Looking at a Trophy...

[Anatonic]

Hey guys,

Had a good read around and most of my questions have already been answered but I was off to potentially look at this Trophy (No. 320) in exchange for my FN2 CTR but couldn't see any previous info on here about it. Link below:

http://www.ianfarrellmotorcompany.co.uk/used-cars/renault-clio-2-0-16v-renaultsport-182-trophy-3dr-birmingham-201217466532704

Spoken to the dealer and he doesn't seem completely 'au fait' with the car he has in stock but so far I've got this info about it:

1 previous owner
67,000 miles
5 stamps in service book as follows:
10/06/06 13000 miles - Benfield Motors of Newcastle
15/02/07 25000 miles - Benfield Motors of Newcastle
29/05/08 48000 miles - Cartec@Vroom Ltd
05/07/10 57000 miles - Cartec@Vroom Ltd
15/07/11 62000 miles - Cartec@Vroom Ltd (inc disc/pad change)

They said there is no documented evidence of a cambelt change but that this would be done prior to sale.

They also said there is no evidence of the Sachs dampers having been refurbished.

I asked regarding what look like different brakes on the front and the exhaust, to which they said all they know is the front brakes have Tarox 6 written on them and he thought the exhaust was standard (but I'm sure it doesn't look it?). They don't sound like they particularly know what is on the car when the guy traded it in.

I was just looking for advice on if anyone thinks it sounds like a decent price at £5k for the above? I was a bit worried about the gap in servicing but the car musn't have been used much as the mileage only crept up slowly at that time. The brakes sound like they might send me through the front windscreen but the previous owner must have known what he was doing to put a Tarox kit on it?

Should I be asking for more than just a cambelt change? Or should I knock the price down and ask them to leave the cambelt and take it along to KTEC instead for a full cambelt/aux belt pulley and de-phaser/water pump change that I know has been done by a specialist?

Of course all the above is subject to a HPI clear report as well which I should have asked about!

Cheers all!

Matt.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Couple of things for you to bear in mind, with whats to be quite a decent car:

1. The front splitter is missing, this is approx. £120 from Renault, or £13 for a Skoda Fabia one (pretty much the same)
2. It needs the cambelt doing, personally, id get them to take £500 off and get it done yourself by a specialist, its needs the proper locking tools in order to get the timing perfect. Most indies dont have a clue when it comes to this.
3. The Tarox 6 pots are circa £1600 new: http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?p=KMRE0687X&a=i so the previous owner certainly knew what they were putting on the car. Id perhaps look for signs of excessive track use with a setup like that on the front!
4. Steering wheel looks to be in pretty good condition, with both thumb grips still in tact.

Re: the dampers, simply push up & down onboth front wings - if they bounce, they need refurbing which costs between £430-£700 depending on whether you need new shafts or not.

Personally, if it were me, id take a punt on it, get £500 knocked off for the cambelt & use the money from selling the front brakes (circa £800) to get the dampers done as & when required.

 

[Anatonic]

Thanks Sir_Dave!

Just the kind of useful 'once over' on the advert I was looking for - I hadn't spotted the splitter. Do you reckon that exhaust looks aftermarket? Possibly looks like the exhaust hanger / mount might need replacing or adjusting!

Useful to know how to check the dampers as well (or at least get an idea other than looking for any oil seepage!). Would dampers that need refurbishment tend to suggest heavy track action? Or are most needing a refurb at this age / mileage in their lifetime?

Will see what deal they can come to... You see my FN2 is probably worth around £6 - £6.5k at trade-in value with £3k settlement on finance, so probably gonna have to chuck £1k in to make the difference up to the Trophy unless I can convince them I'm going to have to spend a fair amount to get the car back into a decent condition. Just waiting to hear back on the alloys and tyre makes / tread etc. Tax as well will need to be put on the car I would guess... all bargaining power... not that they'll be letting it go for a straight swap, but never harms to ask and push for a better deal!

Regardless, I'm looking forward to Trophy ownership, whichever one it may be in the end!

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

It needs exhaust mounts

Another 50 quid- make sure you do both sides & get renault OEM ones- not halfrauds

S

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

THe front tyres are Pirellis

S

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

As Dave says dont let them change the cambelt - you want an approved specialist to do them- If you punt up your location Im sure we can identify the best specialist for you

S

 

[Anatonic]

Hi Steve,

I'm based down nr Wantage, Oxfordshire.

One of the rear tyres looks like a Michelin - so possibly still Exaltos on the rear.

Compiling a list of questions to fire off to them before I call and discuss. It's a little bit of a distance to travel but I want to be honest with figures on the phone with them, as if they're unwilling to budge based on cambelt + auxiliaries costs etc. then I'd be better spending my money elsewhere on a decent model that has had the work done or someone who is open to negotiation on price.

No way for me to tell on the dampers front till I view so I can't negotiate that into the price until I know more... but I guess I could say it's likely they'll need a refurbishment and work in something off the price for that... In my mind that works out about £600 off for cambelt and new exhaust mounts - but potentially £1k off if the dampers are shot upon viewing and in desperate need of a refurb...

