I’m £2,000 down, but

[Landyman]

......Got the Clio back from Birchdown and it’s a lot better.....
Silent gearbox
And the first time l pressed the clutch my foot nearly went through the floor, it’s so light
And the engine is so much smoother no kangarooing in traffic, must have been because the timing was out, as they didn’t do anything else to it
(They said the timing was out)
And the aircon is a lot better, it did work after l had it regarded but struggled to cool the car in this hot weather but now it is properly cold (new condenser fitted)
The climate control actually works, it doesn’t just sit there with the fan on full trying to cool the car.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

It's nice getting niggles fixed!

 

[Stay Puft]

What cost £2k? Gearbox, belts and a/c? Ouch!

 

[Danith]

But so worth it by the sounds of it. Birchdown still going strong then? My cup went there about 10 years ago

 

[Rojer]

I'm so lucky to have working air con in my daily! Had too many years of suffering without it in previous cars. Money well spent by the sounds of it.

 

[JamesBryan]

Light clutch won't last long haha

 

[davo172]

But so worth it by the sounds of it. Birchdown still going strong then? My cup went there about 10 years ago

The longest running trader mentioned on here iirc
That says a lot! thing is they never post up either promoting themselves also says a lot! maybe if you are genuinely good at what you do you don't need too!??

 

[Danith]

The longest running trader mentioned on here iirc
That says a lot! thing is they never post up either promoting themselves also says a lot! maybe if you are genuinely good at what you do you don't need too!??

True dat, 100%

Still a mad little garage, not what I expected when I turned up ha. Good of them to lend me their van rather than wander around the wilderness

 

[imprezaworks]

Steve and Andy are spot on, very friendly.

What cost £2000?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Nice to hear your cars back to full health . The guys @Birchdown are spot on . No BS , they just work their magic . @davo172 You're right , they don't need to promote themselves because they're always busy . Word of mouth is promotion enough .

 

[bloke]

Don't tell people they have a light clutch and a smooth idle, that will cause mayhem!!!

 

[R3k1355]

Steve and Andy are spot on, very friendly.

What cost £2000?

Sounds like a recon gearbox, new clutch, adjust cam timing, new AC condensor and a regas

 

[Short Norman]

light clutch you say, where can I get one?

 

[JamesBryan]

light clutch you say, where can I get one?

Fit a new one and then it'll stay light for about 5000 miles ?

 

[bloke]

Should get around 50,000 miles before it starts getting heavier

 

[Landyman]

What cost £2k? Gearbox, belts and a/c? Ouch!

Gearbox overhauled (they said it was pretty bad, needed a main shaft), new driveshafts, new clutch, cam belt kit, water pump, aircon condenser and re gas, engine oil change

 

[JamesBryan]

Should get around 50,000 miles before it starts getting heavier

Mines definitely heavier than when it was first done. Certainly not as heavy as some I've driven though.

 

[Mavez]

The only thing heavier than a Clio clutch is yo mamma!

 

[Landyman]

Well my wallet is even lighter than the clutch in my Clio now!!
But l think the car was worth it, should be good for a few years.
Worth thinking about...plenty of £2,000 182’s for sale but most will be due a fair bit of catch-up maintenance.
My cam belt wasn’t actually due until next year but l decided to get it done, and the clutch was fine just very heavy.
I’m glad l got the cam belt done as the car is so much better to drive in traffic without having to balance it on the clutch to stop it kangarooing in the low gears.

 

[Short Norman]

out of interest how much did it cost to have the new clutch fitted.

 

[Landyman]

I don’t know, as the gearbox was out anyway l don’t think there was much labour just the parts.
The clutch kit was around £100

The gearbox repair was the stinker, it was worse than they thought “one of the worst they have seen” (although it worked fine just noisy)
The repair cost £440+VAT and then there was £60+VAT for carriage to and from the repairers.
Their other gearbox repairers wanted £900! So they told me anyway. The gearbox went to
Agency Transmissions
I’ll copy the invoice on to here if people want a cost breakdown.
I tried four local garages first. Two didn’t want the job, one quoted “up to £1,000 depending on what we find” just for the cam belt dephaser etc and the other one wouldn’t quote “we need to strip it first”

I considered getting a used gearbox but Birchdown said you don’t know the condition it could be worse than yours.

