Hey all

Sold my MR2 roadster as i want to get a car with additional seating. Narrowed it down to two VERY different cars...

1. Escort S2 RS Turbo
Had one when I was a kid and loved it so much. Assumed they are all utter dogs nowadays but went to view one earlier this week and absolutely loved it. Must be one of the only straight ones left! Mechanically, she needs a good tune, but most importantly, its almost structurally mint. underneath is solid and it has good history.

Regardless of this, no doubt it will cost money to preserve and maintain its tip top condition. Fortunately, we have a family car and a motorbike which i use for commuting though, so if its ever off the road for a bit, its no big deal.

2. Renault Clio Sport 172
I had a Civic Type R a couple of years ago and this is as close as I could get to that for my budget. Some would argue its a better car even than a CTR. No doubt more reliable and useable than a RST in real world conditions, but lacking character in comparisson. Cheaper to run most probably and more of an everyday car.

My question is, head or heart??
Andy

 

Your budget? Details of the S2 you've seen?

If its a toy and you've got love for a bean tin, buy the S2 and enjoy the rollercoaster of it working, not working and half working...


Cheers,
Grant

 

S2 all day long the Clio will end up costing more IMO

 

Welcome,

If it was me, Id go for the clio!, newer car and probably less to run in the future!

 

i currently own an s2 turbo had it nearly 3 years and i would never have another, as soon as ive finished putting it back together im selling it awful things to drive imo
but having said that i wouldnt have a clio sport either as they are shit in my experiance of working on them

 

Interesting... thats pretty divided!

This is the Escort in question.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Couple of bits I wouldnt have done, but its all individual preference at the end of the day, and nothing I cant revert back. Needs a few quid spent on it here and there. It feels a bit hesitant and could deffo do with a good tune and a new rocker cover gasket (the cork one is leaking). Apart from that, it really does seem clean.

My budget is about Ł2k which can get me an early ph2 Clio 172 and a handful of questionable RSTs it seems, going by flEaBay and Pistonheads.

Would be really grateful on any opinions on the above RST. Anyone know of the car? As I said, Ive owned a RST about 12 years ago and have a fair idea of what to look out for, but Im sure even more problems have arisen in that time away from the blue Oval!

Andy

 

id defo get a s2 if your prepared to spend money on it if (when) it breaks lol i'll always regret not getting one before i got my cossies

 

Welcome mate.

For a 'fun' second car which you don't rely on everyday then I'd go rst over clio anyday.
IMO more charm and character than the 172 and far easier to 'tinker' with if that's your thing.

 

D-platers are prone to rusting away a bit quicker than later cars mate.. the spec list didn't really inspire much confidence either?


Cheers,
Grant

 

there a good laugh but rotten all over the road shitboxes most of em,like seeing one out and about though.

 

Thanks, Grant. It has clearly been 'restored' at some point. underneath looks very clean. Bodywork looks almost mint, under the bonnet and arches are all lovely and red, battery tray as new etc. As lovely as it sounds, it would be in the back of my mind how well the 'restoration' had been done and what would resurface in the coming years. AND the owner has only had it a few months, which raised an eyebrow. Why sell it so soon? He is from the army and has a littl'un and claims he needs something more practical. So, why buy it??

Dont mind the odd hundred quid here and there for mechanical grief, but I couldnt afford a Ł400-500 biggy problem anytime soon should something go wrong if Im completely honest.

Am i talking myself out of this?!

Andy

 

Andy it might be one of those cars that's popped up cheap with a couple of genuine problems that the owner can't afford to fix, doesn't have time to fix or doesn't have the enthusiasm to fix.... the spec list is all I've got to go on and it isn't a well written advert, but if you've actually viewed the car then you've got a better idea of the car and can judge the owner much better.

The car does look clean from the photos, however, any car thats been resprayed to a reasonable standard will look good... as you say, how well prepared was the car when it was re-done?! Any details for the previous owner, did he have all the work done, can you contact him?


Cheers,
Grant

 

go for it mate its the only way youl find out, if you get one first thing id do is take it somewhere for a check over and set up and have a really good look underneath it ect for any hidden rust

 

Thats a good idea, Grant. Ive sent a quick text asking for the previous owner's number to find out a bit more about the respray/restoration. cheers, pal!

