Buying a ph2 172 advice?

[AmDaMan]

Hi i'm sure this has been asked before so sorry!

Think the time has come to buy a newer clio as i need to use the motorway quite a bit now and want some comfort and toys. Ive seen one that looks ok, it's 5k from a dealer, has 3 months warranty and he will change the cambelt before he sells it.

However it's done 80k. It's an 01/02 (i think) and is in a nice deep red. He says it's immaculate, going to look at it tomorrow.

What sort of stuff should I be looking for then? What things are prone to going etc. Also what equipment should it have, xenons, cruise control?

Any help appreciated, thanks!

 

[davebem]

Make sure it does get its cambelt and aux belt done the owner may have second thoughts when they see how much £ it is. Check everything on the car thats rubber, tyres, engine/exhaust/suspension mounts, driveshaft gaitors. CD changer was optional, check under the drivers seat. It wont have esp this was added in 2003. Check the exhaust and start it from cold and from being warm.

 

[AmDaMan]

cheers.

i've just put the reg in on a checker and it says it's a cup does this mean I don't get any toys?

 

[cat171]

If it's red, it won't be a cup. They only came in mondial blue & some in silver.

 

[Se7en172]

You can have my 02 FF with all the toys on an 02 plate 30k on the clock cam belt changed. For 6k

 

[AmDaMan]

ahh ok, reg check must be messed up then cheers.

Seven, afraid that's out of my budget and I need a trader ideally so i can finance it over 1 year.

cheers.

 

[Tigger]

Make sure it does get its cambelt and aux belt done the owner may have second thoughts when they see how much £ it is. Check everything on the car thats rubber, tyres, engine/exhaust/suspension mounts, driveshaft gaitors. CD changer was optional, check under the drivers seat. It wont have esp this was added in 2003. Check the exhaust and start it from cold and from being warm.

Is there anything else to look out for when buying a model with ESP?

 

[cat171]

Esp came out in 2002. I guess late 2002 though, as my dads 172 is a 52 reg, registered on 30/11/02 & it has it. The only thing his car doesn't have is cruise control.

 

[-Leigh-]

It wont have esp this was added in 2003.

That's a lie.

 

[Tigger]

just to clear the air...

ESP came out after July 2002 - says on the Renault site

 

[AmDaMan]

was cruise control an option?

 

[cat171]

I think cruise control came out on 03 reg cars onwards.

 

[davebem]

just to clear the air...

ESP came out after July 2002 - says on the Renault site

Yeah thats right, I got mixed up, I think in 2003 they added a button so you can turn it off.

 

[-Leigh-]

just to clear the air...

ESP came out after July 2002 - says on the Renault site

Yeah thats right, I got mixed up, I think in 2003 they added a button so you can turn it off.

Stop lying.

My car is July 02 and has ESP with a button.

 

[bmh.01]

I think cruise control came out on 03 reg cars onwards.

Cruise control was added in late 2003 for the last of the 172s, they removed the cd changer from standard spec when they added esp/cruise. You'll only find cruise on 53/04 plates, and i've seen some 53s with no cruise. I specifically wanted it when I bought mine so found a few without.

 

[davebem]

It doesnt mean Im 'lying' it just means that there is different sources of information that are conflicting out there. Edde has mentioned in his guide that it was added around 2003.

Its best to ask the seller if it has esp and look for the esp button, climate controls and cd changer.

 

[AmDaMan]

Went to have a look at the red one yesterday in their showroom. Got to say it looked tidy, body work very good for age (51 plate) few minor scuffs on alloys though. The locks looked like they were corroding or something too. The interior looked nice, few minor cracks in the bolsters hardly noticable. Got the price to 4750 - 1500 for my car in p/x. Prepped (cambelt and clutch) and 12 months waranty and 12months MOT. Paying the remaining off monthly over 12months at 6% APR (£287 p/m)

Need to check what the warranty includes, see if they can get me temp insurance and a test drive. Ideally want to inspect under car too. Thing that's putting me off though is it's done 75k miles (and a twin exhaust) although it has FSH.

What do you guys think? Any more checks i should do?

cheers.

 

[Mada05]

Well why not sell your car privately and put that towards a private example? For your information, I have just picked up a mint silver 02 172FF with 36k on the clock for £5350. I think £4750 is pretty pricey with such high mileage.

 

[Timmay]

try and knock em down a bit more.

 

[-Leigh-]

Well, at that age and mileage, a few scuffs on the wheels is to be expected really. Check for stone chips on the front bumper, wings and on the rear arches.
If the leather hasn't been treated and looked after it can start to crack. Creases in the leather are normal for that age, but if it's cracking then it's quite dry I'd presume.
Check exactly what the warranty covers, and how much they will pay for each claim. It's all well and good getting the warranty, but check the small print. Some will only pay £100 towards each claim, which is useless if the gearbox goes for example.

Make sure that when they do the cambelt, they do it properly and change it as Renault recommend (tensioner, pulleys, belt, use of Renault tools) as when I bought my car, they said they would "do the cambelt", and that's exactly what they did, just changed the belt. And didn't even do that right, and I had to take them to court to get the money back that I spent getting it done properly.

75k isn't excesive for that age, and as long as it has service history it should be fine.

Just make sure you get a HPI check on it, the dealer should do this free of charge for you.

 

[mini_nick]

Im new to the clios, can i just ask why people are having the cambelts changed at less than 30k miles? it seems odd to have them changed so early on!

 

[AmDaMan]

I tried to knock em down more but he wouldn't move any more. It did look very nice though. Few stonechips on bumper was all i could see. I think the leather was cracked any way, need to have another look I think.

The claims were to the value of 2k i think he said. I will tell them about the best yes. Why would they skimp though if they offer 12 months warranty?

The reason it's not going privately is because I think it's just easier this way and it's out of my hair.

So whats the standard kit on these models?

 

[-Leigh-]

Im new to the clios, can i just ask why people are having the cambelts changed at less than 30k miles? it seems odd to have them changed so early on!

They need changing at 72,000 miles or 5 years whichever comes first. Many ph2 172s are at the 5 year stage now.

 

[mini_nick]

Im new to the clios, can i just ask why people are having the cambelts changed at less than 30k miles? it seems odd to have them changed so early on!

They need changing at 72,000 miles or 5 years whichever comes first. Many ph2 172s are at the 5 year stage now.

Cheers for that s**t the one ive just bought is 5 years old this month... looks like cam belt wants changing boo!

 

[-Leigh-]

It's quite a pricey job too due to being a pain in the ass lol.

Dealer charges about £600-£700 and specialist £400-£500.

 

[mini_nick]

Something to look forward to then! So even if its only done 21k miles, still worth getting it done?

 

[AmDaMan]

5 years mate, change it anyway.

Will this car not have cruise control or ESP then? Can cruise control be added or not?

 

[-Leigh-]

It won't have cruise control, I believe that was added somewhen around late 2003 (53 plate). I'm not sure if you could have it fitted, it would be very expensive to do so though.

It may have ESP, that came in July 2002, you will be able to tell as it will have a button down to the right of the steering wheel next to the dash dimmer.

 

[AmDaMan]

i hope it has some cool extras. I don't think it was made that late though How do I check when it was made as the RAC reg check charges now :'(

Also will this be quicker or slower than my williams engined mk1 clio?