Reliability

[Chad]

I'm somewhat concerned by the cost of maintenance for the Trophy, but the question is how often does it need work doing? Do you folks find them to be reliable enough to not worry for a while or is there often an niggling worry that something could go wrong at any minute?

Given that I won't have that much disposable income I might not be best placed to keep it running if stuff's breaking on it more than about three times a year.

 

[Johnnytheboy]

My 2p: they're fine. Minor services are cheap, major ones are not (aux belt change £££).

Famously high-maintenance front dampers need a service from time to time (but they're what makes the car special), and the original brake discs seem a bit fragile.

Also temperature sensors go pop on a lot of them, but all this does is cause the idle speed to misbehave.

But actual breakdowns anecdotally seem to be a rarity; I know mine never has.

Honesty time: here's my complete list of work carried out in just over 3 years/15,000 miles:

Temp sensor replaced - warranty so price unknown
Seat tilt/slide repaired (myself, free)
Front brake discs replaced as corroding - warranty so price unknown
Front dampers serviced by BG Motorsport - £500 inc removal/refit etc.

And it's such a joy to drive that it was worth every penny.

 

[Matt X2C]

If you are after a perfromance car, this is about as cheap as they come to maintain.

I had one for 2 years and all that went wrong was the boot lock which was fixed free under warranty.

5 or 6 friends have had different variations of the 182's and none have ever had a problem in the time they have owned them. The only one that has had problems is a mk1 172, but they are getting on 10 years old now.

Smaller tings may start going wrong nowadays, but you would be unlucky. In my experience they have no reliability problems at all. In fact I have a friend who works at a large Renault Dealer and he told me the frenchies are very bad for reliability, all the Renaults he deals with, except the Renault Sports.

 

[g40steve]

If you drive it like a girl you will be fine.

If you drive it like it was intended to be driven things will go wrong, but nothing the warranty wasn't able to fix in my case :lol:

 

[Chad]

This is a bit more reassuring, thanks. What's the deal with the dampers that I hear are preposterously expensive? Just get them refurbed every so often?

Also, has anyone had any dealings with http://www.warrantydirect.co.uk? They seem to do a good service but I can't seem to find a price for Trophys.

If you drive it like a girl you will be fine.

I have no intention of driving like a girl, believe me :twisted:

I won't be driving like a Burberry-cap either!

 

[Johnnytheboy]

Basically, the oh-so-special Sachs front dampers have a habit of leaking etc. as they are basically a track damper.

They also cost about £2,800 a pair, but they make a Trophy what it is.

Budget for having them refurbed by a company called BG Motorsport (details below) approx every 20k miles at a cost of £500 all in and you won't be in for any shocks...sorry about the pun. If you buy a Trophy, it might be woth enquiring whether this has been done. If you test drive one, it should feel very stiff but composed over minor undulations.

BG Motorsport Ltd
47- 48 Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone
Northants
NN12 8GZ
01327 855 200

dampers@bgmotorsports.co.uk
http://www.bgmotorsport.co.uk

EDIT: Interestingly, Warranty Direct seem to do every 2005 Clio _except_ the whole 182 family. They do the V6, mind!

 

[Chad]

That's something I'll certainly be looking for when the time comes to buy.