new member from Belgium, RS Clio 172 replacing Z4 3.0i, 2 questions

[shiyan]

Hi everyone. I'm a 26 year old Asian male from Belgium. Found this great forum today and as I'm about to get a RS Clio 172, thought I'd pop in to say hi.

My current car is a 2003 Z4 3.0i, it's been great fun, but I'm going to business school for a while starting in February (so a lot less income for a while as I've been working) and will be replacing it with a Renault Sport Clio 172 from 2001.

I found one with 117,000 km and talked the owner down to 5000 Euros. I went for a short test drive and although everything seemed ok, 2 things bothered me slightly:

- The steering wheel did not point straight when the car was going straight - owner says that the steering wheel wasn't centered when he last had an alignment done after getting new tires. Sounds a bit suspicious but the car did not pull to any one side and tracked straight when I released the steering wheel, also when I braked.

- The clutch had a very hard spring - owner said that it was a "sport clutch". The Z4 has a very easy to operate clutch so the very hard clutch in the Clio was a surprise. It definitely took some getting used to, although the action seemed smooth.

Does any one of these 2 things sound suspicious to you? :S

 

[DrR]

Re: new member from Belgium, Clio RS 172 replacing Z4 3.0i

Both sound ok to me. Remember it's a Renault not a BMW.

 

[shiyan]

Re: new member from Belgium, Clio RS 172 replacing Z4 3.0i

Both sound ok to me. Remember it's a Renault not a BMW.

wow! thanks for the imediate response! :hail:

I forgot to upload the pictures that the owner used in the ad

I must say that although I'll definitely miss the Z4, I really look forward to driving the Clio too, as well as the 2 added seats.

 

[DrR]

Looks alright that, has PH2 bump strips and rear bumper though.

My 172 and 182 both have the heaviest clutch in any car i've driven.

 

[shiyan]

Looks alright that, has PH2 bump strips and rear bumper though.

My 172 and 182 both have the heaviest clutch in any car i've driven.

Thanks for confirming the heavy clutch and pointing out the bumper issue, I didn't know that. I did notice the rear bumper didn't seem to align perfectly with the car body at the rear left - might it have been in an accident that required the rear to be repaired?

I asked whether the car was used on trackdays or been in an accident, to both the owner said no.

The owner agreed to going through a 2 hour exhaustive inspection offered by Belgium's national roadside assistance association (Touring), which will cost me just 57 Euros. Should I go through with that then?

 

[DrR]

I'm no expert, and don't know if the Belgium clios are different to uk ones, but i'd be questioning why it's got a different bumper, side strips and the "Sport" badge is missing from under the Renault Badge on the boot.

 

[shiyan]

Thanks! I'll do that first thing in the morning.

 

[shiyan]

I just called, he keeps claiming everything is original and hasn't been changed... Perhaps I should get it inspected by a Renault dealer before I fork over the cash :S

I'm now suspecting it was rear ended and the rear end replaced...

If the chassis wasn't damaged I'm not going to make a fuss but he should at least own up to it.

 

[Becca]

Welcome!

 

[shiyan]

thanks

I have 2 options for getting it inspected, either at VAB's (Belgian roadside assistance) diagnostics center (a bit more trouble to get to, possibly longer waiting time)

107.5 Euros to check:
- alignment
- engine codes
- general check of engine compartment
- general check of the chassis, suspension
- inspection for accident related damage / repairs

or at a Renault dealership (small one so waiting time should be less),

25 Euros for:
- visual inspection of the chassis and suspension
- visual check of the rear bumper and hatch to verify whether they're original or not
- option to pay more to check more

which would you recommend?

 

[shiyan]

The owner agreed to going through the comprehensive test this saturday, but I'm still having trouble finding pictures of the pre facelift bump strips and rear bumper to prove my point :dead:

edit: wait now I'm confused... just found this thread where the rear bumper looks the same, perhaps there's nothing fishy after all? :S http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=362128

edit2: ah that thread says ph2 rear bumper... oops

 

[shiyan]

How strange, just realised that the rear lights are ph2 as well...

http://www.iceposter.com/posters/cars/Renault/Renault_Clio_2.0_16V_Renault_Sport_2000/

http://www.iceposter.com/posters/cars/Renault/Renault_Clio_2.0_16V_Renault_Sport_2001/

I think it looks better this way but the owner has some explaining to do.

 

[Mawv]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Tidy looking Clio.

 

[Pettsi]

Welcome to CS! Tidy Clio.