Andy

 

Based on all the above I'd knock the idea of a rst on the head! I really would! I think you need to be hands on or prepared to spend. Even if you are hands on then you'd probably need to spend bigger than you've suggested above.

Like you I had an Rst years ago. A few years ago I got thinking about owning one again so I got looking and bought one, two actually. I'm now so far down the road with the spending I gave up counting about a year ago. (my car is currently in bits).

I view my Rs experience as a hobby and not a 'fun' car I pull out and get in on the weekends to blast around. I will get my car to that stage eventually but at quite a price. Maybe 5 times your budget. Real tears!

 

Hi Andy,welcome to the forum fella.ok,I'm surprised no one recognises this car as I'm 99% certain that it's the one advertised by a scotch fella who was really abusive in his advert?I'll try and find the thread somewhere!!!

However,none of this is helping but to me that looks a nice clean car,if it's had some resto work and it's been done ok you'll be fine.

Theor lovely cars but the steerings the main issue for daily duties as there's no power assistance.this can be altered mind you in the future by a Corsa electric rack for about Ł150 and a lot of work!

Rough running to me could suggest a metering head and their getting a bit thinner on the ground then they used to be right now so a common upgrade is to fit efi management from a fiesta rst,preferably ofab management as the conversions a tad easier.

Don't panic though as that's when/if you decide to mod it.

Tuning wise the worlds your oyster on the rst,but realistically you get a great useable reliable car at around the 180bhp mark,there's loads of upgrades on all the parts cheaply as well like Cossie discs and calipers on the front,nice cheap upgrade,a gear linkage rebuild kit etc,all cheap and easy upgrades that transform the car.

If you want to go silly there's zetec conversions,Cossie rwd conversions etc etc.

Again,rust,age and mechanical sympathy are your main issues but you seem happy with most of those on this example so that seems ok.

Now the Clio.well,when you mentioned spending Ł4-500 in one hit that's exactly what you'll be doing straight away as the tensioner/de phaser thingy will need to be replaced as if that goes,there's a good chance your timing belt does too so it's new engine time.

Common faults are coilpacks,injectors,mountings,sensors,crap electrics,trim,bearings,bushes everything really!!!although they don't rust to be fair!!

Personally I hate them,French rubbish poorly built and abused by chavs but that's IMO so make your own judgements as to image issues,I'm just saying how I saw it from the many clios I saw in my workshop and down my mates garage.

My apprentice had the 1.2 16v version and round this time of year he would regularly phone me as it simply failed to start.I saw 3 clios out on the weekend all broken down so I'm not confident he just had a lemon.

There's a huge following on here for them so I'm sure you'll get the other side of the argument as well but IMHO stick to the rst as it really will work out cheaper and I think more enjoyable in the end.

Hope this helps and enjoy the forum.if your into modding it then have a look in the resto section here as there's some incredible builds to get your teeth into.

 

Thank you, Vaughant, an incredibly inspiring post!

Yes, the fella selling it is Scottish. please can you direct me to the post you refer to if someone else has had dealings with him???

Im well into modifying cars. My first five cars were all performance Fords. I then fell into the craze of jap imports, and have spent a fortune on big power cars over the years. Even had one car I built on the cover of Banzai magazine (a FD3 RX7).

But now im older (and not a lot wiser), with a mortage, kid, gorgeous wife etc, i cant justify spending silly money on a car any more. i just want a nice simple project that I can keep tidy and look after and do the odd little mod here and there.

Im becoming a bit of a dab hand with carbon fibre moulding and am slowly getting into airbrushing, so think I would have something i could bring to the table. have a compressor etc of course as well, so the odd patch up could all be done in house if anything went downhill!

Mechanically, i can change an exhaust, rocker gasket, samco leads etc, but thats about it. There do seem to be a few RS enthusiant garages local to me though which is reassuring. And i really miss the lifestyle of going to Ford fairs etc with a bunch of likeminded mates.

interesting to hear what you say about the Clio. Ive had a test drive and really enjoyed it. Felt like a really solid little car. No doubt there are shagged examples out there, but im not in any rush so would like to think i would get a good one!

