NEW MEMBER - Not quite! Re-Joining?....Maybe

[MrRed32]

Hi all,

I was a semi-active member (paid membership as it's so worth it for the guides alone!) of this forum quite some time ago when I had my 172 back in 2010.

Since then I moved on to a 197 and then it happened...I went all VAG getting a Mk6 Golf GTI and then a Mk7 Golf GTD (Distance travelling to work increased so a diesel was needed). Now i get the train every day for work and have a Q7 as the family auto and thought it might be worth getting myself a little fun weekend car and what better than the nostalgia inducing 172! Even better a family friend is selling one and knows it only as "A fast and loud Clio". All good so far right?

So...got the paperwork last night and there are some good and bad points (2003).

The Good:

• Low-ish mileage example at 87k
• Price is fairly good at £950
• Exhaust components (cat back) were replaced in 2015
• Dreaded boot liner water ingress issue was experienced and resolved in 2016 (with wiring loom being dried out and repaired)
• Has had the powerflex engine mounts fitted
• New pads/discs in the last 5k
• Only covered around 10k in the last 4 years (could be good or bad)

The Bad:

• Timing belt and aux belts are due (big dollar job!)
• No history of dephaser being done (might as well do with the above)
• Service history stops abruptly in 2014 (unlikely to have had any TLC since then)
• Knocking in 2nd when coming to a stop (gearbox mounts?)
• A few scuffs and scratches representative of not really being looked after

Now i really want to restore this to it's former glory but don't want it turning into a money pit. Now i don't want to go all woes-me and start getting the "Shouldn't have bought a car you couldn't afford" milarky but i would prefer to be able to get out what i put into this car if nothing else. So if i buy for £950 and spend £550 restoring it to good health then I would want a nice £1500 at the end of the tunnel to look forward to (breaking even) even though I know these are a bit of a gamble at the moment.

What do you guys think? Am i wasting my time with what essentially would be a scrapper? I could do service items etc myself but all "professional" jobs would probably be making their way to Birchdown.

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

I’m pretty sure a well sorted 172 will be worth somewhere in the region of about £2k.

Welcome back btw 👍

 

[imprezaworks]

Welcome back. Id say if it stood you less than say 2k it would be worth doing. Fun car for little money.

What was the Golf gti and gtd like. Really like these.

 

[Clio182mike]

I think if you can get a car knowing all of the major bits are done for under or around £2k then it's worth it if you are going to hang on to it for a bit. Not worth the hassle if you do it all then sell on.

 

[MrRed32]

Welcome back. Id say if it stood you less than say 2k it would be worth doing. Fun car for little money.

What was the Golf gti and gtd like. Really like these.

The Mark 6 GTI (DSG) was awesome mate. Not quite as fun and engaging as the clio's but more refined and had the power. Hands down one of the best car's I've owned. The GTD was a necessity due to mileage and family circumstances and was good for a diesel, no point in having it if you're not going to stick a DTUK box on it though and get some of that 'claimed' 60bhp boost taking it to a 'claimed' 240bhp. At the end of the day it's still a dirty diesel but does the job.

I think if you can get a car knowing all of the major bits are done for under or around £2k then it's worth it if you are going to hang on to it for a bit. Not worth the hassle if you do it all then sell on.

I'll likely be keeping it for at least 2 years (especially as they are so ridiculously fun to drive). I have been quoted between £600 - £750 for Timing belt/Aux belt/Dephaser in a oner. Best case scenario if i end up getting the car for £750 and get the major items done for £600, that's £1350 for a car that I will hopefully enjoy for 24 months and, again hopefully sell for at least that.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm gonna test drive it tonight and as long as there are no other major mechanical or electrical issues I'll look to make her an offer and more importantly get a 172 back on the road to recovery and restoration .

 

[imprezaworks]

Cheers.

 

[yeecup]

I would factor in more expense once they start on the belts etc. ie how long is the mot? what are the condition of the brakes? tyres? bushes? I assume when it goes to birchdown they will check the car over and advise on any of the above that may need doing, so I would budget £1k for getting it sorted. still a cheap car though once all done if under £2k all in.

 

[MrRed32]

I would factor in more expense once they start on the belts etc. ie how long is the mot? what are the condition of the brakes? tyres? bushes? I assume when it goes to birchdown they will check the car over and advise on any of the above that may need doing, so I would budget £1k for getting it sorted. still a cheap car though once all done if under £2k all in.

