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Initiale dCi Daily Project (yes, diesel.)



So, time to update as life has changed both for me and for the little car that propels my ass from A to B, the diesel clio also known as Padre Clio, which is a funny sounding profanity that you won’t understand unless you’re Italian. Ironic way to start after becoming a British citizen two weeks ago [emoji38]

Anyhoo, wassup here ?

We left the action last time with an update that included regular maintenance and a skiing trip to the Italian alps; other than that, business as usual here: not a lot of miles and the odd sip of oil.

Boy have things changed [emoji13]

On the 8th of April I decided there and then to leave my position at Joe Macari’s after 8 years of surviv.. service !!
That decision was bound to bring a lot of change in this life.
What do I do, where do I go.

I pondered on it for a solid three weeks, in the middle of which the Easter bank holiday fell, and so-> off to north wales.

At 32 I am getting on a bit, so although the Clio cruised around some of the best driving roads in the country, the only two pictures I’ve taken that have the car in them are these two, which portray Padre Clio behind a pub in Caernafron, as well as in front of a Volvo dealership that has the impossible name of the village on it, there you go.

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In typical Clio fashion the trip went very smoothly. In fact, and this might just about sound a little daft, I’ve finally discovered that this car just sips thru fuel IF you’re not in a hurry.
I used to complain a lot about excessive fuel consumption while out in Europe trying to keep up with traffic at 80+mph.
63 on the cruise control and a very light foot when up in Anglesey returned more than 720miles with still a bar of fuel to go, and 68mpg.
I’m a loser but that felt good !
Specially considering that leaving Joes meant that all that fancy workshop equipment is now NOT at my disposal anymore, therefore the car is still on 11 year old dry AS winter continentals that are bald on the edges but strangely show 5mm tread right in the middle with correct inflating temperatures.. what’s that about !? They anyway do absolutely nothing other that protecting the rims from the asphalt on the road, utterly useless at anything else. God knows when the PS3s will go on.

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After returning from the Easter break I made a decision and accepted an offer from a Porsche restoration workshop in Essex. This means my whole life is moving 70miles north, not the end of the world, but there’s a catch:

I cocked up the timing on all this, big time: I left work thinking my flat contract would be up in a couple of weeks and that if I wanted a change this was the time.
Decided to go for it, left job, accepted new offer thinking I’d commute for a few days then move into a new house close to work, which I viewed and agreed to rent.

Then, only then, read the small print on my contract and realised it won’t be up until AUGUST.
Commuting from my place in SW London up to Essex and back every day is just shy of 230miles. Even in an extremely frugal car like the Clio this was going to be dumb.

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And dumb it was, and I did it for a month. 5k miles just went, up and down the M25, 4.5 hours each day, not the smartest thing.
Eventually, a temporary solution materialised, which will allow me to wait until my new house is vacated (the actual problem) without having to commute all this way.

What has all this to do with the dCi Clio ?

Well, while extremely expensive and stupid, this past month has seen this soldier absolutely smash through miles while sipping fuel at a rate I never thought possible. After getting 720miles up in Wales with room to improve, I started getting mid to high 700s from 50/52 litres of diesel, until 800s became a reality, all the way to a one time high of 880miles from a 55L fill up. That’s 72 real mpg, an absurd range figure, and a very happy me.

I say happy. Not really, maybe less unhappy?
Commuting all this way a whole month has been stupid, and while it has highlighted just how economical these old cars still are, some faults have started to become more and more evident and some of them just cannot be ignored anymore:

Oil consumption is now a reality. This is something I would only realise in the past after long trips to Europe. 5k miles in a month has required regular topups, the official rate is somewhere around the 3/3.5L for 5k, so not quite 1L per thousand, but still, can’t be ignored.
The car does not smoke black anymore. Like nothing, it’s impossibile to see black smoke. However, the only color I can see out the exhaust pipe is blue.

