Should I buy a '06 with 125000 km?

[tomislavp4]

Hello guys! I'm currently considering buying a 197 and would appreciate your opinion.

The one (click here for pics) I'm currently interested in has been serviced on time (according to the ad) and seems to be well maintained. It has new springs an brake pads on all four corners and seems to be fully stock. I haven't seen/driven it yet because it's a 4 hour drive away from where I live so I don't know how good the gearbox is or if there are any other issues. Assuming there are no apparent issues with it, do you think a 10 year old 197 with 125 000 km on the clock can be considered a reliable daily driver for the next 3-4 years? How are your cars holding up?

 

[Dmonk197]

If its been looked after and if you are planning to look after it then why not.

 

[tomislavp4]

If its been looked after and if you are planning to look after it then why not.

That's what I think as well but people left, right and center are telling me 10 years is way too old for a French car and that the price is way too high. What they seem to be forgetting is that I drive a '99 Clio right now and it goes pretty darn good for a 18 year old car.

 

[Dmonk197]

I dont know about the values of the car in your country- but all parts are available- try and see the service history to ensure the usual things have been looked at....Belts?... etc then you will know if its been looked after- put a copy up here if you can im sure members will be able to tell you if its been looked after or not.

 

[jasonlovesfrench]

That's what I think as well but people left, right and center are telling me 10 years is way too old for a French car and that the price is way too high. What they seem to be forgetting is that I drive a '99 Clio right now and it goes pretty darn good for a 18 year old car.

There is no telling how well a car is holding up regardless of stats, servicing history, owners etc. I purchased 07 plate F1 with full service history and 87k miles. One month in the belts skipped and I had a 2k engine rebuild to pay for. You get lucky or you don't so think your safe having a ton of bills and service history, it's not always 100%.

 

[DS197]

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be reliable as a daily driver if it has been looked after well. One thing I would say however is at that age, there will be components that need replacing simply due to their age. People seem to confuse this with unreliability. As long as you acknowledge the fact that these parts may need replacing there's no reason not to go for the car, providing the gearbox and everything else is ok during the test drive. There have been numerous cars for sale with over 100,000 miles so there is no doubt they can keep going if taken care of.

 

[Branx]

From the pics, Clio looks great...
Translated it's around 6,2k €, if you can get that down to 6k, you did well... of course, as others mentioned - service history, mainly belts, and ball joints if they've been worked on...
In Croatia (you from around here, judging by your name? ) 6k is cheap for a good 197...

 

[peter]

car looks decent from the photos and 6300 euro's is a bargain for a 3 RS where i live.
the wheels it's on are aftermarket ones. maybe use that in negotiating the price?

 

[tomislavp4]

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it!

One thing I would say however is at that age, there will be components that need replacing simply due to their age.

That is to be expected really, especially after 100 000 km, nothing to freak out over like some do. Most of those are easy to replace and on the cheap-side anyway.

car looks decent from the photos and 6300 euro's is a bargain for a 3 RS where i live.
the wheels it's on are aftermarket ones. maybe use that in negotiating the price?

There are 4 197's for sale ATM and this one is the second cheapest one. The most expensive one has only 76000 km on the clock and costs 8 k, out of my current budget unfortunately.

According to the ad it comes with winter and summer tires, both on aluminium wheels, so I'm guessing the wheels the other set of tires are mounted on are the stock ones.

In Croatia (you from around here, judging by your name? ) 6k is cheap for a good 197...

Yeah, I'm from Macedonia originally but have lived in Sweden since 2005.

 

[Antti O]

In my opinion just go for it, if service history and overall condition is okay.
It should been serviced once a year, and spark plugs done in 60.000km. Timing belt interval is 4 years.

That nimbus grey is one of best colours for Clio 197, that is pearlescent grey. Really great colour when polished in sunshine.
I dont like those aftermarket wheels, maybe you should ask from dealer if there is original 197 alloys included in price?
Good luck, and if you buy it please make project thread. Those window tints and de-badging, maybe someone likes. i dont.

