Discussion
Many moons ago I used to have a bit of a thing for certain types of Renault 5. It started when I bought a TS that had been a race car in the Daily Star backed race series. It wasn't exactly fast but it looked good and weighed about the same as a wet Rizla paper and was a hoot to drive. A desire for more power saw me swap it for another R5, albeit a Gordini Turbo. Actually being a LHD car it was badged an R5 Alpine and on boost (what there was of it) it would torque steer for all it was worth. It would also spin on a sixpence when the rear tyres were cold and could easily catch you out. It was still great fun to drive though, or was until the clutch went. I took it to one of those Mr Clutch places in Maidstone and also had someone refresh the gearbox. Unfortunately it lasted about 50 yards before it started slipping. Mr Clutch blamed the gearbox until the engineer who'd done the work reached up to be back of the engine and pulled out the remains of the old pilot bush that Mr Clutch had failed to replace, hence all that fresh oil destroying the new clutch! They replaced it but the gear change was never the same and I kinda fell out of love with the Alpine after that. I also bought a BMW 1502 and have had BMW's ever since.
Anyway, recent poor health and financial woes have meant I no longer own a proper BMW and with values as they are, it's very unlikely I shall again. I simply don't earn enough and my health limits what I am able to do. As a result, I have set my sights a little lower and whilst an R5 is now a classic and big money, it's newer cousin is just within reach. Just.
I've read lots of good things about Clio 172 and really like the look of the earlier cars. I realise I won't have the budget for one of those however. I like the twin exhausts of the 182 but again, my limited budget means they're mostly out of reach. So are there any other 172 owners here on PH? If so, can you let me know what I should be looking out for please? I know they're small cars but how are they for taller drivers?
I also wondered how reliable the electrics are? Especially the alarm / immobilizer? I ask as one 172 I found is being offered cheap due to a crank but no start scenario. Evidently the red LED on the dash is lit constantly. It would be a gamble I know, but the rest of the car looks very nice.
The bottom line is I'd like to get myself a 172 before prices climb to a point where I miss the boat, as I have with 80's and 90's BMW.
Anyway, recent poor health and financial woes have meant I no longer own a proper BMW and with values as they are, it's very unlikely I shall again. I simply don't earn enough and my health limits what I am able to do. As a result, I have set my sights a little lower and whilst an R5 is now a classic and big money, it's newer cousin is just within reach. Just.
I've read lots of good things about Clio 172 and really like the look of the earlier cars. I realise I won't have the budget for one of those however. I like the twin exhausts of the 182 but again, my limited budget means they're mostly out of reach. So are there any other 172 owners here on PH? If so, can you let me know what I should be looking out for please? I know they're small cars but how are they for taller drivers?
I also wondered how reliable the electrics are? Especially the alarm / immobilizer? I ask as one 172 I found is being offered cheap due to a crank but no start scenario. Evidently the red LED on the dash is lit constantly. It would be a gamble I know, but the rest of the car looks very nice.
The bottom line is I'd like to get myself a 172 before prices climb to a point where I miss the boat, as I have with 80's and 90's BMW.
So... I'm 6ft 4" and drove an 2002 172 for several years. I tracked it, commuted in it and went camping in it and whilst not exactly spacious it had very good seats and was perfectly acceptable. It's little foot print and power/weight ratio made it an excellent London commuter before ULEZ was invented and the ride was reasonable for a car of it's type. This was a while ago though and mine was in fine fettle with suspension that wasn't 20 years old.
I never had any electrical issues whatsoever with it. From memory the alarm systems aren't Renault, they were fitted by some third party firm when the cars were delivered to the UK but mine never played up so I never had to investigate it much. Things that went wrong were two rear wheel bearings, a leaking radiator, a snapped spring and a crank pulley but I did almost 50k in it and absolutely hammered it on a couple of track days where the only issue was overwarm brakes.
If you do long distances in it you WILL feel it when you get out. It's not a motorway cruiser but it can cruise on the motorway. Put a decent exhaust on it, the sound deadening is s
te and a noisy shouty exhaust will drive you, and your wife completely mad.
I still vaguely keep my eye on them and they do seem to be suffering a bit with rust in the bottom of the rear quarter panel and sills under the side skirts as well as around the fuel flap. When I bought mine things to look out for were cambelt/dephaser (which was around £500) and melted steering wheels (for which I bought a replacement kit thing for a few quid).
