Shed Of The Week: Renaultsport Clio 172
A perennial pocket rocket favourite for Shed this week, but with a rather bemusing advert
Take the used car business. When putting a used car up for sale, it's customary to provide some information on the car. The more information the better, some might say. That way your potential buyer will be able to make an initial assessment of the motor, and have some sort of idea as to whether or not to take the matter any further.
Let's hope exhaust is in one piece. Or replaced
So we're starting to get a bit excited about this £990 car that, when new, was a recognised jewel among hot hatches. But then we're left gasping for more info. We can't tell you anything about the MOT history, as there isn't a reg plate number to go on. We're not even sure whether it has an MOT. To suit our purpose we're assuming it does.
By scratching around the ad and the vendor's website like a hungry hen pecking desperately on stony ground we can tell you that this is a two-owner car with 80,000 miles. And that's pretty much it.
Steering wheel not melted at least
Leaving all that aside, in the absence of specifics we can look at the generics. As any self-respecting PHer should know, a 2002 Renaultsport Clio can be a fantastic little tool or a costly lesson in bangernomics, depending on the usual caveats of condition and service history.
This 172 is a facelift Phase 2 model, which is good. That means great handling and a 0-60 time of 7.2sec, only a whisker slower than the later 182's time of 7.1sec. The 172's peak power was delivered 1,000rpm lower than the 182's, giving it a nicely useable feel on the road.
Things you will definitely need to establish on this one? Well, the status of the cambelt and auxiliary belts and tensioners for a start. As with all these things, replacement schedules can be as long as a piece of string, but if you don't want your belts to turn into pieces of string you'd be well advised to change them at least every 72,000 miles or five years. Obviously our Shed's mileage of 80K could be significant. Renault dealers will charge the earth for this job, well into four figures, but there are plenty of marque experts who will turn it around for you for considerably less money.
It would be nice to know that the fragile exhaust system has been replaced with a lighter aftermarket setup. Gearbox mounts come in for a beating: knocking in the first two gears is the giveaway. The 'box itself is pretty robust, but clutches can crumble after just 30K miles. Driveshafts split and aren't an easy fix. Keep an ear out for noisy power steering too, if you can hear it above the creaking of the interior that is.
Well it *could* be a hot hatch bargain...
These are the things you'd like to see marked as sorted on the service history. It's a shame that a potential buyer will have to find out all this important stuff over the phone. Apart from being a pain in the Harris, in that it puts the onus on you to scribble down what the chap is saying, the call may also turn out to be a total waste of time if it transpires that (say) there is zero paperwork with the car or, worse, the wrong kind of paperwork.
In the vendor's defence, when you go to his website he does give us an insight into one of the often-ignored factors of Shed ownership, such as road tax rates. This is the sort of info many Shed sellers accidentally forget to include in their ads as, thanks to the punitive rates levied on older cars, the amounts involved can be a bit frightening.
That's true here. The Renaultsport Clio may look all cute and little and nippy, and it is, but it's still a 2002 car with a 2.0-litre engine. That means the tax will cost you £270 a year. You can pay on the drip these days, which softens the blow, but it's still a big chunk of the purchase price.
Anyway, here is the ad. Or here's where it would be if there was one.
Anyway, great car for the money. Buy it for £800, spend £400 on a cambelt/service, then for £1200 all in you have a great track car.
Also echo the above, track car appeal with this!
As has been said, it actually doesn't matter about history, paperwork or belts. Even if it has none of the above it is a good price especially if you can haggle a little off. Bodywork and interior look decent and support the mileage.
You will not have as much fun in anything near the price. Trust me, I bought a straight and original 172 Cup for £1k. It's been my daily for 2 years.
The cars I went to view at dealers were all a little more price wise and complete dogs.
I picked up a cup in vgc at almost twice the price. (private sale)
I'm skeptical though. I reckon there must be something a miss at this price, looking as nice as it does...
However, I agree car tax rates will be the killer of cars as they get older unless they are very valuable. £295 per year for any car over 200g registered between 2001 and 2006 which will cross a sort of threshhold of £300 at the next budget probably.
Cat D matters not one iota at this age and price, I would take a straight looking body and interior over a scruffy one without the marker.
These are going to start going back up I reckon as they dwindle and then folk get nostalgic for old school hatches that arent 400 bhp, 4wd and weigh 1500 kilos plus.
I always think these were better than the 205 which I do like but feel really old, these are still modern enough to be safe, still fairly light and go well, nearly bought one but ended up with another Saab, the engines feel a bit weedy when you are used to turbo or big capacity stuff, plus the driving position is a bit weird, but I still kind of think I missed out and would have grown to appreciate it more than the Saab 9-3 Aero I did buy.
Only cost me £820 a couple of years ago. I'd wholeheartedly recommend a little Clio RenaultSport but if, like me, you buy a cheap 'un be aware that it's a cheap, ageing car that does like to throw up a series of niggles. Plenty of owners out there that do lavish attention on their Clios (just not me!) so sure one day the good 'uns will be worth a fair few bob. That time isn't now though...
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