My Clio 197 F1 Team.

xs2man

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I've had it for about 5 weeks now. Its a 2007 197 F1 Team. Sitting on 88k.

So, not long before I bought it, the previous owner had pumped around £1500 in parts into the car. Mostly suspension and brakes sort of stuff. So thought it was good to go. I did take it for a test drive and stuff, and everything seemed to be fine. No warning lights, everything seemed to work.

When I bought it, I thought it was at least mechanically ok. But not quite the case. Had it in at a RS specialist, and it needs another ~£1200 worth of work to get it mechanically sorted, almost.

To be fair though, the first £500 was known, as was the timing belt and dephaser. But then had an ABS warning come on, on the way to the specialist. The bracket or whatever they sit on (stub axle?) was corroded, so needed replaced. The sensor can then went on do damage the wheel bearing or something, which is a part of the rear disc. So another ~£300.

I also had a leaky camshaft seal (or something about there), so that was an oil leak needing fixing. Luckily all the belts and stuff were already off, so was only really the cost of the seal to fix. Although my sump is apparently "sweating" too. Not enough to warrant doing anything about right now, but something that may need dealt with in the future.

Blooming syncros. 2nd to 3rd change. Mine was fine on the test drive, where I didn't want to hoof it too much. But once it was mine, and let rip, I could hear a very slight crunch with that change. Syncro's, so another several hundred to fix. Mines will have to wait until the wallet recovers a bit from buying the car, then fixing these issues.

Aerial is pants. FM reception is almost non existent. I fitted an aftermarket radio with DAB to mine, so I get BT and USB too, but that was an extra expense I accounted for, and usually do to all my cars. I might have a go at replacing the base later but that can wait.

Cruise control and interior lights stopped working on the way down there too. They were only fuses though, so not bad. Rear wiper aint working, but not sure yet what that is.

In all fairness. I knew about all these potential issues with these before buying the car. Thought I had done enough prior to buying mine to hopefully not have to deal with them all. But I was wrong. I had budgeted for some repairs also, but not quite so much, immediately.

I could have, perhaps, bought a lower mileage one after taking into account the purchase price, then repair cost. But then again, these issues may have all appeared shortly after purchase on one of them too. I suspect it's almost as much age related as mileage.

So overall, not a great start to Clio ownership. By the time I've bought it, and fixed it, I could have got my old Edition 30 back, which I did REALLY like, and had a much better spec. And was faster. Maybe not in the corners so much mind you. Oh well.

Next year on the track better be spectacular, ha ha.
 
Doesn't sound like you've had much luck with renfault clio so far

I've had a couple problems with mine within the year of owning it but I think it's all just age related things and it could happen to any car. The manifold flexis was one of the issues that was quite a big pain to do and the ball joints

Hopefully when you've got everything sorted you'll have some fun with it [emoji846]

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Great front splitter though!

Well, yes. I mean, it does look the part, that's for sure. The only driving I've done since getting it has been along 2 motorways really. I had a quick blast to the next town as there is a renault dealer there, where I found out I missed out on the corrosion warranty (for a small bubble on the tailgate), by 3 days. That was a fun drive. Looking forward to getting it back and seeing what it can really do to be fair.
 
Well, yes. I mean, it does look the part, that's for sure. The only driving I've done since getting it has been along 2 motorways really. I had a quick blast to the next town as there is a renault dealer there, where I found out I missed out on the corrosion warranty (for a small bubble on the tailgate), by 3 days. That was a fun drive. Looking forward to getting it back and seeing what it can really do to be fair.
I've got a little rust bubble on my boot as well. Thought I was the only one

Didnt think the corrosion warranty covered something like that. I guess my warranty would be out as well seeing as it's a 56 plate

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I've got a little rust bubble on my boot as well. Thought I was the only one

Didnt think the corrosion warranty covered something like that. I guess my warranty would be out as well seeing as it's a 56 plate

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The 12 year corrosion warranty should absolutely cover corrosion on a car up to 12 years old. BUT, I generally find they (dealers) often don't actually cover it fully, but instead come up with some excuse to not honour the warranty, and maybe offer "Goodwill" of around 50% or similar. Usually if the car has missed a service, or something.

Either way, it would have been worth the ask, if I had got there 3 days earlier. Grrrrrr.

I'll get it sorted. But once the bank account has recovered a bit. There are other, more pressing things to do first though. Like retrim the steering wheel and gearknob. And fix the bolsters on the Recaro's.
 
