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Looking at 2008 Megane 225 Cup


PuntoPete

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Hi All.

 

Been coveting a Renault for quite some time now - either a Clio 197 or a Megane 225 Cup. Have just come across one at City Automobiles in Richmond. Has 100,000k's on it, or near enough, but allegedly full dealer service history and cam belt just done. Dealer claims it was traded by an enthusiast and has been "meticulously maintained". Here is the car:

 

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/detai ... rt=default

 

So. Aside from general condition and engine mounts, what else should I look out for? Is the price about right and are the k's 'too high"? I'd like to get at least another 4-5 years out of it if not more...

 

Also, perhaps someone on this forum knows the history of this car? Any crash repair would be a deal breaker for me so will inspect very carefully for signs.

 

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice.

 

Pete

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Welcome Pete.

 

Can't help you too much with your questions but check the for sale section for Andy_C's 225 Cup. It looks in great nick, is enthusiast owned and at an absolute bargain price!

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Both the 225 and the 197 are absolute performance bargains right now.

 

I think you'd love either, you just need to figure out which suits you best and find a well loved, great example. The kms do seem a little high considering you want to keep it for anther 4 years, but others on here have had there cars running perfectly even up to 260,000 kms plus. (Search "dimples")

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I'm leaning towards the Megane 225 Cup for a couple of reasons. First it'll be a daily driver and the 197 NA seems like I'd need to wring it's neck with revs to get it going compared to the turbo Megane. The Megane on the other hand has more low down torque right since it's a turbo. Am coming from a Punto 1.9 TDI which has 320Nm from about 1700rpm so the Megane seems like a less radical change... Just thinking aloud now. Also, I am a big guy at 6'5" so would appreciate the larger car as would my kids who will have to squeeze into the back from time to time.

 

If it has had all the services done by a dealer I'd hope that it would be sound up to at least 160-180k which is what I'd anticipate doing over 4 years. I say I'd like to keep it for 4-5 years but in reality I get bored with most cars after 2-3. I'd hope that this one would keep me engaged for longer though. :wink:

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Welcome!

 

Agree with walkie, definitely check out Andy's 225 in the For Sale section, has lower k's and is cheaper!

 

Goodluck, you won't regret getting a meggy or 197, they are a great car.

 

Note, the meggy has a fairly high seating position, so not sure if you would actually find that a problem at your height. Can't remember the 197 as I've only sat in one once or twice, and that was quite a while ago. Best to drive and sit in both to get the best idea, but both are great cars, although I am biased towards a 225 :D

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I'll look at the red 225 down here (Melbourne) on Monday. I know a bit about cars so can get a pretty good idea whether or not the previous owner has been as meticulous as claimed. And of course will check the service history.

 

100,000k's is a bit of a worry but I get the impression these are tough cars and should go for a good few k's longer. Saying that, would be really keen to hear any model specific things I should check or look out for.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

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My 225 cup is now approaching 140,000 and still pulls like an ox with no oil use.

 

Gearbox oil is not on the service list and should be IMHO

 

Front suspension bushes could be on their way, engine mounts very likely need doing (all of them)

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Guys.

 

Pros and cons between the 225 Cup and the F1 Team R26? The R26 has an LSD but does it also have the CUP spec bits like drilled disks etc? There is a 2007 black R26 in Melbourne on carsales for $16k which is $2.5k less than the 2008 red 225 Cup I'm gonna look at tomorrow. Both have 100,000ks on 'em. The Cup has leather, the R26 doesn't.

 

Thoughts?

 

Pete

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R26 gets the drilled discs. But to be honest, they are over rated, they crack eventually, especially if you give the brakes a hard time. There is no noticeable difference in performance. I changed from the cross drilled to the solid rotors after the drilled ones started to crack.

 

R26 is meant to be a better drive handling wise as it got slight suspension tweeks to further improve its performance.

 

As for leather seats, its really upto the individual, they will wear quicker (get that used look) than the cloth seats though, but probably look a bit more classier. No biggie.

 

r26 is only 3dr, and 225 cups are 5 doors.

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Well. Looked at the red 225 Cup today. Not too bad but needed tyres (they said they'd fit OEMs) and had scuffs on 3 of 4 wheels that I'd want sorted but that's no biggy. Few scuffs and chips on the duco, the rear bumper was out of line, grommet missing on the engine cover. Just little things like that. Oh, it def needed a new screen due to some bad chips but they BSed me and said it was RWC... The wear on the interior was very reasonable for 100k's and the engine sounded good, fluids looked good etc. Was basically as expected for a just traded 100k car. I'd already been offered 7.5k for my trade on a Clio from a dealer in Sydney and he'd not seen it. I'd also been offered $9k for it on a Volvo S40 T5 AWD I'd looked at a month or so ago. Realistic price for my trade is $7.5-8k. This stooge offered me $4k. Fine I said... I'll offer you $12k for the Megane. And then I left without driving the Megane. The search continues and I've put my car on carsales for $10.5k... Pretty unimpressed with this dealer tbh.

