Shed of the Week: Renaultsport Clio 172

How better to spend £600 than on a Renaultsport legend? Shed makes the case

The selection process for each Shed of the Week is both intensive and exhaustive. Each and every Thursday morning, hundreds of scouts are sent out from PH Towers to search for the best bargains from the PH Classifieds. Their findings have to be radioed in by 12 noon for checking by a hand-picked team of researchers whose only job is to ensure that Shed candidates meet the strict criteria.

With £400 in the kitty, these can be sorted

At 2pm, a sub-committee of used car experts begins the task of whittling the choice down to a short list of ten cars. At 3pm, their final selection is put in front of a twelve-strong star chamber of good men and true for a one-hour debate. Majority verdicts are not acceptable: the decision must be unanimous.

The URL of the final choice is written down on rice paper by a eunuch, who is then shot. The precious note is couriered under armed guard to Shed's secret allotment, where he memorises the URL, eats the paper and works through the night to create the story, which is then deep-blue encoded for secure transmission and upload in time for the Friday 9.30am deadline.

Sometimes though we miss all that out and Dan just picks a car.

Original wheels sweeten the deal

You can see why this scabby Phase 1 Clio 172 might have lubricated his treadle. First, there's the price. £600 for a running and legal 172 is tough to ignore, especially when you're on a PH salary. For Dan, of course, it's different: his trust fund takes care of everything. Mind you, he is from Yorkshire, but even so he would still be happy to part with some spare change for this French terrier.

What would happen next, though? It depends which Dan is buying, Kindly Dan or Dirty Dan. Kindly Dan would invest a few bob in the right places to make it a track toy, or perhaps even restore it to some sort of former glory. The visual rewards will more than match any efforts put in. Properly maintained 172s wear their age really well, as we will see on this forum when the big-mileage but still stunning PH specimens come out into the light. That's despite or perhaps because of the fact that Renaultsport cars are purpose-built to be put to the sword.

Dirty Dan would drive the (original OZ F1) wheels off it until a month before the MOT runs out in June, and then unload it. He would not make a loss on it, given the low asking price.

They really are all like that, honest!

Either way, that 'rag it till it squeaks' Renaultsport mission statement means you might want to give a passing thought to the stuff you can't see. First order of business for Kindly Dan would be a new cambelt, after which he might start thinking about some chassis replenishment. This will not be the best-handling 172 on the market, as the owner has restricted his outgoings to the normal consumables. Fair enough: even neglected 172s will run for a stick all day and still come back wagging their tails. However, any original moving parts in the chassis will have had the juice well squeezed out of them by now. A judicious suspension blowthrough will result in a satisfying on-road transformation.

Looking slightly further down the to-do list at things like the Lexus rear lenses, dubious back box and typically shredded steering wheel, these are what we call 'rolling restoration' items. In other words, fahgeddabout it.

Dan says this car is in his area, so if you're interested you'd best phone the vendor quick and arrange a viewing because Dan can be an impulsive sort of chap. If he gets his mighty wad out, that will most certainly be the end of that.

Here's the ad.

For sale is our black Renaultsport Clio 172 phase 1. Tax and MOT due end June 2014.

I purchased this in 2007 for my wife. Since the arrival of our first child in 2009 I have used it to commute to work (it is a fast, fun hot hatch and delivers mpg in the high 30s), and is now just over 123,000 miles - and increasing as it is in regular use. I am selling this as I have a new larger family car.

Our Clio is unmodified apart from a stainless steel exhaust. It has the standard factory 6 CD changer with steering wheel controls. It has been serviced every year and maintained by a trusted local mechanic. At the last MOT it had new rear tyres and new discs and pads. A new battery was also fitted in June. The cambelt was changed in 2007 at just over 62,950 miles. We have all of the history and old MOT certificates.

Bad Points
There is some slight wear to the outside of the drivers seat, and as on all of these Renaultsport Clios the steering wheel is worn and has a cover. There is small dent on the boot, and slight scratches on the passenger side front spoiler, though these are very minor. The divers side fog light lens is cracked, though the fog light works. The ABS light comes on intermittently which I believe to be a wheel sensor.

I have listed all the bad points I can, and taken these into account on the price. This is a fast, fun, economical car for an extremely affordable price. We will be very sorry to see it go.

It can be viewed at Burnham SL1, or alternatively I work in High Wycombe so can arrange a lunchtime/after work viewing

Chris

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forzaminardi

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