Ever bought back a car you’ve recently sold?

[Tomleech]

I sold this AG 200 Cup in February. It was a really tough thing to do, but my finances at that time were rocky to say the least.

Anyway, those of you who know this car know it’s good. Really good. IMO it is pretty much the perfect RS Clio 3.

So when I heard it was back up for sale I had to make a few calls.

Long story short, my LY 182 has gone and the AG Cup is back!

And it’s better than ever. It’s a mega Clio - a proper B road weapon and looks the absolute nuts.

Some mistakes are easier to fix than others. This one was sorted out pretty quickly thanks to some good luck and a good deal.

(Oh and if anyone is looking for a pukka LY 182 then ST-RS Automotive in York have a nice one for sale.)

 

[Tomleech]

And I won’t be doing the same thing with the LY 182. That car, as good as it is, will not be repurchased by myself unless I have a complete mental break down or win the postcode lottery.

But I must say it does look bloody fantastic 😜

 

[MLB]

Whoever was willing to spend and ticked Petrol Blue instead of Liquid Yellow was out of their mind. That does look fantastic 👌

 

[Tomleech]

Whoever was willing to spend and ticked Petrol Blue instead of Liquid Yellow was out of their mind. That does look fantastic 👌

Looking back at my photos of the 182, I am slightly wowed by how bloody good that colour looks on it. But Alien Green on a 200 is the pinnacle IMO.

The 182 was rather pampered tho, as this video my mate took on the way to York shows 😂🙄

(also note the big man staring at the fast food sign longingly as he’s obviously very malnourished 😂)

 

[DanceMonkey]

The LY182 hasn't hung around Karl is bringing it up to me tomorrow to look over and finalise the deal

 

[Tomleech]

The LY182 hasn't hung around Karl is bringing it up to me tomorrow to look over and finalise the deal

Brilliant!! That’s really cool. Glad it’s going to a good home. If you got any questions give me a shout, but it’s a decent car and I’m sure you’ll like it 👍🏼

 

[DanceMonkey]

Thank you

I've been hunting an LY Clio or possibly Megane for a while, owned a few Megane RS and Clio RS over the years but never a 182 and can't recall spotting an LY182 in the metal.


One thing I did wonder are those factory option Recaro's? Is this the mythical 2 cup packs and Recaro's LY 182 that I've seen mentioned on here?

 

[Tomleech]

I hear you did the deal with Karl, congrats.

They’re not factory fit Recaros - I believe they’re from a Megane R26 - the same as you’d find in a Trophy. The steering wheel is lovely.

I don’t think it’s mythical LY182 you refer to but it has both the cup packs and I think you’ll enjoy every minute driving it.

Give me a shout if you’ve got any questions 👍🏼

 

[DanceMonkey]

Thanks Tom,

it drives really well, finding it on KW V2's or are they V1's was a nice surprise and news to Karl and me 😂

Any niggly bits you identified on it that you think could do with a look at in the near future? Thanks

 

[DanceMonkey]

How is it being reunited with your AG cup?

 

[Tomleech]

Thanks Tom,

it drives really well, finding it on KW V2's or are they V1's was a nice surprise and news to Karl and me 😂

Any niggly bits you identified on it that you think could do with a look at in the near future? Thanks

Glad you like it - torque steer is more prominent in this car than others be owned but I put that down to the tyres.

The tool kit for the KW suspension is under the passengers seat. It needs a bit of fettling as the rear end can get lively when it’s driven with spirit. Might help with the torque steer too.

Had a fair but done to it just before I traded it in inc cam sensor and driveshaft bearing, service, fresh coolant and header tank, air con regas. The car has had no expense spared keeping it maintained (see the wad of receipts) and all the important bits work fine.

Yeah a few little niggles I never got around to sorting - cruise control being one of them. The old steering wheel should have come with the car and if you’re a wiz with electrics the I think you need to extract the old writing from that and install it in the new wheel. The other thing was the top section of the dash has gone sticky - a cheap fix to replace but a bit of a faff.

Oh and the engine light flashed at me for a brief second when I was driving it up to Karl - tell tale that an injector is having a moment. Might need these doing in due course but will drive fine in the meantime.

Otherwise it’s a proper sorted little car - that paint is sublime and it was so cool having both the cars on my driveway for those couple of years.

I’m sure you’ll have fun and I hope to see updates on here from time to time 👍🏼

 

[Tomleech]

How is it being reunited with your AG cup?

Its unreal. The car is just another level from any other 172, 182, 197 or 200 I’ve ever driven - genuinely runs like it’s on rails! Blasted it home from York to Essex on just B roads which took a while but my god it was so much fun. I’ll never be parting with it again.

 

[DanceMonkey]

LY is such a great colour and judging by how it's beading today after a shower, it's been looked after. The 172/182 has always been the shape I associate with a fast Clio, probably an age thing. I remember not liking the 200 when it launched with the facelift front end but they've grown on me a lot to the point I've owned two 😂
One Pearl white the other one RB

I noticed the sticky dash they're a bit of faff to get apart but it's on the to do list. RS Performance up here have looked after my Renault Sports and are very well regarded. They sorted my last 200's cold start flat spot with a map and swapped over the steering wheel for a Royal retrimmed one, the chance of airbag in the face put me off trying and that clip is a mare to get sometimes 😂 I'm sure they could manage the wiring but it's not high on the lsit, it won't get used by me, I might ask them about tweaking the KW's as both Kris and his wife are racing Mini's this year and she was doing a part program in the Mini Challenge last year.

Karl forgot the box of bits but is going to drop them off. I will keep an eye on injectors too. Cheers for the info, much appreciated.