I just bought ultra red 197 from Finland (see my project thread in signature), it was 103.000km driven from first owner, full Renault service history...
It was some thousands more. I have found little problems in my car, but almost everything has been fixed / sorted in 2 weeks. Because that grey 197 is so cheap, you have money left if it need (it will need) fixing.
Just be careful that gearbox is smooth when car is warm, and exhaust is not blowing (exhaust manifold flexis). Those are probably 2 most expensive things to fix after engine.

Antti, Finland

 

[tomislavp4]

I just bought ultra red 197 from Finland (see my project thread in signature), it was 103.000km driven from first owner, full Renault service history...
It was some thousands more. I have found little problems in my car, but almost everything has been fixed / sorted in 2 weeks. Because that grey 197 is so cheap, you have money left if it need (it will need) fixing.
Just be careful that gearbox is smooth when car is warm, and exhaust is not blowing (exhaust manifold flexis). Those are probably 2 most expensive things to fix after engine.

Antti, Finland

Congratulations Antti. Looks like a nice car! The one I'm considering has had 5 owners. Apparently, the first owner sold it after only one year! All 4 197's currently on sale here in Sweden have 4+ owners, not counting dealerships so I's great that you could find one with only one owner, especially since so few were imported to Finland.

 

[Antti O]

Congratulations Antti. Looks like a nice car! The one I'm considering has had 5 owners. Apparently, the first owner sold it after only one year! All 4 197's currently on sale here in Sweden have 4+ owners, not counting dealerships so I's great that you could find one with only one owner, especially since so few were imported to Finland.

Thank you, in my opinion do not worry too much if many previous owners. Just check that condition and service history is ok. And not accident history.
My previous 197 which was same colour what you are looking for, now has 3 owners what i know. And when car left from me it was excellent condition.

I have following clios which are for sale in blocket.se, there was one really good ultra red with xenons and only 85000km in october for sale, but i was too slow and someone else bought it. It was dealer who sold it, not private. I have bought 2 BMW from Sweden before.

 

[tomislavp4]

The last belt change was done at 60 000 km way back in 2012. The dealer is full of s***, as expected, and says the next change is in 2 years or at 150 000 km. So, if I buy it I should drive it straight to the nearest service center and get a full fat service done on it which will bring the price up to 7 000. I did ask for a picture of the service history, haven't gotten it yet.

Original wheels come with the second set of tyres and he says he can give me 500 euros for my old car, so there's that.

 

[tomislavp4]

So, thought I'd write a little update. Someone bought it the day before I was supposed to go see it so I ended up buying a red one with 75000 km for 7500 euros a couple of days later. It seems to be taken care of well enough according to the service history and it goes like it should apart from pulling to the left under heavy braking.

 

[peter]

So, thought I'd write a little update. Someone bought it the day before I was supposed to go see it so I ended up buying a red one with 75000 km for 7500 euros a couple of days later. It seems to be taken care of well enough according to the service history and it goes like it should apart from pulling to the left under heavy braking.

congrats!
put a pic up.

 

[Antti O]

Nice one, pictures? =)

Maybe you have to work with brakes. There is good information in how-to section.

 

[tomislavp4]

congrats!
put a pic up.

Thanks. Will do, just gotta get around to washing it and taking some decent pics. Kinda busy driving for now

Nice one, pictures? =)
Maybe you have to work with brakes. There is good information in how-to section.

Either that or some ball joint needs replacing. I'm not 100% but it feels like it pulls to the opposite side under hard acceleration. Will look closer into it...

 

[tomislavp4]

Hmm, you cannot edit a post on this forum, or am I missing something? I wrote bushing in my previous post but I really meant ball joint.

 

[Jimmy]

Hmm, you cannot edit a post on this forum, or am I missing something? I wrote bushing in my previous post but I really meant ball joint.

I've edited your previous post for you, and I've also changed your permissions so you can now edit posts.

 

[James17]

i had an albi blue early 06 197 that i sold with 114,000 miles on the clock and it was great. someone on here actually owns the car now!