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My theory is that the turbo is going, and that whatever soot is produced it just sticks to the exhaust pipe.. however this doesn’t really make sense at it has to somehow come out at some point.

Anyway, the car now has an indicated 140k which is close to the figure at which the old Red car stopped, indicating I’ve done almost 30k since the reshell, and true mileage is close to 170k and change.

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It would make sense for the original turbo to be a little tired.

The aircon is very weak, infact I’m not even sure it’s doing anything. However, there is gas in the system and the compressor kicks in. It’s either worn or there isn’t sufficient charge to actually make the evaporator work.. will have to hook some gauges up as it’s hot now !!

At some point one of the rear wheel bearings started roaring.. wtf, again !? I’ve put new rear bearings in just last year, pretty sure they were Febi or something equivalent. Not the end of the world. Pinched two spare discs with SNR bearings in and put those to work. 19, 17 and 30mm sockets, bosh, 3mins a side and worked rear pistons in and out a few times to keep them happy. Plenty of rear pads still to go.





Got a new Bosch battery for it, yet to be fitted.

And yes, still on those useless winters which probably will go on until they’re totally illegal at which point the Michelins will finally be mounted.

Life will be very different now! I’m used to just use a fully equipped workshop for whatever I needed and often just for fun.
I enjoy stuff like tyre work and doing little useless things like servicing brakes and changing the oil every 5k with free Helix, aligning the car regularly, keep on top of suspension work and having free AC gas.. this is no more now !
The new place is a much slower paced reality, where primarily race cars are built and only two ramps are in operation. Zero tolerance on private work and absolutely no working on own vehicles !
Also no tyre machines, no alignment ramps, and no freebies! Im the new guy now, head down and work.

So, will see how all this pans out. For the last month my OCD has suffered massively with the 5k oil change pushed to over 10k and no place to do it [emoji34]
The car is also absolutely filthy, has not been washed in almost 3 months and 8k miles, not proud at all.
A quick snap of the last time it was cleaned




Fortunately the new house is very nice and has so much space to work it’s ridiculous.
Whenever I move in, then semi-normal service will resume.

Until then, ta daa!
 

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Last edited:

hopgop1

ClioSport Club Member
One of my favourite threads this, glad to see she's still doing well. Definitely the sort of car you want with fuel prices as they are at the minute, especially if you do 5k miles in a month o_O.
Pleased to hear you won't be forced to sell by clean air laws, makes no sense when a car capable of 70+mpg isn't allowed. I didn't expect you to move out of London, but happy you did, I've never been a fan of cities, but a lot of people do seem to really love the culture once you're used to it, I've pretty much always lived in the middle of nowhere which does have it's own disadvantages to be fair.
Has it still got that battery the size of the engine in it if you haven't fitted the Bosch yet? haha
 

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Good to see its still giving good service.

Didnt know that ren say 3,5ltrs consumption is acceptable, crazy really!

To check turbo just drop the exhaust off at the turbo and look for signs of oil on the exhaust turbine. If its wet with oil turbo is on its way. When my blue dci was using similar amounts of oil turbo was bone dry and rings were at fault. Oil consuption on mine after 5k has been less than 0.5ltrs.

Orange dci is starting to smoke a litte from cold now and is using oil more than it did, so assume the bottom end may need a freshen up eventually. I think the earlier dci's are all getting a bit smokey by 140k, so yours has done alright.
 
Good to see its still giving good service.

Didnt know that ren say 3,5ltrs consumption is acceptable, crazy really!

To check turbo just drop the exhaust off at the turbo and look for signs of oil on the exhaust turbine. If its wet with oil turbo is on its way. When my blue dci was using similar amounts of oil turbo was bone dry and rings were at fault. Oil consuption on mine after 5k has been less than 0.5ltrs.

Orange dci is starting to smoke a litte from cold now and is using oil more than it did, so assume the bottom end may need a freshen up eventually. I think the earlier dci's are all getting a bit smokey by 140k, so yours has done alright.

