The Broken-down Car in Front is a Clio (Renault Clio (1991-98))

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	Renault Clio (1991-98)
Date:	10/01/02 (4478 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great looking car, Lots of extras

Disadvantages: Gradually unreliable, Costly repairs

My L reg Renault Clio 1.4 RT (the type that was featured on the Papa/Nicole ads) was my first car and was an 18th birthday present from my parents. It cost £5500 at the time which sounds quite a lot but car prices have dropped dramatically since then. We purchased it in August 1998.

As my first car, it was great - 5 door, sun roof, electric windows, front spots....even a remote control on the steering wheel for the radio!

My Clio was red in colour (even though I had specifically stated before we started looking that I would have any colour EXCEPT red!) and the upholstery inside was nice - no garish patterns. The seats were comfy too, even over long journeys. It was surprisingly spacious inside and in the boot, and was fairly economical when it came to petrol consumption.

I absolutely loved it. It was great to drive but at first, I did find the clutch to be quite firm - soon got used to it though. It was quite nippy aswell (this was due to single point injection system in the engine - so I was told by my dad!) Actually, compared to the 1.1 litre Micra that I originally learned to drive in, it was like a rocket. I used to love taking my mum out and seeing her white knuckles gripping onto the door handle!

For the first year that I had the Clio, it was brilliant and very reliable. Things such as tyres and part of the exhaust needed changing but this was just down to usual wear and tear. I never thrashed the car and looked after it well but as soon as it reached approximately 70,000 miles on the clock (it will have been about 6 years old at that time), it all started to go rapidly downhill......

* The gearbox was the first thing to go and I think you will agree that it was an expensive part to go wrong! It turned out that all the time I had owned it (and maybe even before) the gearbox oil was gradually draining away until it completely dried up beyond repair. It was doing so at such a slow rate that we never noticed an oil lea
k.

* Next was the alternator. It meant that the battery wasnt charging properly and some mornings, it was completely dead.

* Two wheel bearings went (although not quite at the same time) and I was told by the garage that for the mileage that the Clio had done, this should not really have happened.

The list goes on......

* When it came to the Clios MOT, it failed on bad exhaust emissions due to the catalytic convertor. This meant having a new one fitted so it would get through the re-test. Also a VERY expensive part to replace.

* Then it was the starter motor. I never knew if the damned car would start when I got in it. I once got stranded in Morrisons car park for about 2 hours, after doing my shopping, while I waited for breakdown recovery.

* Last (but not least) was the cylinder head. On a morning, it would act like an old car that was cold and didnt have enough choke on. It would stall at junctions and could not make it up hills. It even conked out while I was going round a busy roundabout. I never knew if I was going to make it to work on a morning! It took quite a while for the local garage to figure out what was wrong with the car but they got there in the end - much to my dismay when I found out what it was!

In the end, I was reluctant, but the Clio just had to go. It was costing far too much money (all this happened over the space of less than 2 years) and was so unreliable. I didnt enjoy driving it anymore.

I must admit that my experience has put me off Renaults a bit - surely all these things should not have gone wrong.... I thought cars were made to last longer than that.

I would unfortunately advise anybody buying a car not to consider the older model Clios and anyone that has got one already, get rid before it costs you a small fortune!!!!

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