To summarise, im still no further on what i want... might have to flip a coin! lol

Andy

 

Clio's are great fun, I got my old one for just under a grand on a X plate.
I know there is a few member on here from around that area that may know the car but Im not sure of there names

 

https://passionford.com/forum/genera...ell-a-car.html

Hi fella,it's here mate,I don't think it was personal to anyone but I know the advert didn't look to good when first read through!!!

So you know a bit about cars then?well,quite a lot by the sounds of it!!!I reckon the Rs would be perfect if your used to turbo power but I suppose the Clio might be a more sensible daily drive?

Up to you really mate,I suppose I'm biased as I don't like renaults!!!

 

S2s drive really nice imo. can be used as a daily if your not over doing it with heavy duty clutchs etc...

main problems for a daily seem to be overheating in traffic but this can be fixed with some cheap uprated parts.

No power steering isnt a problem.

 

Get the rs turbo bought fella.

 

i love S2's and had a few now, used my last one as my daily and loved it and the attention it got

 

if you buy a series 2 you run the risk of it being an absolute rot box. Its alright you saying the one you looked at was structurly sound but how do you know? Did you have al the body kit off to check the sills and the carpets up to check all the inner cils and floor area?

Even the nice ones thse days are possibly rotten

 

S2 all day m8 i am 39 and keep changing cars as get bored very easy and like to tinker, the s2 is an easy car to tinker with, service etc and are cheap for parts and the forum's are easy to get hold of decent 2nd hand parts, clio's are ok but they are french crap at the end of the day personally i wouldnt have one over a s2

 

the clio maybe french crap but i bet a 10 year never clio is better built than a series 2 rst.

Rst's were good 10 years ago when i was 18 but in todays standards there a bag of shite if used daily

 

The biggest problem aside from rust is reliability, 20+year old components failing all the time.
Mine was like this for the first 3 years, always on and off the road, so I bit the bullet and converted to EFI standalone management not 20 year old Fiesta OFAB/C or Cossie management that will suffer half the problems of your original MFI setup (failing ECU's and sensors, brittle wiring looms, etc..) and built a fresh engine, the car has now been 100% reliable for the last 10 months and 8k miles.
Even a low milage RST say 50k has still be around for 20+ years and so everything has aged, you may be lucky and get one that has aged well and is still reliable but IMO they are few and far between.

If I were looking to buy one again I would look for the cleanest rust free shell I could and straight away change to standalone and drop a fresh lump in, job done, no more problems or unreliability

Oh and to do the above will cost about Ł1000 so long as you can build the engine and fit the management yourself, if you cant then you'll need very deep pockets to run your RST

 

Personally I'd go for the Clio, make sure it's one that's had the cambelt service done. I did have a S2 for a daily runner and it never let me down, just nowadays I'd prefer to use a Cliosport as a runaround, they handle bloody well out of the box too

 

what about the 20 year old steering cmponents and the 20 year old suspension and bush's etc etc

 

rust wise yes but french cars are not recknowned for there build quality are they!!!!! and u are entitled to your opinion and if you love french cars so much why dont you go and join a lovely french car forum lol

 

most have been changed are you a frog lover or something lol???

 

no i'm realistic. I bet most series 2's out there ave had new shocks and springs but the rest of it is still pretty old.

Reality is there fucking turd as a car, heavy steering, shocking brakes, dont really handle the best and not eactly rapid. Put on top of that unreliable and rotten and there not exactly appeling to anyone bu a hardcore ford fanatic

 

having owned both, by a standing mile id go for the Clio, nicer to drive, not gonna drop to bits and break constantly, and pretty quick standard

( i had the trophy)

Sarah

 

I was in a very similar situation to you and stupidly bought one (Rs turbo S2).

When I was about 18 I always wanted one (I had an Xr3i instead)- so I just bought this for a bit of fun (nostalgia). Now bear in mind I am now 40 + and have been lucky enough to have a long list of good modern performance cars, including things like you (182 cup and EP3 type R) plus things like evo 9 Gt/impreza spec C/porsches, Supra, Cossies etc so maybe it was stupid to think an Rs turbo would be good fun? But I thought I'd give it a try, re-live my yoof!

what a mistake.

