RS Clio 200 questions

[Danith]

Hi all,

Had a lot of clios but never a 200 so here are a few tailored questions (I could search but I've paid the subs so..........here's what I'd like to know off you helpful peeps):

Started in 2009 - were there any revisions from 2010 onwards? When buying some shocks for my brother's 2009 200 (Non UK version) RPD mentioned there were gold label shocks or something and that some H&R springs fit the 2009 version but not later? What were these revisions? Starts from 10 plates or 59?

Belts and dephaser (and pump?) - classic clio buying guide top question. 172 was 72k and 5 years, 200 is different? Still same issue with dephaser - replace on inspection only? What's the rough cost all in at an indy (guessing about £500?)

Ball joints - have to replace the entire arms (£X?)

Gearbox - 3rd and 4th will wear mainly? Fine to catch a little when cold but anything other than that it's goosed? (My megane would catch in second, as does my EP and old Clios - but a box oil change and some polymounts seemed to cure that)

Recaros - possible to get new from Renault for £850 or am I dreaming?

Cup option - just shocks and springs and red brembos?

'FF' - were they ALL FF really with climate/cruise/auto lights/wipers or was this an option like the Cup chassis?

Spoilers - 3 different types of rear? (no spoiler, Cup spoiler (weird winged thing) and sprint (subtle little ducktail)?

Tax - what is the monthly/annual charge (newer ones costs more?)

That's all I have..........for now

 

[Micah]

Hi, let's see what I can come up with:

The top mounts for the shocks changed on models from July 2010 onwards. Always best to physically check the top mounts (later ones are smaller so I'm led to believe) if the car was registered not long before/after that date.

Belts should be changed every 6 years or 72,000 miles. Dephasers are generally reliable, but I replaced as I got one in the kit - turned out to be faulty, ended up with a £400 bill for a new part and labour!

Ball joints can be bought on their own from RSport in Wimbledon for £42 plus VAT. You shouldn't need to replace the whole assembly, but it has been known to happen, just ask @Big Ben (I think that was the issue)

The box on my 200 was absolutely fine, stiffer when cold but would recommend an annual oil change on the box to keep it sweet.

Recaro's - no chance from Renault AFAIK. Plenty for sale at the moment, looking around the £900 for very good condition, or maybe slightly less.

Cup chassis is stiffer/lower suspension, quicker steering rack and red Brembo's.

No such thing as FF with the Mk3, it's either a Cup, or a standard car (air con, keyless entry, soft touch dash etc.) with the Cup pack specified.

Spoilers: None at all, Cup (with winglets) or Sprint (ducktail). The Gordini and Raider come with the GT spoiler.

Tax is currently £275 for 12m

Any other questions?

 

[Danith]

Hi, let's see what I can come up with:

The top mounts for the shocks changed on models from July 2010 onwards. Always best to physically check the top mounts (later ones are smaller so I'm led to believe) if the car was registered not long before/after that date.

Belts should be changed every 6 years or 72,000 miles. Dephasers are generally reliable, but I replaced as I got one in the kit - turned out to be faulty, ended up with a £400 bill for a new part and labour!

Ball joints can be bought on their own from RSport in Wimbledon for £42 plus VAT. You shouldn't need to replace the whole assembly, but it has been known to happen, just ask @Big Ben (I think that was the issue)

The box on my 200 was absolutely fine, stiffer when cold but would recommend an annual oil change on the box to keep it sweet.

Recaro's - no chance from Renault AFAIK. Plenty for sale at the moment, looking around the £900 for very good condition, or maybe slightly less.

Cup chassis is stiffer/lower suspension, quicker steering rack and red Brembo's.

No such thing as FF with the Mk3, it's either a Cup, or a standard car (air con, keyless entry, soft touch dash etc.) with the Cup pack specified.

Spoilers: None at all, Cup (with winglets) or Sprint (ducktail). The Gordini and Raider come with the GT spoiler.

Tax is currently £275 for 12m

Any other questions?

Brilliant summary - really appreciate that.

Some good news there too. So there are plenty of recaros for sale? I can't see many! Used to come up on the Megane pages now and again - I'd be tempted to buy a set so I have a wider range of cars to select from as 90% don't seem to have them in, which sucks.
Sounds like I'll be fine then as long as it's 'cup' spec - as it'll have the day to day goodies like climate and cruise.

I'd be using Mark at MRS so I know that he'd be hard to beat on price for repairs and Northloop for any gearbox issues.

Will have a look for some Recaros then! Ta.

 

[Micah]

Ok, maybe I'm wrong about the Recaro's, but I will say this: buy a car based on condition, you can always buy the seats later on - that's what I did. The standard seats are absolutely fine and not to be laughed at in any way. In some respects I wish I'd kept them but I had a Recaro shaped itch to scratch, and then another one

 

[Danith]

The Recaros are a must for me. The standard seats are probably comfier but doesn't 'feel' like a 200 without the Recaros, it'd just p*ss my OCD off.
Will have to keep an eye out for a set.

 

[link]

I would say go search the forum but since your a member... Erm where to start!

Different top mounts on later versions, belts are 72k or 6 years on the 200 I think (It's 5 years on 197 but no real difference that I'm aware off so it's up to you), the dephasers aren't as bad as on the 1*2 and your looking around £600 mark or thereabouts at a specialist for the full shizzle.

Ball joints can be done separately but it's not a fun job and they are not available directly from renault (see how to guide etc), gearboxes can be cheese it's a bit hit and miss but they need to be treated with kid gloves really.

Recaros are mega bucks, a shagged set might set you back that kinda money, they wear like sh*t so again need a lot of TLC. You can get the same ones new via capital seating I think, dunno if renault will sell any new but they might cost more than the car!

