car advice needed!

rotary

hi guys,
im just looking for some advice on the 'renault clio'!
i'm looking to purchase my first car in a couple of weeks, and i have been offered the chance to buy a 2000 reg. clio for 5000 euros.
do you guys think it is worth considering? are clio's suitable for a first car? they dont seem to get as much publicity as the infamous punto and corsas etc. for first cars!! is there a reason for this?
any advice will be appreciated

Henry Ford III

Clios are fine.

What model, mileage, how many owners, any service history, crashed?

All will be factors in determining the value

Big Nelly

rotary wrote:

hi guys,
im just looking for some advice on the 'renault clio'!
i'm looking to purchase my first car in a couple of weeks, and i have been offered the chance to buy a 2000 reg. clio for 5000 euros.
do you guys think it is worth considering? are clio's suitable for a first car? they dont seem to get as much publicity as the infamous punto and corsas etc. for first cars!! is there a reason for this?
any advice will be appreciated

Milage and so on? abit more information would be better than 00 for 5 grand. What condition? engine size?

alias no.9

When buying a car, do so based on its condition, not based on the reputation of a brand as told to you by someone on on the internet. If you're not sure about what you're looking at, bring someone else along who is. Despite what some people here will have you believe, there are virtually no inherrently bad cars these days, even the much maligned punto is a good car when looked after. With proper maintenance and care, any car will see high mileages, having said that, some cars , like a toyota corrolla, will see high mileages with lots of neglect.

Anyway, back to the car in hand, service history is most important, or at the very least, proof of the most recent cam belt change. If you're buying from a garage, and the cam belt hasn't been done in the previous 30k miles or 2 to 3 years, get them to do it before you buy. Check the car for damage, look all around the outside, check that the pannel gaps look uniform, check that there is no variation in the paint colour, lift the bonnet, look down at the chassis rails for any damage, lift the carpet in the boot and look for any damage. Check the condition of the interior, check that everything electrical is working. Take it for a spin (or get someone else if you're new to driving) change up and down through the gears (don't forget reverse), check the brakes, listen for any unusual noises etc... Check to see if it's pulling to either side while driving or braking, in a carpark turn the steering to full lock and move off a little listening for any clicking or knocking noises then turn the steering full lock the other way and repeat. When you stop leave the engine running and heat up until the radiator fan kicks in and wait for it to kick back out again.

All in all, if the car doesn't feel right, walk away. There's plenty more out there.

colm_mcm

make sure it's the "00 Sport" model with alloys, fogs and CD player, and not the rubbish base model