Lemon or Jemmin?

[wannabe172]

Evening all, new to the forum and as u have no doubt already guessed, looking for advice Aren't we all when we first join a forum? Anyway, I'm sick of admiring the Clio 172 from afar and have decided I must purchase one. Time is not on my side however as the mrs goes back to work soon and we need a second car. I test drove a one-owner, low mileage (no service history though) one today but assume the guy coming to view at my back made a better offer. This has only whetted my appetite to find an even better one! I had an R5 GTT a few years back, I loved her but more often than not, she gave me nothing but grief :dapprove: so I'm probably over-cautious when it comes to buying French pocket rockets (once burned..).

Budget: £1600 (possibly stretching to £1800 depending on whats on offer) - Can it be done?

I've got my eye on a Clio 172 a few miles away but its due an MoT next month and has had 8 owners over its 95k miles (2002 model). He has some history and some receipts. Belt was done around 70k (ish) so guessing an average 10k a year miles may still have a couple of years life left? Advertised for bang on budget. I know I obviously won't know until I view it but always appreciate advice from those in the know, any advice at all?

Sorry for the long winded post and another shameless plea for help - I've read many threads on this board but it's always nice to chat to people with experience and who may be able to point me in the direction of getting a well maintained example.

Now that my shameless plea for help is over, I'd be interested to here some of your stories about owning and maintaining your cars - reliability, running cost etc (especially from higher mileage owners as it seems that's all my budget will allow).

 

[R-Sport.]

Welcome-

budget is a bit thin - but can be done on a silver or monaco blue 172- maybe even black.

best of luck. If your local to london I have a PX 172 in next weekend if you need a test drive & some info.

Steve

 

[wannabe172]

Thanks for the reply, Steve. I feared I was being a bit hopeful with the budget. I'm in Glasgow so quite a bit away unfortunately but thanks very much for the offer, much appreciated!

 

[Clart]

It can be done easily. Be prepared to wait though.

 

[wannabe172]

Yeah? Time is against me here unfortunately but I'll keep my eyes peeled on here and the usual other sources just in case. Thanks for the advice.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Welcome along mate, sub 2k 172's come up all the time, i wouldn't limit yourself to just Scotland mate - i went to leeds for my cup, totally worth it!

Where are you in glasgow pal?

 

[Filippo]

I'm looking at selling my 172 for £1900. Mines a black 02 172. Belts done last year, clutch done last year, new sump, new radiator (yesterday), 12 months Mot, 79000miles. Outside is great bar a few kerbs. Inside is perfect bar a couple of marks on the alacantra. 10 previous owners. 3 of those are friends of mine, the last being a mechanic. The car has been well looked after. I'm in Leeds if you want a look.

 

[wannabe172]

I'm just outside Glasgow in Paisley. Where are u mate? Did it take u a while to find the right car? It's just convincing someone to take the 8-9 hour round trip and possibly coming back empty handed. I've seen a few for under £2k but it's just finding the right one. I'd hate to jump on one for the sake of it and have nothing but problems. That's what I did with my old R5 so I'm probably over cautious now.

Sounds good Filippo, how much was a new clutch out of curiosity? I've read about clutches/gearboxes failing around the mileage I'll be looking at with my budget? 4 hours down to Leeds but I wouldn't rule it out for the right car.

 

[wannabe172]

Did you buy yours off someone on here Danny?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I never mate no, i've had four RS Clio's and never bought any of them from here! One from Piston Heads one from Arnold Clark and the other two from gumtree!

I tend to keep adverts to myself, you don't know who else is looking for the same thing you are

I'm Penilee mate, just along the road from yourself!

 

[adi-kty-172]

i picked mine up last week for 1550 pound :race: its a 53 plate fsh with built in satnav its a i have had to put a new radiator in as old one had a pin hole in it other than that so far so good no knocks rattles etc... its a buyers market at the moment to be afraid to barter

 

[wannabe172]

Aye like 10 minutes away haha! How have u found the reliability, running cost and maintenance over the 4 cars? Have some been much better than others?

 

[wannabe172]

Sounds like a good buy! Service history is important to me. Buying a car like a 172 u expect it to be thrashed but want to know its also been looked after.

 

[wannabe172]

Youse got pics of your cars on here?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Running cost's aren't that bad mate, not atleast for what they offer in terms of performance.

Tax and insurance is probably the biggest outlay outwith the dreaded cambelt change which from a specialist is circa £450-£550. (There is a place in Hillington estate that do this btw, Kenny Brown motorsport's?)

The fuel economy is fantastic, my 182 was every so slightly worse on fuel than the three 172's i've had, negligible but still noticeable! In my Cup at the moment i'm getting 35mpg which let's face it is damn good going for a 2.0l performance petrol engine!

Reliability has been fine, i've never broke down anywhere (touch wood) although had the odd electrical gremlin but to be fair you get used to it and are able to diagnose the problems fairly quickly. They are cheap to fix if they do break due to the sheer volume of parts available on here new and second hand, the guide section has helped me out numerous times and saved me a fortune. The specialist's on here are very helpful if it does break, someone's had the problems before!

Apart from the belt changes being kept on top of the F4R is reliable, my 172 Exclusive i just got rid of had 126k on it and still ran absolutley fine. Engine was as strong as ever.

Here's a few pictures of the previous chariots;

And the current whip;

The chairs are pretty good aswell

 

[wannabe172]

Those all look amazing mate! Fills me with envy just looking at them lol. Yeah performance for the money is unbelievable! Good to know there's a decent garage nearby, that was another of my concerns after reading some posts about belts going after being done by locals. I do a fair number of miles (27 miles each way to work) but mostly motorway then short trips at the weekend so the decent mpg return for the performance is another major selling point for me. I've maybe got another 3-4 weeks before I will urgently need a car so that's my deadline to find the perfect 172 for me. Fingers crossed or I'll end up with something just for the sake of it.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I'm 25 miles to work aswell mate, i work at Gourock so about the same as yourself, always used the Clios for the commute, not the best motorway cruiser's but they do the job!

 

[Emma.]

Seat wh0re

Ive seen a fair few for sale within your budget recently. I think there was a 182 for £1500 too.

 

[wannabe172]

PM'd for advice Danny..

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Coby's 182, that sold relativley cheap!

 

[wannabe172]

Seems to be 172's coming up within my budget every day. Just need to get off my a*se and go find the right one instead of sitting looking at them and reading the same ads over and over and over.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Cheap enough if you know where to look mate!

 

[wannabe172]

Yeah it's good to know my budget doesn't rule out a 172 Now finding the right one for my money on the other hand... Probably be looking to get the belts done straight away based on some of the horror stories I've read on here so this would reduce my budget (unless proof is there that it's been done recently and by a garage who knows what they're doing)

Lets make a checklist;

FSH (inc. belts)
No. of owners
Mileage
Standard
Phase 2

 

[Nadine]

My phase 2 172 could be had for £1800. I can pm you details if interested?

 

[wannabe172]

Yeah PM me the details thanks.