Newbie - Picking up mint Clio 182 tonight :) ADVICE?

[Martin.]

Hi all,

Picking up my 04 reg Clio sport 182 later tonight. It's a well looked after car and seems to all be in top condition, I'm looking forward to owning one.

But I was after some quick advice, is there anything in particular I should double check tonight before money and car are exchanged??

What common faults/issues are likely with this car?

Any other suggestions/advice will be very helpful!

Thanks guys, I'll post some pics up as soon as it's on my drive

Cheers, Martin

 

[PP200t]

Hi Martin,
Welcome to the fold! You wont regret it, I get a smile every time I drive mine, after wanting one for so long.
Exhausts rot like mad, check for blowing etc.
Check the belts have been done, £4-500 job so worth checking.
Brake condition.
Don't be put off by steering wheel, they all melt.
Most of all hpi check it and ENJOY!!!

 

[Martin.]

Thanks for a reply..

Didn't check the exhaust myself so might have a quick look tonight (even know I wouldn't know what to look for). But Id had an MOT 4 months back and passed with no advisory.

Cam belt was done in the last year so wont be another 4 years until it needs doing again

Brakes, I will double check tonight but passing MOT should mean all ok..

Steering wheel looked fine to me, well I didn't notice anything wrong. I'll probably change it eventually anyway.

HPI all clear

Thanks,

 

[davo172]

Hi mate. welcome
If it has fsh and belts done with invoice to prove you should be ok hpi and check points above.
Where abouts are you from.?
Make sure you can feel the extra kick at 5000 rpm too on test drive.
Oh and most clutches are quite heavy anyway so nothing to worry about there.

 

[COLZO]

Make sure exhaust hangers are ok they tend to perish and stretch. Check hazard light switch works. These are common problems but are relatively cheap to replace.

 

[Martin.]

I'm going to check over all the paperwork tonight.. He did mention that it had a stamp in the book for the cambelt but that he didnt think he had a reciept. I'm assuming as long as it's been stamped at a dealer then all will be ok.

I felt the kick in the back on the test drive, was actually surprised how much of a kick in the back there was!

What are exhaust hangers? I was going to get down tonight and look underneath just to make sure nothing is rusty or hanging off.

Will check the hazard light too.

I'm from Shirley, Croydon by the way.

Cheers, Martin

 

[Stefan.]

no, because anyone can write cambelt in the service book :slap:

 

[R-Sport.]

Put the heating on 2 or 3 bars
then turn the air con on-

if you hear a clink from the engine thats the compressor working- means air con is gassed-

no clink = no gas

Try & check whether the aux belt kit was changed with the cambelt

If you want to PM a link you can I will have a browse over

S

 

[Martin.]

Ok thanks I will try that too tonight

I just tried PM'ing you with a link. But for some reason it didn't work, a message pops up asking me to become a club member.

 

[Tombola]

Hello mate welcome and enjoy!
Im sure most people will cover everything but heres a few points..
- steering on full lock, creaking could mean new top mounts or other things, not the end of the world but something to consider
- check all gears for whining, crunching, not going into gear correctly, jumping out of gear etc
- exhaust hanger mounts all perish so check them
- get the engine warmed up and open the bonnet, have a look around and listen to any sounds its making. If it sounds like a diesel it could mean a new dephaser and belt change which is £400+ on an air con clio. Mine needed doing and I should have checked the car after it was warm.
- check the shocks for any leaks
- run your hand underneath the front bumper, there should be a plastic undertray unless they have removed it. If its cracked or not there ask them why, crash etc?
Good luck!

 

[davo172]

no, because anyone can write cambelt in the service book :slap:

This ^

If no invoice from dealer or if dealer has no computer record it has not been done more than likley if not get done asap budget £500 at a specialist so be looking for some cash off if no proper proof

 

[Darren S]

Just for a heads-up too - check that no error codes appear. If you hold in the button on the end of the stalk and turn your ignition key once (or twice? I can't remember off the top of my head) - the dash will light up and the dials rotate automatically. There will be a beeping noise and if you press the stalk button repeatedly, it will cycle through the info on offer.

The one you need to look for is four dashes '----' as this has returned no error codes. It's not a full diagnostic by any means, but it would give you some idea of potential issues.

D.

