Possible new rs200 owner

[brutamuk]

Hi,
After owning several performance cars in the past until the kids came along its now time for my midlife crisis.
I'm in the market for a 197/200 around the £5000-8000 mark.
I've come across this one at a local Bristol Street motors which seems a good buy I think.
2010 nimbus grey rs200 ff with cup pack. 38000 miles, 3 service stamps in the book (although one of them is by available car) and there was an 18 month gap between the 1st and 2nd one. Last service and mot by Bristol Street Renault was last month. Seems to be in good condition, the only bits I picked up on are a scratch on the lower front bumper (requires smart repair), slight scuff on one wheel, and the coolant reservoir was loose.
The interior needed a good valet but I'll detail the whole car anyway.
The only thing that concerned me were the tyres. They were what appeared to be track tyres, not sure on the brand but they had plenty tread. I wouldn't of expected these on a dealership forecourt. Does this mean this car has been tracked a lot or do people use these for road use?
The price is £6500.

After the test drive where everything seemed Ok I went in to speak to the salesman with a deal in mind.
After an hours negotiations I got them to replace all 4 tyres with Michelins, give me the old tyres (I could sell them), refurbish the alloy, smart repair the scratch, fix the coolant reservoir and a 3 month warranty. The only other thing I wanted was a years tax but they only offered 6 months. I pushed them but they wouldn't budge so I walked away.
£6500 all in.
Wondering now if I was being a little too greedy?
The price alone seemed quite low when searching through autoloader for that year and spec.
What do you guys think? Should I accept the 6 months, hold out or look elsewhere? (I hate dealing with bull****ty car salesman so I was probably being stubborn).
Thanks,
Bruce.

 

[brutamuk]

Here's a pic...

 

[Adam93]

£6500 sounds very reasonable seeing as i paid £6350 for my 197 Cup back in April with 46k; 7 stamps and the all important belt service.

As for the tyres, some people do prefer to use a "fast road" tyre especially during the summer months; it does possibly indicate the car has been "driven" but the engine's are strong if looked after properly. There's always a nice selection of 197's and 200's between 6-8k so if you're a bit unsure initially then walk away and hold out for the right example.

 

[Fernandez]

Seems like a good deal and tbh if you are happy with it and like the car then go for it.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the tyre issue. The Conti's that are oem fitment are considered by many to be over rated for the price so different tyres are often found on these cars. What tyres were they?

 

[brutamuk]

Not sure too be honest. I forgot to make a note of the make.
I've never done track days before so I'm not really familiar with these tyres. As soon as I saw them I just thought they don't look like standard road tyres. The outer bit of each tyre just seemed to have dimples in and the inner half had proper tread? Sounds weird but that's the best way I can describe them.
You can see in the pic above they look like slicks from the side.

 

[Womble]

That car does not have the cup pack on. Cup pack cars have RED calipers, sit lower and have a faster rack fitted. If you go to the Renault dealer they can print you off a sheet with what it left the factory with, but it does not look like a cup packed car.

 

[Fernandez]

Not sure too be honest. I forgot to make a note of the make.
I've never done track days before so I'm not really familiar with these tyres. As soon as I saw them I just thought they don't look like standard road tyres. The outer bit of each tyre just seemed to have dimples in and the inner half had proper tread? Sounds weird but that's the best way I can describe them.
You can see in the pic above they look like slicks from the side.

Sounds like a Syron Street race tyre from the description. Pretty cheap but incredible grip.

 

[brutamuk]

Sounds like a Syron Street race tyre from the description. Pretty cheap but incredible grip.

Just Googled them and that's exactly what they were.

I might be wrong about the cup pack then. I thought the black wing mirrors and anthracite alloys are part of the cup pack. It has the silver brembos. Are these the same as the red ones apart from the colour?

 

[Chris]

Just Googled them and that's exactly what they were.

I might be wrong about the cup pack then. I thought the black wing mirrors and anthracite alloys are part of the cup pack. It has the silver brembos. Are these the same as the red ones apart from the colour?

Cups generally have plastic mirrors and anthracite alloys yes on the 12 spoke, those alloys come on the 200 full fat. As said, all cups have red brembos, but they could have been resprayed, but unlikely. The only way to be 100% sure is colour code on the springs.

Judging by by the calipers, it's probaly not a cup, doubt someone would get then colour changed back to silver lol.

edit, yes same brake just colour of caliper different on all cars, unless modded by previous owner.

 

[Matt W]

No wonder they didn't want to sell it to you for that, have you seen the price on 4 new michelins? They'd end up making a loss.