Hello there, as you probally know, i own a Saxo VTS. Im sick of its niggling problems though and want a 172. Does the 172 have many faults?? What is the gearbox like? I heard its abit dodgy?? Is the 172 engine still smooth after many hard driven miles? And lastly, has anyone here driven a VTS and a 172? How much difference in performance is there? Many Thanks.
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Hello there, as you probally know, i own a Saxo VTS. Im sick of its niggling problems though and want a 172. Does the 172 have many faults?? What is the gearbox like? I heard its abit dodgy?? Is the 172 engine still smooth after many hard driven miles? And lastly, has anyone here driven a VTS and a 172? How much difference in performance is there? Many Thanks.
mine feels good after 5500. I got the car in october, ran her in nicely and she goes like rocket now.
Tried unleaded fuel once and she ran like a dog, havent user Optimax yet...
No problems yet, but rember its french !! I have loads of Citroens and it feels better made then all of them, but it early days yet.
Go for it, I dont think your regret it
Simon
seriously though..
mine has done 18,000 miles and I havent had any real complaints... got a few annoying creaking noises at the moment plus something odd going on with one or more engine mounts resulting in a knocking noise under acceleration but other than that.... nothing really...
nice car, like it....
mine has done 38k now, and no real problems, other than a couple of vibratory noises!!! but turn the stereo up and its fine!! I love it, have done since day 1 and I love it still!! You will, I am sure, already know that on paper there is quite a lot of difference in performance, but we have one member who has a VTS now, and says its pretty quick - a lot depends on the driver and conditions at the time of course.
at the end of the day get a decent couple of test drives if you can and decide which feels nicer. you will, I expect, get some problems, but you get problems with any car, even Mercedes and BMWs, despite what some people would have you believe - I run the fleet at work and we have a lot of BMWs and Mercs, and they also have problems and cost about 4 times as much as a 172!!!
Astra 1.9cdti XP
Since I used to own a Saxo I can give a pretty good comparison. The materials used in the Clio are simply streets ahead of the Saxo in terms of quality and ergonomics. It feels like a much bigger car and so much nicer to be in. The saxo is too long in the tooth!!!
In terms of niggling little problem I dont think you can avoid them in any car. My mate had a CTR and had more niggling problems then me. Any niggling problem that I have ever had has been caused by the dealer damaging it. But there is nothing that has made me think that I want to sell the car, Ive never had regrets!!
There is not one thing that the Saxo does better. Dont get me wrong I loved my Saxo but times have moved on and the Clio is streets ahead!!!!
If youre worried about build quality, I wouldnt be... My brothers had way more trouble with his new Golf than Ive had with my 2 year old 172 - in fact he rejected 2 Golfs before he found one thatd not been screwed together by a primate on acid.
Gearbox-wise, mine has always graunched a little going from 1st to 2nd under hard, fast changes, but at all other times its remained smooth, slickety and sexy (okay, not sexy, but you get the idea). Id get it sorted, but as geordiepaul mentioned, the dealers cause more problems than they fix!
With just over 30000 miles and one Track Day at Donnington under its belt, my car still feels tight and pert - not tired or rough... Sure, the interior rattles a little (it is French after all) but that really is all thats wrong with it!
Get a car for an extended test drive - you wont be disappointed mate!!!
PS: LOL @ your "Nobody wants to help me then?" post about 12 minutes after posting the question... Little impatient arent we?
Shiny red R32
Whats three seconds? Presumably you will be driving it on the roads not race track!! Also if you are thinking of a CTR, then that is better suited on a race track, it is so high revving and very big and ugly compared to the cute 172.
I have no complaints with my 172 and there is nothing else in that price range which is so well-equipped. The CTR is more expensive but not as many goodies as the 172.
Go for it Ralph, you know you want to!!
VR6man i would get the engine mouts seen to asap m8! mine failed big time resulting in damaging the gear box and down pipe! Big bill for renault !! the car is now repaired but doesnt feel the same!
i think its going in the trader soon!by the way dont let this put you off as the AA bloke who came out to it said he had never seen it happen before, i think it was a total one off!! i was totaly abusing it tho
in fact the car was trying to die!
2.0 litre vs 1.6 litre, 166 bhp per tonne vs 130 bhp per tonne, 148 lb/ft vs 110 lb ft?. I know which one id choose. Also you dont see a 172 around every bend you turn or every car park you use. Insurance is only 2 groups higher i believe. Build quality is probably a bit better than the saxo, but its still not vw standard really. The main fault with my car is the gearbox. Its awful. Especially my second one!
