Have I done something stupid here? Opinions please

[Chesh]

Hi guys,

Today I bought a Titanium ph1 172 on 167k miles for £700.

The problems that have arisen in the 70 miles or so I have travelled today are as follows:

Immediate problems
- Gearbox
The gearbox whines and makes a loud knocking noise in first. It is also present in second and third but not until higher up the rev range. As far as I could hear it is not present in fourth and fifth. The speedo does not work and I was told this is because the gearbox does not have a speedo sender. Also has the problem of idling high and revving itself, had this on my mk1 when my speedo cable went so I'm putting this down to the lack of speedo signal.

- Stop light
The stop light is always on. I have been told this is because of the lack of speedo sender, is this likely?

- Steering
The tracking is absolutely days out, which im hoping will be sorted with an alignment so is not too worrying at the moment. What is more worrying is the noises it makes when I'm turning. Some clunking noises and feelings through the steering wheel arent too confidence inspiring.

Other issues
- Cambelt
Looked in the Renault service history booklet and it looks like the cambelt was changed at 140k miles. So sounds like it's due one now.

- Central locking
The central locking works neither with the remote keyfob nor the key in the door. It will lock itself via the button on the centre console, but of course you have to be inside the car to do this and then open the door to get out, which in turn unlocks all the doors! So if i want to leave the car locked I have to go round every door and lock it manually with the key.
Seems like a strange problem seeing as the locks are obviously receiving a lock and unlock signal from the button but not otherwise. Any ideas?

I am worried after getting the car home that I have made a booboo and have bought a car that I am not going to be able to A) drive properly without spending s**te loads of money on it or B) sell on without spending s**te loads of money on it.

I am not particularly interested in taking on another large project as I still have my mk1 on the go. Don't mind doing bits and bobs, changing the gearbox over for example but I have had a look at prices and they seem to vary greatly for 172 gearboxes, how much should I vaguely be looking to pay for a jc5? I was worried about the engine being too far gone to be reliable enough to drive hard but after looking through the projects section there are a few track cars with similar or more miles so thats a slight weight off my mind. What sort of mileage do the majority of 172s live for?

There are a number of good points going for the car:
Engine does seem to pull and respond well, apart from the idling problem which is really annoying!
The interior is in very good condition, has the half leather and alcantara upholstery and seats, is this a ph2 interior?
Its a 172!
There is quite a large service history.
New tyres

Basically what I want to know is peoples thoughts on whether I've bought a dog or not and how much I should be looking to spend on ESSENTIALS only to get it working as it should. I will be working on it myself, apart from maybe cambelt if it is absolutely necessary as I hear the procedure for doing it is a bit strange on these cars?

Cheers

 

[Moz168]

Sorry but what did you expect for £700...

IIRC the speedo sender cable does go in the gearbox on a 172 but not on the 182.
Dunno about the knocking, probs be easier to swap it out for another.

Central locking, try changing the battery in the fob.

Cambelt, change it if you intend on keeping it or selling the engine. The 'strange procedure' is special locking tools, which are a few hundred quid as they are, take it to a specialist near by. Cant think of any in your area, although Im sure someone will be along soon to recommend a good place.
Renault engines tend to be solid if they're looked after.


Or just break it and make a bit of profit?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I hate to say this but - you get what you pay for.

£700 is the bottom rung of the RS clio market im afraid and from what i understand it, you have yourself a bargain. Id be looking at sorting all the issues and keeping it. If the engine's okay then i wouldnt worry. Religious servicing should see these run without fault.

The cambelts are an absolute must on the F4R. They should not be done without Renault cam locking tools..

 

[Chesh]

I'm not disputing £700 is a good price.

By the sounds of it then i dont have too much to worry about

How much should I be looking to pay for a cambelt change?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Anywhere from 700+ from a main dealer.

Specialists should be around 500

 

[mark123]

You don't need a cambelt if it was changed at 140k unless it was over 5 years ago?

 

[Fletcher]

I've just had my given my gearbox a re-con. Agency Transmissions did for just over £300 inc VAT.

As Mark said the cambelt won't need doing until it reaches 212k! unless 5 years has pasted since the last cambelt change.

I'd take it to Ren-tech (Porstsmouth) or K-tec (Verwood).

 

[Greeny.]

Did you not take it out on a test drive?!

 

[Scott™]

Sounds like you bought a right shitter tbh. It all depends when you buy a car on the cheap whether the repair items cost less than that of the same car but in good to average condition.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Sell it for parts ?

Engine might get £150 due to age ?

Gearbox £50
Wheels with good tyres (assiming OK condition original F1s) £2/300 ?

Doors, bonnet (aluminium?), bootlid, bumpers, £50-100 each ?

Interiors go for anywhere upto £200.....

Headlights, £50 ? Rear lights, £50 ?

Quick calculations there, you're into the black and thats not including rear beam, brakes, suspension, steering wheel, misc stuff under the bonnet etc etc.

 

[dciRon]

Sell it for parts ?

Engine might get £150 due to age ?

Gearbox £50
Wheels with good tyres (assiming OK condition original F1s) £2/300 ?

