172....should it stay or go?

[Neil G]

Got my 5 year service coming up next month and I rung Rentech yesterday for a quote on it.

They said they could do the belts & tensioners etc plus a service (oil, pollen filter etc) for around £550.

This is reasonable and the work will be done properly of course but I just can't help thinking it's a lot of money to be spending on a car which is five years old and is depreciating fast.

On the other hand I've had it 2 years, it seems to have behaved itself and it's only got 21k on the clock.

Do I chop it in for something else sensible or get the work done and keep it?

 

[FlameR]

get an R26

 

[JR]

Keep it and enjoy it.

 

[Neil G]

Would love an R26 but not an option

If the Clio goes I'll be downgrading to a average saloon (Mondeo, Passat) so I don't have to do finance etc.

Thing I'm worried about with that is you could end up getting a car which will end up costing me money to sort out anyway.

 

[FlameR]

In that case get the manitenance work done on the clio. They are good little cars despite the verbal battering some people like to give them. If you got an older mondeo or passat then they would more than likely have about 100+ k miles on the clock.

 

[Neil G]

A lot of the Passats around the 4-5k mark will have 90, 100k plus on as many will be fleet cars....aren't VW supposed to be reliable though?

 

[FlameR]

Yep true. Cars are there to be driven. Saying that I was looking for a 3 series recently, but the ones in my price bracket have between 90 and 120k miles on them. It wouldn't be worth anything after I've had it for a couple of years and it had 150k miles on it. High mileage puts me off!!

 

[Neil G]

It does put me off a bit as well even though people say they are fine etc.

Looking at Golfs as well and the only low milage ones in my price bracket are the underpowered 1.6 ones which is no good really.

£550 just sounds like a lot of money but I know it has to be done otherwise it'll be bye bye engine and an even bigger bill

 

[Neil G]

Leaning towards keeping it but still unsure :S

 

[TeZ]

Keep.

 

[FlameR]

what about a golf GTTDI? Good fuel economy, low tax, fairly cheap to buy, good build quality!

 

[-Leigh-]

I'm in the same boat. The last few cars I had were under 3 years old, and always in warranty and only needed cheap services doing.
I'm always concerned about something going wrong and if I think somethings wrong then not being able to just take it to the dealers and have them sort it free. I have to go to Renault, and they always say book it in, and then charge.

Get any VAG PD engined car, they should be good for 150,000 miles if not more I expect. Or how about a Megane 120bhp dci, you can get a 2003 model for about £5000 i've seen on the trader.

 

[Neil G]

Well I'm the opposite...never had a car new enough to be under warranty so have ended up doing a lot of work on cars myself etc.

Problem is these days I don't have the time or interest in it to get my hands dirty so it's out with the money.....also with a jopb as important as the cambelt you can't afford to f**k about.

I know VAG stuff is great...the problem is paying extra for the badge and I'm not prepared to do finance at all.

Garages will probably knock me down trade in price on the Clio due to the service issue....wonder how much I can get for it?

 

[JR]

speak to dan @ sj cooks - 01179 579 700

 

[mark_s]

I would keep it, pay the £500 and then know that its well maintained and should be fine for a while longer yet. you never know the history of a new car and you could easily spend £500 in the first few months sorting a few niggling things. not to mention how much you would miss the fun of a 172 driving something like a mondeo

 

[Neil G]

Yeah..the history of cars is always an unknown...even if they have had service history etc & I know I could end up with a car with niggles which need sorting.

Justin...are SJ Cooks any good at doing 172 cambelts....have you had yours done there?

What are there prices like?

 

[Graham Gooch]

MPG favours these cars, personally for what....an extra 10mpg and slightly cheaper tax you'd be willing to lose that little bit of fun.

Renaultsport clios are hard to beat for that bang for buck, plus running cost too. I can see me having mine a long time tbh, end of the day you have to service anycar anyway.

 

[Timmay]

IMO keep the 172

 

[R3OBC]

21K on the clock?! Keep it and run with it Neil! its like brand new

 

[Nigel]

I'd keep the 172. Unless you need a bigger a car theres not much around for similar prices that can match the equipment and performance levels. I don't think the day to day running costs of a 172 are very high really! Just wear and tear items shall need replacing which shall be the same with any car you buy!

 

[_Tom]

I concur with R3OBC

 

[JR]

Yeah..the history of cars is always an unknown...even if they have had service history etc & I know I could end up with a car with niggles which need sorting.

Justin...are SJ Cooks any good at doing 172 cambelts....have you had yours done there?

