Current scoob owner looking to downsize

[acstua]

so im currently driving around in a STI Hawkeye, and its an awesome motor, but im looking to downsize
so i've been considering a 182 Cup

Question is what are they like for the taller peeps, im about 6foot 3
did my test in a 106 many moons again and didnt really have any problems, so i think ill be ok, but be interesting to hear frm the taller peeps on here

also what are the running costs like, average service cost mostly? (dont do many miles)
cambelt costs large? anything else i should know about that crops up?

i know its going to be completely different drive to my current car, but im after something fun, cheap and that will keep me interested for a few years.. and atm im running out of ideas hoping to spend around 4k max


i did have a few CTR's and im guessing the engine in the cup is kinda similar to that, tho maybe not quite as rev happy?
did consider getting another CTR too btw, but id like to try a face lift and they are a few more quid than i wanna spend

anyhow thanks for any pointers

 

[Nik]

Welcome to the forum, acstua!

 

[Marky_]

Welcome

Any pics of the hawkeye?

You should be all right at 6'3 although the seating position is a bit lofty anyway. There are some other lankies on here iirc and they don't moan too much!

 

[Emma.]

A lot of people will say don't buy a 182 cup, it's considered as the runt of the litter lol.

Get a FF 182. All the toys and both cup packs.Oh

Oh, and welcome.

 

[Steven103]

Thousands of topics like this so I'll keep it short.

* Budget £500 - £650 for a cambelt on AC models
* Running gear/engine/suspension/exhaust/door cars/seats are specific to the Renaultsport models. Prices are hardly astronomical though.
* Day-to-day with the odd bit of fun = average 35mpg
* Engines come alive after 5k RPM. Probably not to the same degree as a VTEC or forced induction engine though.
* I'm too short to comment on height. Clarkson didn't complain in the top gear review though.
* 182 cup is a bit pointless. 182 with optional cup chassis & spoiler pack = cup handling with all the goodies like climate, cruise, leather/alcantara, xenons, auto lights/wipers etc AKA 182 "Full Fat"

 

[Darren S]

Hi acstua,

Is there any specific reason for going for the 182 Cup over the 'standard' 182? There are clearly some Cup-only colours, but the majority of people on here tend to think the 182 Cup wasn't as big a departure from the standard car as the 172 Cup was.

At 6'3" - you might not be the most comfortable in a 182. I'm 6'1" and it's a very sit-up-and-beg sort of position. Certainly with the seat fully pushed back, you'd have to have someone with very tiny legs sat behind you.

General running costs are excellent for what the car is capable of. It will happily return over 30mpg in mixed driving and I regularly get between 33-34 to the gallon. Tax is a little high at circa £245 for the year. In terms of maintenance - cambelts are arguably one of the big points to address. I've never done the job myself, but I gather that it's fairly labour intensive (the bulk of the cost) and to maintain accurate timing requires the correct set of locking tools that various specialists have on here. Renault dealership prices are considerably higher than specialists ones - but that's pretty obvious.

The auxiliary belt is another one to be wary of - purely due to very small, yet plausible chance that if it fails it's next encounter is with the cambelt itself. The standard exhausts are made of cheese and the back box especially is extremely rare to find on a high miler car. Many 3rd party options exist out there that not only sound better, but look better and are much lighter too.

Other common failings are the rear bearings which can be replaced but come as part of the rear brake disk assembly anyway. Replacement disks and pads are pretty cheap and as expected, there are plenty of other options if you want to spend more. The 182 appears to ride quite high in standard form and quite a few people (myself included) tend to get the car dropped slightly. Eibachs are a used a lot and the Sportlines typically reduce the car's height by up to 30mm. Just enough, imo.

As an all-rounder though, the 182 is a great little car. I've had mine since new at the tail-end of 2004 and have clocked up over 90k on the clock in it. Apart from the usual replacement items - tyres, pads, etc - I've found my car to be very robust and pretty much hassle-free.

Whereabouts are you based?

D.

 

[Wick]

At 6'3" - you might not be the most comfortable in a 182. I'm 6'1" and it's a very sit-up-and-beg sort of position. Certainly with the seat fully pushed back, you'd have to have someone with very tiny legs sat behind you.

+1. At 6'1 myself the driving position is a bit high! Not unbearable and certainly get used to it. But you feel like your a bit on top of, rather than in, the drivers seat.

 

[MAT ED30]

i am 6.2 and you will be fine

 

[acstua]

wowzers thanks for the quick replys heh i'm based in Colchester atm

and er i know pretty much nout on the Clios' after a rather uptight dealer told me "are you sure you can afford this?" to which i told him to fo and went and brought a CTR heh
i was also a bit worried when i touched one of the forecourt cars head light washer jet it kinda seemed to snap lol :d
as long as its just the exhaust thats made of cheese i;ll be happy!


i'd like to keep xenons, so i guess the FF (full fat?) is the way to go
servicing has gotta be cheaper, my scoob has just cost me £830 for its cambelt and service :/
im hoping to put aside about £350 a year for servicing costs, so if the minors are alot cheaper id have more for the major etc
basically im hoping to cut the year costs in half compared to the scoob, in terms of service/tax/mot/insurance

i doubt id do any of the work myself so id be looking for a decent specialist in the colchester area.

and sitting on top of it sounds abit like how i felt in my brothers focus st170 heh
that wasnt too bad, would get used to it i guess

a few quick pics

 

[Alias]

Ren-o-tec in Chelmsford aren't far from you and have always done good work for us, sure theres probably others here who will vouch for them as well.

 

[Darren S]

Nice Scoob - but it needs flaps!

I'd push your servicing budget a little higher - depending on what mileage you expect to do, of course. If you really want xenons, then yes, the full-fat spec is the way to go. And speaking of 'snapped washers' - you only get those on xenon-equipped cars as (officially) the lamps themselves do not generate heat to melt snow off the lens cover. The offside front washer leaks on many, many 182s (very common issue) - which is really annoying when after a couple of days you come to use the washers and the bloody bottle is empty! Luckily, there's a very easy fix as the washer pipes from bottle run down in front of the nearside front tyre, just behind the arch liner. Peel that back - nab a couple of non-return valves from Halfords, snip the two tubes and insert. Job done in literally ten minutes - probably less.

In the 182 Cup form, you can choose either racing blue or inferno colours - if you're particular about the colour choice? Failing that, there are more colours to choose from with the standard 182 - with black gold clearly being the most 'common'....

http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/heritage/182/

Have you driven one yet? Might be worth checking out a local meeting in the area and bobbing along to have a closer look?

D.

 

[Wick]

To give you an idea. Lots of the traders on here offer discounts. I'd only service it at an indy specialist and you might want to do a 6k oil change also.

Someone feel free to amend the below if incorrect...

12K/1year roughly £120-170 independent. Filters, oil, inspection, nothing wrong fingers crossed.
36K/3years To the above add spark plugs and AUX belt (probably looking at around £350 at a guess)
72K/5years To the 36k service add a cambelt and tensioners. On a 182 circa £500