Is It Worth It!!!!!!!!!!!

[admob]

i have read a lot of niggly problems about 172s, i know they are built in a different factory from the main cars, everyone seems to have something go wrong, apart from a few who have said they drive steady and everything is fine, is it just a case of pot luck, or the more you thrash them, the more they go wrong. I am moving from a fiat brava, before you laugh, it has given me 60000miles of hassle free motoring, one dealer trip to fix an ecu (design fault) and thats it, i happily lived with any slight rattles but on the whole it was a joy to have, it does seem however that the 172s are in the TVr catagory i.e. spend half of their life at the dealers.... after 2 test drives I was blown away by the experience, but is it more a weekend car, or will it cruise up the motorway every day .. the clio scores 9th out of 120 cars on reliability in the current which servey on breakdowns, so it does seem that any faults will not leave you stranded at the roadside, more a case of driving down to the dealer and getting a liveable problem sorted... so the question is.. does anyone actually regret buying a 172 or are they as much fun as I hope it will be. answers from experienced owners very well appreciated...

cheers in advance

adam b.

 

[stevo20]

hey fella,

i love my 172 ive posted a few concerns about the build of the car myself but thats only me being picky, the car drive fantasically well i have to admit that i have ragged the car but i found that it loves it, i drive 40 miles to work everyday in it and enjoy every second of it, it truly is a fun car to drive and the performance is there if you need it, youll love the car mate, the only problems youll have are the dealers but hopefully you wont have to visit them.

they look sporty, they are sporty with a touch of class and when you see one pass you notice them, thats all you need really innit!

 

[RPM]

Mine has done 35k now and the only problem i have had is the "knocking under acceleration", otherwise it has been perfect. It doesnt even rattle.

 

[Viv172]

Ive had mine for 9 months and absolutely love it!!

The problems have been small niggles rather than big one’s, the only thing that gets me down about owning a 172 are dealers inability to order the correct parts the first time and the long wait for other parts...then the high costs of servicing etc... and thats from a good dealer compared to some of the stories you hear on here..

I would have another 172 in a flash and when my warranty is up, I can pick and choose a garage. Oh, and Ive never been so picky about parking spots ever!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jonnyboy]

Im well happy with the 172. I drive it hard and I think if you do drive hard you can expect problems (thats not really rennos fault to a certain extent) I had a fiat bravo actually before the clio and yes they are superb cars (driving position is ACE) but the 172 is a different beast. If you drive it steady then yeah youll have no probs but its impossible to drive it steady hehehehe. Ive had mine 6 months and its running unevenly on tickover at the moment which is the only real problem (exclusing build quality issues!) Ive had with it so far.

I think they will stand the test of time as the Mk1s seem to be doing ok at 3/4 years old now.

 

[VX-Tony]

They do break down, as mine has twice - both know problems so new ones shouldnt have those issues. Wouldnt change it, love it!

 

[Liftnub]

Not an experienced 172 owner (got mine last week). However before I owned this I owned a Corsa Sport 1.6. From day one this had lots of minor (and one major) problems, like fabric hooks falling out of the drivers seat, a door weather seal that kept falling off, it had to be reatached every month at the dealers, the wheel arch trims warped in the summer sun, the bulbs in the dash board kept failing, and most importantly the clutch would wear out very quickly (in the two years I owned it, I had about 7 clutches). In total the car was in the garage for 8 weeks out of the 104 weeks I owned it.

There was one time one of the gear linkages snapped at 70 mph on approach to a roundabout, I lost 1st and 2nd gear, and then the gear stick became detached (this was about 15 minutes after picking it up from having one of its new clutches fitted). There was another time, after changing the clutch, the garage forgot to put the cap back on some oil resivoir and my car leaked red oil all day before someone pointed it out to me.

Anyway, my point is that despite all these problems I dont regret owning the car, it was fast, reasonably agile and fun to drive. I suppose what I am saying is that the amount of stuff that goes wrong with a car, that you can put up with, is proportional to how much fun it is to drive. Since the 172 is such a hoot a lot has got to go wrong before you get annoyed.

 

[BrynO]

Built on a different factory? didnt know that.

Anyway, I bought my other half a 3 year old Mk1 172 with 38k a couple of months ago. Can tell you that it starts on the button even stops and everything works on it and it has no squeeks, rattles or vibrations - should I be concerned?

IMO the 172 seems to be no better or worse than anything else you will find for the money, bear in mind that the majority of what you read on here are people sharing there problems (and as some one has said before), there are thousands of Clios out there being happily driven every day with no worries.

If you enjoyed the drive, go for it.

 

[jpmad4it2]

nice, fast & sexy car. Lots of annoying build quality and steering problems for me. gonna get em sorted though. And when i do i will love it even more.

 

[sjd172]

sell sell sell

 

[® Andy]

From what I read does seem like the quality of 172/Cups is on a downward trend. Ive got a late-ish Mk1 172 with 28k on it and apart from the odd rattle its been faultless during the year Ive had it (<quickly edited to add> - touch wood, touch wood). Dont know if the owner before had any problems ... reckon not from the service history.

So reckon the very first ones had problems ... ironed those out in the middle ones ... but now that theyre growing in popularity with the Cup etc. they cant keep up with demand and quality is dropping!?

 

[GPRIM]

only problems i have had is paperwork issues about cars origin and the 4k rattle oh and the alarm. no squeeks or rattles touch wood. superb to drive and i just love going onto motorways and dual carriageways always have to slow down to get on them tis great

 

[Moogwai5]

Ive owned my 03 172 for about 4 months now - has just over 4k on the clock and I still think its great, Ive had no real trouble from it and drive 40 miles to work and back - mixture of motorway and stop start A roads. Plus having the climate control over the last few monthsa has been a god send.

 

[Rich-D]

Even though my 2 month old Cup has had a few niggly problems, I still enjoy driving it and its all warranty covered anyway...

 

[viceroy]

my speedo stopped working, the 4k rattle was caused by the plastic engine cover (which Ive removed now), very minor little rattles, the only big rattle was caused by the new stereo I installed but I sorted that out quickly myself.

The car has served me well for 20,000km (almost a year of ownership) and i still love it to bits, plus when I take it to VW club meetings everyone compliments me on the car...I love it to bits

 

[cliosportshk]

Quote: Originally posted by RPM on 17 September 2003


Mine has done 35k now and the only problem i have had is the "knocking under acceleration", otherwise it has been perfect. It doesnt even rattle.

Hey, mines doing that too, any ideas what it might be? Ive heard it could either be the downpipe hitting the steering rack or the lower arm bushes / engine mounts have had it...