Hi, thinking about buying a 197?

Welcome in mate. As above service record is a must wether it's dealer/specialist/DIY as long as invoices back it up. Try and a get a test run from cold and go up and down the gearbox at various speeds. I would suggest the seller putting a years MOT on the car if under 6 months left. Check when belts have been done with invoices to back this up. Buy with your head not your heart. Walk away if not 100%.

Only my opinion but not sure why owners bang on about MPG on these cars. If you want good MPG buy a Prius not a 2 litre hot hatch.
 
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Siliconsteve said:
You're right to be worried. Cheaper to run a fezzer
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LOL 'welcome to the site, our cars are sh*te'.

As has been said, take your time and make sure you get a good one. If I were looking for another one I'd make sure I bought from an enthusiast, either from a member on here (where there's a good chance you can have an in-depth talk with the owner rather than a salesman who knows nothing about the car) or from a specialist garage - KTec have one in, but unfortunately no pics. Nice low milage too - http://www.ktrcarsales.co.uk/used-RENAULT-CLIO-Blandford-Forum-Dorset-1030247
 
LOCKE said:
Welcome in mate. As above service record is a must wether it's dealer/specialist/DIY as long as invoices back it up. Try and a get a test run from cold and go up and down the gearbox at various speeds. I would suggest the seller putting a years MOT on the car if under 6 months left. Check when belts have been done with invoices to back this up. Buy with your head not your heart. Walk away if not 100%.

Only my opinion but not sure why owners bang on about MPG on these cars. If you want good MPG buy a Prius not a 2 litre hot hatch.
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I've looked at 2 already and walked away. I'm very fussy with cars anyway, the 2nd one I looked at the guy couldn't believe the things I was picking out. As for the mpg I cant see a hatch back that weighs 300kgs less with 500cc less than my bm being that bad. If I could average high 20's I will be over the moon!
 
Sean197 said:
LOL 'welcome to the site, our cars are sh*te'.

As has been said, take your time and make sure you get a good one. If I were looking for another one I'd make sure I bought from an enthusiast, either from a member on here (where there's a good chance you can have an in-depth talk with the owner rather than a salesman who knows nothing about the car) or from a specialist garage - KTec have one in, but unfortunately no pics. Nice low milage too - http://www.ktrcarsales.co.uk/used-RENAULT-CLIO-Blandford-Forum-Dorset-1030247
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Not a lot to go on there, this one is a little out of my price range. Probably looking around 70-80k miles
 
Hi, just bought a 197 at the weekend. Had a lot of work done to it recently which was the reason I got it.

My honest conclusion over a few days. Handling is like a go kart, love it. Firm but not crashy. Power is very linear, so the more you ref, the faster you go. Build quality is OK, better than I expected but it ain't no BMW. I bought it adds bit of fun. Not sure as a daily / passenger carrying daily.
 
wanger said:
Hi, just bought a 197 at the weekend. Had a lot of work done to it recently which was the reason I got it.

My honest conclusion over a few days. Handling is like a go kart, love it. Firm but not crashy. Power is very linear, so the more you ref, the faster you go. Build quality is OK, better than I expected but it ain't no BMW. I bought it adds bit of fun. Not sure as a daily / passenger carrying daily.
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My commute is only 5.5 miles each way to work which is 9 roundabouts and 4 miles of duel carriage way. As for passengers f**k 'em lol. So your happy with it though?
 
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Tofty said:
My commute is only 5.5 miles each way to work which is 9 roundabouts and 4 miles of duel carriage way. As for passengers f**k 'em lol. So your happy with it though?
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Similar commute to myself in a 200, I'm 5 miles from work, consisting of town driving, 1 roundabout, and half a mile of dual carriageway! The odd drive here and there at weekends and getting about 27MPG

As a car they're great fun, as mentioned like a go kart! It'll glue to the roundabouts and give you some power coming off it! Very addictive to push for the red line!

In terms of buying, as mentioned earlier it's a case of doing your homework and finding one in a good condition/service history and cycling through the gearbox plenty of times on a test drive! Sounds like you're pretty meticulous so that shouldn't be a problem!
 
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Tofty said:
Hi Johnny what sort of driving do you do? Fast/slow town/motorway?
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It's not my main car & I'm in the Scottish Highlands so generally taking it out on country roads for a hoon or popping down to the shops but this is countered by long drives down the A9 (over 100 miles of average speed cameras) & motorway trips down to south of England to see friends or do track days. Also includes a trip to Spa & the 'ring. I reset the trip meter on the day I bought the car every year so these figures are my annual mpg. Roughly 5000 miles worth of average mpg.
Mine's a 200 with slightly different gearing but I don't think a 197 will be much different.
 
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Welcome to the forum Tofty! They are fantastic little cars to own and I am very happy with mine after 2.5 years. They aren't without their little issues - maintenance can be reasonably costly if things do go wrong, but it is a 'performance' car, so it is to be expected to a degree. Keep on top of things and it isn't too bad.

MPG will never be good, they just aren't engineered to be economical. My commute is the same as yours and I get mid-high 20s, much better on a run though.

Good luck with the search and please feel free to ask any questions you might have! And a very big thank you for supporting the site by joining as a Paid Member :smile:
 
Jimmy said:
Welcome to the forum Tofty! They are fantastic little cars to own and I am very happy with mine after 2.5 years. They aren't without their little issues - maintenance can be reasonably costly if things do go wrong, but it is a 'performance' car, so it is to be expected to a degree. Keep on top of things and it isn't too bad.

MPG will never be good, they just aren't engineered to be economical. My commute is the same as yours and I get mid-high 20s, much better on a run though.

Good luck with the search and please feel free to ask any questions you might have! And a very big thank you for supporting the site by joining as a Paid Member :smile:
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Menbership for £5 is good value plus every time i googled something clio197.net had the answer so thanks for the service!
 
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Make that 3 clio 197's I've walked away from now! some people have such a strange idea of excellent condition. 3 hours wasted.
 
These cars are so different examples even if registered same year. I thought i bought good solid car with excellent servicehistory, already 500£ spent in 2 weeks for repairing / services. Still some little jobs ahead..
Great handling small pocket rockets, and quite reliable when everything is tiptop in firstplace.
In my opinion, best buy from enthuasist who already has spent money for maintenance.
 
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Hi Tofty, being a girl and not getting my purchase checked over well enough, I had the manifold replaced and ball joints I think within months. Now had it almost 2 years so that speaks for itself. The fun is worth the dollars spent; )
 
shells2074 said:
Hi Tofty, being a girl and not getting my purchase checked over well enough, I had the manifold replaced and ball joints I think within months. Now had it almost 2 years so that speaks for itself. The fun is worth the dollars spent; )
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If you don't mind me asking how much did the manifold cost?
 
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