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The 12 year corrosion warranty should absolutely cover corrosion on a car up to 12 years old. BUT, I generally find they (dealers) often don't actually cover it fully, but instead come up with some excuse to not honour the warranty, and maybe offer "Goodwill" of around 50% or similar. Usually if the car has missed a service, or something.

Either way, it would have been worth the ask, if I had got there 3 days earlier. Grrrrrr.

I'll get it sorted. But once the bank account has recovered a bit. There are other, more pressing things to do first though. Like retrim the steering wheel and gearknob. And fix the bolsters on the Recaro's.

Keep us updated. Be interested to see who you use for the wheel re-trim, seems a few different options out there.
 
So, a little update. Although nothing overly exciting.

I went offshore not too long after getting this. So didn't really get a chance to get the timing belt done until last week. Well, a rear ABS sensor failed on the way, which rubbed off the ABS ring, that is a part of the disc, which also includes the wheel bearing, so rear discs and pads were also needed, and they aint the cheapest on these. Also needed a handbrake cable, a couple of bulbs and a couple fuses. All taken car of by Rentec (I could have, obviously, done the bulbs and fuses myself, but having not had any time with the car so far I never noticed them, so I just let them do it).

Got it back on Friday there. So today I decided to give it a wee clean / polish and take some semi-decent pics. Still got to apply sealant, and treat the glass, and do the wheels and exhaust. But the initial wash and polish is done. No correction work this time, as I'll probably be relatively lazy over the winter. So will do that next year.

Still not had a chance for a proper run it this. Only the last 10-15 miles back from Edinburgh was on decent roads. But that was a hoot. Found the limits of the Toyo tyres pretty quickly though. Need better rubber.

(Poor phone) Pics:

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Hi and welcome to the forum, I do hope you iron out all the issues and enjoy the Clio ownership. These are great little cars when they are on sing.

The problem tough is that mk3 clios are getting old and as the years go by it'd be trickier to find a good example. And that's why it's always better IMO to wait till one comes up (either from an enthusiast with fully documented history at well known specialists or from people in the field that have been selling good examples).

I only do 4k miles per year (proper miles mind you) and I spend on average £1500 per year for keeping the car mechanically perfect. People think it's a relatively cheap car but it's not, especially as it's getting older.
 
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Yes. I am finding it to not be a cheap car to own, ha ha. Still not driven it in anger really. But from what I have done, it has been fun. This car will be used properly, for the most part.

I don't mind the occasional big job, but hopefully don't have to do them all immediately. We will see. Spent the last few days cleaning it, so next week will get a good blast in it. Tyres still have plenty tread left, so while I do want them changed, I will wait to make sure there is nothing else needing done first.
 
Yes. I am finding it to not be a cheap car to own, ha ha. Still not driven it in anger really. But from what I have done, it has been fun. This car will be used properly, for the most part.

I don't mind the occasional big job, but hopefully don't have to do them all immediately. We will see. Spent the last few days cleaning it, so next week will get a good blast in it. Tyres still have plenty tread left, so while I do want them changed, I will wait to make sure there is nothing else needing done first.
Got any water trapped under the rear window at the bottom beneath the wiper?
 
Inside or outside? I guess it has collected there in the past, as that's EXACTLY where the rust is.
100% mate. Something you start looking into and find countless posts documenting the same problem. 12 year anti perforation my a***. Sent an email to Renault UK to try and get mine booked in and sorted.
 
Apperently the rust that starts under the rear window is due to the window 'dropping' and causing it to rub on the paint then the water collects there.
 
Apperently the rust that starts under the rear window is due to the window 'dropping' and causing it to rub on the paint then the water collects there.
Do you know the cost to get it repaired? Has anyone had the rust patch and got it fixed?

I'm thinking a body shop could probably spray the lip where the water sits rather than spraying the whole boot

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Do you know the cost to get it repaired? Has anyone had the rust patch and got it fixed?

I'm thinking a body shop could probably spray the lip where the water sits rather than spraying the whole boot

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I think most people get a new boot panel. Certainly Renault would replace the boot during the warranty period.
 
Welcome to the fold, I think you’ve been a little unlucky with the expenditure in your first few weeks of ownership but as already mentioned; these cars are now at the point where they need t.l.c to bring them up to scratch. My 197 Cup was initially a money pit but after spending a few ££ and sorting it out, it was a totally different car to own and drive from when I first got it.

Looking at the photos you’ve bought a very well looked after car. Enjoy it. Hoping to get into an R27 in the new year, I just think finding a very well kept one that’s not done silly miles will be tough.

regarding the boot, it would be difficult to get a good colour match by just spraying a small section of the boot. Red can be difficult to match up anyway so it’s probably best to have the boot re sprayed.
 
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