The time has come for me and my 2003 ph2 172 to part company. I love driving it but I don't have time to spend on it and if I were to pay to get it properly fixed it would cost me more than it would be worth, and because of the price of fuel I can get something slightly less fun (sob) that will actually end up with me spending less money each month.
Sorry to say I've been a very bad owner - financial troubles since the recession have meant that it hasn't been serviced as it should for the last 5 years, with the only work done on it the bare minimum to keep it running, and yet it has continued to provide good service.
Let's start with The Bad:
MOT fails:
Rear windscreen wiper is snapped off.
Windscreen has a massive star-shaped crack, in the top-left corner but unfortunately in the secondary wipe zone (I slid a kitchen worktop in from the back last month and it went in a bit quicker than I meant, oops).
Stuff that will need to be fixed:
Timing belt was changed at 90k. It's now at 137k, so will need doing "soon". It did have a new water pump at the same time.
Dephaser pulley definitely needs doing.
It has an oil leak that was introduced when I made the mistake of taking it to Kwik-fit for an oil change (they're within walking distance from work, it seemed like a good idea at the time). It loses about a litre a month.
The rear-left stub axle is damaged, again thanks to Kwik-fit who (I can only assume) used a oa-lance to get the disc off and managed to burn a hole in the stub. Doesn't seem to affect the drive but should definitely be replaced.
Rear exhaust mount broke. I tried to replace it myself and ended up snapping off one of the nut heads. As such the new mount is held on slightly skewed. With the right tools the old bolt could probably be removed.
One of the jacking points is starting to rust away. I've no idea what can be done about that.
Minor irritations:
Starting problem - mostly will start first time, sometimes needs you to sit in ignition position 1 for 30 seconds before the immobiliser light goes out.
The front of the bonnet is pressed in fairly badly, although not so far that it would affect the locking mech.
There's some minor scratches and dents to the bodywork.
Aircon happily kicks out cold air until the outside temp gets to about 22 degrees, at which point it gives up. It hasn't ever been re-gassed, so that's probably the problem.
Steering wheel has peeled.
Gearstick leather cover peeled to the point where I just removed it altogether.
Gearstick gaiter has become detached at the bottom so flaps about a bit.
The good:
It drives fine. I do 60 miles a day (mostly motorway) at a steady 90, and apart from the time the water pump died and one other where one of the spark plugs popped out, it's been as reliable as you could wish for. It still averages 34mpg according to the trip computer.
Had new battery (uprated) in January.
Tyres all legal.
Electrics other than aircon all work fine.
Other stuff:
In the interests of full disclosure, this was sideswiped by a jeep pulling out of a farm track in June 2007, repaired fully by the insurance co with no write-off.
It went through a phase of needing a new handbrake cable every MOT, I think the garage kept using non-standard parts because I finally got fed up and fitted a proper Renault one myself and it hasn't snapped since.
MOT a couple of years ago required a new brake line front-to-back which I also fitted myself.
WRT the oil leak, I was told by a mechanic who I trust that it was probably as simple as a mis-fitted oil filter, but I haven't had the cash to pay for investigative work and I just don't have the time to do it myself - I have a proper job full time in the week and also work most weekends (I did say that we had financial troubles, yes? :smile: ).
There's 11 days of MOT left, and I should have its replacement by next Tuesday (leaving 2 days).
So the questions:
Is anyone likely to want to take on a project like this or should I just accept the inevitable and take the (fairly pitiful) scrap value?
Would I be better off putting it through its MOT - will the fact that a buyer can drive it without having to do the work first make enough difference to the price and/or saleability to make it worth doing? The MOT itself would cost £40 and I'd need to pay £75 windscreen excess and 10 quid(?) for a new wiper arm, but there's always a risk that an MOT will throw up something else. I suppose I could put it through the MOT and find out before doing the work...
Thanks :smile:
Sorry to say I've been a very bad owner - financial troubles since the recession have meant that it hasn't been serviced as it should for the last 5 years, with the only work done on it the bare minimum to keep it running, and yet it has continued to provide good service.
Let's start with The Bad:
MOT fails:
Rear windscreen wiper is snapped off.
Windscreen has a massive star-shaped crack, in the top-left corner but unfortunately in the secondary wipe zone (I slid a kitchen worktop in from the back last month and it went in a bit quicker than I meant, oops).
Stuff that will need to be fixed:
Timing belt was changed at 90k. It's now at 137k, so will need doing "soon". It did have a new water pump at the same time.
Dephaser pulley definitely needs doing.
It has an oil leak that was introduced when I made the mistake of taking it to Kwik-fit for an oil change (they're within walking distance from work, it seemed like a good idea at the time). It loses about a litre a month.
The rear-left stub axle is damaged, again thanks to Kwik-fit who (I can only assume) used a oa-lance to get the disc off and managed to burn a hole in the stub. Doesn't seem to affect the drive but should definitely be replaced.
Rear exhaust mount broke. I tried to replace it myself and ended up snapping off one of the nut heads. As such the new mount is held on slightly skewed. With the right tools the old bolt could probably be removed.
One of the jacking points is starting to rust away. I've no idea what can be done about that.
Minor irritations:
Starting problem - mostly will start first time, sometimes needs you to sit in ignition position 1 for 30 seconds before the immobiliser light goes out.
The front of the bonnet is pressed in fairly badly, although not so far that it would affect the locking mech.
There's some minor scratches and dents to the bodywork.
Aircon happily kicks out cold air until the outside temp gets to about 22 degrees, at which point it gives up. It hasn't ever been re-gassed, so that's probably the problem.
Steering wheel has peeled.
Gearstick leather cover peeled to the point where I just removed it altogether.
Gearstick gaiter has become detached at the bottom so flaps about a bit.
The good:
It drives fine. I do 60 miles a day (mostly motorway) at a steady 90, and apart from the time the water pump died and one other where one of the spark plugs popped out, it's been as reliable as you could wish for. It still averages 34mpg according to the trip computer.
Had new battery (uprated) in January.
Tyres all legal.
Electrics other than aircon all work fine.
Other stuff:
In the interests of full disclosure, this was sideswiped by a jeep pulling out of a farm track in June 2007, repaired fully by the insurance co with no write-off.
It went through a phase of needing a new handbrake cable every MOT, I think the garage kept using non-standard parts because I finally got fed up and fitted a proper Renault one myself and it hasn't snapped since.
MOT a couple of years ago required a new brake line front-to-back which I also fitted myself.
WRT the oil leak, I was told by a mechanic who I trust that it was probably as simple as a mis-fitted oil filter, but I haven't had the cash to pay for investigative work and I just don't have the time to do it myself - I have a proper job full time in the week and also work most weekends (I did say that we had financial troubles, yes? :smile: ).
There's 11 days of MOT left, and I should have its replacement by next Tuesday (leaving 2 days).
So the questions:
Is anyone likely to want to take on a project like this or should I just accept the inevitable and take the (fairly pitiful) scrap value?
Would I be better off putting it through its MOT - will the fact that a buyer can drive it without having to do the work first make enough difference to the price and/or saleability to make it worth doing? The MOT itself would cost £40 and I'd need to pay £75 windscreen excess and 10 quid(?) for a new wiper arm, but there's always a risk that an MOT will throw up something else. I suppose I could put it through the MOT and find out before doing the work...
Thanks :smile:
Last edited:
the gearstick itself is fine.
