My FF Cup Packed Albi 200
- Thread starter james_h
- Start date
james_h
Platinum Member
bit of a massive update... as a few things have gone on over the last 3 or so months but I haven't had chance to post any pics or updates as such.
1) lights...
Had a load of issues with both water ingress and condensation in both headlights (one more than the other) and both spot lights.
Although it's a well known phenomena (the condensation), I felt that there was too much in the clusters and spotlights...
Without going in to the boring detail of all the hassle I had to go through I managed to get all 4 replaced by Renault under warranty. :kiss:
:jump1:
Still there was a problem with one of the lights as when it came back from Renault there were small bits of light internals inside the cluster
so.... back to Renault ...again...
Another new Headlight unit -this time all good however :hug: This was around 3 months or so ago, and since everything has been great. You still get the odd bit of condensation when going from a hot garage in to the cold and visa versa, and sometimes when washing (again temp differences) - but sorted none the less.
2) Seat....
I noticed a few months back the drivers seat foam on the left hand bolster had started to drop ever so slightly. When getting down and looking underneath I could see that the foam had started to split.
Again more calls to Renault and my local dealer. Loads of pics taken, car taken in for inspection etc etc... and eventually a new seat cover and foam was ordered. This was fitted and all went well for a week...
Then... I noticed that the seat cover towards the back was not pulled tight and started to look a little bobbled...
Red up I thought sod it and stripped both the passenger and drivers seat to see what was going on.
It turned out there were two strips of material that should have been pinned up on the base of the seat foam (looking at the passenger side and comparing)... completely fed up I ordered two seat trim clips from Renault and did the work myself...
All sorted :jump1: :jump1:
The back of the seat cover is now pulled nice and tight. All the clips are in place and I have a nice new seat cover to go with the new headlights...
The car is looking newer than when it left the factory! lol :jase2:
Car is now sat on just over 6k - and I have only covered around 900 miles in the last 6 months mostly due to the rubbish weather. I do try and keep her indoors in the wet
hmy:
Cleaned yesterday and parked up for the summer if it ever comes! Wheels waxed nicely...
oh and the new Jack which is useful even though I have two trolley jacks, a bottle jack, axel stands and a scissor jack ;/
1) lights...
Had a load of issues with both water ingress and condensation in both headlights (one more than the other) and both spot lights.
Although it's a well known phenomena (the condensation), I felt that there was too much in the clusters and spotlights...
Without going in to the boring detail of all the hassle I had to go through I managed to get all 4 replaced by Renault under warranty. :kiss:
:jump1:
Still there was a problem with one of the lights as when it came back from Renault there were small bits of light internals inside the cluster
so.... back to Renault ...again...
Another new Headlight unit -this time all good however :hug: This was around 3 months or so ago, and since everything has been great. You still get the odd bit of condensation when going from a hot garage in to the cold and visa versa, and sometimes when washing (again temp differences) - but sorted none the less.
2) Seat....
I noticed a few months back the drivers seat foam on the left hand bolster had started to drop ever so slightly. When getting down and looking underneath I could see that the foam had started to split.
Again more calls to Renault and my local dealer. Loads of pics taken, car taken in for inspection etc etc... and eventually a new seat cover and foam was ordered. This was fitted and all went well for a week...
Then... I noticed that the seat cover towards the back was not pulled tight and started to look a little bobbled...
Red up I thought sod it and stripped both the passenger and drivers seat to see what was going on.
It turned out there were two strips of material that should have been pinned up on the base of the seat foam (looking at the passenger side and comparing)... completely fed up I ordered two seat trim clips from Renault and did the work myself...
All sorted :jump1: :jump1:
The back of the seat cover is now pulled nice and tight. All the clips are in place and I have a nice new seat cover to go with the new headlights...
The car is looking newer than when it left the factory! lol :jase2:
Car is now sat on just over 6k - and I have only covered around 900 miles in the last 6 months mostly due to the rubbish weather. I do try and keep her indoors in the wet
hmy:Cleaned yesterday and parked up for the summer if it ever comes! Wheels waxed nicely...
oh and the new Jack which is useful even though I have two trolley jacks, a bottle jack, axel stands and a scissor jack ;/
glad you got the things sorted in the end mate, its always a pain dealing with Renault from past experiences. Just a shame you have to do things yourself if you want it doing right lol. Now get out and drive it for godsake!
james_h
Platinum Member
glad you got the things sorted in the end mate, its always a pain dealing with Renault from past experiences. Just a shame you have to do things yourself if you want it doing right lol. Now get out and drive it for godsake!
cheers mate - yeah I think getting a car under warranty was one of my worst decisions - I could have done all this work myself in half the time and loads less hassle. Your right about jobs - if you want something done right do it yourself! It's mad how it often works out like that..
