Megane 225 Trophy
Discussion
After much deliberation I decided that I had outgrown my poor little 172 and it was beginning to drive me slowly insane. Mid box chop and lowered suspension that seemed like a good idea at the time was becoming irritating and the hunt was on for another car. Something larger and more grown up.
So.... After saying I would categorically never buy another Renault again I decided upon a Megane in 225/230 flavour with a budget up to £5k. That seems to just about get you into an R26 if you can be arsed to go oop North but I found a decent looking F1 225 (blue, Recaros, etc) a mere 169 miles away for £4k. With plans to pop up and see it the following weekend and hopefully part ex the Clio it promptly sold the day before I was planning to head up.
Happened to be in London for the day and whilst pretending to be interested in going clothes shopping a trophy that I'd previously discounted as being overpriced popped up on Autotrader for a grand less than last time I'd looked. Assuming it was totally knackered or on fire we whizzed over to Henley to have a look.
When we arrived the car wouldn't start as the battery was dead, had two flat tires and despite ringing an hour in advance was boxed in by 9 other cars that had to be moved. The test drive was dominated by "PUNCTURE - STOP" flashing up on the display thing and a wonky steering wheel due to a slap dash tracking setup. So of course I bought it and collected it the following week leaving my perfectly working but slightly yobby Clio to its fate
It wasn't the best first month of ownership as I soon transpired that the only thing I didn't check was working was the aircon which obviously turned out to be completely dead. Fearing the worst I paid a man to gas it expecting it to all piss straight out or the compressor to explode to find that it actually worked! Result, foolish previous owner!
Sadly I discovered pretty quickly that a possible reason it was left to discharge was the blocked condensation drip pipe that instead of letting the condensation out of the car simply overflowed under the carpets and soaked everything. Ripped the dash apart, unblocked the drain and pulled all the carpets and sound deadaning out and all is well for now. Also unblocked the scuttle drains as I gather these can casue water to pool then the overflow runs into the heater fan and floods the interior too. Clever. Then a week later I hit a massive pothole and bent a wheel. Ho hum
This was when I realised that the box in the glovebox labelled "locking wheel nut key" actually contained just some fresh air. Cue a call to RAC to get the bolt smashed off.
Still, when it works it's great
It doesn't feel much faster than the Clio because it has an exhaust that does what it's supposed to do and is insulated like a proper car which makes it feel a lot less "sharp" but it's definitely faster, more relaxing to drive and easier to live with. It also means I can fulfil my current obsession with buying huge bits of timber to build random structures in my garden as it's huge inside with the seats down. Getting used to the fat arse now as well. Took it on a 200 miles round trip to Thruxton to see the BTCC and it didn't put a foot wrong and seems to get lots of positive comments.
]
Plans are to get it 100% mechanically and just enjoy it really. Would love to do a trackday at Brands in it too as I never got round to it in the Clio.
So.... After saying I would categorically never buy another Renault again I decided upon a Megane in 225/230 flavour with a budget up to £5k. That seems to just about get you into an R26 if you can be arsed to go oop North but I found a decent looking F1 225 (blue, Recaros, etc) a mere 169 miles away for £4k. With plans to pop up and see it the following weekend and hopefully part ex the Clio it promptly sold the day before I was planning to head up.
Happened to be in London for the day and whilst pretending to be interested in going clothes shopping a trophy that I'd previously discounted as being overpriced popped up on Autotrader for a grand less than last time I'd looked. Assuming it was totally knackered or on fire we whizzed over to Henley to have a look.
When we arrived the car wouldn't start as the battery was dead, had two flat tires and despite ringing an hour in advance was boxed in by 9 other cars that had to be moved. The test drive was dominated by "PUNCTURE - STOP" flashing up on the display thing and a wonky steering wheel due to a slap dash tracking setup. So of course I bought it and collected it the following week leaving my perfectly working but slightly yobby Clio to its fate
It wasn't the best first month of ownership as I soon transpired that the only thing I didn't check was working was the aircon which obviously turned out to be completely dead. Fearing the worst I paid a man to gas it expecting it to all piss straight out or the compressor to explode to find that it actually worked! Result, foolish previous owner!
Sadly I discovered pretty quickly that a possible reason it was left to discharge was the blocked condensation drip pipe that instead of letting the condensation out of the car simply overflowed under the carpets and soaked everything. Ripped the dash apart, unblocked the drain and pulled all the carpets and sound deadaning out and all is well for now. Also unblocked the scuttle drains as I gather these can casue water to pool then the overflow runs into the heater fan and floods the interior too. Clever. Then a week later I hit a massive pothole and bent a wheel. Ho hum
This was when I realised that the box in the glovebox labelled "locking wheel nut key" actually contained just some fresh air. Cue a call to RAC to get the bolt smashed off. Still, when it works it's great
It doesn't feel much faster than the Clio because it has an exhaust that does what it's supposed to do and is insulated like a proper car which makes it feel a lot less "sharp" but it's definitely faster, more relaxing to drive and easier to live with. It also means I can fulfil my current obsession with buying huge bits of timber to build random structures in my garden as it's huge inside with the seats down. Getting used to the fat arse now as well. Took it on a 200 miles round trip to Thruxton to see the BTCC and it didn't put a foot wrong and seems to get lots of positive comments.]
Plans are to get it 100% mechanically and just enjoy it really. Would love to do a trackday at Brands in it too as I never got round to it in the Clio.