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LOL I imagine he was pretty unimpressed with your offer too! Dealers have to provide some degree of warranty, their goods have to be merchantable and they must account for GST. And make some reasonable profit - can't blame them for that, surely? Strikes me as a much better to buy a known car privately off somebody here :)

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Of course you are right but as I said, Redbook for my car for trade is is $7.5k and I've been offered that by a dealer unseen, and even $9k by another dealer. My car has less than expected k's and is in EC. Private sale I'll get $9-10k. Frankly for him to low ball me by $3.5k is just wasting everyone's time. Plus, to be frank, he's misrepresented the condition of the Megane he's selling. It's in good to v.good condition only. Anyway, not even mad bro, just pity guys like that really. He actually admitted that they'd paid $13k for the Megane when it was traded, lol. I know the score with dealers and that you drop a good few $k for the "convenience" of changing a car over but noone likes to be taken for a fool or have their time wasted. I'd rather deal with time waster private buyers than time waster dealers and pay through the nose for the dubious privilege. :wink:

 

EDIT: My understanding is that dealers only are compelled to offer 3 month statutory warranty. Also, yes, you are right that buying privately from a fellow enthusiast is a better option....once I manage to sell my current car

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i wouldnt pay $18k for a RSM with 100,000+km on it.

 

i bought my RS Megane with 110,000km on it for...i wont say how much on here because I want to sell it before I move overseas in 2013 on here but it was a lot less than $18k. granted mine isnt the cup though.

 

the R26 for $16k looks like a bargain but id do some thorough research to see if its a rebirthed write-off, as a few people on this forum seem to think (see the megane II forum).

 

if i had my time again id get an R26 no question. the lack of LSD hurts these meganes IMO. the frustration every time the inside wheel squeals like a bitch when i give it some beef out of a corner = sad panda :(

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FYI an R26 up here on the Sunshine Coast was sold for $14,500 a few weeks ago. Was in rough exterior condition. It was the one I was after.

 

Had a Miltek exhaust, and a remap. Went like crazy.

 

It'd been sitting around the dealership for a long time and they wanted out.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey Guys and Gals.

 

Sorry for the hiatus on this thread. I forgot my password for the PuntoPete account and it seemed I was unable to reset it so I have created a new account. Necessary anyway b/c the Punto is now long gone.

 

So I bought the red RS225 Cup from Matt at City Automotive and have done about 2500km in it since picking it up on 2012-12-21.

 

As you may have gathered I was unimpressed with the initial $4k offer on my trade in... Sure enough though Matt calls me back with a better offer and we went back and forth a bit from there. He had the Megane listed at $18.5k and in the end I agreed to a $10.5k changeover, ie. $8k for my trade in. Ah, but after the $4k insult I had put the Punto on carsales and kinda forgot I had.... So the weekend before I was to pickup the Megane I got 3 calls on the Punto and sold it that weekend for $10.25k less $500 for rear brakes and $150 for a RWC, after confirming with Matt that he was happy to go ahead without the trade. So I'm sure you can all do the figures but I was basically $1600 better off than I had planned to be. If $8k was a fair trade in then I guess you can take that $1600 off the price of the Megane and say I got it for $16.9k... That was with a new set of Contis btw.

 

So now to my first impressions of the car I guess. :hyper:

 

I really love it. Spent a lot of time down near Lorne/Deans Marsh over Xmas/NY and it's really in its element on those sort of roads. Sure, not the best time of year with all the crap drivers with NSW and SA plates blocking the roads but nevertheless... The Punto was no slouch in that environment with 320Nm and 6spd box but would feel skittish at the rear when braking for turn in. The Megane just feels much better poised, planted and stable with less body roll and that's going faster on the same bends.

 

The motor is a gem but I've taken a while to get used to it coming from a turbodiesel. I am now much more used to driving it either sedately or enthusiastically and it's nice that it does both very well. The economy was a bit of a shock. In the first few days of "test drives" around town I saw 15's. The Punto would never exceed 8.5 even in the heaviest urban traffic or due to aggressive driving and would get 4.9 or 5 on the open road. I am getting about 8.5 on the open road out of the Megane and 13-14 in Melbourne traffic. This is on a diet of 98RON.

 

Apart from a few chips, dings and scuffs the car is in very good condition as far as I can tell. Problems:

 

1. The washer reservoir is leaking from somewhere and the passender side headlight jet is not working. I suspect these are related and probably easily fixed once the bumper and/or guard liner is off?

 

2. Backlight for the passenger window switch in the cluster of 4 on the driver's side is out.

 

3. Number plate light lens is cracked.

 

Apart from those there are no other problems I have identified. When I shift from 1st to 2nd it's sometimes a little grabby coming out of 1st but this is correlated with not depressing the clutch enough. So just a driving style thing I need to accomodate.

 

Maybe i should post another thread about this but I'll ask here anyway. Questions are:

 

1. What are the best replacement windscreen wipers (genuine/aftermarket) and from where please?

 

and

 

2. What is the best option for genuine parts? I have yet to price any parts from anyone apart from the number plate light from a place in the UK that will not ship to Aus. Just asking because for the Fiat there was really no option for genuine parts other than ordering them from the UK due to the crazy prices ATECO and/or Zagame would ask. Perhaps this is a sensitive topic? I fully expect to be using City Automotive for servicing and other work but being somewhat capable myself I'd like to be able to order easy to fit parts such as the number plate lamp from the cheapest source and then fit myself. I'll do some searching of the forum and see if I can come up with my own answer to this.