When I said “official oil consumption figures” I didn’t mean they came from Renault [emoji38]
It’s just the exact calculated consumption after topping up the entire month.
I am dropping the kat soon to have a look, whenever I manage to actually move in my new house this will happen. Probably at the same time as fitting the cam belt, which is now overdue at over 60k since last time.
 
Yo!

Update on the life of Padre Clio.

Last week I finally got round changing the cambelt. This is officially the second cambelt this car gets in my ownership, although long time traders will (won’t) remember I had to do it twice with the red car as I forgot to fit the lower timing cover after changing the water pump.
Said pump won’t be changed this time, i should be amazed if we’ll ever get close to the mileage that will require it to be changed again.

One of two years ago I bought a Dayco timing kit, found on eBay as a surplus item from somebody that didn’t need it or bought the wrong part. From memory it was £12, and it included the belt of course, tensioner with bolt, and both an M12 and M14 crank bolt, so any K9K engine should be covered.

Here’s what the kit looks like after being improperly stored for a long time

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Thankfully whatever is left of the cardboard managed to hold in all the important bits.

This job isn’t particularly difficult, but there are two or three things that make it quite clear your working on a French car.
The “freewheeling” crank sprocket is the star of the show here, a chance for my cheapo Sealey timing tools to make an appearance

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The old stuff is of course faultless.
In fact, I decided to religiously stick to the service manual 65k interval, already knowing it is quite conservative.
Here’s the old SNR belt after 67k, or almost exactly 5 years.

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I took care of checking thoroughly the rubber element on the crank pulley.
They can fail and cause all sorts of havoc, mine looks fine to me.

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I tried to torque the M12 crank bolt using an angle torque tool I bought years ago.

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Not the easiest thing to use.

With the big job done, some other bits and bobs were addressed.
K&N filter got a quick clean and flipped round to make sure I use all of it, right side is usually a lot darker than the left.

Also, I decided to take out the EGR valve and actually make it functional again by flipping it the right way round.
No other reason other than pure curiosity, I disabled it as one of the first job when I got the red car back in 2017.
The problem was the now completely caked up egr passage.. I couldn’t just open it up again and expect the already tired turbo to swallow all that crap up.
So I disconnected every hose to the inlet and ran the car with the passage open to the elements so that it could vent out any dirt.

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Worked a treat, reconnected everything and started up the car, very Smokey at first but eventually cleared up. Will keep an eye on the valve on the next few days, it’s only 3x 10mm, easy.

Last but not least, periodic headlight polish.. any mk2 owner I think can relate. This is like shaving your beard for the first time, it just becomes like slavery after that.
At least the new setting is quite scenic and makes the job a better experience, for a change..


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I wasn’t properly impressed with my now 4 year old 3M drill kit ( [emoji38] ).
But, after splashing some cash on some used Dewalt drill and impact combo, things improved.
The icing on the cake was trying out the ultimate cheapo rubbing compound

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And after a quick and long overdue oil change with the cheapest genuine filter I could find (£7 this time) and also the cheapest 5w40 Elf oil ..

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We’re done !

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175k and change, needs a wash. Or 3.

I finally got round fitting the Michelins on, the winters were scrapped for good after picking up two punctures in 5 days and being well over their recommended service life.

Cheerio!
 

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Great update. Much difference with the egr operational again? Ive not tried spinning it round yet.

Reminds me i must do cambelt on my orange dci soon. Overdue on years.
 
Great update. Much difference with the egr operational again? Ive not tried spinning it round yet.

Reminds me i must do cambelt on my orange dci soon. Overdue on years.

Nothing really from the driver seat. Same exact artificial throttle response, same exact 80ish hp “performance”.
I am more interested on the impact this will or will not have on fuel economy, which has always been the main point of the car.

Quite happy with it now, however I feel these are somewhat un-realistic figures, since I’m almost always by myself in the car and tend to drive like a nun most of the time.

