1995 Renault Clio 1.2L

junii

Are these a good car?

mloc123

Yes, imo.

Now everyone is gonna say no, buy a starlet or a micra blah blah blah
The clio is a much more comfortable, I have driven my sisters old micra and a couple of starlets of the same era and they are like tin cans. The clio interior is nice and chunky with lots of sound deadening etc..

As for engine and reliabliity well it depends on how its been treated for the last 11 years...like all cars for that matter. 95 will be the older Energy engine too which had a bit more power than the newer DIET ones iirc. Try and get an RT if you can because they come with more toys like elec windows, power steering etc..

Parts are also very cheap for them now, brake discs, pads etc..

breanoh

They are a really nice car and I agree that the are way more comfortable that the Micra and Starlet. But they have a bit of a problem with keeping their headgaskets intact (as do most Renaults). I would advise to go for one without an immobilisor, as the immob receiver is situated on the roof, under the arial, which is inclined to leak, this caused the immob to short circuit, leaving you with a nice repair bill. Chect if the headgasket has ever gone, and if it has, what remedial work was carried out (radiator and cooling system flushed etc). I came across one with 60,000 miles that had blown (1993). The energy engine is the best of the lot, and is probably the most reliable, however I would advise to keep away from ones that are all elec, as the elecs on renaults can be hit and miss.
However, all that said, there isn't a car out there that is better value for money second hand, for comfort and reliability and fuel economy, the clio has it all.

mloc123

oh yeah, try and avoid ones with sunroofs altogether. As breanoh said they do leak and are a pain in the arse. Most original Irish ones didn't come with a sun roof anyway so unless you get one that came from the north or england you should be okay. Afaik all of the clios came with imobilisers, the older ones had an independant unit where as the newer face lift ones had it built into the ecu.

breanoh

mloc, are you sure about the immob? I have come across ones with no immob, ie smaller key (like the one on my R9) I was under the impression that the energy one had none (they are carb'd to the best of my knowledge) The sunroof isn't that much of a worry, any leak can usually be traced back to the arial seal. It seems to be a common fault in Relaults as far back as the 80's and as recent as the mégane 1. Might be an idea if you do get one to re-seal the arial.

andrea

I had a 96 version for 2 years, just changed in March. My mother had the car for about 4 years before me and put a ****load of miles on the clock. Both of us drove all over the country in it. In the 2 years I had the car the only problem I ever had with it was a puncture now and again, which isn't exactly car specific! A very reliable and extremely comfortable car. Plenty of room in the boot (or with folded down back seat if necessary) too, I moved house at least twice with mine!

mloc123

The early MK1 Ph1 clios will have the carbed energy engine, anything after a ph1 (93/94 on) is injected and should have an imobiliser. The ph2 ones had a standalone and the ph3 (mainly DIET engines) had one built into the ecu.

I'd go for an injected engine over a carbed, imobilser can be easily bypassed on them too if needed and you get central locking too

breanoh

Right, not the biggest fan of injection and ECU's here, Renault central locking can be hit and miss on all doors on the older renaults. I would get a phase 1 if anything, but I'm happy with the renault 9 for the moment. The 5 was still made up to 97 and could be a cheaper option again for a car which in my honest opinion is better, with the older, more comfortable seats.

Wez

Does any body know of a site that has a checklist for buyig one of these second hand? I'll show you an example of one I got for the golf mk1 when I get back to my other pc (it's in bookmarks) and I thought it was brilliant, and would make you more aware of the specific things to check on them, aswell as what all the different models mean (i.e. the rt has elec windows or whatever..)

BrianD3

I don't think a 95 clio would have an immobiliser. The phase 2 R19 1.4 energy (1992-1996, single point fuel injection) doesn't have one so i'd say the clio doesn't either.

Although it could