Renault???

darling.x

I'm looking to get a learners car. I was hoping to get an opel corsa or a vw polo, but was told about a car for sale.

Its a renault clio, 2001. 1.2 litre.

My brother knows the family of the owner of the car. He was saying that the car is in very good condition. The owner was a nervous driver who only used it for short local trips. Dont know anything else about the car.

What are renault clios like. Are they reliable. Anyone here on boards know?

Thanks

CharlieCroker

They're prob the best of the renaults. Don't have all the electronics of the bigger models.

Whats the price, mileage, NCT, and the other important stuff?

eden_my_ass

darling.x wrote: »

I'm looking to get a learners car. I was hoping to get an opel corsa or a vw polo, but was told about a car for sale.

Its a renault clio, 2001. 1.2 litre.

My brother knows the family of the owner of the car. He was saying that the car is in very good condition. The owner was a nervous driver who only used it for short local trips. Dont know anything else about the car.

What are renault clios like. Are they reliable. Anyone here on boards know?

Thanks

Have driven 3 different Clios from the 98 model, 99-01 model and now a 04 Diesel....they were all great little cars, reliable unlike many other Renault models and can be fun to drive, especially the 100 bhp Diesel!

Yes they are a good learners car, nice and small, handle well, cheap enough to run and look after and good resale value (in normal non recession circumstances anyway)

R.O.R

darling.x wrote: »

I'm looking to get a learners car. I was hoping to get an opel corsa or a vw polo, but was told about a car for sale.

Its a renault clio, 2001. 1.2 litre.

My brother knows the family of the owner of the car. He was saying that the car is in very good condition. The owner was a nervous driver who only used it for short local trips. Dont know anything else about the car.

What are renault clios like. Are they reliable. Anyone here on boards know?

Thanks

My good lady had a couple a few years ago, a 97 and an 01, first while she was learning to drive. Never had an issue with either of them and they are quite nice and easy to drive with a good spec.

The Mother in law also had a '99 model which her daughter took over. In 07 the timing belt snapped leaving a bill of around €600 for repairs (only 22,000 miles on it in the 8 years), so I'd say the belt on the one you are looking at could do with being replaced - check pricing for a timing belt replacement and if it's reasonable, then they aren't such a bad little car.

Wonder if Junkyard has any views on the clio?

david

They are cheap comfy for its class and reliable. A friend has had one for a few years without exploding although his electrics did pack in due to fuel pump relay failure or something like that. Fixed it for small money.

Stay away from a corsa. They're terrible. Don't pay more than 1-1.5k for the Clio depending on condition/miles/NCT etc

Owen

I hate Renaults with a passion, but I like the Clio - one of Renault's better cars. I had the large newer shaped Clio rented in Poland for a week, and thought it was a mighty little car.

Guy:Incognito

R.O.R wrote: »

The Mother in law also had a '99 model which her daughter took over. In 07 the timing belt snapped leaving a bill of around €600 for repairs (only 22,000 miles on it in the 8 years),

There is a time limit on TB 's (all cars) . I think the generally accepted limit is around 5 years, regardless of mileage. Just for future reference.


As for the OP I bought a clio new in 00. 9 years and 85,000 miles and its still going strong ad my mothers car, despite being seriously mistreated by me, maintenance wise, in it's first couple of years.

At the time I bought it my missus was drivign a 99 micra. The clio was like an s class compared to that horrible , uncomfortable little yoke. Re the corsa, my cousin bought one new in 01 iirc and within a few years it had pretty much fallen to bits. Not normally an issue for the girls but I found the pedals on the corsa far to close together.

Eoin

There was a model change around that time, but I think the 01 is the slightly older one. My wife had the older one (1999) and it was grand - no problems with it. My mum had the newer one and also had no problems with it. It was a nice car to drive actually. A friend of mine who worked for Renault at the time had one as a company car and absolutely loved it, and he wasn't a fan of Renaults at all in general.

The only thing I found with my wife's one was that if you have to push the driver's seat back, the gear stick was quite far forward. Probably only an issue if you're 6ft or taller.

The owner was a nervous driver who only used it for short local trips

This is where low mileage isn't necessarily a good thing. Don't want to generalise at all, but when I hear something like that, I think potential clutch problems.

darling.x

Thanks for all the replies and all the positive feedback on this type of car.

CharlieCroker wrote: »

They're prob the best of the renaults.
Whats the price, mileage, NCT, and the other important stuff?

Price: 2000, but will haggle.
NCT: No nct, will have to get it done myself.

Will be viewing the car hopefully at the weekend. Will find out more about the car at the weekend. Will get a male to have a look at it with me, if all is well with the car i'll buy it.

