Help Looking for a 197/200

[///M]

Paul, it's a bit of a gutter but you're bang on doing your due diligence. No point at all in buying a shitter. I did wonder on the sort of life it might have had.

There are loads out there mate, a good one will turn up.

Watch the for sale ads on here like a hawk. Some excellent cars come up but the bargains don't last long.

 

[paul jennings]

Sorry to hear it all fell through Paul, but hopefully it hasn't dampened your enthusiasm for finding a good one. It's fortunate you found out the full details at this stage though, it could have been an unpleasant first few days of ownership otherwise!

Best of luck with the search.

agree Jimmy plus my search has changed now after driving a few cars today.

First one was a 197 F1 highish Miles but wanted to test drive one of these so first thoughts nice looking car although I felt the overall shape was lost with the black paintwork :-/. Interior wise I could not get comfortable with the Recaros and with no steering wheel adjustment could not get the ideal driving position. Being 16st and 6ft 2' my shoulders rubbed on the seat. Driving it felt good it always surprises me how good these cars feel on the road and saying something coming from who has always had German cars i.e. Audi's and bmws
Again not over keen on the decals with the F1 I guess it's all done personal choice and the fact I'm an old git 51yrs old!

Second car was a 200 cup in white low miles. Thoughts.... it looked good in white and prefer this face lift making the 197 a little dated in comparison plus after reading lots of reveiws plus countless utube clips everyone says the 200 is an improvement over the 197. Interior wise loved the standard seats very comfortable yet held you nicely in the seat also liked the new dials. Driving it well bloody hell the suspension was a tad harsh! Car felt like it was on rails but hitting a bump or hole the car would shudder found myself scanning the roads ahead to avoid anything.

 

[///M]

No substitute for a test drive eh mate?

Yep, the Cup suspension is pretty taught. Makes up for it in handling though. But that's not for one minute to say the standard car is soft or handles badly. They're still great.

Moving towards a more standard car would significantly open up the market for you too if you are preferring regular suspension and seats. Newer lower miles car for the same money.

Ps. I'm not far off your age and LOVE the decals

 

[paul jennings]

No substitute for a test drive eh mate?

Yep, the Cup suspension is pretty taught. Makes up for it in handling though. But that's not for one minute to say the standard car is soft or handles badly. They're still great.

Moving towards a more standard car would significantly open up the market for you too if you are preferring regular suspension and seats. Newer lower miles car for the same money.

Ps. I'm not far off your age and LOVE the decals

Lol no offence matey these are just my thoughts if we all loved the same thing this world would be a boring place.
Last drive of the day was a 200 non cup version in a gorgeous blue. Wow! It ticked every box and must have had the longest test drive ever! Love it when they just give you the keys and you can go for a drive on your own and not have some salesman giving you the usual chat.

Well the test drives are done for the day and I can honestly say renaultsport you have converted me!
Closest car I can compare them to is my old ford puma what I call real drivers cars which just incourage you drive fast especially though the back roads and well worth it if just for the smile factor!


Paul

 

[paul jennings]

Forgot to mention pics don't do these cars justice those wiiiiide front arches!! and giant brenbo brakes look bloody lovely lol I think you can tell I'm completely smitten with these little cars.

 

[///M]

Lol no offence matey these are just my thoughts if we all loved the same thing this world would be a boring place.
Last drive of the day was a 200 non cup version in a gorgeous blue. Wow! It ticked every box and must have had the longest test drive ever! Love it when they just give you the keys and you can go for a drive on your own and not have some salesman giving you the usual chat.

Well the test drives are done for the day and I can honestly say renaultsport you have converted me!
Closest car I can compare them to is my old ford puma what I call real drivers cars which just incourage you drive fast especially though the back roads and well worth it if just for the smile factor!

Paul

Ha, Paul, none taken at all mate. And yeah, it's the same with the rest of it. Seats and Cup pack were absolutely key for us. I can absolutely see why some people really wouldn't want that. It's just a different spec that's all.

Glad you're getting somewhere now.

What blue was it? Albi (metallic and with an almost purple hint to it) or Racing (non metallic and BLUE blue). Both gorgeous colours either way.

 

[paul jennings]

It was the darker blue Albi I believe beautiful colour looked great against the black trim.

If I was into track day cars I can see why the cup version would be popular.

 

[///M]

It was the darker blue Albi I believe beautiful colour looked great against the black trim.

If I was into track day cars I can see why the cup version would be popular.

Freshly detailed Albi in the sun is stunning mate. It's a really classy colour.

Oh and it looks incredible with gold wheels on as Ben found out today

 

[Chris H72]

From the sounds of your test drives I reckon I'll end up buying something very similar. Also had a puma 1.7 and absolutely loved it. Most people called it a hairdressers car and just didn't get it but by god those things are a blast to drive even with just 125bhp. My mate has had his puma for ten years and still loves it.

 

[Chris H72]

So are you going for the blue one then Paul?

 

[paul jennings]

So are you going for the blue one then Paul?

Here's a pic of my old puma ( now sold ) giving it a polish in the back ground is my pride & joy Audi TT 225 fully restored and is a keeper. Sat sorn in my garage for the last 7 years, always wanted a mk 1 TT from the day I saw it a the motor show launch. The ford puma is so old school now but it was a blast to drive. I think only real petrolheads get it, my wife can't understand why I sold the BMW Z4 and now looking for a Renault lol

Paul

 

[Chris H72]

Nice puma black edition. Did the rear arches go rusty in the end? That's one of the main reasons I moved on but I always missed that car. I went to a celica t sport which was quicker and had a manic engine but it wasn't quite as much fun as the puma.

Funnily enough my mate with the puma bought a TT225 to replace it but it all went horribly wrong. The instrument cluster went and also the clutch master cylinder, all within a week of buying it privately so he had no comeback whatsoever. He ended up getting rid of it at a huge loss but luckily hadn't sold the puma. He did say that he should really have joined a forum before buying!

I've noticed a couple of completely standard, unmolested non cup clips pop up locally on auto trader in the last day or so. They look like good straight examples and I'm even liking the standard silver RS wheels. With all the pot holes and speed bumps round here I reckon it's the way to go!

 

[paul jennings]

I was pretty lucky with the puma as the previous owner had it garaged the only bad point was the alloys being badly corroded. I'd read about the arches going on the pumas and the reason why so I stripped out the rear seat and got access to where the inner arch met the outer and the rust starts so gave it a good coating of Under seal. Kept it for 5 years before exchanging it for a mr2 roadster. Also great fun cars but just not practical and way to easy to get the back end out!

The albi blue 200 i drove today had these 5 twin spoke alloys in anthracite and looked stunning it also really showed off the brembo brakes


Paul

 

[Chris H72]

Yep had an mr2 as well. I always wished it had the VVT-LI engine from the T sport celica. Plenty of people did convert them. Pass the brown trousers!

 

[930Tech]

That green 200 from the videos, I remember it about 3 years ago when someone either bought it or was just about to buy it and someone else linked the video and the guy shat himself

 

[paul jennings]

That green 200 from the videos, I remember it about 3 years ago when someone either bought it or was just about to buy it and someone else linked the video and the guy shat himself

Lol! I found a evo mag artical about the car where the guy basically said they thrashed the nuts off it on uk tracks and even taking it abroad and racing it over there. I know the gearbox had been replaced twice and also a member on here bought it also tracked it. It's had a hard life but not the one for me.

Paul