Hi everyone,
I've been a member (albeit probably not a very active one) since I had my first 172 back in 2004/5 ... and now I'm hopefully going to join the ranks of Renaultsport owners again!
Quick story of my car history over the last 9 years ;
I sold my awesome Monaco Blue 53 plate 172 to a fellow forum member and bought a brand new Leon FR TDi back in 2007 ... then sold that when I fell on hard times after taking a mortgage on by myself and swapped it in at a SEAT dealership in 2009 for an 04 plate Black 172 ... unfortunately this was a steaming bag of s**t.
I was desperate to sell and didnt take the time to look into the car. It hadnt been looked after, had cheap (ineffective) brakes, was an import so needed an alarm fitted, had a horrible exhaust which I spent £££ on getting made quieter, crap tyres, ended up having a broken spring, needed the cam and aux belts doing, and generally cost me a fortune over 6 months.
It left me with a very sour taste in my mouth when it came to anything French, which was a massive shame since my first 172 was incredible apart from the standard exhaust failure and a dodgy alternator (fixed under warranty). I sold the black devil (DK04 L## if anyone here has it) and because I was sick of the costs, bought an old reliable VW Bora "Sport" 130 TDi with 87k on the clock.
12 months later I'm promoted to IT Manager at work and given a company car - a fully loaded MK6 Golf 1.6TDi Match (105hp), and then 8 months later made redundant!!! Managed to get a comprimise agreement from the company and scraped enough together to buy an incredibly tidy, 1 owner 04 plate Fabia VRS with full Skoda Service History that had never wanted for anything with 39k on the clock back in Dec 2011. It's been pretty much spot on, had a mild remap put on it by Shark Performance in Mansfield so its now got around 165hp but is beautifully smooth. Had a new clutch and DMF put in which was expensive, but neccessary for the extra power. I was doing 75 miles a day so needed something cheap to run, and I was easily getting 60mpg on a daily basis. The mid-range torque is incredible and it's a fantastic car, but it's just not as much fun as a Clio RS.
I've since changed jobs and am only doing 35-40 miles a day - I've never been able to get the memories of driving my original 172 out of my head... I've now got to a point where I can realistically afford to run a Clio again and I've decided I want the first Clio I saw and drove which took my breath away, and the one I always wanted but could never afford - A Blue FF 182 with both cup packs. Hopefully if I can sell my car I'll be able to get into one of these with around 50k miles from shopping in the Fabia ... or at least that's what the market shows at the moment. Don't really want a 197 or 200 (sorry guys), it sounds stupid but the extra few mpg that I can get out of the 182 will make the difference, plus it has a special place in my heart.
Hoping to get back into one before the end of the year, but it depends how long it takes me to sell the Fabia, and how much I get for it.
I'm going to be ridiculously fussy this time around, and luckily after owning two and being a visitor to Cliosport for years and years, I hopefully now know what to look for.
I'm guessing that if I go for a well maintained 05 plate with about 50k miles on, most issues will have been discovered by now, so it 'should' just be wear and tear items and known parts which don't last too long
Any advice you guys could give me for getting into a tidy 182 would be really appreciated!
Thanks,
Stu
I've been a member (albeit probably not a very active one) since I had my first 172 back in 2004/5 ... and now I'm hopefully going to join the ranks of Renaultsport owners again!
Quick story of my car history over the last 9 years ;
I sold my awesome Monaco Blue 53 plate 172 to a fellow forum member and bought a brand new Leon FR TDi back in 2007 ... then sold that when I fell on hard times after taking a mortgage on by myself and swapped it in at a SEAT dealership in 2009 for an 04 plate Black 172 ... unfortunately this was a steaming bag of s**t.
I was desperate to sell and didnt take the time to look into the car. It hadnt been looked after, had cheap (ineffective) brakes, was an import so needed an alarm fitted, had a horrible exhaust which I spent £££ on getting made quieter, crap tyres, ended up having a broken spring, needed the cam and aux belts doing, and generally cost me a fortune over 6 months.
It left me with a very sour taste in my mouth when it came to anything French, which was a massive shame since my first 172 was incredible apart from the standard exhaust failure and a dodgy alternator (fixed under warranty). I sold the black devil (DK04 L## if anyone here has it) and because I was sick of the costs, bought an old reliable VW Bora "Sport" 130 TDi with 87k on the clock.
12 months later I'm promoted to IT Manager at work and given a company car - a fully loaded MK6 Golf 1.6TDi Match (105hp), and then 8 months later made redundant!!! Managed to get a comprimise agreement from the company and scraped enough together to buy an incredibly tidy, 1 owner 04 plate Fabia VRS with full Skoda Service History that had never wanted for anything with 39k on the clock back in Dec 2011. It's been pretty much spot on, had a mild remap put on it by Shark Performance in Mansfield so its now got around 165hp but is beautifully smooth. Had a new clutch and DMF put in which was expensive, but neccessary for the extra power. I was doing 75 miles a day so needed something cheap to run, and I was easily getting 60mpg on a daily basis. The mid-range torque is incredible and it's a fantastic car, but it's just not as much fun as a Clio RS.
I've since changed jobs and am only doing 35-40 miles a day - I've never been able to get the memories of driving my original 172 out of my head... I've now got to a point where I can realistically afford to run a Clio again and I've decided I want the first Clio I saw and drove which took my breath away, and the one I always wanted but could never afford - A Blue FF 182 with both cup packs. Hopefully if I can sell my car I'll be able to get into one of these with around 50k miles from shopping in the Fabia ... or at least that's what the market shows at the moment. Don't really want a 197 or 200 (sorry guys), it sounds stupid but the extra few mpg that I can get out of the 182 will make the difference, plus it has a special place in my heart.
Hoping to get back into one before the end of the year, but it depends how long it takes me to sell the Fabia, and how much I get for it.
I'm going to be ridiculously fussy this time around, and luckily after owning two and being a visitor to Cliosport for years and years, I hopefully now know what to look for.
I'm guessing that if I go for a well maintained 05 plate with about 50k miles on, most issues will have been discovered by now, so it 'should' just be wear and tear items and known parts which don't last too long
Any advice you guys could give me for getting into a tidy 182 would be really appreciated!
Thanks,
Stu