Your right about driving the thing - trouble is I had a company car for while which obviously was first choice for driving to work and running around at the weekend - I reckon that must be some sort of mileage record only covering that amount in nearly a year :'(
james_h
Platinum Member
Glad you got everything sorted out in the end mate. I couldn't believe how many times you had to take it back to Renault and get it sorted however at least it was all under warranty so you didn't have to fork out apart from the 2 metal seat pins. Car is looking nice.
Albi blue FTW!!
Hi mate. Thanks for the positive comments. Must have been back to Renault at least 6 or 7 times. At least everything is soted now...until the next thing breaks!
james_h
Platinum Member
Nice car....nice colour....nice pictures! Not sure why Albi Blue has been discontinued! I thought it was one of the better colours...
Cheers DrDx lol.. I love the colour personally, it really suits these type of cars and no other manufacturers quite do the same vibrant yet metallic blue..
I loved the Mondial Blue used on the 172 cup (which I owned) and the Subaru Blue used on the P1 etc... it's just a lush colour. I think the Albi blue is really similar to these..
james_h
Platinum Member
Another late update. This happened a fair few months back but never got time to post.
I noticed that the front bumper and diffuser (also some of the rear diffuser) was a bit scratched..something that happens quite a bit on the Gloss Black parts I have heard (Paint is soft?). The last owner must have attacked it a bit to vigorously with a bug shifter I suspect... :-(
Anyway thanks to RussZS the problematic areas now looks great..
The actual thread and all the pics are here..
http://www.clio197.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17032
I noticed that the front bumper and diffuser (also some of the rear diffuser) was a bit scratched..something that happens quite a bit on the Gloss Black parts I have heard (Paint is soft?). The last owner must have attacked it a bit to vigorously with a bug shifter I suspect... :-(
Anyway thanks to RussZS the problematic areas now looks great..
The actual thread and all the pics are here..
http://www.clio197.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17032
james_h
Platinum Member
Thanks mate.
Trouble is I'm not a vinyl fat at all - hate it.
Looking for Russ to do the roof asap.
james_h
Platinum Member
I hadn't got the diagnostic equipment out for a good few months so when a neighbour had a problem with their Clio I offered to blow the dust off and fire it up - reading out 3 faults (Lambda Sensor, Vehicle Speed Sensor & one other I can't remember) and turning off the MIL and Electrical warning lights.
I didn't take any photo's of the Mk2 2000 Clio unfortunately, but whilst I had it all out I thought I may as well stick the 200 just to see what apps were compatible.
Trusty old Compaq Presario does the job nicely..especially when it frequently gets dropped lol
OBD2 Port...
Ready to go..
Getting connected is always a pain as you have to simulate a serial port with a USB port :-(
No fault codes as expected - phew!!
Various read outs (coolent temp etc)
Ability to map
Drag strip section lol.. also a dyno app is available
I didn't take any photo's of the Mk2 2000 Clio unfortunately, but whilst I had it all out I thought I may as well stick the 200 just to see what apps were compatible.
Trusty old Compaq Presario does the job nicely..especially when it frequently gets dropped lol
OBD2 Port...
Ready to go..
Getting connected is always a pain as you have to simulate a serial port with a USB port :-(
No fault codes as expected - phew!!
Various read outs (coolent temp etc)
Ability to map
Drag strip section lol.. also a dyno app is available
james_h
Platinum Member
A bit of a big update this one, as I haven't been on for a while.
Some of you may remember me posting about the tw@t who kindly drove on an unsurfaced road past me and showered my car with gravel... giving me loads of stone chips in return
http://www.clio197.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25018
Really peed off from this, especially the huge couple of chips I managed to get on the front panel (between the bonnet and bumper where the Renault bade sits) I decided to look at the options of sorting these and the other smaller chips out.:thumbsup:
1) First off I tried to rectify them my self. Touching in with Renault touch up and lacquer, then flatting down, cutting and polishing...
outcome..it looked crap.
2) So, through a contact in the trade I was recommended a smart repairer.. not the usual Chips away rubbish but a guy who has been in the trade for years and doesn't use water based paint but proper 2k paint etc.
outcome.. well... after showing him the car he pointed out that due to my earlier meddling that I had already made the laquer very thin .:thumb1: I was a bit gutted, but asked him to do the best he could knowing that he would probably go through the remaining lacquer...which he did.
3) Left with a bit of a mess now, a stone chip touched in and some speckly looking lacquer I decided to get the whole panel painted.:'(
I've used a bodyshop guy for some years, but I wanted it done quickly and near to my work I opted on recommendation from a friend at Renault to use their approved Body shop.
For those of you still awake - The place I used was called RS Motors, and they are approved repairers for Renault, Peugeot etc.
