Azz Posted 9, June 2010 Report Share Posted 9, June 2010 Hello, First of all I've already spent a couple hours reading this forum and its awesome! I'm a uni student in Sydney, currently on my Ps and driving a N16 pulsar. I've had the pulsar for almost a year now, its been a good first car, however its not really exciting me anymore. My friend recently bought a manual and he's been raving to me about how fun they are. I'm a fan of small cars and along my search for an exciting good value small car I came across the RS clio. Something about it has me hooked and everything else pales in comparison in terms of appeal and bang for buck. My main concern at the moment is how there are aren't really that many to choose from for sale, especially low km examples. Are they always this scarce? Although I can understand why many people wouldn't want to sell them from what I hear about them! I understand that maintaining a car like this is going to be a bit more costly than my pulsar, but are they generally reliable? Being new to cars overall (and a uni student), I'm also a bit nervous about it being European as it may be a lot more expensive for parts/servicing than I'm anticipating. I have a feeling even after buying the car I'll need to be careful with my cash. Besides from these concerns I'm pretty convinced this is the car for me Thanks for reading, Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffyn Posted 9, June 2010 Report Share Posted 9, June 2010 Maintenance will be expensive if done right, particulary on a Uni student's finances. Mechanically, they're generally pretty solid, but trim is known to go awry, and rattles do start for no apparent reason. There are a couple on the forum for sale, and I'd recommend shopping for an enthusiast owned example. Welcome, by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strife Posted 9, June 2010 Report Share Posted 9, June 2010 Welcome mate Always better to buy one from this club, since you know the seller has taken care of and has had exposure to all the information that this place contains. It's not so much about the km's on the car as it is about how the car has been cared for. If you treat your car like sh*t, she's gonna give you hell, if you treat her like a princess (like most of us guys do) then she'll love you back twofold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azz Posted 9, June 2010 Author Report Share Posted 9, June 2010 Hey, Thanks for the advice. Rattles would bug me but hopefully they're minor/fixable. Welcome mate Always better to buy one from this club, since you know the seller has taken care of and has had exposure to all the information that this place contains. It's not so much about the km's on the car as it is about how the car has been cared for. If you treat your car like sh*t, she's gonna give you hell, if you treat her like a princess (like most of us guys do) then she'll love you back twofold. Yeah you make a good point, I totally agree with you. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strife Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 Anyway mate - take one for a test drive and you'll see why we are such enthusiats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eb2 Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 ...It's not so much about the km's on the car as it is about how the car has been cared for... That may seem like a good line when you're selling a high mileage car; however, there's no escaping that metal wear and fatigue are directly proportional to mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murcod Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 Welcome Azz. The biggest killer for servicing costs is replacing the Auxillary belt (3yr interval) and the timing belt (4yr interval). Each is a front bumper off job and very expensive for parts - for the 4yr interval timing belt count on over $1500 through a dealer (and that's not including the other normal servicing bits that will need doing eg. oil, filter etc.) Apart from that parts and servicing will be line ball with most Jap vehicles - possibly even cheaper. Genuine air and oil filters are cheap and labour costs seem to be about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azz Posted 10, June 2010 Author Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 Welcome Azz. The biggest killer for servicing costs is replacing the Auxillary belt (3yr interval) and the timing belt (4yr interval). Each is a front bumper off job and very expensive for parts - for the 4yr interval timing belt count on over $1500 through a dealer (and that's not including the other normal servicing bits that will need doing eg. oil, filter etc.) Apart from that parts and servicing will be line ball with most Jap vehicles - possibly even cheaper. Genuine air and oil filters are cheap and labour costs seem to be about the same. $1500 Don't think I'd be going to a dealer.. My dad is fairly handy with cars so he could help with most of the minor maintenance tasks like oil changes, filters, fluids etc. Since the two belt change intervals are so close, would it be more worthwhile to do them both at the same time around every 3 years? And if you buy the parts yourself from overseas is it cheaper? Cheers, Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treza360 Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 $1500? Bloody hell that's a lot. The R32 had a service like that but that included doing the AWD system as and that's on the VW dealer's exorbinant rates which from looking at things the Renault dealer rates aren't quite as ridiculous. Cheers, Trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 Hi Azz, Hope you find what you're looking for, and enjoy it like the rest of us. As for service and parts... Well the complete timing belt kit i put together is $1600+ Retail price(not including the Oil only) Sourcing them through me you save around $550 (no oil). This covers pretty much everything needed including Timing and Acc belt kits inclusive. If you're Father is handy, that's great... just make sure you have the special tools needed for the belts etc. Part prices a liiiiittle more than asian cars, some a definitely high. But the joy of owning one of these and driving them around... well and truly worth it IMO. Cheers, WOLF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS-172 Posted 10, June 2010 Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 My car will be up for sale soon, not sure if it's what your after but I'll keep u in the loop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azz Posted 10, June 2010 Author Report Share Posted 10, June 2010 Hi Azz,Hope you find what you're looking for, and enjoy it like the rest of us. As for service and parts... Well the complete timing belt kit i put together is $1600+ Retail price(not including the Oil only) Sourcing them through me you save around $550 (no oil). This covers pretty much everything needed including Timing and Acc belt kits inclusive. If you're Father is handy, that's great... just make sure you have the special tools needed for the belts etc. Part prices a liiiiittle more than asian cars, some a definitely high. But the joy of owning one of these and driving them around... well and truly worth it IMO. Cheers, WOLF Cheers Wolf, sounds like you're the man to keep in contact with once I get one of these beasties! I am more than happy to pay that bit extra for a car with such character and performance to boot, can't wait till I find one! Thanks Chris, I'll check it out. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murcod Posted 11, June 2010 Report Share Posted 11, June 2010 Welcome Azz. The biggest killer for servicing costs is replacing the Auxillary belt (3yr interval) and the timing belt (4yr interval). Each is a front bumper off job and very expensive for parts - for the 4yr interval timing belt count on over $1500 through a dealer (and that's not including the other normal servicing bits that will need doing eg. oil, filter etc.) Apart from that parts and servicing will be line ball with most Jap vehicles - possibly even cheaper. Genuine air and oil filters are cheap and labour costs seem to be about the same. $1500 Don't think I'd be going to a dealer.. My dad is fairly handy with cars so he could help with most of the minor maintenance tasks like oil changes, filters, fluids etc. Since the two belt change intervals are so close, would it be more worthwhile to do them both at the same time around every 3 years? And if you buy the parts yourself from overseas is it cheaper? Cheers, Aaron There's only one problem - the RSC is not the sort of vehicle you'd want to take to just anyone for a timing belt change. There are special tools needed to do the job. It certainly isn't a DIY job- I've changed timing belts on Daihatsus and Hyundais but wouldn't even contemplate doing an RSC. My price above was buying parts from Wolf and getting the dealer to do the labour. (So timing belt kit, accessory belt kit, water pump + labour.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted 11, June 2010 Report Share Posted 11, June 2010 Sound about right. Maybe a tad more. Just got off the phone with Paul V (nice chat - want his car), and for a full timing belt service (not including the regular service) he would need it for a day 8am-6pm. But one thing i will consider doing is removing the Water Pump from my bulk list i've put together as it's very rare it needs replacing. So a big service +.... but everyone here considerd it to be worth it. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. Cheers, WOLF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strife Posted 11, June 2010 Report Share Posted 11, June 2010 Paul V is doing mine this coming Tuesday. Thanks for organising the parts Wolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted 11, June 2010 Report Share Posted 11, June 2010 No worries. Always happy to help. WOLF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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