I replaced it with a Megane 225 which rather than feeling completely indestructible and unburstable like the Clio proceeded to fall apart and had all the build quality of a Mr Potato Head put together on a Friday afternoon. Ordinary Clio's are excellent little cars. The Sport additions make them brilliant. MK2 Megane's are crap, cheap horrible cars and the Sport additions make them acceptable.
I never had any electrical issues whatsoever with it. From memory the alarm systems aren't Renault, they were fitted by some third party firm when the cars were delivered to the UK but mine never played up so I never had to investigate it much. Things that went wrong were two rear wheel bearings, a leaking radiator, a snapped spring and a crank pulley but I did almost 50k in it and absolutely hammered it on a couple of track days where the only issue was overwarm brakes.
If you do long distances in it you WILL feel it when you get out. It's not a motorway cruiser but it can cruise on the motorway. Put a decent exhaust on it, the sound deadening is s
te and a noisy shouty exhaust will drive you, and your wife completely mad. I still vaguely keep my eye on them and they do seem to be suffering a bit with rust in the bottom of the rear quarter panel and sills under the side skirts as well as around the fuel flap. When I bought mine things to look out for were cambelt/dephaser (which was around £500) and melted steering wheels (for which I bought a replacement kit thing for a few quid).
I replaced it with a Megane 225 which rather than feeling completely indestructible and unburstable like the Clio proceeded to fall apart and had all the build quality of a Mr Potato Head put together on a Friday afternoon. Ordinary Clio's are excellent little cars. The Sport additions make them brilliant. MK2 Megane's are crap, cheap horrible cars and the Sport additions make them acceptable.
Edited by StoatInACoat on Tuesday 11th April 12:48
I've had 5 in total.
The burd has a ph1 172 exclusive which has just had welding and paint and is due back soon.
My daily driver 182 has been a war of attrition - I bought it with half a mind to do some hillclimbing.
Latest issue was it blew the high pressure line on the PS the week before the hillclimb. It's never made any of the 4 events I have booked.
Thread here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In summary - they are
ACE FUN when working
Cheaply built
Poorly packaged
Prone to rusting due to the sideskirts
Things to be aware of
Aux belt - is it cracked - when was it last changed ? Them failing are often the cause of timing belt woes as they smash the lower cambelt cover and wrap round the bottom pulley when they fail
Cambelt/dephaser pulley. A 5 year interval and a bit of a big job.
Spark plugs - only one type of NGK works - buy them and nowt else
Power steering - lines blow - often either replaces with Epas or flexi lines from eBay.
Rear calipers can stick easily and handbrake is not the most effective.
If you can , pop off the 'door cards' under the rear side windows and have a look down there - the sill skirts trap water and rot them. By the time you can see it, it's done.
Gearbox - check it selects all gears cleanly - boxes are prone to notchiness/synchro issues
Circlip in gearbox can fail. No drive
Expect lights on the dash - usually ABS/STOP/TRACTION CONTROL. often caused by steering angle sensor needing calibration - easily resolved by taking steering wheel off and twirling the sensor.
TL:DR
Buy one, they're Ace. Expect problems
The burd has a ph1 172 exclusive which has just had welding and paint and is due back soon.
My daily driver 182 has been a war of attrition - I bought it with half a mind to do some hillclimbing.
Latest issue was it blew the high pressure line on the PS the week before the hillclimb. It's never made any of the 4 events I have booked.
Thread here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In summary - they are
ACE FUN when working
Cheaply built
Poorly packaged
Prone to rusting due to the sideskirts
Things to be aware of
Aux belt - is it cracked - when was it last changed ? Them failing are often the cause of timing belt woes as they smash the lower cambelt cover and wrap round the bottom pulley when they fail
Cambelt/dephaser pulley. A 5 year interval and a bit of a big job.
Spark plugs - only one type of NGK works - buy them and nowt else
Power steering - lines blow - often either replaces with Epas or flexi lines from eBay.
Rear calipers can stick easily and handbrake is not the most effective.
If you can , pop off the 'door cards' under the rear side windows and have a look down there - the sill skirts trap water and rot them. By the time you can see it, it's done.
Gearbox - check it selects all gears cleanly - boxes are prone to notchiness/synchro issues
Circlip in gearbox can fail. No drive
Expect lights on the dash - usually ABS/STOP/TRACTION CONTROL. often caused by steering angle sensor needing calibration - easily resolved by taking steering wheel off and twirling the sensor.
