USED Renault Scenic MPV (97 - 03)

My car

I have had this car for a year now and it has never let us down once. It has carried the kids, furniture, pets, bikes, rubbish and everything else we have thrown at it without a problem. That is, until now.

A problem appears to have developed with the brakes. Approximately four weeks ago, I noticed a deterioration in the brakes. When braking normally at usual road speeds, there isn't a problem; however, if I brake hard, the brake pedal travels half way down before stopping - the car stops, but not with the vigour that you would want in an emergency.

The car went for service three days ago and the garage found the rear brakes to have seized. They fixed that, however this has not solved the problem. The garage have road-tested the car and have also noticed the problem. They said that they have never seen this type of problem before.

They are about to strip the master cylinder and servo down to see if these are the problem, so I wait with interest to see the outcome.

Despite this problem, I love the car. I need to sort the brakes out, as I am about to tow a caravan with it. Whatever the cost, I intend to fix it, because I think the car is worth it. I know Renaults are supposed to have electrical problems, so far I have had no problems - just the brakes.

My car

bought my scenic two years ago with 32K on the clock, Since then rear sunroof shade split in two, rear half burying itsself in the roof, Front sunroof leaky, water drips from interior light, Immobilliser plays up, Drivers window failed £200 to fix . And best of all, Sceniic`s prone to throwing cam belts off as mine did when my wife nipped to the shops, estimated cost to repair £800. Buy another Scienic? Not on your nelly

My car

I brought this car at one year old in 2000 and had it for six years and covered 80,000 miles.

The only faults where a HT lead at 18 months old, fixed in 15 minutes, a short circuit in the wiring loom at four years old, and a flat battery at five years old - in other words, nearly faultless for six years.

The performance was great - the 1.6 16V is an excellent engine. Don't think of this as a slow, cumbersome MPV - it will out-drag most other cars from the lights. Certainly, cornering is not great: it leans quite a bit, but it retains traction and never gets out of control. The ABS brakes are an excellent feature. I drove this car fast, but never returned less than 34mpg.

The styling and equipment are great - mine had leather, but all the colours used in the interior really liven it up. Renualt excels here, it puts a lot of effort into the interiors - much better than the all-black Vauxhall or Volkswagens. At the end of the day, it's the interior you see, not the exterior. The stereo is great - I had a Kenwood system to put in it, but did not bother, because it was that good.

The downsides are that the service from most Renault dealers is rubbish. I have some headache tablets ready if you ever have to vist them, especially if it's warranty-related. Mine started to go rusty around the rear arches at four years old. It was repaired under warranty (after a battle), but it came through again a year later.

This is a very safe, usable, reliable family car.

My car

This is a great high-specification family car. Our 02-reg example has been driven up and down through France many times in just four years, with only a few minor glitches such as national recalls, but nothing significant.

The 1.9-litre diesel just eats the miles away, and the interior has part-suede seats and bronze inserts here and there. These are nice touches when you consider the usual cheapness of French car interiors.

It's a little noisy, but nothing too intrusive, and was worth every penny extra more than a common but cheaper (and uglier) Xsara Picasso. It is a great car, and is a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin, compact people-carrier. It's perfect for families that want MPV-style space, height, and flexibility but don't need a seven-seater behemoth.