I do “test” test for smoke quite regularly, meaning I change gear when the engine stops (aka revving the living tits off it), and often end up racing Essex finest kids in their dareST 3cylinder fiestas.. but other than that, a nun.

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Just to keep the diary up to date, I’ll “log” some of the issues I’ve had during the last few months.
As previously said, the car has driven an absurd amount of miles between June and July because of a stupid long commute.

First problem was with my rear wheel bearings. I’ve had 2 fail in a short amount of time, granted they were used spares I kept in stock, but still it was quite the inconvenience.
Thankfully, they’re very easy to do on these cars even with the disc brake setup I run.
I ended up buying 2 new old stock bearings, I think they were listed for a R19 and for a mk1 megane.. they fitted just fine, my inner bargain hunter was happy at £6 a piece.

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The other big issue was tyres.
I was running this set of continental winters, dated 2011. They were ok up until last year, but recently they’ve probably just given up on life and had become dangerous on wet roads.
I know I should have changed them long ago, but I have a problem throwing away stuff that still has life left in it, so I keep them on.
Until, I spun off a motorway ramp almost killing myself and the car, and picked up two punctures the week shortly after.
Enough is enough [emoji23]

I took a picture of where I has spun off the previous week, you can just about see the wheel tracks of when the car slid off the road facing the wrong way

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It is fair to say that one of the punctures was caused by a bent rim following a nosedive in the most unreal pothole… I still blame the tyre [emoji38]

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During that time I already had the spare on for the first puncture, then a second rim started losing air because of the pothole.. I remember having to stop every 5 miles to put air in the wounded tyre.. hated life.

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Michelins back on !!

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The car was of course used as a van during my latest house move, it’s incredible the amount of stuff that fits in these little things !

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Now to the real problems..

Alternator wanted his day of fame last month, battery light on first thing in the morning, greeeat.
Bonnet up again

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This turned quickly into major disassembly because France

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Regulator slip rings have seen better days

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I had a spare one that I didn’t fit when “reconditioning” the alternator years ago, it had a different conmector and would not fit the rear dust cover.
Nothing that a pair of side cutters won’t fix, so although this isn’t ideal now as the slip ring is beyond repair, it will do for now.
Looking for a cheap alternator to rebuild [emoji102]

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It charges fine, exciter wire came off again wtf [emoji2959]

Aircon was charged again, 700gr from three years ago somehow vanished, vacuum test could pickup no leaks.

Tried to ghetto straighten the bent rim.. not much success, it is now on the spare.

Newish Bosch battery on, its of a more civilised size for a mk2 [emoji13]

Should be all for now!
 
[emoji38]


And back we are from a fun weekend at cadwell.
I had an open pit lane booked with Javelin with some credit I had from a previous event I couldn’t attend.
Always wanted to experience cadwell park, looks brilliant fun, and it was.

The days leading to it where spent mostly sourcing tyres. I ended up fitting my old a048 to the front, while a pair of ad08r picked up for £20 were mounted on the back wheels.

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I also tried to fit some second hand Goodridge brake lines, but the rear calipers (and one of the hard lines) decided two winters is enough to seize solid (all these parts were rebuilt 2 seasons ago) so I had to go in with 20year old rubber lines and 2 year old fluid, yea.
I gave the air filter a blowout, flipped the egr back to race mode, packed some oil and tools and pointed the nose north.


On its daily duties the car has been faultless. It does its thing brilliantly, I love the way it drives, and although I have been randomly browsing for other cars I just can’t justify getting rid of it, it’s too good.

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Trackday then; my last one was cut short for some problems that ended up being related to a failing driveshaft that exploded weeks after, this one I hoped would be smooth sailing and loads of sliding about all day long.