What are there prices like?

SJ Cooks are good at cambelts bud, but you will pay a dealer premium, if it were me i would be going to carlton, exmouth

www.carlton-exmouth.com

 

[Neil G]

Renault Bath wanted £600 just for the cambelt so I won't be doing dealerships for sure....with a service on top it'll work out very expensive.

Looks like the drive down to Portsmouth could be on the cards to Rentech.

Appreciate the positive comments and I think I've seen sense...rattly renault it may be but it's a car I've owned for a while and have grown fond of. Also pretty cheap to run with 30 plus mpg and £300 a year insurance

 

[ja.jack]

I think you knew the answer all along lol. A low mileage Clio like that, hell, its best days are still ahead.

 

[Neil G]

What a moment of madness

Car going to be booked in for next month

Need to get some miles on it now.....I hear these Clios are quicker when loosened up

 

[Ian_182]

Keep it for gods sake.At least you know the car,you could go and buy another mint car but it could have probs.Stick to what you know

 

[nathanH]

Keep it and enjoy it.

my thoughts entirely

 

[R20 CWH]

A lot of the Passats around the 4-5k mark will have 90, 100k plus on as many will be fleet cars....aren't VW supposed to be reliable though?

i did 14k in a passat in 5 months and it was flawless, i wouldnt be too bothered about mileage.

All mine needed was tyres

 

[Neil G]

Keep it for gods sake.At least you know the car,you could go and buy another mint car but it could have probs.Stick to what you know

Yep..that's why it's staying for the rest of the year.

Just needed some good words from fellow CS members to convince me

 

[DebV6]

If you're going to be downgrading, keep it for now and enjoy it if you say it hasn't caused you any problems so far. Plenty of time to own boring cars!

 

[R3OBC]

swap it for an ATR Neil??

 

[Ian_182]

swap it for an ATR Neil??

Stop trying to convert everyone you bugger....lol

 

[R3OBC]

i meant swap me! lmao

 

[Deltriumph]

How much do Rentec charge per hour labour, I have just had my Speedo sensor replaced on my 172 cup at Fairwater Garage renault specialists Taunton and there going to give me a quote on replacing the cambelt and tesioners plus aux belt they charge £40 hr and they said they use renault parts they also said it takes about 5hrs so I'm thinking thats £200 labour plus parts, should find out tomorrow. Anyone else used this garage.

 

[KarKiller]

Keep it, you'll regret it when you start looking at all the rubbish cars you can buy for the same money.

 

[StevieGreenstuff]

It won't be worth anything if you try and sell it without the work being done anyway, so get the work done and it's plain sailing for the next 3-5 should you wanna keep it that long.

There's not alot to touch it for the money, servicing is part of owning any car.

You could get a sh@gged Scooby and spend a small fortune just making it right.

As already mentioned, when you change, you have the potential for all the headache's you don't yet know about.

Although I did have that problem when I bought my 172, and now I wouldn't change it.

IMO, and the main reason I bought a 172, there's not much point having something crazy fast for the road, unless you can afford to run a second 'toy' car (in which case a seven-alike [Caterham, Westfield et al] is the only choice).

I swear on the lives of the Jedi Elders, if I become a millionair I'd still use my 172 as my every day car (after it had been treated to a few quids worth of 'newness'), even though I know I'd end up buying all sorts of cars...

 

[dannogtt]

in the words of my tw4t of an old girl
do what you want, you normally do

 

[Neil G]

How much do Rentec charge per hour labour, I have just had my Speedo sensor replaced on my 172 cup at Fairwater Garage renault specialists Taunton and there going to give me a quote on replacing the cambelt and tesioners plus aux belt they charge £40 hr and they said they use renault parts they also said it takes about 5hrs so I'm thinking thats £200 labour plus parts, should find out tomorrow. Anyone else used this garage.

Not sure how much they charge per hour but cambelt plus aux belt and all the tensioners/kit plus the service (oil change etc) works out at £550.

For comparsion Renault wanted over £600 for the cambelt alone so add the service on top and it's going to get expensive.

Very wise words Stevie...I would have problems selling a car needing such a big service on....either it would put people off completely or they would knock me down in price loads.

 

[GinandGasoline]

21K on the clock?! Keep it and run with it Neil! its like brand new

exactly what he says... better to keep a car you know than gamble on buying something else which it sounds like you don't really want

 

[Neil G]

It has got plenty of life left in it with 21k on the clock

Garaged daily as well so not in bad conditon cosmetically