When do things start going wrong?

[tyranical]

I know some smart arse will come up with what they believe to be highly clever and witty comments such as "as soon as they leave the forecourt" but we shall try to have a useful discussion on this forum and see how it goes, i'm sure it will be an epic fail but anyway.

When do things start going wrong with Cliosports, i mean like, seriously wrong.

My old saxo for example was fine up until about 60k and then it started having alot of problems and maintenance, this was the same on most saxos from what i read on forums.

Are clio's the same?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

No two cars are built the same, some will develop problems some will never need anything doing other than general maintenance.

If you care for it, it should (in theory, last)

My Phase 1 will be 8 years old in March and ive only had to change the coil pack, i dont regard that as un-reliable. Sure they rattle and clunk, but if it starts first time and gets me to work,social gatherings CS events then im happy.

Religious Care of it and itll last aslong as you want!

 

[iimushroomzii]

Some have problems as soon as they leave the forecourt, some are fine for years, its pot luck.

 

[Android]

As Danny says to be honest ^^

If you service it when it should be serviced. Change parts / components.. when need changing. Drive it properly (dont rag it all the time) Always make sure theres enough oil... I dont see why it should fall apart. Every car is different though.

 

[tyranical]

I've been looking for a good few months now for a lower mileage 172 for around 4k and haven't had much luck without travelling the length of the country for it so i'm asking this to see if its worth considering higher mileage ones but don't want lots of problems, i'd only be keeping the car for a year, maybe a year and a half, i get bored fast.

I do about 12k a year, sometimes more (managed to do 24k in my saxo in a year, and i never went more than 20 miles from my home :S god knows how)

 

[mark123]

Mines (172 cup) done 133k (109k by me), including some motor sport. Serviced to the intervals. Only things that have gone wrong (not including consumable brake items):

FBW throttle when it was only 2 years old
Rear shocks x3
Exhaust - replaced with stainless
2x lambda sensors

 

[fossie]

Look after it and i cant see why it would go wrong, unless your unlucky i guess

 

[DrR]

my 172 broke everytime i turned the key, bought it with 44k on, then sold 18 months later with 76kish on, in that time it had

new exhaust
4x new dampers
TDC sensor + loom
3 gearbox's lol
cambelt failure due to dephaser pulley shearing off! Meaning new valves, head skimmed etc
Exhaust mounts..
Clutch cable
Radiator hose broke just before christmas the main massive one!!!!
CV joint split.
Rear wheel bearings went.
Wheel arches fell off when i was in france.
STANDARD Wheels rubbed on all 4 wheelarches

sure there is more just can't remember.


182 bought with 12k on now on 23k
has had
When new, New wishbone + clutch + clutch cable
Then i got it
Washer jets leek, but just blocked them as easier
Gearbox feels like s**t, crunches loads and is notchy untill warm. (think they all do though)
New exhaust mounts.

Think my front damper is on it's way out

 

[fossie]

my 172 broke everytime i turned the key, bought it with 44k on, then sold 18 months later with 76kish on, in that time it had

new exhaust
4x new dampers
TDC sensor + loom
3 gearbox's lol
cambelt failure due to dephaser pulley shearing off! Meaning new valves, head skimmed etc
Exhaust mounts..
Clutch cable
Radiator hose broke just before christmas the main massive one!!!!
CV joint split.
Rear wheel bearings went.
Wheel arches fell off when i was in france.
STANDARD Wheels rubbed on all 4 wheelarches

sure there is more just can't remember.


182 bought with 12k on now on 23k
has had
When new, New wishbone + clutch + clutch cable
Then i got it
Washer jets leek, but just blocked them as easier
Gearbox feels like s**t, crunches loads and is notchy untill warm. (think they all do though)
New exhaust mounts.

Think my front damper is on it's way out

And yet bought another one, you must love Clios matey!!!