It’s a shame it wasn’t [emoji38]

The track is amazing. I wanted to drive cadwell after watching probably hours and hours of onboards all over YouTube, and I’m happy to say that reality met all expectations. What sets it apart from other tracks in the Uk I think is the elevation change, a killer mix of slow and fast corners, and the epic “mini nurburgring” section. For an underpowered car like mine it felt like the perfect setting for a couple hours of fun sliding around on a damp November day.

I live in north Essex now so the drive wasn’t as bad as if I was still in London. Just shy of three hours, which was spent waking up as Trackdays usually mean being up at stupid o clock.

I once again went with a mate who had zero track experience but always wanted to try, so we shared the driver seat and had some fun together. He brought his ever so reliable Giulietta in case any of us decided to crash, I had no doubts the Clio would soldier through the day like it was its daily commute so I wasn’t worried about mechanical failures.

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The lineup was ok: no retired golfers with Ferrari and Lambos, but a good selection of ordinary but spicy metal driven by working class heroes for some fun in the bends.

Sighting laps over, we started to switch seats every few laps, but in the end I was out for the majority of the time, by myself (being a passenger at Cadwell isn’t the best ..).

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The diesel Clio was epic. If one can get past the fact that it pushes out probably 85hp at best, the car is so much fun. The damp (but drying) track surface made lift off oversteering so easy and predictable even with the numb electric steering. The first three corners, after some practice and a dose of courage pills, were almost flatout.
The brakes never let me down; I was pushing harder and harder as the track dried off, braking at the last possible moment with very little abs intervention, never missed a beat, breaking at the last signpost at “park” with 90mph indicated.
I was so happy out there, it felt like the car was in its element. If you’re laughing I totally get it “wait until you go out there with some real horsepower”, but seriously, on a wet, twisty and narrow track like Cadwell I couldn’t think of anything better to be in, it was so so good.
My favorite corner has to be the gooseneck; arriving from the long Chris curve done absolutely flatout shifting from 3rd to 4th, bit of a lift on the right hander, and flick it flatout with a turn of opposite lock for the downhill left hander ready to drop anchor for mansfield.

The first time the back came out at gooseneck it was so natural and easy to control, that after a few laps it became the norm, almost an involuntary reflex, perfect.

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Despite the damp conditions, the Advan tyres were building some usable temperature; I was able to set 30F 28R pressures after a few laps and I think this was their sweet spot. I was going to probably change things around putting the newer neovas at the front to see if it helped at all.

But it wasn’t to be [emoji2361]

Right before the lunch break, a slow ae86 appears on the outside of the left hander at gooseneck, which if you’ve ever been there, you don’t see past unless you’re already in the “S”, like me.
I was following a C1 race car with my usual turn of opposite lock, foot planted down and probably 60/70mph on the Speedo.
My instinct was to lift immediately, I didn’t brake, to try and dodge the valuable Toyota. I was able to avoid the collision, but coming off the power so abruptly caused the car to straighten really quickly from the slide, which took me off guard as I snatched the steering wheel to the left, put one of the front wheels on the grass, and inevitably slid into the tyre wall head first.

Without even thinking, I grabbed second gear to find that the engine had kept running, and the car was still driving.
Once back on tarmac it was evident that many things had shifted somewhere in the front of the car. More than one light on the dashboard was flashing, the tyres were rubbing on something and it seemed like there were no engine mounts; a couple of seconds after I lost all drive and died right at pit entrance, I wanted to disappear.

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Immediate red flag of course, my worst nightmare. We had already lost an hour waiting for some fog to clear, everybody was eager to get some laps in… and here comes the bellend with that diesel clio head butting the tyre wall ..

Luckily, the organizers told me that it was only 3 minutes til lunchtime, this made me feel a bit better.

I only then had a proper look at the car while we were waiting for the recovery truck.
The radiator support was caved in near the RH headlight. The front bumper had been ripped off and was dragging under the car in bits. Both headlights were hanging by the wires, and the bonnet was a mess.
What was incredible however, was the lack of any sort of leaks from the radiator and AC condenser, which is now the shape of a potato, no airbags went off, and best of all, while trying just for the sake of it, the car fired right back up.
I shoved what was left of the bumper in the back, and made my way to the paddock trying to hide under the dashboard.
What surprised me was the positive response from the people, I swear somebody was applauding !

