Some expert thoughts - 182

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T16:44:51+0000

Hey, so planning on visiting a 182 near me. Asked for a few pics of what I think are hot spots. Clearly I’ll factor service history etc but hoping some of you may cast a more experienced eye. Arches look good, what do I check more clearly when seeing IRL.

Engine bay, seems to be missing cover and injector cover, is this a concern? Any other thoughts?

Thank you!

colesy · 2026-03-25T17:11:19+0000

The steering wheel is horrendous.
The engine cover and injector cover being missing is pretty normal these days, they don’t find their way back on after oil changes.
It looks okay in pictures, check for rust in the fuel filler flap and around the arches.
The only little red flag for me is why wouldn’t a seller whose taking pics to send to a potential buyer not clean the leaves out from the scuttle, what else don’t they bother about if they can’t do something simple like that.

Darryl_1983 · 2026-03-25T17:59:27+0000

Rear sills are common for rust too, but usually you'd see bubbling in the lower rear arches before the sills are bad.

Crunching into gear, typically into 2nd or 3rd gear is pretty common at high revs. If it does it'll need new syncros, not massively expensive if you can remove the gearbox yourself.

Check for standard cat, aftermarket sports cats don't last long before they start failing an MOT on emissions. At one point the standard cat was worth over £450 scrap, and a replacement aftermarket one was under £100.

As the engine and injector covers are missing, I'd check for other things too. Under trays, arch liners, etc.

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T18:02:11+0000

Thanks Colesy, so on the arches I’ll just get my hands up in the wheel well and feel around, will also check the fuel filler area.

Reassuring on the covers, seem easy and cheap to rectify if I want too.

Totally agree on the wheel, hoping the Momo Boss aligns to better wheels and a Voluntech panel (assuming I end up with it), if not I’ll just replace the lot.

On the leaves, to be fair to the seller he has provided some good pics on his sale, it’s me that asked him for direct pics and he was apologetic for the leaves but is wrangling his kids!

cat171 · 2026-03-25T18:02:56+0000

If you have the reg, put it on here to see if anyone recognises it?

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T18:04:29+0000

Cheers Daryl, I’ll familiarise myself with undertrays and check on the Cat!

Aware of the gearbox checks, which I will do as part of test drive. Also aware of service importance, assume if it drives ok but not much history factor in just doing it all in negotiations?

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T18:06:35+0000

cat171 said:
If you have the reg, put it on here to see if anyone recognises it?

It’s on a private plate currently that the current owner added, don’t have original reg.

cat171 · 2026-03-25T18:11:05+0000

Ask them for it. It'll be on that if you buy it (unless the private reg is going with it?)

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T18:36:21+0000

Will defo find out, current is P9 VLH

MonPapillon · 2026-03-25T20:00:17+0000

So currently a decat fitted, he believes he still has the cat but needs to check. It has a K tec cat back system - I assume any 182 cat would fit, I.e cats2u for Most, or is this going to be a case where some mods would be needed?

Not overly concerned if it’s unbolt, and bolt in but if it’s cutting and welding it’s another and need to factor into negotiations if the rest is right.

R3k1355 · 2026-03-26T07:36:21+0000

That s**t steering wheel and decat will fail the next MOT, so deffo get the originals off the seller or something off the price to sort that out.

MAXRUNDOWN · 2026-03-26T09:05:34+0000

OEM cat is worth £400 scrap at the moment (that's what i got for my 172 cat a few weeks back) , so I'd want at least that reflected in the asking price, as you're going to have to get one for the MOT, or spend £250 on a good (i.e not KTEC) sports cat and have it welded in.

Darryl_1983 · 2026-03-26T09:39:31+0000

MAXRUNDOWN said:
OEM cat is worth £400 scrap at the moment (that's what i got for my 172 cat a few weeks back) , so I'd want at least that reflected in the asking price, as you're going to have to get one for the MOT, or spend £250 on a good (i.e not KTEC) sports cat and have it welded in.

172 Cats were always worth around double the price of 182's, to my knowledge. But I could be wrong, they're certainly worth more anyway.

MonPapillon said:
So currently a decat fitted, he believes he still has the cat but needs to check. It has a K tec cat back system - I assume any 182 cat would fit, I.e cats2u for Most, or is this going to be a case where some mods would be needed?