You cant get away from the fact its a 22 year old escRot (escort) ok its an RS but its still going to be a 20+ yr old escort - ie a piece of junk compared to any modern car, and it will have been owned/thrashed/modifed/crashed by various retards through its 20 odd years history (unless you are very lucky).

I dont mean to offend anyone who thinks they are fab, each to their own, and I love old RS models, I am just relaying what I found on buying one this year (similar situation to you now); OK I was unlucky the one I bought was a clunker but I think most of them are now.

This is what I found

Rust
more rust
Then more rust
crap suspension
woefull steering, did cars really sell new like this?
did I mention the rust?
crap gearbox - needed new linkage and gearbox was crunchy
crap brakes - pleeeaaaase STOP soon.
not very fast - rattly, noisy, smokey yes. Fast, no.
Engine about to go bang at any minute.
Totally unreliable;
Fueling problems
cold starting problems
hot starting problems
overheating problems.
Slow, a post office diesel van would give it a hard time.
Handling not very clever (buy a 205 or a Golf Gti if you want decent handling)
Most things stopped working or sometimes worked - windows, speedo, wipers, lights
Horrible inside, the 80's escort dash is a joke.
everything shakes rattles and creaks over the slightest (jarring) bump
The ceiling was falling in! ( ie the headcloth)
It leaked - it would make a good collander the amount of leaks it had.
And on the only times it actually drove it broke down with a new fault.
Plus I felt like a complete nob driving about it in - people do not look at them and congratulate you on having a fine classic hot hatch - they just assume you are a barryboy in an old escRot.
The metal on that car was like cheese.
It had been clocked at least once maybe more (par for the course on one of these)
Resprayed god knows how many times.


Ok so my one was a pile of junk (so pissed off with it sold it for parts) but even if it had been a really good one its hard for me to think of any single reason why you'd even consider one over a good Clio, other than nostalgia (my mistake).

Unless you can find a mint, standard, rust free one that some how avoided having retarded previous owners messing about with it - does such an RST exist though?
The metal ford used on these cars must have been rejected by Lancia they are such rot boxes.

If you want old school fun buy a Golf Gti Mk2 or 205 Gti.

 

Well i suggest you f***k off to a nice clio and french lovers car forum as we like fords on here including the s2, they are certainly not a turd as a car, prefer the heavy steering over power (puffy) steering anyday brakes are easily upgraded do handle well with the right mods are also quick with the right mods and the last 5 i have had have been very reliable, and are reliable if very well looked after

 

Just remembered is this a ford site or a passionfrenchcrap if you dont like fords then why the fuck are you on here PISS OFF

 

thats exactly what i was trying to say lol

I had the pleasure of driving me mates when he came to sell it as he was offshore and needed me to sell it for him.

He spent thousands on it getting it just right then decided to sell it, i tried talking him out of it as it looked mint and had loads of mew bits on it s shuld have been a good example

Before i even got out his road i realised why he wanted to sell it, it was an absolute bag of shite, the steering felt so shit it was unreal, suspension didnt feel attached to the car and the brakes didnt work which was made worse by the fact it had 200bhp

The only reason why you would ever own 1 over another car is purely down to the fact its an rs and you like rs's cause as a car there fucking turd

Fair does cossies aint to bad as at least they were a more sturdy bigger more luxury car from standard so they have aged a lot better than a mk4 escort

 

The man asked a good question and we are giving him genuine answers from our own experience. Hopefully he will find some of this information usefull.

 

fucking zip it cock boy,

so are you saying that what i have put is not truthfull and that series 2's are actually good cars to todays standards and that the brakes and suspension are actually decent and there a pleasure to drive?

Have a word with yourself, i love old fords but wouldnt own a series 2 as an everyday car as fact is there fucking turd

 

plus where have i said i love french stuff? i cant stand french cars on the whole but aint that much of a bellend that i thinnk a d reg ford escort would even compare to a 2002 renault clio.

You need to take the blinkers off and come back to earth

 

As Milesy said they will all have been changed at least once or the car would have no MOT