Renault Clio 1.2L Estate

Freefall · 28 November 2011 at 12:55AM

Hi,

Looking at new cars for a first time buyer (23yo male, just passed). Wanting to know what people think of the Renault Clio 1.2L Dynamique Estate (apart from the general advice that new drivers should probably stick to old bangers :P ).

Here's my thinking so far:

I really like the deal but I am just worried about Renaults reputation for poor Electrics.

It sounds like a really good deal: A Renault "To Go" car (owned by Renault Management for a few months prior to moving on). 1.2L so cheap on the insurance (cheapest estate I could find to insure but still 100BHP engine) and includes all the bells and whistles (Cruise Control, Sat Nav, AirCon). It is £8.5K (list price £14.7K I think), 10 Months old with 13K on the clock.

It still has it's Renault Warranty left to run for over 2 years and you can extend that, I understand, with Renault for £200-£300 for an extra year. I also understand that you can hand the car back on HP half way through the term so it seems that I could hand it back prior to the Warranty Expiring.

What do the experts on here think of it? Should I expect a tonne of electrical faults or is it just people who have had problems are the only people that report it and that is what causes the bad reputation?

TrickyWicky · 28 November 2011 at 1:13AM

At that age I wouldn't worry about it. If you like it then get it. It's not until about 6 years you need to start getting worried. By that age most renaults are dead or dying and the resale value plummets like a stone (if you're wanting to sell it and see a decent return in the future avoid renault completely).

They can be reliable if serviced regularly and while they do have the odd electrical moment I've had 4 renaults and no major problems on any except the odd coil dying. The main problem with them is the quality of some of their mechanical parts. If you're not fussed about depreciation in value and you intend to service it every 6 months and are happy to pay repair bills as it crawls towards the scrap yard then grab it. Renault do make nice comfy cars and some of their toys are second to none. Parts are pricey though so bear that in mind. Their comfort is superior over VW/Audi any day.

Freefall · 28 November 2011 at 1:22AM

TrickyWicky wrote: »

At that age I wouldn't worry about it. If you like it then get it. It's not until about 6 years you need to start getting worried. By that age most renaults are dead or dying and the resale value plummets like a stone (if you're wanting to sell it and see a decent return in the future avoid renault completely).

They can be reliable if serviced regularly and while they do have the odd electrical moment I've had 4 renaults and no major problems on any except the odd coil dying. The main problem with them is the quality of some of their mechanical parts. If you're not fussed about depreciation in value and you intend to service it every 6 months and are happy to pay repair bills as it crawls towards the scrap yard then grab it. Renault do make nice comfy cars and some of their toys are second to none. Parts are pricey though so bear that in mind. Their comfort is superior over VW/Audi any day.

Should I worry about repair bills much during the Warranty Period? I had simply budgeted for service costs reasoning that anything that went wrong not caused by an accident should be covered by Warranty.

Also I was told that you only need to service something like 18K miles/1 year? Or do you service more often just be on the safe side?

TrickyWicky · 28 November 2011 at 1:29AM

I'd service more often to be on the safe side. It will also help you to get a better return on it when you sell it in the future. The 1 year thing is the recommended minimum but more frequent servicing thats stamped in the service book will mean its value is higher and you'll encounter less nasties too.

With Renault yes I'd still worry about bills in the warranty period. They're known for dodgy designs (speedos, bonnet catches etc) that they then refuse to replace even when under warranty. Instead they'll generously offer you the discounted parts/labour (They were on BBC watchdog for this last year). They do make very nice cars and if you can avoid the niggles of dealing with them directly they're not so bad but when things do go wrong they can be difficult to deal with. You might want to look at renaultforums.co.uk and see the tales of woe there and ask for advice.

I'm not trying to put you off, we've got two renaults outside as I type - both of them are over 12 years old and I love them to bits but its best that you're forewarned before you jump in!

Freefall · 28 November 2011 at 2:00AM

TrickyWicky wrote: »

I'd service more often to be on the safe side. It will also help you to get a better return on it when you sell it in the future. The 1 year thing is the recommended minimum but more frequent servicing thats stamped in the service book will mean its value is higher and you'll encounter less nasties too.

With Renault yes I'd still worry about bills in the warranty period. They're known for dodgy designs (speedos, bonnet catches etc) that they then refuse to replace even when under warranty. Instead they'll generously offer you the discounted parts/labour (They were on BBC watchdog for this last year). They do make very nice cars and if you can avoid the niggles of dealing with them directly they're not so bad but when things do go wrong they can be difficult to deal with. You might want to look at renaultforums.co.uk and see the tales of woe there and ask for advice.

I'm not trying to put you off, we've got two renaults outside as I type - both of them are over 12 years old and I love them to bits but its best that you're forewarned before you jump in!

That's interesting. What's their get out clause for not paying for repairs within the warranty period?

TrickyWicky · 28 November 2011 at 2:08AM

Beats me but I've heard it from so many places its unreal. As i said, go to the renaultforums ask about over there.

attila_ · 28 November 2011 at 4:19AM

whats the insurance like on it?

Freefall · 28 November 2011 at 4:25AM

attila_ wrote: »

whats the insurance like on it?

78 PCM when paid annually.

Quite good for a first time driver my age I reckon

rodenal · 28 November 2011 at 9:48AM

That sounds good for someone under 25 with 0 no claims. If I were you and you're sure you can't or dont want to make do with a car you can buy cash then I'd just take it.

Clios are pretty good little cars all round, tend to have less toys and so have less bits to break but in all honesty if the car has 2 years manufacturers warranty left I wouldn't worry too much about repair costs. Can't say I would service it any more often than once a year (unless mileage takes you over) - it's not a high performance car, so long as you stick good oil in it it'll be fine. Ok you could have an issue and difficulties with reanult, but how likely is it really to happen?

Renault don't make bad cars but what they do seem to make are inconsistent ones. We had a 99 megane coupe with about 110k until about 6 months ago that got nothing other than essential repairs and regular servicing and it cost next to nothing in the few years we had it - it never really moved either which can't have been good for it. It's still going strong too, only needed a touch of welding for MOT time so I hear. On the flip side I've read of people having nothing but problems with the early meganes.

TrickyWicky · 28 November 2011 at 12:43PM

We had a 97 megane.. money pit. Every month it wanted something doing to it and it only had 68k on the clock when we got it. We kept it until 78k and at that point it had suffered two HG failures.

Gotta be said though I loved that bloody car! Pain in the grass but I was very attached to it.