TL:DR
Buy one, they're Ace. Expect problems
I had a late 172 (non-cup) for about 4 years, used as a daily driver. I echo the comments above. It is immense fun. It's got probably the best steering feel I've ever experienced in a hot hatch, very playful chassis with great balance. The seats are great and I've done several cross-Europe journeys without any back pain. It is loud, and when cruising it does tend to drone a bit, but you get used to it. After all that's not what it's made for. The clutch is very heavy and you will get a very muscular left leg after driving it a while. The steering wheel is quite big, but the window line is in a perfect height for that elbow-on-the-door driving position. The brakes could be stronger.
The problems I had in my ownership have not been major:
Broken exhaust backbox bracket, I've been through two of those
Broken windscreen washer pump
Failed flywheel position sensor
Failed immobiliser ring
If you get one pay attention to the belts and pulleys and check that the gearbox doesn't crunch. These tend to be mechanically very solid cars, but the electrics can be patchy. If you find one in your budget just buy it, you won't regret it.
The problems I had in my ownership have not been major:
Broken exhaust backbox bracket, I've been through two of those
Broken windscreen washer pump
Failed flywheel position sensor
Failed immobiliser ring
If you get one pay attention to the belts and pulleys and check that the gearbox doesn't crunch. These tend to be mechanically very solid cars, but the electrics can be patchy. If you find one in your budget just buy it, you won't regret it.
Thanks guys. I appreciate you taking time to respond.
I'm just looking for the right car now. I did consider this one... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185852203587?hash=item2... but the transport cost is just way too much to make it viable as a project. I'm keeping a look out though and hopefully something will come along that's within budget soon.
I'm just looking for the right car now. I did consider this one... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185852203587?hash=item2... but the transport cost is just way too much to make it viable as a project. I'm keeping a look out though and hopefully something will come along that's within budget soon.
Salamura said:
It looks really tidy for its age. Btw, the turning over but not firing issue is one of the symptoms of a faulty crank position sensor (which I had in mine). 15 quid part and 40 minutes of work is what it took to sort it.
The CPS is on my list, along with key fob batteries, the relay and the immobilizer ring on the steering column. If it wasn't so far away I'd be keen to make them an offer but the transportation cost quotes have been between £550 and £700! There's a blue 182 which is running and driving, with a few months MOT for that sort of money. 
There's a tiny kerb mark on one rim but apart from that they're all in good order. In fact, given what it's cost me the whole car is really nice and it has a good MOT history that confirms it has been pretty well looked after. The MOT is due again in about 5 months but it has just had all new drilled and grooved discs and pads, along with uprated engine mounts. There's also a full Scorpion exhaust and decat. The only change I want to make is to fit an aftermarket steering wheel but there's no rush. I'd also like to see what a set of Compomotive TH would look like on a Clio? Although didn't Renault make some similar alloys for another model? Turbines possibly?
Hopefully I will be collecting it early next week but it's a fair trek to the Wirral from Cornwall.
Hopefully I will be collecting it early next week but it's a fair trek to the Wirral from Cornwall.
Well it arrived at just after 6am today but I had to wait till 9am for my insurance to commence. As soon as it had though, I went for a quick drive towards Falmouth, right along the Bissoe Rd towards St Agnes, then looped right back towards Truro. Thr Clio felt perfectly suited to the lanes here in Cornwall and I love driving lightweight cars. Especially ones that reward the driver like the Clio did. It really did remind me of my old R5 Gordini Turbo, although it didn't have the torque steer of the R5.
I have a couple of mods in mind. An induction kit to free up some induction sound and a decent steering wheel. (If anyone has either that they want rid of just say) A wheel alignment would be good and any advice in this area would be welcome.
I'm heading up the Atlantic Highway to Barnstaple at the weekend and am really looking forward to that. It's a great bit of road. Anyway, I'll post a few pics.
I have a couple of mods in mind. An induction kit to free up some induction sound and a decent steering wheel. (If anyone has either that they want rid of just say) A wheel alignment would be good and any advice in this area would be welcome.
I'm heading up the Atlantic Highway to Barnstaple at the weekend and am really looking forward to that. It's a great bit of road. Anyway, I'll post a few pics.
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