Renault Modus a good buy?

oliverr

I would steer clear from Renaults to be honest, especially ones that aren't new. The engine may not cause you trouble (especially if it's the 1.5 dci that's in everything from the Qashqai to the new Merc A-class and provided you do enough miles then its should be fine) it's other things like repairs and electrics to worry about...

fivetide

We have the Note. We prefered the look of it to the Modus, especially the interior and it was better specced but variety is the spice of life, be boring if we all liked the same things!

We have the 1.6 auto. It is fairly nippy and quiet to drive. the only things I don't like about it will e the same on the Modus I think. First the turning circle is very poor for what is not a very big car. Second the fuel tank is a bit on the small side.

Apart from that. comfy, easy to drive (never going to set the senses on fire) and fairly frugal.

facade

I have a Note, which is based on the modus floorpan, with a Nissan engine.

The note has a reputation for good reliability, but suffers from niggly faults:

The heater doesn't heat the drivers feet in the Winter
The front suspension is prone to bush wear which causes no end of clonks and bangs
The "flexible" wires to the boot snap off and the lock or rear wiper stop working
Some have a BECM fault that puts the rear fog lamp on all the time, so the bulb gets removed (check it works with the switch)
There are no roofrack hardpoints, so you have to jam one into the top of the door frame.
Rapid tyre wear with the OEM Contis
Rear toe-in issues which cause rear tyre wear.
Rapid disc wear.
Fan belt (auxiliary drive belt) squeals.

No doubt most of these issues are common to all mass produced cheap cars.

Having said all that, the engine and autobox are excellent

facade

fivetide wrote: »

First the turning circle is very poor for what is not a very big car.

I find it quite awkward to park compared to what I'm used to, I just put that down to my incompetence , but a 102" wheelbase doesn't help

atrixblue.-MFR-.

motorguy wrote: »

True, although because the O/P is buying second hand they wont know how the previous owner treated it and drove it, hence why i would avoid one second hand.

Another big problem is lack of servicing and general maintenance, which again is hard to prove or disprove when a car has been cleaned up and made all nice and shiney again on a dealers forecourt.

Of the 1.5DCI, in the motor trade they are seen as bad news - the turbos can give trouble in mid life, injectors, pumps, etc too. Theres also a (well founded) belief that once they start to go wrong they are expensive to maintain.

I know quite a few traders (myself included) who will simply refuse to stock a renault diesel for the above reasons.

Problems i've seen with the petrols are mainly limited to coils (£12+vat upwards from your local motor factors) and o2 sensors (£60+vat) upwards. Oh and the 1.6 16v engine more usually fitted to scenics, lagunas and meganes is prone to needing a diffuser pulley at approx 70K miles upwards which is about £120 for the genuine part, plus another maybe £80 to fit it (as the timing belt has to come off to fit it i'd recommend its done as a matter of course at the same time).

well your first sentence fits the profile to ALL second hand cars not just renault. its your choice not to stock one, doesnt mean most trader dealers will avoid them,and plenty do stock them.

do you know why the diffuser cam pully's are prone to failure? its rarely due to manufacture fault and more to do with the owner.

o2 sensor £20.00 for universal type they work well in them, coil packs (cheap ones tend to have the highest failure rates valeo or lucas ones have a 12 month guarentee) i had one fail in 14 months.

my windows worked my card reader worked everything worked on my megane. 2005 2008 have less failure rates than the late 2003-2005

my mate has a DCI 1.9 sport priviladge, no dpf failure no egr failure no injector failure no pump failure, window reg failure yes, owned it 18 months.

every car has it reputation look at the over hyped rover k series HG failures, often mis diagnosed as HG failure when only a £8.00 injector manifold seal has gone as that causes milking of the oil aswell, but as soon as someone see's the milking in the oil in a garage whats said "its a rover its HG failure they ALL do it!" when infact 2.0 v6 doesnt 2.5 v6 doesnt 4.8 V8 doesnt, and again lack of maintenance causes most of the issues. lol many peopl bought kia's back when rover were in operation not realising the 2.0 engine was a rover engine.

look at ford for the 1.6 diesel "pug" engine turbo failures.

look at the KA steering rack failure rates, and rot boxes, inc the focus mk1.

look a vx for the timing chain tensioners airbag lights and ABS and EGR valves, and more so the increasing HG failure rates on the astra G mk4 8v engine and oil leaks in the ecotech.

every car is a potential money pit, be it consisantly faulty, regualr service items even some cars chew tyres every 8k for no reason and all seems well with the setup its a part of motoring, cars cost you money, be it more than others of same model in the same manufacturer, and differs between manufacturers.

fivetide

facade wrote: »

I find it quite awkward to park compared to what I'm used to, I just put that down to my incompetence , but a 102" wheelbase doesn't help

It's a poor turner. Basically we have two cars. A Note for the Mrs and Merc C-Class. When taking the little one to nursery, I can do a U turn in the road in the much bigger Merc but the Note requires the three point shuffle.

