced under warranty) the performance is awesome, I forgive it its rattles and creaks - I didnt expect anything else from a Renault!! and all for £12K.

The 3 year warranty will take care of any issues so they shouldnt worry about it on that score.

 

[cheeky chappie]

wasnt expecting so much feedback, thanks to all who replied.

 

[Ben H]

The demographics of owners of cars like Jaguar and Toyota skew the supposed reliability surveys.

 

[jonnyboy]

Clios are about as well built as the three little pigs first two houses..... Build quality needs to be low on the list of priorities if your looking at buying one. The sheer speed and otherwise comfortable ride make up for it though.

 

[lukichaarm]

This is the my first Renalut and this is what happened. Bought clio 172 X plate in feb 2003 had it for about 3 weeks driving at 50 mph and the timing belt snapped, had to get a new engine from renault, luckily warranty still had a week left, took 3 months for renault london west to get car road worthy, got courtesy car for last month (without a car for 2 months). After getting car, a month later the ecu went, another 2 weeks without car.

And now the speedo and revometer playing up, dont work sometimes and when they do they go awol, so i dont even know wiether im doing right speed. But after this experience I realised something, RENAULTS ARE LIKE FRENCH PEOPLE, LOOK GOOD ON OUTSIDE, FULL OF CRAP ON THE INSIDE. Wiether you want to buy a REN, ill leave you to decide. Im stickin to the germans and japs from now on.

 

[lukichaarm]

Although once i put my foot down i forget all about the problems.......I mean

no thier rubbish.....but then again ive taken out 330ci on a windy road that

has to account for something doesnt it

 

[007]

In fairness you can go to every car forum online and find similar stories including the Jap and German forums. Just the French forums have more of them.