Was looking to sell the S1 soon and sell my daily runner aswell, this leaves me a chunk of cash.

I was thinking of buying a cheapish quickish motor to potter about in and not have to worry about where I park it or keeping it spotless etc.

I was looking at a J K or L plater, poss 90 - 100k on the clock.

Are they very quick

Are the Clio 16v's reliable

are they easy to sell on once bored

what is the insurance group on them

are there any parts that are renowned to go bang or are weak and so need to be looked out for.

Cheers

Matt

 

ive had two of them and a r19 16v and all of them had problems. the first clio blew up and left a hole in the side of the block.the r19 started popping out of fifth gear and it was stupid money to put another box in it so i sold it spares or repairs and the other clio had to have a complete new steering rack put on it cause the other one started coming away and some how twisted slight causing me to be able to turn the steering wheel and nothing would happen. they prone to over heating and the first clio and the r19 had the fan linked up the a switch in the car so u could put it on when the temp started going up.my mechanic said if i ever got another he would refuse to work on it!!!! they are quick cars till they go wrong.i would choose something else cause even if u get one cheap u will only end up spending money on it when it goes wrong!!!!

 

i had a r19 16v for two years before the turbo

never had any probs with it, engine was very revvy, but needs to be chipped to get the most out of it, (gives it more torque)

clios the same, just a little rattlier and lighter (and a little faster)

 

Mate of mine had a Williams Clio up until getting his girlfriend pregnant and he had no real problem bar a head gasket and a couple of wheel bearings and other wear and tear stuff. He had it 4 years and was pleased overall with it. I thought it felt a bit flimsy though but most French cars are like that I think

Think the 16v Clio has a 0-60mph of about 7.8 seconds so it's pretty zippy

 

Owned a K reg clio 1.8 16v for about a year, excellant handling and very quick point to point car...Gearboxes are fookin gay though...done 2 and even the last one was leaking oil Same box apparently as the 1.2 version lol..according to the local gearbox firm anyway.
But I must say a very cheap and good buy, try and go for the william blue colour looks the best imo.

Had mine chipped, zorst (inc decat), filter'd and rolling road set-up (144bhp), and was well happy for it as a first car

 

main issue i've heard of from mates is headgasket - you don't want to know the price of a headset!! (clue - if you get a cossie set to fit, you will get a rebate.. )

 

Looks like a fun motor but some expensive weak spots, heating and boxes etc, if I can get a cheapish half decent one I may consider taking the risk as I fancy something a bit quick to use as a daily runner that still looks modern enough for work.

Cheers all

 

Me mate bought one the other week, not a bad little thing, good fun but only time will tell if it will stay in 1 piece for long. Our lass has a reno 19 with the 1.8 8valve lump in and it's totally gutless so stay well clear.
If you're gonna buy one, get a 16v as late as possible cos I've heard the early engines suffer alot more from headgasket failure

 

My birds got a clio 1.8 16v

55k on it now had it two years and all she's done is buy tyres and for it and service it! Touch wood!



so not a bad beast if you get a good one

 

www.cliosport.net

Just about everything you could want on the discussion forum on there!

 

they are horrible peices of french shite, I had a 19 16v, my mate had a 19 16v, and 2 other mates had a clio 16v and a williams, all of them were good cars in the sense they were quick for the money, but they are a nightmare to work on an they fall apart I would personally go for an astra gte 16v or somthing that isn't french

 

I agree with above post. expesive to repair and not easy to work on.
Nearly 5 hours for a cam belt

Dave,