Cup option was shocks, springs, calipers and steering rack I think... FF in my opinion is all the usual extras either with or without cup pack, be warned that there are a lot of optional extras compared to a 1*2 e.g. auto lights, climate control, six speakers, rear tints, sunroof, alloys, sat nav, bluetooth and so on... A bogo FF has aircon and cruise control etc. but not much else (that was certainly case with the 197 but 200 might be better spec'd as standard) so the whole FF thing is a bit of nonsense really.

Have a look as the buyers guide pretty much everything you need is on there!

 

[Micah]

Drop a message to @Steve Murr - he usually has sets coming in quite often.

 

[Danith]

Drop a message to @Steve Murr - he usually has sets coming in quite often.

Will lash him over a message! ta

 

[Danith]

I would say go search the forum but since your a member... Erm where to start!

Different top mounts on later versions, belts are 72k or 6 years on the 200 I think (It's 5 years on 197 but no real difference that I'm aware off so it's up to you), the dephasers aren't as bad as the 1*2 and your looking around £600 at a specialist for the full shizzle.

Ball joints can be done separately but it's not a fun job and they are not available directly from renault (see how to guide etc), gearboxes can be cheese it's a bit hit and miss but they need to be treated with kid gloves really.

Recaros are mega bucks, a shagged set might set you back that kinda money, they wear like sh*t so again need a lot of TLC. You can get the same ones new via capital seating I think, dunno if renault will sell any new but they might cost more than the car!

Cup option was shocks, springs, calipers and steering rack I think... FF in my opinion is all the usual extras either with or without cup pack, be warned that there are a lot of optional extras compared to a 1*2 e.g. auto lights, climate control, six speakers, rear tints, sunroof, alloys, sat nav, bluetooth and so on... A bogo FF has aircon and cruise control etc. but not much else (that was certainly case with the 197 but 200 might be better spec'd as standard) so the whole FF thing is a bit of nonsense.

Have a look as the buyers guide pretty much everything you need is on there!

Ah cheers, that was my concern - that some features might have been optional not factory, I'd have to have:

Cruise, climate, auto lights and wipers - other stuff I could always retro fit

So I don't drive across the country and find it hasn't got some features I might've forgotten about.

 

[link]

Ah cheers, that was my concern - that some features might have been optional not factory, I'd have to have:

Cruise, climate, auto lights and wipers - other stuff I could always retro fit

So I don't drive across the country and find it hasn't got some features I might've forgotten about.

Cruise is standard on a non-cup as is keyless entry, climate and lights is extra as was xenon's on the 197, the 200 got projectors instead but dunno if they were standard or not? I'd look for bluetooth too as its a godsend, I retrofitted satnav but it's a big job (see how to section).

Sounds like you want a FF with cup pack and recaros... Good luck with the search, cough *raider* cough

 

[Pav]

there are a few for sale atm on here..many thanks for all the replies..very detailed and informatitive..not a lot to ad to be honest..you can get ball joints without having to replace the whole arm....

 

[Danith]

Cruise is standard on a non-cup as is keyless entry, climate and lights is extra as was xenon's on the 197, the 200 got projectors instead but dunno if they were standard or not? I'd look for bluetooth too as its a godsend, I retrofitted satnav but it's a big job (see how to section).

Sounds like you want a FF with cup pack and recaros... Good luck with the search, cough *raider* cough

Raider is that matte paint tho isnt it?

 

[link]

Yup, as rare as it gets... A nightmare to wash though! :excited:

 

[Danith]

I'm into my polishing etc, it'd ruin my fun

 

[Danith]

OK - one more question. Going to see a 200 on Friday and I can see that the driver's side bolster is frayed - what's the cost to fix these? I know capital do them for the honda, although I've never looked into it.

 

[Micah]

Is it £125 @Steve Murr?

 

[Danith]

Steve Murr again??! He loves it. Down south though aren't you Steve?

 

[link]

Steve's in Kent and I think he usually wants the full seat to do it, might be wrong though? Edge automotive and capital seating are the only other two I know further north, unlike the Honda bolsters (aren't they bolt on?) it's a full restitch jobbie with the clio as the bolster and base is one-piece...

Also things like worn recaros and melted steering wheels can be more age related rather than a yard stick to how it's been looked after, obviously if the recaros are torn to shreads it's telling you something but basically if you've sat in a recaro 'once' it's going to show some kind of wear, conversely if you left the clio parked in the sun 'once' the steering wheel is going to have turned to mush.

Check it's service history and you can check its old MOT's online with just the reg, give it a good drive, listen for knocks and noises, see if it's had the common (springs etc.) or the expensive (cambelt etc.) done, any <10/11 car should have had the cambelt done at least once!

 

[Danith]

Steve's in Kent and I think he usually wants the full seat to do it, might be wrong though? Edge automotive and capital seating are the only other two I know further north, unlike the Honda bolsters (aren't they bolt on?) it's a full restitch jobbie with the clio as the bolster and base is one-piece...

Also things like worn recaros and melted steering wheels can be more age related rather than a yard stick to how it's been looked after, obviously if the recaros are torn to shreads it's telling you something but basically if you've sat in a recaro 'once' it's going to show some kind of wear, conversely if you left the clio parked in the sun 'once' the steering wheel is going to have turned to mush.

Check it's service history and you can check its old MOT's online with just the reg, give it a good drive, listen for knocks and noises, see if it's had the common (springs etc.) or the expensive (cambelt etc.) done or not, any <10/11 car should have had the cambelt done at least once!

Cool. Will do. Might even go tomorrow as im down in birmingham anyway.

 

[Nick]

@Danith

This will clear up a few questions

https://www.renaultsportclub.co.uk/...up-gordini-silverstone-raider-specification-s