 

And finally, I'd like to give props to Matt at City Automotive. He's a nice guy and the experience of dealing with him was fine after we got beyond the initial rawness of the negotiations.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

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Hey Pete,

 

Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you love the car :) ill be back at work on Tuesday so send me an email with what you need and ill look after you. With the number plate light lens, let me see what I can get for you. There is a good mob in Richmond called HSY Autoparts that can source a lot of European stuff. We can give them a try but ill work out something with the spare parts guys for a genuine item.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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It had to be done. Someone once told me the "megane" badge on the Megane II was voted most likely badge to appear on a perfume bottle.

 

Regarding the bottle reservoir and passenger head lamp, I cant see how they would be connected as the bottle is on the drivers side. It could be that the headlamp spray line is leaking and has somehow damaged the HID ballast. Could be expensive.

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Depends on where the water is dripping. Mine needed a new seal between the water bottle and the water pump, now doesn't leak and was a simple fix you can do yourself. For the headlight jet, I'd take the bumper off and have a look, hopefully just blocked....

Pics would be great!

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just a quick one about the wipers, as far as i can tell they are only available genuine. i work in parts industry and haven't found any a/market. paid about $70 for a pair. probably could have got them cheaper elsewhere but couldn't be a***d as the renault dealer is just down the road from my work.

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Regarding the bottle reservoir and passenger head lamp, I cant see how they would be connected as the bottle is on the drivers side. It could be that the headlamp spray line is leaking and has somehow damaged the HID ballast. Could be expensive.

 

Hi Apex.

 

I think you misunderstood me. There is nothing wrong with the passeneger side headlight, just the washer circuit. No water coming out of the passenger side headlight jet as well as leakage onto the ground when I fill the reservoir. Not a huge issue, sure, but the two are possibly related I would have thought.

 

Will post some pics of the car later today hopefully after I give it a wash.

 

P.S. Whose idea was white/grey seatbelts....d'oh!

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  • 1 month later...

Gonna wrap up this thread since I don't think I qualify as a noob anymore...

 

So bottom line is that I'm very happy with the car. Took it back to City Automotive to get a few things done under warranty - washer bottle (deteriorated rubber where filler stem joins reservoir?), number plate light (cracked lens), wipers (actually I paid for these) - and to get the oil in the box changed. Car came back with the bumper really poorly refitted which didn't impress.

 

Meanwhile I order an RSTuner, some plugs and a set of injectors since I have a misfire on cyl 4 that I thought could only be a rooted injector. Misfire would only occur at > 3/4 throttle and fairly consistently. It felt like the injector would literally pack up and go home when too much was asked of it leaving me firing on 3...

 

So booked it in for City Automotive to replace injectors and plugs and to complete refitting the front bumper. Archie the Service Manager was skeptical of my diagnosis and I think was concerned that we may be embarking on a saga (on their dime)... Anyway, picked up the car with fresh injectors and plugs and was dead keen to test it. Drove north up Church St and get the head of a queue of traffic at a red light. Light goes green and I've got an opportunity to boot it in 2nd.... So I do...and the dash lights up like a Xmas tree! "Check emissions". Hrm... So I pulled over and determined that it was safe to drive home sedately. Great timing since I was rushing to an appt w/ my broker that evening. Get home and hook up the laptop... "O2 Sensor bank 1 - open circuit". Geez... Even I can fix that! Turned out, presumably, that they'd disconnected the Lambda/O2 sensor to get at the fuel rail, had reconnected it but not clicked the connectors together. A bit of hard accelleration was all it took for it to come apart.

 

Anyway, after reconnecting the lambda sensor it was all good. No sign of a misfire and back to being in awe of how fn quick this car is...

 

Is that a Happy Ending? No, not that kind of happy ending...Jeeez, you guys!

 

Pete

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  • 2 weeks later...
Interestingly I have seen some Meganes with the Renaultsport badge on the RHS of the hatch looking at the rear, like mine, and some with it on the LHS...

 

Phase 1 is LHS.

 

Phase 2 is RHS.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Great Colour :wink: keep us updated, you'll be blown away by the RSTuner

 

Heh. Yeah like the colour... Red goes faster!

 

Have had the car for > 3 months now. Got the last little niggle sorted under warranty by City Automotive the other day. Now the car is sorted and all mine to look after. I didn't lay a spanner on it during the warranty period. A laptop yes, spanner no.

 

As for the RSTuner... My fault, but wasn't blown away I guess because I remapped it before it was running right (dud injector) without the remap. Perhaps I'll revert back to std to gauge the contrast.

 

EDIT: Oh yeah... Is this "Did you get the R26 injectors?" a running/in joke around here? I believe the R26 injectors are the same part as the ones in other 225 models, right?

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  • 2 weeks later...

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