I must admit I was having a long think about your AG Cup when it was up on here with a link to Pistonheads and was pretty sure it was the same car when Karl had it in stock but you jumped on it quite quickly and I wasn't seriously looking then. Fantastic that you were in a position to bring it home, it's such a glorious colour for a 200 and looks stunning.

 

[Tomleech]

LY is such a great colour and judging by how it's beading today after a shower, it's been looked after. The 172/182 has always been the shape I associate with a fast Clio, probably an age thing. I remember not liking the 200 when it launched with the facelift front end but they've grown on me a lot to the point I've owned two 😂
One Pearl white the other one RB

I noticed the sticky dash they're a bit of faff to get apart but it's on the to do list. RS Performance up here have looked after my Renault Sports and are very well regarded. They sorted my last 200's cold start flat spot with a map and swapped over the steering wheel for a Royal retrimmed one, the chance of airbag in the face put me off trying and that clip is a mare to get sometimes 😂 I'm sure they could manage the wiring but it's not high on the lsit, it won't get used by me, I might ask them about tweaking the KW's as both Kris and his wife are racing Mini's this year and she was doing a part program in the Mini Challenge last year.

Karl forgot the box of bits but is going to drop them off. I will keep an eye on injectors too. Cheers for the info, much appreciated.

I must admit I was having a long think about your AG Cup when it was up on here with a link to Pistonheads and was pretty sure it was the same car when Karl had it in stock but you jumped on it quite quickly and I wasn't seriously looking then. Fantastic that you were in a position to bring it home, it's such a glorious colour for a 200 and looks stunning.

LY is such a great colour and judging by how it's beading today after a shower, it's been looked after. The 172/182 has always been the shape I associate with a fast Clio, probably an age thing. I remember not liking the 200 when it launched with the facelift front end but they've grown on me a lot to the point I've owned two 😂
One Pearl white the other one RB

I noticed the sticky dash they're a bit of faff to get apart but it's on the to do list. RS Performance up here have looked after my Renault Sports and are very well regarded. They sorted my last 200's cold start flat spot with a map and swapped over the steering wheel for a Royal retrimmed one, the chance of airbag in the face put me off trying and that clip is a mare to get sometimes 😂 I'm sure they could manage the wiring but it's not high on the lsit, it won't get used by me, I might ask them about tweaking the KW's as both Kris and his wife are racing Mini's this year and she was doing a part program in the Mini Challenge last year.

Karl forgot the box of bits but is going to drop them off. I will keep an eye on injectors too. Cheers for the info, much appreciated.

I must admit I was having a long think about your AG Cup when it was up on here with a link to Pistonheads and was pretty sure it was the same car when Karl had it in stock but you jumped on it quite quickly and I wasn't seriously looking then. Fantastic that you were in a position to bring it home, it's such a glorious colour for a 200 and looks stunning.

Well theres a big box of random bits including a de-cat pipe, original silver door trims and engine cover, old air box and steering wheel, another radio (it’s not the original that’s currently fitted) and loads of old parts that you’d probably want to bin - for some reason I kept hold of it all. But there’s some brand new bushes for the rear that I never got around to fitting which you might want to use.

My first Clio was a 2004 182 FF in Black Gold and I too will always hold that generation in high regard as the best affordable hot hatch of the era. I’ll own another one day, maybe a Trophy as it’s still most definitely on my want list. Cool little cars.

Agree that the looks of the 200 divided opinion back in the day but I think they’ve aged well and mine looks the dogs danglers in AG. A guy who was interested in buying it when I had it up for sale on PH tipped me off it was back on the market and I knew it would get snapped up quickly so it was now or never ! It’s such a well sorted car and miles better than any other 200 I’ve owned or driven. I think quite a lot of that is down to the Cup 2 tyres but it’s so nice to have my car back and I’m enjoying every single mile.

Cool that RS Performance are in your area and I’m sure they can set up those KWs properly. I didn’t fit them but I definitely think there’s some fettling to be done there.

Keep me posted and have fun 👍🏼

 

[DanceMonkey]

Thanks will do 👍

 

[DanceMonkey]

Oh one quick thing, has the car been ceramic coated to your knowledge? The paintwork is beading extremely well and very smooth or is it just polished and/or waxed? I don't want to start using any products on a ceramic coated car for cleaning that will damage any coating. Thanks Paul

 

[Tomleech]

Oh one quick thing, has the car been ceramic coated to your knowledge? The paintwork is beading extremely well and very smooth or is it just polished and/or waxed? I don't want to start using any products on a ceramic coated car for cleaning that will damage any coating. Thanks Paul

It’s never had a ‘proper’ ceramic coating as far as I’m aware Paul. I used an Autoglym Rapid ceramic coating product about a year ago and since then it’s just been washed and finished off with Rapid Aqua wax from Autoglym. It has always beaded well but I’ve had it garaged 99% of the time and I rarely used it in anything other than perfectly dry conditions 👍🏼

 

[DanceMonkey]

Thanks Tom, I've had enough experience with ceramic coatings to know that the worst thing I could do was start using polish on a coated car so just wanted to be on the safe side. I've usually had Gyeon or IGL professionally applied but a good polish and wax can be easier to deal with if a car picks up a mark.

Appreciate the reply once again👍 . First chance to drive it since it was delivered to me and I have to say it drives really well, front end is really positive on turn in and compared to previous RS200 FF it picks up nicely from low revs, maybe a weight thing compared to a 200 with the flip side being a 200 pulls harder at the top end.

I've got it booked in at RS Performance for a health check on Monday and see if anything might need checking over and get some advice about the rear damper settings.