Good shout although MOT till Feb, only advisory was standard headlight fogging. As stated above the discs and pads were changed in the last 5k.

In the case of tyres, they are ok but I will be replacing them at some point in the next 12 months especially the rear two but none are binding/too near legal limit. Unsure about bushes but no abnormal feel when cornering and no clunking at full lock either at slow or moderate speeds (although will need to test it more thoroughly tonight).

Gonna check for rust spots in and around sills&arches/exhaust/underside etc and hopefully it won't look too bad.

 

[cat171]

What colour is it ?

 

[Louis]

What colour is it ?

Probably silver

 

[MrRed32]

Probably silver

Close...Black....so not close.

My old one was silver though (which I preferred with the blue tinge in the sun)

 

[cat171]

Cool, black looks great when it's clean.

 

[MrRed32]

I have been quoted £200+VAT if I provide my own parts. Renaultpartsdirect seem to have some half decent prices with sales etc so with full kit ordered myself (cambelt&Aux&Dephaser) and provided and labour it should be around the £665 mark which is sounding better.

I have seen some "genuine kits" on ebay where the prices are a little as £217 for the cambelt kit/Water Pump/Dephaser. Then getting the £81 aux kit from rentaultpartsdirect (plus £60 odd for fluids) could go sub £600.

But as with all ebay "genuine" parts is this just a terrible idea? Being such crucial components I don't really want to put any old rubbish in there but if anyone has had any positive experiences with these kinds of kits it would be good (horror stories also welcomed).

 

[MrRed32]

Just got back from a quick test drive.

The good:
Suspension seems fine, no knocking or clunking. Springs look good
Handles well
Brakes are spot on
Gearbox appears fine (must have made up the original knocking thing)
All electrics appear to be working
There was some oil in it

The bad:
Air con doesn't work
A lot of vibration through the car at idle - so much the thing shakes and wobbles (hopefully due to powerflex engine mount, doesn't happen when under load)
Very rough idle (think this was normal with my old one)
Headlamps are fogged up (easy fix)
Belt is exposed at the bottom of the car (under the wheel arch where a panel is missing)
Pulls a little to the left (alignment most likely)
Steering feels a little spongy but remember this as quite normal

Definitely thinking about it.

 

[imprezaworks]

Idle will probably be an injector.

Sounds ok tbh

 

[Typhoon]

Low ball her at 650.

If she says no then say “kesh now”. Shout the “kesh” bit if possible.

 

[NTG999]

To be brutal you will spend more than the final value of the car, belts, dephaser, shocks, tyres, brakes, service items etc. Then at sale time you will be bid in the b****cks because (this is only IMO we have an overinflated value of our Clios!!!)
Pretty much everyone on here has done it, I've done it before, am I doing it again - too right, if you are worried about the £££s then none of these purchases 'work' but driving fun = cheap

 

[MrRed32]

Cheers for the replies guys, thinking of low balling at £700 and walking away if no dice.

To be brutal you will spend more than the final value of the car, belts, dephaser, shocks, tyres, brakes, service items etc. Then at sale time you will be bid in the b****cks because (this is only IMO we have an overinflated value of our Clios!!!)
Pretty much everyone on here has done it, I've done it before, am I doing it again - too right, if you are worried about the £££s then none of these purchases 'work' but driving fun = cheap

Haha not a truer word has ever been said. We love our little pocket rockets so obviously they are worth more to us. I'm taking the £2k comments with a pinch of salt as that will likely be absolute minters. I'm happy with a future value of £1500 or so.

This might sound stupid but I never factor in things like small service items (oil filters/spark plugs etc) or tyres into my "money spent on the car" mental log as I think these things are interchanged regardless (and to make myself feel better about spending shedtonnes on the car).

As long as I spend less than maybe £1800 on large tickets items and major repairs etc then I'd be happy I think. Over the course of two years that is, just a bit gutted that £600-£750 is needed straight after purchase.

Now I just have to convince the wife. We have a little one and two on the way and she's not exactly happy with the safety of the car. Even though this will only be used as a secondary car and will only have the little ones in in an emergency (or if the Q7 go bang) I think I need to weigh up how safe they are really. I do really want it and don't want to have to settle with something like a MK4 1.4 golf

 

[cat171]

I think that's fair enough.
My dad had a lot of stuff done on his ph2 172 earlier in the year, cambelt, aux belt, dephaser etc. The bill was around £1300 from a recognised specialist.
Anyone saying you can get that lot done for £400 is probably getting mates rates, doing it themselves, or chatting s**t.