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Once back in paddock I took everything off the front end and set about pulling the rad support away from the engine.
We initially tried with a tow strap that was unfit for the task. A second ratchet strap seemed tough but couldn’t not shift the metal structure at all.
Until finally, some Yorkshire lads with a 7.5t invited us on their trailer, where the Clio was strapped down and the chassis pulled back straight-ish with a 10ton winch [emoji38]
Proper job, now I had a better shot and cable tying whatever was left in reach to make the car look somewhat decent for the 3 hour drive home.

After a couple of hours of bodging this was the result, I’d say not too terrible.

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We set about the long drive once it was dark, with one headlight pointing to Jupiter and the other to China, brilliant.
SERV light on, dead climate control panel, no rear wiper.
They all turned out to be blown fuses. Once replaced the car ran as smooth as usual, dead straight and no complaints.

What do I do now ? Im genuinely not sure.

I love this car, like I loved the red one before it. It is such a capable little weapon for day to day driving and so much fun round corners that it made me stick with it for as long as I have, even going thru a reshell to keep driving it.

I’ve done so many things in the last 80k driving these clios that I couldn’t fit them in this forum post. But I am genuinely thinking about whether this is the end for me and these cars, if maybe it’s time to move on.

Not sure. The car, of course, works like clockwork. It now looks like it’s been in a pub fight, and lost, but it keeps getting me to work and back everyday with no issues.

The response at the track was amazing. More than a few people came and asked me if there was ever a 5 door 172?
“You’re not doing too bad for a little Clio RS” said one of the nice neighbors in a focus st2 .. their faces after seeing the puny 1.5 diesel were priceless haha
My terrible driving wasn’t certainly where the merits are, the car is just epic and the conditions were favourable.

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So really, I just need some time to think about maybe reshelling a third time, maybe fixing this one, or finally pull the plug, and get something else, start fresh.

Will keep you posted [emoji6]



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Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Great writeup and gutted to hear its had a bump.

Its on my bucket list to do a trackday in my orange dci, tempted to book up after reading this.

I reckon it needs straightening out as best as poss and keep it going if the rest of the shell is good.
 

hopgop1

ClioSport Club Member
@Mazz Have you seen that the old cold start video from your red dci has got over a million views on tiktok? Bit of a shame they stole your video without any credit, but I recognised that car anywhere!
 
Haha no way ! Somebody on YouTube did ask me if they could use it, chances are it’s the same guy.
How people finds that sort of stuff so entertaining is beyond me haha

Anyway, hi !

I’ve been Clio less since January, however the car never left.
I have the privilege of living in a place where space isn’t an issue, so given the laughable value of the car and my sentimental attachment to it, I decided to just keep it around, who knows, maybe one day fix it, maybe turn it into a racecar..
It did get started and run around the farm (sometimes the country lane, I know I know..) without ever missing a beat. Front end all caved in, banana shaped aircon condenser still holding a charge, mangled headlights still working.

I have bought a lazy 530d E61, quite the departure in terms of driving feel from what I like to think was a well sorted mk2 Clio, but a much more fitting car to the life I like to live. She goes, she loads, she tows, and I like all of those three things. The manual box makes it a touch more interesting, but it’s just another German tank. She was cheap at £1250 for an 04 with 135k. ULEZ.

Well then, the Clio ?

The Clio sat in the field next to the house, moved every now and again to avoid leaving a car shaped patch in the grass, then the battery died. I even washed it once.
I have advertised it for what I thought was very cheap, then for parts, had very little response, which in a way was good.

Then one day, I was asked to drive to London a friend and his younger brother, looking for a nice first car. On the return journey, disgusted by the seller of a tatty Yaris TS, I mentioned I had this Clio diesel at my house, with full 172 running gear. And that it needed fixing, but he could have it for free.