The fact that my brother knows the family is probably good because i wouldn't be buying from a complete stranger whereas if i was to buy from an ad in the local paper god knows what i'd be buying. The owner doesn't have any young sons so there wasn't anybody out rallying the car about the place.

junkyard

The Clio is the best of the Renault bunch but there are plenty of better cars out there tbh, Fiestas, Starlets and the like will go forever and won't cost you a fortune down the road. If you insist on buying a Clio, watch out for the bonnet lock, the safty catch fails and the bonnet flys up and smashes the windscreen, Another known problem that Renault refuses to admit to.:rolleyes:

Buffman

darling.x wrote: »

Price: 2000, but will haggle.
NCT: No nct, will have to get it done myself.

€2000 is a high enough price for that. Don't be afraid to walk away if they don't reduce the price a fair bit. Don't feel pressured into buying just because your brother knows them, there are plenty of others out there.

darling.x

Buffman wrote: »

€2000 is a high enough price for that. Don't be afraid to walk away if they don't reduce the price a fair bit. Don't feel pressured into buying just because your brother knows them, there are plenty of others out there.

Thanks for this. Found out more about the car. Its a 2000 car. 56000 miles on the clock. The lady can get the nct done on it for me but the price of the nct will be added on onto the price of the car. Being a 00 car nct will probably only be until next year. It was parked in her backyard for a year. Only decided to sell it.
Had a look at some pictures of 00 renault clios this evening. They're nice cars. But now i'm not so sure about this car for sale locally. I think shes asking too much but my brothers were saying thats its a good offer because mileage is so low.

What do you all think?

CharlieCroker

at that mileage, the timing belt will need be done soon.
Factor in another €500 roughly for that.
plus a service if its been parked up for a year

Eoin

darling.x wrote: »

I think shes asking too much but my brothers were saying thats its a good offer because mileage is so low.

What do you all think?

I wouldn't get hung up on the mileage. A car that is in start/stop traffic for all its life (plus you mentioned "nervous driver") might have less miles on the clock, but not necessarily be in any better condition.

Buffman

darling.x wrote: »

Thanks for this. Found out more about the car. Its a 2000 car. 56000 miles on the clock. The lady can get the nct done on it for me but the price of the nct will be added on onto the price of the car. Being a 00 car nct will probably only be until next year. It was parked in her backyard for a year. Only decided to sell it.
Had a look at some pictures of 00 renault clios this evening. They're nice cars. But now i'm not so sure about this car for sale locally. I think shes asking too much but my brothers were saying thats its a good offer because mileage is so low.

I wouldn't place too much value in the low mileage, it is not overly important. I'd be concerned about it lying up for so long. It's not good for cars to be idle for that long. TBH it sounds like the lady doesn't give 2 sh-its about the car. I'd be surprised if it would pass the NCT without needing some work to be done after lying up. (a service at the very least)
Personally if I had to buy it as is I'd offer €1000 and wouldn't go much beyond that.

Just a quick search threw up the below cars, all with +1year NCT's and a higher mileage, but if a car is maintained well, mileage is nothing to worry about.

http://www.cbg.ie/Car_Detail.aspx?ID=2726626
http://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=339487&r=s.php%3Fm%3D72%26amp%3Bo%3D612%26amp%3Bg%3D0
http://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=320421&r=s.php%3Fm%3D72%26amp%3Bo%3D612%26amp%3Bg%3D1

galwaytt

darling.x wrote: »

Thanks for this. Found out more about the car. Its a 2000 car. 56000 miles on the clock. The lady can get the nct done on it for me but the price of the nct will be added on onto the price of the car. Being a 00 car nct will probably only be until next year. It was parked in her backyard for a year. Only decided to sell it.
Had a look at some pictures of 00 renault clios this evening. They're nice cars. But now i'm not so sure about this car for sale locally. I think shes asking too much but my brothers were saying thats its a good offer because mileage is so low.

What do you all think?

Don't be pressured into it. Clio is a good car, and imho, a much more learner friendly car than a VW.

As for 'adding' NCT to the price - they must be joking. No one will buy it without one, or, if they do, only for peanuts. Having a car standing for a year won't be doing it any favours, and the low mileage adds nothing to the value of it. Indeed, seeing as the timing belt needs changing, I'd argue the opposite - you could get one with a bit higher mileage, with the belt etc done, and a good NCT, for less.

1500 incl belt and NCT would be a place to start.

Tbh, I'd want a discount from a 'friend' - they're not going to do you a favour as a 'friend' if you have any trouble with it, are they ??

colsers22

I had a 01 Clio "le sport." If it's one of these, I would take it. It's a reliable little car, never gave me any hassle. Great Cd player with controls on the side of the steering wheel (which I still miss). Nice comfy seats with velour material and elec front windows. It has good safety features too for the age of the car and a good NCAP rating (4 stars I think).
It's ideal for a learner, just enough power for the size of the car and handles very well for a small hatch.
There can be some electrical issues, like with the airbag warning light and wipers.
I sold my last May with 78k and got three grand for it. This was before the bad times hit, but I did quite well. I had just got it Nct'd, got some scratched paint work fixed and put in a brand new battery.

I would try and get her down to 1500 because it needs the T/B done.