 

[tyranical]

my 172 broke everytime i turned the key, bought it with 44k on, then sold 18 months later with 76kish on, in that time it had

new exhaust
4x new dampers
TDC sensor + loom
3 gearbox's lol
cambelt failure due to dephaser pulley shearing off! Meaning new valves, head skimmed etc
Exhaust mounts..
Clutch cable
Radiator hose broke just before christmas the main massive one!!!!
CV joint split.
Rear wheel bearings went.
Wheel arches fell off when i was in france.
STANDARD Wheels rubbed on all 4 wheelarches

sure there is more just can't remember.


182 bought with 12k on now on 23k
has had
When new, New wishbone + clutch + clutch cable
Then i got it
Washer jets leek, but just blocked them as easier
Gearbox feels like s**t, crunches loads and is notchy untill warm. (think they all do though)
New exhaust mounts.

Think my front damper is on it's way out

Do you rag the tits off it everywhere you go, or are you just really unlucky with cars?

I ragged my saxo everywhere think thats what made it fall apart, my yaris t sport has never skipped a beat and that gets ragged everywhere too.

 

[DrR]

TBF i fixed most of it myself (not gearboxs etc) dread to think if i paid for someone to do all that!

i dont' drive slowly, but don't cane it at all in 1st, never sees over 3.5k in first, always warm it up, no wheelspinning etc, never rush the gearboxs.

 

[Munson]

Mine had problems from day one, and broke down after a few months. not to mention the cat blowing up after less than a year. "As soon as they leave the factory" is not being a smart arse - in many cases it is true. The very last cars also had the exact same problems as the very first, so it'snot like Renault bothered to re-engineer most of them. Lottery I'm afraid.

Reliability wise, mine's been quite good. It just failed its MOT but only on sidelight bulbs and a chipped windscreen. Original brakes (2nd set of front pads) exhaust and dampers. So mine's lasting quite well IMO

 

[fossie]

If your gonna rag every car you own fella i wouldnt bother getting a Clio cause i can see you posting in a few weeks saying you have broke it!!!

 

[Arran_182]

My 182 has had a few niggles but nothing major and has just coverd 40k! My previous next door nabour bought a 197 F1 and blew the engine up within the first day of ownership!!! The guys a proper muppet!!!

 

[Inferno]

Mine gets abuse everyday, had it since new and only had the dephaser go and a replacement gearbox at 15k miles. The box was after a trackday and was only replaced as Renault couldn't find the source of a very slight ticking noise. Now on 44k and going strong.

 

[Ads_172]

From my experience, it seems that more 'issues' are discovered around the 5 year mark / 60-70k.

But then this is also the time when most wear and tear items need replacing, so there is a difference between things going wrong and needing replacing.

If something is genuinely faulty, then I suppose it can fail at any time with very little notice.

 

[Chili Red]

I think a lot turn up in the first year, if they're going to. Renaults certainly need their warranties.

My 172 had a major oil leak and needed a complete new cylinder head when I'd just bought it (2nd-hand, on 18k, year and a half old). Mike who now owns Rentech fixed it when he was still working for Renault and said it was a MAJOR job - he still has the pic of him holding a big hammer over the engine haha.

My 182 was 5 months old when I bought it and within the first year the washer jet leaked, a rear shock needed replacing and the alternator went. To be fair it was good as gold after that, nothing went wrong at all.

The Meg has been spot-on so far...touch wood.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Bottom line is you will get a Friday afternoon car or a Monday morning car.

Buying somthing with as little miles as possible that is as new is possible isnt going to be more relaible in any way shape or form going to cause you less ball-ache than a brand spanker. As Roy said, its very much a lottery, £4,000 should secure you a nice example mate, so long as its been cared for

 

[Tucker]

i think most RS clios will last about 10-12 years before s**t starts to hit the fan

i imagine electrical problems

 

[iain187]

i have a 4 year old 182 with 35k miles on it. I've done about 10k of those.

