Hi everyone,
After a spell of m-car ownership I wanted to go back to hot hatches. I've had a 205 and JCW before, but wanted something as fun as the Peugeot with a bit more daily usability like the JCW. Ever since very briefly working for Renault early in the millennium I've wanted a Renaultsport. Some of my mates had 172s, although no one got a V6. About twenty years, a bit of research and a few test drives later I decided to go for the 200. Despite a lot of further research and a number of test drives I slightly lost the run of myself and bought this:
View attachment 1597916
First the good bit, it's an '09 non-cup and I've loved everything about driving it so far. It's the perfect compromise between something interesting on a decent road that doesn't have me tearing my hair out living in south London. It's cosmetically good, but I knew the history was patchy to non existent, which was factored into the price.
Which brings me to the bad bit. The first thing I did was take it to Renault in west London, because of the reputation they had on some forums. They had to do a few medium jobs, but not more than I expected. I'd noticed a slight petrol smell in the cabin after filling up, but they assured me they couldn't find anything out of place. The next time I filled up it was there again. The following time it actually left a noticeable amount of petrol on the road, which scared me off from driving it.
It has been stuck on a drive the last couple of months while I moved house, and I need to get it back running. Then I'd like to do all the advised bits and pieces as well as the belts for peace of mind, as I intend to keep it for a while. I've seen there are a couple of independents who seem to be highly rated, but I'd love to hear where you would go for a thorough inspection and the work needed.
It's been an up and down start to Clio ownership, but I'm in it for the long haul. I've joined Cliosport because compared to related forums people actually seem to be active and get on, so I'm looking forward to joining in.
Mark
After a spell of m-car ownership I wanted to go back to hot hatches. I've had a 205 and JCW before, but wanted something as fun as the Peugeot with a bit more daily usability like the JCW. Ever since very briefly working for Renault early in the millennium I've wanted a Renaultsport. Some of my mates had 172s, although no one got a V6. About twenty years, a bit of research and a few test drives later I decided to go for the 200. Despite a lot of further research and a number of test drives I slightly lost the run of myself and bought this:
View attachment 1597916
First the good bit, it's an '09 non-cup and I've loved everything about driving it so far. It's the perfect compromise between something interesting on a decent road that doesn't have me tearing my hair out living in south London. It's cosmetically good, but I knew the history was patchy to non existent, which was factored into the price.
Which brings me to the bad bit. The first thing I did was take it to Renault in west London, because of the reputation they had on some forums. They had to do a few medium jobs, but not more than I expected. I'd noticed a slight petrol smell in the cabin after filling up, but they assured me they couldn't find anything out of place. The next time I filled up it was there again. The following time it actually left a noticeable amount of petrol on the road, which scared me off from driving it.
It has been stuck on a drive the last couple of months while I moved house, and I need to get it back running. Then I'd like to do all the advised bits and pieces as well as the belts for peace of mind, as I intend to keep it for a while. I've seen there are a couple of independents who seem to be highly rated, but I'd love to hear where you would go for a thorough inspection and the work needed.
It's been an up and down start to Clio ownership, but I'm in it for the long haul. I've joined Cliosport because compared to related forums people actually seem to be active and get on, so I'm looking forward to joining in.
Mark
