Just bought 172 - Advice!!

[danjacko25]

Hey all,
Well today I found a 172 and I've placed a deposit on it whislt I get the rest of the cash together to go collect later next week! I have a few questions you guys should be able to help me with.
The car has a FSH, first 50% is renault the rest isn't. The car has just hit 69k and has not has a cambelt change so when should I get this done? Now or nearer 72k? And should I take it to a renault garage or specialist or are most garages okay with it? Also what else should I do to it? Should I give it a full service myself?
The other thing I'm not sure about is the alarm/immobiliser. I didn't thoroughly check everything basically because I was really excited. Could it be an import and not have one fitted? Are there any other tell tale signs I should look at? I've bought it for 6k from a dealership near stamford and they seemed really reasonable. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!
Dan.

 

[mij29]

If you have had it from a dealer tell them you want a cam belt and a service then enjoy!

 

[danjacko25]

Well when I went in to buy it, I told the guy the cambelt was my main concern and he called a mechanic and he said it will take 2.2hrs to do the work and £50 worth parts so it's a £150 job max? I stressed it was a concern but he didn't seem to want to get it done for me but I didn't wanna leave the car beacuse other ppl were there looking at the car as I spoke to him! Is it worth calling and asking for him to do it even tho we already agreed on a deal?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

The plugs and cambelt are due to be changed at 72k and it costs big bucks for the belt , i'd at least get the cambelt done asap .

They all have a factory fitted immobiliser as standard even imports , imports don't have an alarm fitted as standard , most will have an aftermarket alarm .

I have an import and my led for the alarm is on the dash , i think that uk cars have the led down near the gear stick . Check on the A pillars for the alarm sensors .

 

[mij29]

mate, if he won't do it then walk away, it's got to be done sooner or later so get it done for nothin or ask a main dealer how much and tell him if he wont do it then knock what ever it's goin to cost you off the price. I don't know how much it is up for but i paid 7k for mine with full reno service with 18k on the clock. Dont rush in to it, have a look around. I was lookin for about3months and droped on a minter, there are plenty out there.

 

[Dan@SJM]

its 6hrs book time. and the belts is about £150

 

[danjacko25]

Okay, so the alarm/immobilisor thing shouldn't be a problem cos no matter what it should have something there and that shouldn't affect my insurance should it? I can't remember seeing an LED near the gear stick nor anywhere else.
The guy who sold me it reckoned 100-150 for a cambelt and I knew this was wayyyy too low but don't know why I didn't say anything? I've already given a deposit tho so I'm not sure what to do? Should I call him and say I've had a cambelt quote and it's like 400 and tell him I want it doing or the money knocking off?
The car can be found here :- http://www.dcmotorgroup.co.uk/16442/dccarsltd.htm

 

[TheCake]

Get them to do the cambelt change and pay him £150

 

[ant]

6k and 69000 miles????

ouch!

 

[danjacko25]

It might have 69k on the clock but you can't notice, it's in great condition and I've been told this isn't a particularly high mileage anyway. I might've paid a little more for it but I felt more confident at a dealer knowing I have something to fall back on and it's a mint car. I just need to get a cambelt out of them!! Is the rest of the servicing easy to do myself? ie plugs? I have a 1.2 dynamique 51 plate and usually do all the work on that myself but I assume the 172 it much different.

 

[mij29]

It's an import, no LED by the gear stick. Not a problem though, just check to see if you can get insured ok. Nice colour.
Just get the cambelt done either way, if it goes it will cost you a lot more than £150.

 

[danjacko25]

I'll be making a call about the cambelt tomorrow then! So what defines an import? If it's a right hand drive? Sorry if that's a stupid question. I've heard imported cars have a lot of problems because they are not set up for the UK? Is this true? Or a rumour? I've got some insurance quotes on the net and they're all coming up ok?

 

[Brasseye]

As you are paying a top price you should ask for the cam belt and pulleys to be changed..
best luck

 

[edde]

Shop round thats overpriced have a look on the trader its more overpriced if its an import.