After paying a visit and booking the car in I left it with them for a couple of days. I found out that the Albi blue on the 200 has a silver base coat and then a thin coat of blue which is what gives it the 2 tone sort of flip look. I had always wondered how it was so dark and light in contrast for the same colour!!:huh:
Result - well I was chuffed with the finish, but after getting the car home I found that a small piece of lacquer had cracked and come away around the Renault badge
So back to the body shop. I have to say that the service was great and the body shop manager Todd got the car straight back in. Apparently they had put the badge back on a bit too soon and caught the paint.
So - painted again!..and again it looked amazing. Only this time there were a few marks on the Gloss Black Bumper now (not there before) and there was a bit of rough edge/over spray left on the lip of the panel by the bonnet (not visible to much but not great)
By this time I was really gutted. Again the car went back in and one one of the paint guys - Luke - machine polished out the marks (caused by the bags to stop over spray they use sweating or having water in when baking the paint) on the gloss black bumper and coated with nice wax :thumbup:
Todd used 3000 grit and various compounds to finish the rough edges and tidy up the edge. Then another polish :thumbup:
The finish was now amazing and I have to say looks better than the factory finish :thumbup1: it's 10 times smoother and looks like glass. And no chips now!!!roud:
:jase2::jase2::jase2::clap::clap::clap:
The gloss black bumper now looks like new again after a polish. :thumbup:
Some of you may remember me posting about the tw@t who kindly drove on an unsurfaced road past me and showered my car with gravel... giving me loads of stone chips in return
http://www.clio197.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25018
Really peed off from this, especially the huge couple of chips I managed to get on the front panel (between the bonnet and bumper where the Renault bade sits) I decided to look at the options of sorting these and the other smaller chips out.:thumbsup:
1) First off I tried to rectify them my self. Touching in with Renault touch up and lacquer, then flatting down, cutting and polishing...
outcome..it looked crap.
2) So, through a contact in the trade I was recommended a smart repairer.. not the usual Chips away rubbish but a guy who has been in the trade for years and doesn't use water based paint but proper 2k paint etc.
outcome.. well... after showing him the car he pointed out that due to my earlier meddling that I had already made the laquer very thin .:thumb1: I was a bit gutted, but asked him to do the best he could knowing that he would probably go through the remaining lacquer...which he did.
3) Left with a bit of a mess now, a stone chip touched in and some speckly looking lacquer I decided to get the whole panel painted.:'(
I've used a bodyshop guy for some years, but I wanted it done quickly and near to my work I opted on recommendation from a friend at Renault to use their approved Body shop.
For those of you still awake - The place I used was called RS Motors, and they are approved repairers for Renault, Peugeot etc.
After paying a visit and booking the car in I left it with them for a couple of days. I found out that the Albi blue on the 200 has a silver base coat and then a thin coat of blue which is what gives it the 2 tone sort of flip look. I had always wondered how it was so dark and light in contrast for the same colour!!:huh:
Result - well I was chuffed with the finish, but after getting the car home I found that a small piece of lacquer had cracked and come away around the Renault badge
So back to the body shop. I have to say that the service was great and the body shop manager Todd got the car straight back in. Apparently they had put the badge back on a bit too soon and caught the paint.
So - painted again!..and again it looked amazing. Only this time there were a few marks on the Gloss Black Bumper now (not there before) and there was a bit of rough edge/over spray left on the lip of the panel by the bonnet (not visible to much but not great)
By this time I was really gutted. Again the car went back in and one one of the paint guys - Luke - machine polished out the marks (caused by the bags to stop over spray they use sweating or having water in when baking the paint) on the gloss black bumper and coated with nice wax :thumbup:
Todd used 3000 grit and various compounds to finish the rough edges and tidy up the edge. Then another polish :thumbup:
The finish was now amazing and I have to say looks better than the factory finish :thumbup1: it's 10 times smoother and looks like glass. And no chips now!!!
roud::jase2::jase2::jase2::clap::clap::clap:
The gloss black bumper now looks like new again after a polish. :thumbup:
james_h
Platinum Member
Front number plate was starting to get a bit manky - loads of water marks coming through from the back... so got a new one and swapped it over
Drilling holes using the last plate as a template
Also noticed that one of the clips holding the rear arch liner secure had gone missing
Easy enough to put right - I don't think this part had ever been ordered at Renault Bham...
Drilling holes using the last plate as a template
Also noticed that one of the clips holding the rear arch liner secure had gone missing
Easy enough to put right - I don't think this part had ever been ordered at Renault Bham...
james_h
Platinum Member
You sound like you are in the same boat I was.
Mine wasn't in great shape when I brought the car - but if you read back through the thread you'll see that RussZS from here sorted it with a machine polish.
Since then it's also had another polish by the bodyshop
roud:I don't know what the last owner had done to it - I think it was just from poor washing and grit (maybe a bug shifter?), and also I have found that some polishes with light cutting properties don't help - not when applied by hand... T-cut and farecla on mine by hand made it 10x worse!
Try and get a detailer to give it a machine polish mate with megs.