Edited by StoatInACoat on Wednesday 25th May 10:16
Forgotten I'd made this thread but as it garnered so much interest I'll keep it updated as a bit of a record and to possibly help others.
Had a couple of generic Megane related faults. First was a hesitation, misfire that felt like the fuelling being cut when you booted it which flatlined the revs. Almost like massive clutch slip or traction control kicking in. This seems to be very common but there's LOADS of conflicting information out there ranging from fuel pump (expensive) to ignition, battery, flywheel, being generally French and maybe aliens.
My solution was to replace the coil packs with a second hand set I knew worked properly and swap the plugs. Found plugs 1 and 3 a bit loose, plug 2 absolutely knackered with a corresponding split coil boot and number 4 just a bit old looking. And they were all the wrong ones. All replaced and pulls like a train again without any misfiring and seems to be better on fuel too. Unfortunately I mangled one of the threads a bit on a coil which I've never done in over a decade of working on cars so although it is "just" holding in I will need to helicoil this at some stage
Now have a small starting issue which I was hoping new plugs would cure. Turns over for a while before it catches then stutters for a bit before idling properly. Believe this is the crank sensor so will probably replace this when it completely stops working at 6am on the way to work. Otherwise it's been brilliant (honestly!) and hasn't fallen apart or exploded even once!
Oh and it ticked over 100k so is now worth £5.38 Gratuitous picture:
Had a couple of generic Megane related faults. First was a hesitation, misfire that felt like the fuelling being cut when you booted it which flatlined the revs. Almost like massive clutch slip or traction control kicking in. This seems to be very common but there's LOADS of conflicting information out there ranging from fuel pump (expensive) to ignition, battery, flywheel, being generally French and maybe aliens.
My solution was to replace the coil packs with a second hand set I knew worked properly and swap the plugs. Found plugs 1 and 3 a bit loose, plug 2 absolutely knackered with a corresponding split coil boot and number 4 just a bit old looking. And they were all the wrong ones. All replaced and pulls like a train again without any misfiring and seems to be better on fuel too. Unfortunately I mangled one of the threads a bit on a coil which I've never done in over a decade of working on cars so although it is "just" holding in I will need to helicoil this at some stage
Now have a small starting issue which I was hoping new plugs would cure. Turns over for a while before it catches then stutters for a bit before idling properly. Believe this is the crank sensor so will probably replace this when it completely stops working at 6am on the way to work. Otherwise it's been brilliant (honestly!) and hasn't fallen apart or exploded even once!
Oh and it ticked over 100k so is now worth £5.38
Gratuitous picture: 
Soooo, over a year has passed with the Megane and although I seem to be mostly posting to myself I thought I might update. It's been a pain in the arse to be honest. Previous owner obviously spent "just" enough to keep it workingish and it's consequently eaten about £2k in repairs and maintenance in its time with me so cheers for that. Things I've learned:
- Don't buy a cheap one
- Don't buy one expecting it'll be as strong as a Clio
- Get used to rattles
- When working properly they make good, practical cars that fulfil the hot hatch jack of all trades brief perfectly
- Meganes are not waterproof
Still, it continues to work and there don't seem to be all that many trophies left anymore as they're all being broken up or bought by skinflints who can't maintain them properly. Maybe if I keep it another 10 years I'll make some money back...
- Don't buy a cheap one
- Don't buy one expecting it'll be as strong as a Clio
- Get used to rattles
- When working properly they make good, practical cars that fulfil the hot hatch jack of all trades brief perfectly
- Meganes are not waterproof
Still, it continues to work and there don't seem to be all that many trophies left anymore as they're all being broken up or bought by skinflints who can't maintain them properly. Maybe if I keep it another 10 years I'll make some money back...
True, and at least I know what's been done to this one. Any high maintenance car is a gamble second hand really as nobody likes paying for maintenance!
They aren't the most beautifully made cars in the world but they don't seem as popular with the chav brigade as Focus ST's and Astra VXR's which is nice.
They aren't the most beautifully made cars in the world but they don't seem as popular with the chav brigade as Focus ST's and Astra VXR's which is nice.
Big things were the fuel pump, swivel bearings, water ingress, blanking plug exploding on the thermostat housing, oil leak and cambelt change. I've upgraded the brakes and added DAB radio too which aren't really running costs and I have an engine mount and gearbox oil sitting on my desk which I'll be doing this weekend. Steering rack started working loose and making horrific grinding noises as well which luckily was just a couple of bolts. Unluckily they are buried under the car which is my least favourite place to work.
There's not really been a time when something doesn't need fixing which can get a bit tiring after a while!
I suppose it's annoyed me a bit because I keep finding things that have been done on the cheap like a s
tty stick on wing mirror to save £10 and when I serviced it the plugs and front pads were cheap pattern rubbish which were installed badly and the air filter literally fell apart in my hands. I don't see the point in owning a car like this and then trying to bodge stuff or save a few quid on doing something properly.
There's not really been a time when something doesn't need fixing which can get a bit tiring after a while!
I suppose it's annoyed me a bit because I keep finding things that have been done on the cheap like a s
tty stick on wing mirror to save £10 and when I serviced it the plugs and front pads were cheap pattern rubbish which were installed badly and the air filter literally fell apart in my hands. I don't see the point in owning a car like this and then trying to bodge stuff or save a few quid on doing something properly. Edited by StoatInACoat on Wednesday 26th July 14:07
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