 

[JamesBryan]

out of interest how much did it cost to have the new clutch fitted.

£200 is about the going rate for labour cost.

 

[joe_112]

I don’t know, as the gearbox was out anyway l don’t think there was much labour just the parts.
The clutch kit was around £100

The gearbox repair was the stinker, it was worse than they thought “one of the worst they have seen” (although it worked fine just noisy)
The repair cost £440+VAT and then there was £60+VAT for carriage to and from the repairers.
Their other gearbox repairers wanted £900! So they told me anyway. The gearbox went to
Agency Transmissions
I’ll copy the invoice on to here if people want a cost breakdown.
I tried four local garages first. Two didn’t want the job, one quoted “up to £1,000 depending on what we find” just for the cam belt dephaser etc and the other one wouldn’t quote “we need to strip it first”

I considered getting a used gearbox but Birchdown said you don’t know the condition it could be worse than yours.

Tbh Agency are normally spot on. And always price well. Done about 3/4 boxes over the years and no issues with any of them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[STEVE.M]

Well my wallet is even lighter than the clutch in my Clio now!!
But l think the car was worth it, should be good for a few years.
Worth thinking about...plenty of £2,000 182’s for sale but most will be due a fair bit of catch-up maintenance.
My cam belt wasn’t actually due until next year but l decided to get it done, and the clutch was fine just very heavy.
I’m glad l got the cam belt done as the car is so much better to drive in traffic without having to balance it on the clutch to stop it kangarooing in the low gears.

The shame is you paid £2k too much for a shiny nail.

I`ve done 4,000 faultless miles in 3 months as I`ve spent money where it matters.

Next up is replacement of injectors, crank sensor, HT leads, O2 sensors, plugs & coil pack.

Pre emptive maintainace is the key.

 

[Landyman]

I looked at eight in the £2000 range and they all needed some work, to be expected after 14+years.
Even the 22,000 miler at £6000 needed £1,000.
I looked at one for £4,000 that had rippled rear wings and several in the £2-2500 range needing cam belts. All had heavy clutches except the one at £3,000

The only real bargain was a great looking 182 in Liverpool at £1300 with recent cam belt, wheels, and very clean, but there was just something fishy about it that l couldn’t put my finger on.

I am not sure l agree that l bought a “shiny nail” though!!
Although l ended up spending more on the car than l expected. The only real fault was the gearbox, making it a £3500 car.

As l said, the clutch was OK just heavy and the cam belt was not due for another year or two.

But l guess there is always a better one for sale after you have paid your money out.
I’ve been offered £700 for the number plate on this one. l think it will stay on the car.

 

[Louis]

But now you'll have a car you know is sorted both underneath and on top. Shiny nail? Lol.

They're old clios...

 

[Goodj]

They are old cars now, really. As said.
If someone wants a good one, it's going to cost, one way or another.

 

[JamesBryan]

The chance to buy a good one for cheap has passed now.

It was 5 years ago when i bought mine for £1800.

The only things it has needed in that time (excluding cambelt/service parts) is a power steering pump and an alternator.

 

[Louis]

The chance to buy a good one for cheap has passed now.

It was 5 years ago when i bought mine for £1800.

The only things it has needed in that time (excluding cambelt/service parts) is a power steering pump and an alternator.

Mine was a similar bargain at 1.2k, but then I've ploughed more into it, not because it needed it but because fun.

 

[JamesBryan]

Mine was a similar bargain at 1.2k, but then I've ploughed more into it, not because it needed it but because fun.

Was yours standard when you got it?

Mine already had coilovers, exhaust and 2118's.

 

[Louis]

Was yours standard when you got it?

Mine already had coilovers, exhaust and 2118's.

You got a real bargain then! Yeah kinda standard. Had some things but not a lot

 

[JamesBryan]

You got a real bargain then! Yeah kinda standard. Had some things but not a lot

Yeah mega bargain. Lucky really, it was up for sale on here and within minutes there was people offering to buy it without even seeing it. I knew the guy's brother so persuaded him to hold off until i could get over to see it and he did.