Clio 172/182 too expensive to maintain and repair?

[rumham]

Loving this forum

I've been wanting a Clio since my mate sold his 172 a while back. I loved the little bastard; fun, zippy, inconspicuous.

He's made it clear that repairs/parts/maintenance is quite expensive, and a few other mates have said the same thing.

I've noticed similar complaints on these forums.

 

Cost of bits thread in the FAQ was disconcerting, especially for coolant, headlights etc.

 

Can someone give me an idea about how expensive these ongoing costs will be relative to say a 02 toyota celica, NB MX5 or other possible clio182 alternatives?

 

Thanks

[sanerr88]

Hi mate..

 

They're definitely going to cost that little bit more to maintain than your run of the mill celica/corolla/honda, but as you mentioned.. You've driven one before and you already know it's worth it!

 

At the end of the day I think it comes down to how much work you can do yourself. Timing belt services and what not are best left to the experts and are likely to run you a minimum of around $1200 upwards

 

That's about the biggest foreseeable cost you can expect. Other than that, oil, oil filters, plugs and whatever else are only slightly more expensive and can be done yourself just like every other car you mentioned. I was a little scared off at first but honestly, apart from the different sized sockets and the whole "star bit" Renault uses everywhere there's no difference between servicing my old Toyotas, Mazdas, Nissans etc.

 

You'll be right! It's so worth it =)