It needed a new exhaust when I bought it (local renault garage wanted 1000! so I think thats why it was for sale lol) and I accidently let the pads get down to the metal so I upgraded them. That's the only problems, I have a lot of service recipets and I think I've got a good'un really. I service mine properly (Aux belt due next month!) and it has been good to me!

 

[tyranical]

Bottom line is you will get a Friday afternoon car or a Monday morning car.

Buying somthing with as little miles as possible that is as new is possible isnt going to be more relaible in any way shape or form going to cause you less ball-ache than a brand spanker. As Roy said, its very much a lottery, £4,000 should secure you a nice example mate, so long as its been cared for

I wish that were true, within a 60 mile radius theres hardly any under 4k for me.

 

[Henry]

think it's luck with the major failures (as everyone else). feel sorry for Dr Rollo whenever i see his list!

i reckon some of the wearing parts don't have a great service life either (engine mounts for example), so, with a high miler, you're likely to be looking at spending some money on rejuvenating it.

mine was only on 30k when i bought it but, following a thorough inspection, i found a number of issues i wanted sorting (which took quite some time/money) - happy with it now and it hasn't been too much trouble since. things will require attention as time goes on though - same with any car

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

See to be honest mate, if you think of it like this>>>

Id much rather travel to Lands end if i thought i was getting a cared for example rather than leaving it to see one that you might not want as much come up alot closer to home.

It wouldnt cost you more than £100 to travel to anywhere in the UK (driving it back is the best bit) Or even giving a mate petrol money to take you...!

Up your radius search and you will find there are millions out there!

 

[phantomx0_1]

My 182 gas 62k on it.

So far I have had

New stainless exhaust. (didnt need it just wanted it)
Coil pack
TDC sensor.

Thats it really

 

[tyranical]

See to be honest mate, if you think of it like this>>>

Id much rather travel to Lands end if i thought i was getting a cared for example rather than leaving it to see one that you might not want as much come up alot closer to home.

It wouldnt cost you more than £100 to travel to anywhere in the UK (driving it back is the best bit) Or even giving a mate petrol money to take you...!

Up your radius search and you will find there are millions out there!

The problem is, you could spend 500 quid travelling all over the country and still not find one your after with so many ragged to f**k examples out there described as "standard, mint conditionm with full service history" Which turns out to have a stupid big exhaust hanging lower than the queens tits on the back, have more dents in it than a 20 year old car and service history filled in by kevin the guy next door.

At least sticking in my surrounding area, i'm not wasting as much money travelling, even if it does take me a while longer.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Absolutley mate, i went to Aberdeen for mine and im very glad i did now, if i were buying it from anywhere, here would be a good place to start.

The majority (not all) are fairly looked after from what ive seen at meets and what not, best of luck anyway!

 

[MarkRS]

The sport models do seem less reliable than the normal models, but this has got to be down to the owners raping them daily! Any sporty car will be driven harder than a normal car, and with higher costs to fix sporty models people often don't bother with maintenence properly.
In my experiance renaults are pretty reliable (i'm a ford man so no blinkers) My mums clio 1.4 16v she bought new in 2000 has done 75k now and has had a backbox and set of front disks/pads/rear shoes. It gets serviced and not driven that hard, yet you see on here all the horror stories with even normal models.
My 182 hasnt done many miles(7k) but its had a leaky washer jet(very common) and a broken bracket by the ecu fixed under warrenty) everything else is like new still.

 

[mbk-172]

Mine got to 64k with very little wrong, just new engine mounts, tires, pads etc.

Just make sure you keep the engine oil topped up, as I let mine reach pretty much zero and wrecked the bottom end.

Just paid something like £2300 to get it back on the road lol.

 

[jakm15]

i know you said clio sports but my w reg 1.2 has been a good runner for the few months ive had it up to now (touch wood). the only thing which has broke was the cv boot clip and thats a well known problem. otherwise the only other things ive done to it are my own little mods and service. its on 42 000 miles full service history all mots and loads of receipts. i think it all depends on weather they were run in well and serviced regually, well looked after and not had the b****cks screwed off them.