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

Oxford- HUM

you have Stone motorsport in Chertsey - Surrey
You have BTM in Birmingham or 519 Automotive quite close-

Also with the cambelt- ~ £450 if the dephaser pulley needs doing thats another £150-

Personally as you seem quite clued up Id wait for a nice private sale-
ive looked at every clio for sale- across the piste

this seems nice covering all bases-
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201218467462224/sort/priceasc/usedcars/colour/red/seller-type/private_adverts/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/model/clio/make/renault/page/1/postcode/da68bu/radius/1500?logcode=p

although I havent drilled into any of the info-

S

 

[Cue]

definately not an oem 'zorst - can't tell the mft but a few years back i think blue flame were doing those slash cut types.

I run with tarrox disks, more expensive than most run with and definately a wise choice. Not the cheapest though.

The surrounds to 'zorst look silver... going back a few years there was a company that put out a few trophy's with silver trim - they looked gastly. At least one we know of was put back into oem form - another one at least slipped through the net, i don't know the number though.

I'd follow sir dave's advice. get a tidy amount knocked off for the cam belt change. Get the dampers serviced, cam belt and a good service from a recommended independant and have a look around the mounts etc as they could be on the way out by now... for around £1k you'd have it back in fine fettle and a cracking car for the money...

 

[Anatonic]

Hi guys,

After a few conversations with the dealer in question, they are reluctant to move on price to allow me to go elsewhere for a cambelt change and they have told me they will be undertaking the work themselves regardless so that it isn't a 'bargaining' point. They have been very pessimistic about anything I've mentioned and so I've left them to it...

Instead, I'm now off to view this one:

http://www.swindonvehiclesolutions.co.uk/used-cars/renault-clio-2-0-16v-renaultsport-182-trophy-3dr-swindon-201215463445879

The chap I spoke to has been much more helpful and has also offered a very generous trade in on my Civic which is in line with what I wanted for it (in fact it's £250 more than I hoped for!)

The Trophy is number 409 and noticed it isn't on the register here, but it's a 1 owner car from new, FSH and the chaps have just done a full cambelt and aux belt, along with oil and filters - all genuine parts and done with correct Renault locking tools... so I have a little more faith they've done it right. No evidence of the Sachs having been refurbed, but again, they're going to see if there are any BG stickers on them or if they 'bounce' when pushing up and down (I'll check this anyway). Bodywork is immaculate and so is the interior - just the addition of an AUX cable for iPod etc.

Looks like it's just been kept in good condition and kept OEM - which will make a perfect start to my Trophy ownership I hope! Fingers crossed this might be the one...

Matt.

 

[is1]

Looks good on paper.
The steering wheel (as on most) seems to have melted, not a biggie.
Is the gear gaiter seated correctly? Again, not a massive issue if it's damaged and can be replaced.
However, a word of caution and as I am sure you know, cars don't always turn out to be as they appear in pictures/descriptions.
Just go with a calm head and know what you need to look for before you get there.

 

[Anatonic]

Agreed - don't want to get carried away - definitely the best advice I was ever given was to always walk away if you weren't 100% on everything.

I'm having a good chat first and will see how things progress, then go view later this week if everything still sounds worth checking out.

 

[hoolio]

I'd probably pay close attention to the service manual, the cam belt was well overdue. Good luck.

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

I have a trophy due in in 10 days

Steve

 

[Anatonic]

Thanks guys - just a quick couple of questions before I head off to a view 2 different Trophy's this afternoon - I'm now also off to look at No. 298 (LV55 XOG) which does have a history on here. It looks like the first owner (Steve?) had a Group N remap at KTEC done - is there any way to tell if this would still be the case now as it's had at least two other owners since then?

The second, S4M definitely added a Milltek catback exhaust so I'm pretty sure this is what is present on the car at the moment.

Thumb grip on RHS looks knackered (as if it's taped on with electrical tape in the pics), different gear knob and a mark on leather bolster on drivers RHS.

It was more the remap that was bugging me as to how to know if it's still present or if it's been put back to standard (I don't mind either way, but I'd like to know)

http://www.welcomecarsalesswindon.c...tsport-182-trophy-3dr-swindon-201219470570268

 

[hoolio]

Absolutely no way of saying really apart from maybe linking it to a diagnostic machine but it's unlikely to have been put back to standard.

 

[Anatonic]

As I thought... one of the cars is standard so I'll see when I look at that one if there is a noticeable difference in the pickup / response of the acceleration and the 5500rpm onwards point... Guess I might be able to tell having driven the standard one back to back.

 

[hoolio]

I won't say no but the engines in these things seem to differ so much that two standard ones will be different. I wouldn't get too hung up on it. Just make sure it ticks all your boxes and if it doesn't walk and give yourself time to consider.

 

[Steve@R-Sport cars]

You can tell if a car has a different chip

If you plug it in on renault clip & go through the menu there is section that shows the map code thats on the chip-

There is the generic code number for the renault one, it will display 'superchips' on a superchip map & will stay blank or be unknown on others-

Thats how renault invalidate your warranty on new cars if you have messed about with them & then engine goes t*ts up

S

 

[Anatonic]

Holy thread revival Batman!

Why is this Trophy so cheap...? Anyone recognise the reg / know anything of it?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/ox129hn/page/1/radius/1501?logcode=p