“Seriously? So it drives like a 172??”
Yes.
“What about brakes, upgraded those too?”
Yea man, full house minus the engine.
“Can we go see it now??”

And so, it looks like my old Clio could maybe go back on the road very soon, and be Harvey’s first car.

His dad spent the last couple of weeks straightening everything that’s bent in the front of the car so that some second hand panels we bought can fit back on and look sort of straight.
I’m very happy, I think it could be a killer first car and teach him a thing or two about lift off oversteer haha, always a good thing!

Finalizing the repairs now, will post some pictures soon once I get the grips with no Tapatalk (wtf ?).
 

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And so here it is, maybe my final post here ?

The Clio is finally gone, and while I’m sad to see the end of a chapter, I’m happy it ended in the best possible way.
As mentioned before, I gave the clio to a colleagues brother who fell in love with it even in its smashed out state, and I couldn’t be happier about it. His father and him had a good ho a straightening the front crash bar so that some second hand bumper bonnet and wings could fit, and even sourced and polished a set of xenons.
The car now has a phase 2 front bumper, some clean wings and a slightly dented, but useable, bonnet.
Let’s face it, it’s only a matter of time until these parts will meet their maker too haha, it’s a petrolhead first car we’re talking about now !!
So, jokes aside, this is a just perfect for me.
The Clio was a terrific performer for my day to day duties, I’ve done trips to places that are so far away I bet no member of this forum would dream to take his car to, and the thing never missed a beat.
Two cars, just shy of 90k of driving, sold to somebody else while I thought all along I was going to be the last owner of both (well, this is 50% true).

So here we are, my Clio chapter comes to an end, and it’s been a good time.

If I see the car again I shall post the odd picture, and I will encourage Harvey to maybe continue this thread while he looks after Padre Clio for hopefully a couple more years !

Many thanks to all the kind people that have followed this weird thread on a forum with way more interesting builds on, the positive comments meant very much to me, and I’m happy I was able to report on the build and running of a unique car that I felt proud about every time I drove somewhere.

Cheers, and all the best !

Diego

(Last picture of my old Clio “Padre Clio”)
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hopgop1

ClioSport Club Member
I've loved reading this read, one of my favourites on here, sad it's come to an end for you, but a great first car, much nicer than the 1.2 16v dynamique I had!
We've got an other marques section, so if you're going to do anything cool like your European trips again in a different car I for one would love to see a thread on here.
This is also now bmwsport.net so you'd fit right in with the E61.
 
  Clio 182
THIS IS NOT THE END......

Hi, I'm Richard, Harvey's Dad that Diego mentioned above. Having spent literally hours reading this from start to finish how can we not continue reporting this little cars' epic journey?!

I have that terrible affliction that if I see a poor car sat that hasn't run for a while I want to save it. It appears I've passed this vital gene to my two sons. Funny how things turn out, but the reason Diego went with the boys to look at the Yaris was because I was on holiday (in Italy of all places!) at the time and having just got his GCSE results, Harvey was desperate to get his first car and he couldn't wait for me to come back before looking. Having had the once-over from Diego and my other son, it was concluded that the Yaris was crap, leading to Diego's kind offer. Photo's sent to me via whatsapp, and a phone call, and it was clear Harvey was in love!

I have to say, I was interested too as we do have a little Renault sport history. My wife had one of the very first 182's in the country back in 2004, black gold with both Cup packs. Great, addictive car that we sold ironically when Harvey was born. Swapped it for a new at the time Focus ST 5 door. Funnily enough, when I went to register to post on this thread, it told me the email was already in use, so I obviously still had an account from back then!

Anyway, as you now know, the Car is back! I will do a full write up of what we did when I have a little time, and can work out how to post photo's in a thread (I'm a little older than Diego).

Watch this space.........
 


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