Not overly concerned if it’s unbolt, and bolt in but if it’s cutting and welding it’s another and need to factor into negotiations if the rest is right.

The ktec exhaust is decent quality wise. Their cats only have a 6 month warranty, the last time I checked, which says it all, really. I've read a few stories of people failing MOT's with brand new cats.

Your best option is to buy an original 182 cat, they're a 200 cell cat from the factory, so they are already a sports cat. The quality is much higher than any aftermarket cat available. And prices have dropped since the highs a few years ago. I'm sure I've seen a few up for sale for £200-250.

MonPapillon · 2026-03-26T10:08:04+0000

Thank you all! Steering wheel an MOT failure due to no AirBag? It does have a boss cover and horn.

I’m seeing this as where I’m at:
-belts, dephaser, aux, service (£650+ vat at a local indie Renault specialist garage) if due or no proof
-cat £250ish

So I’d need circa £800 off, if it drives right and has no obvious rot!

Darryl_1983 · 2026-03-26T10:41:39+0000

MonPapillon said:
Thank you all! Steering wheel an MOT failure due to no AirBag? It does have a boss cover and horn.

I’m seeing this as where I’m at:
-belts, dephaser, aux, service (£650+ vat at a local indie Renault specialist garage) if due or no proof
-cat £250ish

So I’d need circa £800 off, if it drives right and has no obvious rot!

I'd say you need to factor in at least £1k or so for those bits. The last belt service I had cost me around £950 with a couple of minor bits added, and this was around 3 years ago.

Also, I'd say it depends on the current asking price. The seller may have priced the car correctly based on the condition/service history.

Mr Trailer Man · 2026-03-26T11:01:32+0000

What are the silver braided hoses in the engine bay for?

MonPapillon · 2026-03-26T11:38:20+0000

Mr Trailer Man said:
What are the silver braided hoses in the engine bay for?

No idea! Any thoughts from experts?

chazza114 · 2026-03-26T11:43:23+0000

Mr Trailer Man said:
What are the silver braided hoses in the engine bay for?

Potentially replacement power steering hoses?

Mr Trailer Man · 2026-03-26T11:45:49+0000

chazza114 said:
Potentially replacement power steering hoses?

Yeah could potentially be running a cooler on the low pressure return.

cat171 · 2026-03-26T11:51:23+0000

MonPapillon said:
Thank you all! Steering wheel an MOT failure due to no AirBag? It does have a boss cover and horn.

I’m seeing this as where I’m at:
-belts, dephaser, aux, service (£650+ vat at a local indie Renault specialist garage) if due or no proof
-cat £250ish

So I’d need circa £800 off, if it drives right and has no obvious rot!

How much is it?

What's the mileage ? owners?

MonPapillon · 2026-03-26T11:58:13+0000

Not sure on the number of owners, 130k miles 2004 car. Bloke believes belts etc done at 120k but clearly need to see evidence. He also has a track focused one and has only done low miles on this the last 2 years so he is selling to put money into his camper.

It looks solid, 4 matching new tyres Yoko Advan Fleva? On Sportlines.

Listed for £3995, im planning on seeing tomorrow, just trying to get as much info so I can negotiate if it drives well etc. if no proof of service/belts plus the cat and wheel it’s feeling like a £3k car, if belts etc are good, maybe £3.5k? Thoughts?

MonPapillon · 2026-03-26T12:11:03+0000

I asked owner about the braided lines, they are an Oil Cooler.

So has KTR induction, KTR exhaust, Decat and Oil Cooler. No other mods (outside bad wheel, lowering springs and Speeline wheels)

Clio_fool · 2026-03-26T12:16:25+0000

Check the jacking points on the sills. They get bent over and then rust from moisture getting between the layers and the sills rot from the inside out then.

Mr Trailer Man · 2026-03-26T12:17:55+0000

MonPapillon said:
I asked owner about the braided lines, they are an Oil Cooler.

So has KTR induction, KTR exhaust, Decat and Oil Cooler. No other mods (outside bad wheel, lowering springs and Speeline wheels)

Oil cooler?

Where are the lines going to then?

Oil coolers usually come off a plate where the oil filter is.

MonPapillon · 2026-03-26T12:19:45+0000

Honestly, no idea - I’ll have a poke around tomorrow!

Mr Trailer Man · 2026-03-26T12:20:35+0000

Just seems odd for what looks like a pretty much standard car.

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