USED Renault Clio Hatchback (98 - 05)

My car

I've owned the car for 6 years and I've put nearly 90k on the clock. The engine has been great.Its better suited on the motorway cruising in 5th than round town.Anything over 30mph in 3rd results in alot of engine noise,but do 40mph or less in 4th and it becomes sluggish.As most of my driving is on the motorway it suits me fine. It will easily average 55mpg in winter & 60mpg in summer. The handling is average and it does under steer.The turning circle is similar to the QE2. It was cheap to run over the first 5 yrs with the usual wear and tear parts needing replacing.The pump which powers the window washers packed in but it cost less than £30 including fitting from a local garage. The last 6 months have been a different story with its age starting to show. Brake cylinders,suspension arms,bush ends,battery and glow plugs have taken over £700 from my piggy bank. The cabin is ok,it scrubs up well after a clean but it does have too many rattles.Comes in usful when your tired, because of the noise theres no chance of falling asleep at the wheel.The sunroof is the worst feature,it doesn't even need one as it has air con and all it does it rattle and double up as a water feature with its mysterious leak. Overall the car has been a good motor.Considering some of the nightmares other people have had with their Clio's I know I've been lucky. I'm changing it in the next few weeks but wont be buying Renault, circumstances mean I need to change and the bigger Renaults don't appeal.

My car

I am on my second Clio and feel I should have learnt from my first one which lasted me 6 months and made me a loss of £2000. When I part exed it for a newer model it was basically a write off the biggest problem being the gear box had gone. However i went ahead with the upgrade with a Renault dealer who had a good reputation, I have now had this clio for a year and a half and it has been backwards and forwards to the dealer with a number of different problems. On one occasion I had to send it back 5 times before the problem was fixed,and that was from me telling them what was wrong. On one of these 5 times they road tested it for 100miles and told me the problem was fixed, I drove it two minutes down the road and it reoccured! Overall the Clio's look lovley and are very cheap to run but mechanically they are poor and I would say not made to live a long and healthy life!

My car

Couldnt really see it in the drop down menu, but this is a 1.4 litre 8v clio sport..

I bought this car in 2004 and have had it since, it was manufactured in 2000, and I truly cant make my mind up abaout it after all this time..

Ive had no engine problems, its never not started and have never had any real problems in that area, however rear brake drums seem weak and need replacing again (had them done 3 years ago and not done many miles) Ive had all wheel bearings replaced, part of the exhaust has had to be replaced etc.

However this is my 1st car and I cant tell if this is normal for a car..

It doesnt feel very fast on motorways, but quite nippy around town (I think the fact its an 8v engine and not 16v doesnt help)

Fuel is pretty good, averaging 35-40

Just cant decide to trade it in and get something else or drive it till it dies (its only done 52k miles though)

We'll see...

My car

This is my first car and i got it in April just after passing my test. It's a 2001 model and is proving to be a great little car and is quite nippy for a 1.2 especially around town, but still doesn't struggle out on the open road.

I havent had any major problems and its proving to be very reliable, however there are a few issues such as the service and airbag warning light coming on randomly for no apparent reason although this doesnt affect the way it drives. The sunroof sometimes rattles which is a well known fault, however you don't tend to notice it after a while.

I have found it to have a reasonable amount of room inside for a small car but a trip to alton towers with four friends did prove to be a bit of a squeeze especially for the person who sat behind me as i am over six foot tall so have the seat very far back. The boot is also a reasonable size and can accomodate most things with ease.

Its very cheap to tax and reasonable to insure for a 17 year old! Its also very economical and normally returns an average of 48mpg.

Overall its a comfortable little car with neat, tidy handling a nippy engine and i would recommend one to a friend.