Clio newbie

[Tasand]

Hello Everybody.

i bought my first Clio on friday. Its a 2002 Clio 172 in black. Mileage is 26,600.

My first impressions are that they are nice looking cars, comfortable to drive but a fair bit of road noise whilst driving. It has "cheap" branded tyres which probably doesn't help.
Also one thing i find strange, when you floor it pick up is relatively slow until you hit about 4000 rpm then it flies round to redline. Is this to do with the adaptive ECU ?

With such a low mileage for its age, am i likely to experience any problems due to the fact its done very little ? One problem i do have is the dashboard cluster doesn't read a mileage figure unless you push against the plastic window or wedge a bit of paper down the side, and the speedo is slightly out.

Other than that i look forward to driving it and looking after it

Tom

 

[Beasley Clio182]

sounds like a clock problem mate , id be suspicious of that mileage unless you have MOTs to back it up and the obvious stuff ! as for driving depends on what you mean takes for ever , the vvt kicks in around 5k which is what gives it a good shove , put it should still feel fairly responsive off the vvt !

Shouldnt have to many problems with low mileage just check perished fuel lines & coolant lines , tyres perished , oil leaks from dry seals usual stuff, general wear and tear should not be a issue

 

[Tasand]

MOT's have been consistent. First MOT Started off at 8500miles. 2011 MOT read 22,000 then the latest MOT for some reason the test certificate said 123,646 even though the speedo says 26600. Cn only put it down to an error with all previous certificates being regular. Ather thing that makes me think it is legit is when i took it to have the rear tyre changed the fitter said that the michelin tyre print that was present hadnt been made for years. Good amount of treas, just a perished wall.

 

[Scotty-boi]

Does the overall condition of the car point towards 26600 miles. Or the 100,000+.
I would be a bit wary. Especially with the clock mileage being iffy!

Welcome to the forum by the way

 

[Beasley Clio182]

MOT's have been consistent. First MOT Started off at 8500miles. 2011 MOT read 22,000 then the latest MOT for some reason the test certificate said 123,646 even though the speedo says 26600. Cn only put it down to an error with all previous certificates being regular. Ather thing that makes me think it is legit is when i took it to have the rear tyre changed the fitter said that the michelin tyre print that was present hadnt been made for years. Good amount of treas, just a perished wall.

Would be worth checking the DOT code next time , as that will give you a indication of the tyre date ! for example DOT 3302 is , the 33rd week in 2002 ! gives you an idea , if its still on original back tyres chances are mileage is genuine although id contact the last MOT station as they have to be hot on the mileages and will get in a lot of trouble if not ! see what they say the mileage was ! and chance its been clocked ? not trying to scare you mate just doesnt seam add up to me !

 

[Tasand]

I have investigated further and have done a check online at the previous MOT history.

2005 - 8486
2006 - 14,991
2007 - 18,238
2008 - 20,080
2009 - 21,530
2010 - 22,571
2011 - 24,129
2012 - 123,691

The only thing i can think of is if the tester has mistaken a 5 for a 3 and somehow managed to add a 1 at the front, or the car has done 100,000 in the last year ?!?!!!

 

[Beasley Clio182]

I have investigated further and have done a check online at the previous MOT history.

2005 - 8486
2006 - 14,991
2007 - 18,238
2008 - 20,080
2009 - 21,530
2010 - 22,571
2011 - 24,129
2012 - 123,691

The only thing i can think of is if the tester has mistaken a 5 for a 3 and somehow managed to add a 1 at the front, or the car has done 100,000 in the last year ?!?!!!

Depends id still ring the testing station who did the last test , and maybe take the car down may jog a memory ! its a fair on mess up if i customer had there car MOT'd with me and id added 100k to the mileage they WOULD DEFIANTLY bring it back , so unless the clocks have been swapped ? maybe last MOT they were swapped ? seams really odd this one ! cant see it doing 100k in a year obviously , mileages on mot seam really irregular too normally a car covers pretty much the same miles per year ie 8k in the first year 6k 2nd year 4 k 3rd year then 2k then 1k 4 year , i mean it could of worked out like that just seams really odd to me !!

 

[Alastair.]

I would be fuking pissed if someone mot'd my car and entered the wrong mileage. Yours would put me off even though its more than likely legit.

Welcome along by the way.

 

[Dan@SJM]

sounds like a clock problem mate , id be suspicious of that mileage unless you have MOTs to back it up and the obvious stuff ! as for driving depends on what you mean takes for ever , the vvt kicks in around 5k which is what gives it a good shove , put it should still feel fairly responsive off the vvt !

Shouldnt have to many problems with low mileage just check perished fuel lines & coolant lines , tyres perished , oil leaks from dry seals usual stuff, general wear and tear should not be a issue

Ffs. VVT kicks in at 1450rpm.

Fuel lines are plastic.

 

[Beasley Clio182]

The main kick is at 5k yes the variable works at 1450 but he won't tell that now will he? As I said it should still fairly nippy below 5k ,admittedly yeah fuel likes are plastic , so won't perish but seals may still perish distort etc and a fuel leak is a big thing look out for ! it was a general overview of what I do when I look at cars FFS !

 

[Dan@SJM]

The VVT is emissions related only. The 5k kick is literally the point where the engine finally gets all the fuel it wants.

I agree fuel leaks are pretty major, but tbh they were probably parked up longer after the production period/at at dealer than the OP.

 

[Tasand]

so when it goes for its next MOT, will it accept the mileage on the speedo or will the last MOT throw up an error on the TEST ??

 

[Dan@SJM]

I won't throw up an error.