Advice on buying a DCI clio

[theburns1]

Hi guys just after a bit of advice, I want a car for work, something cheap and economical. So DCI Clio's seem to be a good choice. There are a few local to me which I'm going to go look at.

I want to know if they are any good, as economical as folk say they are and what to look out for when buying one.

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks gaz

 

[Tommo.]

I bought one at the start of the year for the same reason. As far as cheap runabouts go, they aren't bad cars. It probably won't feel much different to your 172 - the difference in power may take some getting used to, though!

The economy, however, more than makes up for it. Mine is the 100bhp variant, supposedly not as economical as the other, less powerful, models; but I've still managed to average around 55mpg (according to the trip computer). On a longer journey, 70-80mpg is easily achievable.

In terms of reliability, besides servicing and having to replace a few bits through wear and tear, mine has been mostly trouble free over the last 18k / 11 months. It did let me down once, thanks to a faulty EGR valve, but a new one was easily sourced from Euro Car Parts and replaced in under 10 minutes. The only big bills to be aware of relate to the fuel system. The high pressure fuel pumps have been known to fail and injectors seem to be a common failure, too. Touch wood, mine has been ok so far!

You won't go far wrong with a DCI in my opinion. :up:

 

[theburns1]

Thanks for that mate, they do seem a good car. Strange how they seem to be fetching similar money to the new shape Clio though

 

[Bluebeard]

As a daily, I actually preferred my dci to my 172! Around town under 50mph, the torque is more than adequate.

They are fantastic little cars, and genuinely the cheapest cars to run. Ever.

There is a 55 plate one by me for £995 and I was tempted by it but I need a Break from clios for a bit.

 

[theburns1]

All good positive comments, thank you guys

 

[Martin_172]

Mine is the car I've owned the longest, its got 160k on it and drives like new lol! Mine is a dci80 mapped to 105hp 175lbft

 

[paul806]

I've got a mk4 dci to commute in. I got it on a PCP deal a few weeks ago. I had a thread on here whilst deciding whether to get rid of the 172. I got a lot of positive feedback from owners of dci models and some criticism at the concept of it saving money over continuing with the 172 which was due a lot of work. Whilst I miss the fun of the 172, it was unnecessary for me to have that sort of car as a 'daily driver'.

I've been very pleased so far, although it's been a very short time. I'm getting over 600 miles to a tank which is brilliant. I assume that'll improve a little bit over time too. All in all, it's a comfortable daily drive. It's not underpowered, by any means. Mine is the Dynamique nav model (not S). The nav unit and audio are the only criticisms I have so far. The audio is poor, Bluetooth playback can be a bit jumpy (not a phone fault) and the sat nav doesn't do traffic or locations by postcode! As long as that isn't a crucial selling point I'd definitely recommend the mk4 dci.

 

[Martin_172]

I've got a mk4 dci to commute in. I got it on a PCP deal a few weeks ago. I had a thread on here whilst deciding whether to get rid of the 172. I got a lot of positive feedback from owners of dci models and some criticism at the concept of it saving money over continuing with the 172 which was due a lot of work. Whilst I miss the fun of the 172, it was unnecessary for me to have that sort of car as a 'daily driver'.

I've been very pleased so far, although it's been a very short time. I'm getting over 600 miles to a tank which is brilliant. I assume that'll improve a little bit over time too. All in all, it's a comfortable daily drive. It's not underpowered, by any means. Mine is the Dynamique nav model (not S). The nav unit and audio are the only criticisms I have so far. The audio is poor, Bluetooth playback can be a bit jumpy (not a phone fault) and the sat nav doesn't do traffic or locations by postcode! As long as that isn't a crucial selling point I'd definitely recommend the mk4 dci.

download the media nav toolbox and follow the instructions this will add the postcode search for free to your system and the media nav software update will smooth the Bluetooth playback some what, its still not perfect but much better!

 

[paul806]

Oh, excellent. Thanks Martin, will do.

 

[Martin_172]

Oh, excellent. Thanks Martin, will do.

then you need to put the space in the middle for the postcode to come up, my mrs cannot grasp this lol

 

[GrahamS]

Had my dci for the last 50k of mainly flat out motorway driving and it's been absolutely trumps. At 154k it's now giving up the ghost, the engine is using oil and the car doesn't start without easy start. Make sure you check for fuel pump failure by being at 1500 revs and then flooring it in third, fourth and fifth. If any dash lights flash up, walk away as it's only going to get worse. Also look for air returning in the blue fuel line as that's a sign of an injector potentially going.

Apart from the modifications I've done it's been extremely cheap to run and only needed oil changes, mandatory cambelt and an oil pressure switch. People say they're slow but mine sat on the autobahn three up at 100mph for hours on end with no problem at all. I wouldn't say other than the fuel pump there are any other common problem different to any other car.

dci FTW