 

[MartinR]

no, because anyone can write cambelt in the service book :slap:

i had my service book stamped by renault when i bought mine from them later found out they had lied never even touched the belts,so they had the car back and done it. thanks to ruk getting involved,

might sound sad but i marked all the components in a certain way with a marker pen and asked for the old bits back lol

enjoy the car

and welcome

 

[Darren S]

i had my service book stamped by renault when i bought mine from them later found out they had lied never even touched the belts,so they had the car back and done it. thanks to ruk getting involved,

might sound sad but i marked all the components in a certain way with a marker pen and asked for the old bits back lol

enjoy the car

and welcome

Not sad at all - bloody good idea if you ask me! A couple of minutes of your time marking up in return for peace of mind? Well worth it.

D.

 

[davo172]

Dont trust renault dealers they are USELESS !!

 

[The Fatty]

check the power steering doesnt squeek by turning the wheel onto hard lock

 

[M@tt_182]

Dont trust renault dealers they are USELESS !!

Use the traders section to find the closest specialist for future work. Also it's well worth becoming a paid up member to view the guides section

 

[Martin.]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I saw the car again tonight and all went well. I did what everyone advised.

One thing I wasn’t sure about though was the on board diagnostics that Darren S suggested.

I got the four dashes '----' but there was some kind of lettering or symbol in front like an L. See pictures below, flash and non flash.

Anyone got an idea what this means? Good or bad?

Cheers, Martin

 

[MartinR]

i had the exact same letter the other day but no fault code was shown through my rs tuner? so i just pressed the milelage reset button and erased it

 

[edde]

Clio Mk2 fault finding dashboard trick
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=109201

 

[Chili Red]

^^ On that basis:

Stored faults
t mean an injection fault has been detected for a minimum of 4 seconds

??

 

[Mike_RS]

Just so it doesn’t put you off mine had a similar fault code after i ran the diagnosis check, i reset the computer via the mileage trip and after 12months of ownership it hasn’t come back on.. Car runs faultlessly

 

[Martin.]

Thanks for all the help guys I appreciate it!!

There are a few things which need clearing up before we finalize the deal.

I want to try and reset this diagnostic check thingy tonight and then run it again to see if it re-appears. But I did notice in the Service Schedule that of the 4 services it's had not one of them had the spark plug box ticked. Whether they did it and just didn't tick it or whether they have never been replaced I don't know :S

How much will a set or spark plugs cost to buy and fit if they are actually needed? Car ran fine and couldn't feel anything wrong with it when I was behind the wheel..

The other MAIN issue with the purchase is the CAM BELT issue. In the service book there are two sections, both with a stamp, 'Accessories belt and pulleys' and 'timing belt and pulleys'

Which is the important one? I'm a novice. And although there is a stamp there is no receipt or invoice for the work done. The guys dad worked for the local Renault and he assures us it was all done checked over and all ok before he let his son buy it. However I will be calling the garage which stamped it and trying to find out if they have a bill or invoice for it. Hopefully!

CHeers

Martin

 

[MartinR]

as said call the garage see what they say, if no joy knock some money off the asking price.

plugs on these have a long service period circa 70k but would recommend a change at half that ..plugs have to be specif ones something like ngk pr-ef10 someone shall be along to tell you the exact code but they need to be ngk or you shall get bad idle and missfiring, cost for the plugs vary but don't go to renault for them unless you have a large wallet!!

you can pick them up for around £45.

timing belt and aux belt with tensioners are both important aux belt changes are every 36k and timing is 72k or five years.

one of the problems is the aux belt shredding wrapping round the bottom pulley and taking the timing belt out.

don't let this worry you though, but would recommend changing them both if you have any doubts about the history of the car

 

[Martin.]

Thanks rockers, hopefully a check with the indy will clear things up about all the belts and stamps.

Worst case scenario, what happens if the belts snap when driving? Is that engine completely ruined?

Looking forward to owning one and getting it out on a few track days

 

[MartinR]

new engine job if it snaps

 

[Martin.]

Ouchhhhhh. Really hope I can get proof of this then!

Cheers

 

[Martin.]

Just an update... It's not looking good!!

The company which has stamped the service schedule called R.J.A Services just doesn't exist any where. There are some similar names but nothing exact. I found an R.J.Autos Services or something in Bromley North, and assumed this was it. But on a visit the guy in there said it wasn't their stamp. The number on the stamp is also an Orpington Land Line. Which doesn't get you anywhere coincidently just to a voice mail.

The seller actually got us the previous owners number, well so he said, and we spoke to this person on the phone to ask where all the previous work (cambelt especially) was done, he replied oh Biggin Hill somewhere called 'Baldyne Engineering'. So to check it out. We went there too. Take a guess, no records for this car. But the guy said that if it did come here then it would have been in for something more than likely bigger than a cambelt change, possibly an engine rebuild from a failure.