Doors, bonnet (aluminium?), bootlid, bumpers, £50-100 each ?

Interiors go for anywhere upto £200.....

Headlights, £50 ? Rear lights, £50 ?

Quick calculations there, you're into the black and thats not including rear beam, brakes, suspension, steering wheel, misc stuff under the bonnet etc etc.

+1.
Break it, maybe make a mild profit & put it down to experiance?

The bodywork & bumpers will sell well at the mo anyways!

 

[sportline]

Theres no doubt about it. You bought a shitter. It sounds like the gearbox is about to go. Thats going to cost between 300 and 500 quid. If you think it needs the belts its another 500. sounds like theres something majorly wrong with the steering. By the time thats fixed and youve had the alignment done, best case £100 worst case £300 then your up to nice car money.
The fact is you can go and buy a car that works well and has been looked after for £700, So buying one thats fucked is a bad plan. The biggest problem with hot hatches is the way they get treated (very badly). So if you want one its really worth finding a nice one with no problems. Spending 700 on a piece of tat with a list of problems, you shouldnt need forum help to know thats daft.

 

[Chesh]

Does anyone know if the stop light is likely to be because of the lack of speedo sender from the gearbox?

 

[jack_kemp]

My speedo sensor is broken, but I don't have a stop light.

 

[SimonR.]

I would have thought the stop light was something to do with the handbrake sensor.

As the saying goes, no point polishing a turd.

Should be able to break it and make atleast your money back on parts

 

[jack_kemp]

Shotgun airbox.

 

[Rob]

Right, as said, you could EASILY break the car and make your money back. Infact I'd give you £600 for it tomorrow

The central locking:

Renault CL doesn't work with the key in the door, i.e the actual locks aren't armed to trigger the CL, the only thing that is being the keyfob.

So you've either got a knackard key, or it just needs a new battery.

When you open it up to replace the battery, if there's anything loose in there, it's time to get the soldering iron out.

Simples.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Right well besides form the uber cheap price, and the fact it needs belts. Your diff bearing has gone and so has your dog bone mount (more than likely)

£700 is a ridiculous price for one of these it'd be rare as rocking horse s**t for it to be anything other than a shed!

It'll probably cost you the best part of 1k setting it right. (Before anything else goes on it that is. )


Or if you have no lust or love for a project just break it or sell it as said

 

[Chesh]

What makes you think the dogbone has gone? The engine doesn't move a great deal when revving. Diff bearing seems likely though. I'm not sure it would cost £1k to set right, I do my own work. It remains to be seen however.

Breaking does seem the obvious way to go but it's not fair on my neighbours. Me and my flat mate have 3 cars each, my mk1 Clio already being in pieces out the front. I think I will force myself to look deeper into the problems the car has over the Xmas days I have off work And then make a more informed decision about whether to keep it or not.

Oh btw the cambelt was done in 07 so doesn't need it until 2012 and auxiliary belt is new.

 

[Bigbird]

You didn't say, but didn't you test drive this first of all???? Surely if these faults had been identified on a test you wouldn't have bought it?? If so, why then complain about it on a public forum?!!!

Sounds like a daft buy to me.......

 

[Chesh]

oooooh hello! At what point was I complaining? And what other sort of forum am I going to 'complain' on? A private one? To myself? I want to know what people think of my purchase, what they would do in my position and how much I would be looking at to repair the problems.

No, I didn't test drive
Yes, i know that was stupid

Your last sentence is more the reply I was looking for.

 

[todd100]

sell for spares??

 

[Gally]

Yes.

 

[Revels]

Could be a bearing for the steering. Get the tracking done and take it from there.

Get another gearbox. If you've bought the one I'm thinking of, it came with a spare box?

Locking could just be a fuse. Tried a new battery in the remote?

Sounds like the handbrake cable is screwed. Does it hold? Or does it have to be near vertical?

Cambelt doesn't need doing yet.

 

[mantis946]

May have already been mentioned but the knocking is more than likely a mount
http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2517&appid=2

 

[Rob]

CL is not a fuse Rev's, as it works with the button in the car, try to fit a new battery to the key first mate, if not, take it to someone who deals with small electrical boards etc and get them to repair any dead solders within it.

Should work like a charm.

 

[mantis946]

Also for the dead CL I know on this model the position of the aerial lets water in on the board for the CL, you can pop off the roof plastic and remove the board and clean it with IPA (There should be white stuff on the board) and it should be good

 

[Ronnie R]

I would break it. Do you really want to be fixing a cheap car that you paid £700 for?

 

[dciRon]

Dude - why didnt you sort out the OTHER 3 cars you have before buying another?? Or are they all fubar as well??!!

 

[Chesh]

Dude - why didnt you sort out the OTHER 3 cars you have before buying another?? Or are they all fubar as well??!!

lol I know i should, its only two other cars though, this is the third. My mk1 is very much an ongoing thing which has been off the road for a year, and i fancied a change from the mx5 so got this.
Went out in the mx5 last night though and realised i just need a car that works.

Chances are i will just be getting rid of this, will look into it over the days i have off over xmas and see whether i can find the motivation and time to do things.