There a better choice there a 2003/53 model from a dealer with 75k on and its up for £5990.
If you accept a few more miles (abou 90k worth ) you cna get them for under £5k from a dealer.

or get a phase 1 for £3~4k.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

You won't have any problem insuring it if it is an import , its the same car as the UK spec cars with the exception of having no alarm , no locking wheel nuts and no etched windows .

Its only when a car is a grey or parallel import when the insurance might cost a bit more as they are not UK spec cars , i.e from Japan .

Like edde says . Look round mate , try autotrader .

 

[ChrisR]

The full cam belt kit is £120 from Renault so if they are saying parts are £50 or so then they are just changing the belt, not the tensioners or whatever else is included in the kit

Expect a specialist to charge around £300 for a belt change with full cam kit.

 

[ukjohnny]

I'm kinda a newbie to all this but ill put my view across anyway, I've had my 172 for 5 weeks now and i couldn't have found a better car.
£5600 51 plate 20k on the clock look after and all round nice car, It took me over 2 month to find the right one. I must have gone 1000 miles looking for a decent 172 and viewing about 10 of them.

If the guy at garage refuses to do the belt walk away and view another take your time when spending your hard earned cash

 

[phildebdom3]

Tell the dealer you want the belt changing or you'll go elsewhere,see how much bottle he has when you threaten to walk away.You will find one like i did in mint condition,32k miles,51 plate, paid £6000.

 

[danjacko25]

Thanks for all the advice. I have honestly shopped around, this isn't the first one I've jumped on. I'm in Hull and I've been buying Auto Trader every week but when there is one in there, it's gone even before I call! I've looked at quite a few and this one by far looked the best, drove well and has no suspicious sounds. I'm no expert on 172's so there could be faults but I couldn't find anything major. I managed to find this one on Auto Trader searching nationally and found this one near peterborough.
So in your opinions would you say this will be a good car as long as I get a cam belt/set changed inclusive of the price I am paying? Once this is done the mileage shouldn't be a problem should it?
Cheers!
Dan.

PS Anyone got any good insureres for a 22 yr old?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Hard to say if its a good car from just a description . The mileage shouldn't be a problem but i would still look around for one with lower mileage myself .

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WW...urce=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH

Check out the cars for sale on here also .

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=161474

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....earch.dll?from=R40&satitle=330019262583&fvi=1

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=161250

As for insurance for a 22 year old its going to be alot . Your personal circumstances determine alot . i.e postcode , experience , ncb etc ......

Try :

http://www.adrianflux.co.uk/?gclid=CKHRl6vk7YYCFR-CQgodV1RmCg

http://www.ashbourneinsurance.co.uk/

http://www.greenlightinsurance.com/index.php?Referrer=

http://www.norwichunion.com/nud/index.htm?barea=nud-generic&source=ZVU8

http://www.quotezone.co.uk/

Just phone as many as you can , the difference in quotes will be amazing . Look in the back of Max power for more .

Good luck mate

 

[danjacko25]

Sorry if it's a bit off topic for this forum -
I've tried most of them and they're all around 1200 but I got my current insurer - Churchill to quote me at 1k which I thought was ok. I just hope I get my 3yrs ncb back once this stupid guy claiming against me clears off. That knocks a futher 300 off!
I see what u mean about some cheaper examples on the Trader but I'm being picky, I want either a red or blue 172, not cup and with no modifications. I've found it hard to find anything under 6000k and most seem to have a higher mileage. Plus there's a limit to how far I want to travel - living in Hull is quite annoying!

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I think you'll probably find £1000 isn't to bad for your age . There's lots of silver ones , red and blue are harder to come by . I know what you mean about travelling to find a good one , i travelled well over 1500 miles when i looked for a good valver years ago , in the end i gave up and bought a pug 306 cos they were all crap .

 

[danjacko25]

Yeah i didn't think 1000 was too bad for my age really. it'd be like 600 if I hadn't lost those nc's! Well I've called the garage today and he's going to get in touch with his mechanics to do all the cambelt work before I pick it up which sounds promising. Will find out more tomorrow and post!