The idling of the 172 is very lumpy, but thats because of the lumpy cams used. The engine is gas-flowed by Mechachrome! you cant say anything impressive like that about a saxo!
mines wicked a few teething problems like some annoying airbag light but now its cool, engines smooth and pulls like a train for me plenty quick enough good on fuel done 33000 miles make sure its run on 98 fuel like mine and youll hold off mit sub vr4s till 5th gear
its great fun. I had a gearbox problem then Renault told my dealer to change the oil no its GOOD
I work for renault and it might have some bearing on my car.
My 172 has NEVER had any problems apart form general wear, 4 tyres, 1 clutch, 1 new alloy (destroyed one on some silly street racing, almost killed myself), 1 oil change, dinged and bashed alot!
And not one problem leccy or mechanical wise.
BUT, we do get alot of owners comming in and complaining of little problem, but i guess they did spend their money on it. mostly leccy probs....and the engine mounts, thats really it......oh, rattles come as std on the lucky few cars....
But itsd a hell of a drive, just whistle and youll enjoy!
I bought my mk1 172 with 20000km on the clock and i was a little worried before I bought it since I didnt want any niggling problems either but I checked over the car with a fine tooth comb and took it to Renault for a final check over and it came back with a clean bill of health.
The only niggles I have with my car are the rattle in the rear headrests, a slight rattle in the dash, the passanger side rattles a little bit when its half way open and there is a rattle from the exhaust which ill get looked at today.
Other than that the car is perfect and I love it to bits
Well worth the money
Hello
I bought a 2002 172 and its nearly 5months old. Shortly after taking delivery I became aware of a clonking noise from the front. The noise happens when on full right lock around mini roundabouts or u turns and mostly on uneven ground. Renault had the car in a week before christmas to replace the top suspension mountings and the springs. I phoned the dealer a day after I had it back as the problem was still there and it had started to creak. It has now gone back into the dealer to replace the shock absorbers - guess work by the dealer! Having spoken to another owner he has had the same problems and it has been back to the dealer 16 times. Mines a great car and it was cheaper bought through Jamjar (dont buy from them as they dont want to know after 7 days) but I am now trying to reject the car through Renault UK. Is anyone else experiencing this problem with clonking???? The dealer has told me that they have had two others in with loose gearbox mountings.......quality.......
Personally I dont think so. The noise sounds like its steering rack or driveshaft. The guy who had a problem says his whole suspension has been replaced and it seems to have solved the problem. The way shocks are would not produce a noise like this - could even be the rollbar! He took his to the same dealer and they are in his words monkeys! He took his to a dealer in London who actually have engineers there not so called technicians! I may give them a call today. God knows what else could go wrong with this car and I dont want it going back and forth to a dealer more times than Mr Backandforth!
hello everbody long time since last on here .but as a past owner of a problem child total 126 factory installed defects,i would still go out and buy a new one,hows that for a shock,,,,,,.i spoke to the new owner of my little black car now with 134000 km on it and he says its still fine they put a new gearbox in it to sell it .its funny what a little nos can do to the cogs,he has lowered it 50 mm and put 17s on it .but i see it smokes a bit when he hammers it .but he is only 18 so lets see how long it lasts.
vroy glad to see you got a 172 at last i have still got the nos kit if your intrested and traction control unit.
Well what can I say....I picked the car up last night drove it five minutes up the road went round a roundabout and clonk! I took it straight back to the dealer and demanded a technician go out for a test drive. I got the assistant manager - but he certainly got the point when I went round the roundabout three times! Ive left it with them now and today Im rejecting - Im thinking of buying something else! Looks like Im getting back in my VR6.
Sorry to hear your troubles arent getting any better!
Maybe youre not mean to be a renault owner though..sometimes you have to laugh it off and get over it, its not the end of the world after all, if you rejected it and got a new one there could be just as much chance of it never going wrong.
Astra 1.9cdti XP
Ralphy_VTS
Your getting a slightly biased view since only people who have had faults have replied, except me. There are hundreds of users of the forum and the fact that only a few have reported faults shows how few there are.
Go on any forum Scooby, CTR etc and Im sure you will get a few posting who have had problems! Thats Life!