So yeah, basically so far there is no record of any service history, looks like someone along the lines has just purchased some kind of stamp, made up a name and stamped it themselves.

One or two more leads left, but then after that it's telling them to jog on nicely of course

 

[Guiddy]

Well done on doing your homework!
Is the car especially cheap? That would also ring alarm bells and hence making up a Service History that wasn't real. A car at the going rate would often be because all the history is genuine!
Still, plenty more fish in the sea! Loads of 172/182s out there!

 

[Martin.]

It wasn't actually no, I always avoid the obvious cheap ones for that reason.

On first visit after my test drive I would have been happy to hand over the cash there and then. The guy seemed very very genuine.

It was only upon actually checking the History in more detail that the suspicions arose. There is a small chance it could still be genuine though, if for some unknown reason the Workshop which did the work and stamps happened to close down etc.

My dad is determined to follow it through to find out the truth even if we have lost most interest in the car.

 

[Darren S]

Does look dodgy on initial comments. But don't completely write if off just yet. If the car drives and feels fine and is structurally sound - you'll just have to make allowances when purchasing the car for the belts to be done. Although not cheap, I would certainly get both done given the sketchy history of what has/has not been done.

Whereabouts are you based? There are plenty of specialists on here who could do the belts more or less with their eyes closed - AND using the correct tools to do so.

It's not ideal, but like I said - if the car itself is appealing and you accept that the belts need attention - it would still be a contender for me if I was looking at it.

D.

 

[Martin.]

The sale is officially off now. As you say Darren I didn't completely rule it out, It seemed a nice car so I was willing to do my best to stick with it. However after a very extensive history check I found out that basically all it's stamps were fake. The first 4 from a company which I found out not to exist, it was the original owners father in law (who was a mechanic) stamping the book for him to keep Renault happy when they traded it is. That's fair enough, if I was in the same situation I would get my car sorted in the same way. I was never saying the car wasn't looked after or that it wasn't serviced, just that these 4 service stamps were completely invalid. One of them had miles printed actually higher than they were when the seller told me he bought it.

The last stamp an actual Renault stamp, was found out to be false, confirmed by Renault themselves. The father of the seller happened to work at Renault so probably just did this himself. Whether the work may have been done or not.

Another company where the original owner told us the Cam belts were done, told us on arrival that the car was not on their records. Forcing me to believe the cam had never actually been done. Without proof it would almost indefinitely need to be done again just in case. Therefore I was willing to knock off 500-600 quid from the price which was already slightly high to allow for this and maybe another small service.

But the seller had no interest, thinks his car is all sound, which it may well be. But for me, I couldn't risk taking someone's word for it. And with a completely fake history all proven in various ways I was just willing to risk the £4k asking price.

So, my hunt continues... Watch this space

P.s Thanks for the help and advice from everyone on here so far!!

Cheers, Martin

 

[Martin.]

Am I allowed to post links on here??

If not then MODS please remove, but basically to warn all others, and to share my MANY MANY hours of research and findings, this is the car with a completely fake stamped history!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3576343.htm

 

[davo172]

Good job you did your research mate ! Plenty more nice ones out there but a lot of dogs Too worth spending a bit more for a minter with proper history . Worth it in the end . I have every bit of history for mine ,every bill receipt the lot had it from new 2002 ! They are out there if you are prepared to look at a few first and do your research which it sounds like you are mate you will end up with a good one .

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?561913-My-Itb-d-cam-d-172-Monaco&highlight=matt350

This is now for sale I have seen it at rolling road day this year REAL Mint sounds awsome and VERY quick ! I know you want a 182 but worth mentioning just in case

 

[The Fatty]

good job and thanks for posting the link to the car; it may just save someone else a lot of money and time wasted.

P.S. does that car look to high to anyone else to be on cup sus? the shot of the wheel looks like the arch is way too high!

 

[Darren S]

Well done on the investigation there, Martin! Maybe one oversight on the cars' history is acceptable, but this sounds like the previous owners have gone out of their way to falsify its service record.

And if they are willing to do that - has it actually had any servicing TLC throughout its life? At best - probably the most basic. At worst - next to nothing....

D.

 

[Chili Red]

Wow, just shows it's worth doing your homework. Bet you're glad you did.

Some other poor mug will end up buying this now.