We've not had any other issues, mind the tyre wear is a good point. Two new fronts at 17,000 miles.

UncleZen

We sold ours last year. It was an 2005 model, 1.5dci 86bhp
The engine is tractor like, no refinement at all.
The air con broke and required a new compressor, at a cost of just over £800 (difficult to get at by all accounts, hence the cost)
The wipers were intermittent, as was the blower. Both typical Renault electrical issues, as they worked when you wiggled the wires.
The mpg was good, we took it to France and back and it did about 56mpg.
Personally I would never buy French again, I was glad to be rid of it.
My advice, based on experience - steer well clear.

oliverr

UncleZen wrote: »

We sold ours last year. It was an 2005 model, 1.5dci 86bhp
The engine is tractor like, no refinement at all.
The air con broke and required a new compressor, at a cost of just over £800 (difficult to get at by all accounts, hence the cost)
The wipers were intermittent, as was the blower. Both typical Renault electrical issues, as they worked when you wiggled the wires.
The mpg was good, we took it to France and back and it did about 56mpg.
Personally I would never buy French again, I was glad to be rid of it.
My advice, based on experience - steer well clear.

Pretty much sums it up for you.

FreddieFrugal

Father in law loves his Modus. Had one, sold it for a new car, immediatley regretted it and bought another Modus 2 months later.

I have no idea what it is about them that he likes so much. They have gotten pretty much universally poor to average reviews. Don't drive well, awkward shape - not as good for space as similar sized cars that are better designed, crappy interior and of course as others have already said ... It's Renault...

Yet for some reason he loves it, can't sing its praises more highly and recommends them to everyone.

Thank goodness they stopped making them.
Get a Note - same concept but better executed

motorguy

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

well your first sentence fits the profile to ALL second hand cars not just renault.

Yes, however middle age diesel engines are most prone to being impacted by lack of maintenance.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

its your choice not to stock one, doesnt mean most trader dealers will avoid them,and plenty do stock them.

Again, ones under manufacturers warranty, yes, no problem, however most traders i know have been "caught" with a renault diesel and thus are, at least, very wary. Just not worth the risk / hassle.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

o2 sensor £20.00 for universal type they work well in them, coil packs (cheap ones tend to have the highest failure rates valeo or lucas ones have a 12 month guarentee) i had one fail in 14 months.

Worth knowing. Thanks. :money:

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

my windows worked my card reader worked everything worked on my megane. 2005 2008 have less failure rates than the late 2003-2005

Most recent failure i had was an 06 megane with all four windows not working.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

my mate has a DCI 1.9 sport priviladge, no dpf failure no egr failure no injector failure no pump failure, window reg failure yes, owned it 18 months.

Hes due a major failure any day soon then.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

every car has it reputation look at the over hyped rover k series HG failures, often mis diagnosed as HG failure when only a £8.00 injector manifold seal has gone as that causes milking of the oil aswell, but as soon as someone see's the milking in the oil in a garage whats said "its a rover its HG failure they ALL do it!" when infact 2.0 v6 doesnt 2.5 v6 doesnt 4.8 V8 doesnt, and again lack of maintenance causes most of the issues. lol many peopl bought kia's back when rover were in operation not realising the 2.0 engine was a rover engine.

Hence why i dont go by reputation, i go by my own actual experience.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

look at ford for the 1.6 diesel "pug" engine turbo failures.

Yup. Been there done that. Pigs of engines.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

look at the KA steering rack failure rates, and rot boxes, inc the focus mk1.

Yup. Done steering racks in KA's, and they rot like theres no tomorrow. Rear arches on Focus mk1 too. Big weakness.

However we were specifically talking about renaults?

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

look a vx for the timing chain tensioners airbag lights and ABS and EGR valves, and more so the increasing HG failure rates on the astra G mk4 8v engine and oil leaks in the ecotech.

Yes, hit most of those too. Again, we were talking about renaults?

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

every car is a potential money pit, be it consisantly faulty, regualr service items even some cars chew tyres every 8k for no reason and all seems well with the setup its a part of motoring, cars cost you money, be it more than others of same model in the same manufacturer, and differs between manufacturers.

Yup. However in my experience as a motor trader selling 20+ cars a month, thus heading towards 250 in two years, I wont stock, and cant recommend a renault diesel. I also actively avoid KA's, 1.6 PSA diesels, 1.9 CDTI vauxhalls, etc, etc.

BUT petrol renaults, and specifically relating to this thread, i'm happy to recommend the Modus petrol, based on my FIL having owned one - and loved it - this past two years (they live in a granny flat addendum to our house, so its here all the time) - and having sold a couple recently - means i have actual experience of them which correct me if i'm wrong is what the O/P asked for?