197 Buying Advice

tcw

tcw

Paid Member
Going to look at at 197 tomorrow. It looks clean and tidy and the price is good (it needs belts doing, but I've taken that into consideration).

Is there anything specific I should be looking out for, aside from gearbox.

Cheers,
Tobie
 
Thanks for the help, I've had a look :smile:. The seller has been very open and honest with any minor issues, and it appears to have been cared for, but you never know :smile:.
 
post it on here, you never know it may well have used to belong to someone on here.
 
tcw said:
Indeed it looks it, I am pretty excited to go and look (and hopefully buy) tomorrow.
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Hi and Good luck tomorrow.

Just make sure its the right one though. Or you'll pay later. Literally !

Service history.
Ball joints knocking at front
Top mounts knocking on suspension.
"Melting" steering wheel.
Crunching gears.
Manifold blowing.
Sticking brake calipers.


.....are some of the most common Clio problems to watch out for !
 
believe it is sound from what i read..think its safer to buy a car from a forum member cause you know its been well looked after..plus you can check the guy's progress thread..
people selling their car on a forum cant usually hide any problems plus they are known to the members-so no dodgy business..
 
Northloopcup said:
I know who he is on Cs as I'm a moderator on there. That is a straight car. He has a build thread on there too.
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I missed this..........so it seems the car is a known quantity :smile:

Still do your checks though. Seller may not intentionally try to hide a problem....but if one does exist - it will still cost the same to fix either way.

Sounds like you might well have found an enthusiast owner though. And thats a really good start.

Have fun !
 
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Hey all!

I bought it, the owner was a pleasure to deal with, the car seemed straight, there are a few minor bits which need sorting but the price was good, or at least I thought so (would like to hear everyones opinions on this), it performed fine on the 300 mile drive home.

Just going to sort out the stuff to give it a proper service (including plugs and such). Going to get it booked into Engine Dynamics to get the timing belt sorted (any reviews?).

One thing I need to get sorted quite soon is the Xenons, it seems to be pointing directly at the floor, occasionally it will level properly and point into the distance (so I can actually see) but most of the time it does seem to point to the floor, I understand this could be to o with the sensor on the rear axle, I took a look today and all seems to be attached, so any help/advice on this is appreciated.

EDIT: Forgot to mention - I can see why they are rated so highly, there's so much more character compared to the Swift Sport I had, even compared to the Fiesta ST180 which I had I prefer it, the power delivery is much more fun!

Thanks,
Tobie.
 
Great stuff Tobie, good to hear you went for it in the end! Glad you're happy with it, they are excellent little cars!
 
Welcome and many congrats on the new car :smile:

You'll have no issues with Engine Dynamics. In fact if your local'ish......consider yourself lucky to have such knowledgeable Clio folk on your doorstep !

I've used them before - and would more if I was local.
 
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