I've come accross the 175 while looking for a quick (or at least quick-ish) diesel and it seems to fit the bill quite well (i.e. quite driver-focused). Are there any common problems I need to be aware of, either specific to the 175 or the Megane as a whole? Is there a list of standard equipment by trim level anywhere? I'd need cruise, but I'd like xenons / leather as well and it'd be handy to know which model (if any) I should be aiming for. Having said that, I really want to be able to disable ESP so it looks like cup only! I'm a little wary of French cars due to their reputation!
Electrics arent the strongest, window regulators seem to be very common as there's no wet liner in the doors, hub bearings can seize up making the steering heavy and not self centre. The engine is pretty bulletproof its a nissan chain driven engine so no cambelts to worry about replacing. Cruise control is standard, for xenons you may need the light pack (not sure if it was standard with the LUX pack) The Lux pack will give you full leather (heated i think) interior, keyless entry, auto dimming rear view mirror and a silver strip over the dashbox (with possibly Xenons - unsure on this). The xenons normally have a black insert in the headlight with no height adjustment near your right knee You can buy an RSTUNER with an additional module from fastchip to reconfigure the ESP so it won't come back on over 30mph too so CUP isnt necessary although you will get better suspension with this too
Ooooo perfect! I do like the sound of harder suspension on the cup models - but I have to drive down some pretty bad roads so the lower ride height is a worry. Rather than buying an RSTuner at €330, is there somewhere I can take it to get it done / borrow one (for £ of course)? Can it definitely allow ESP to be disabled full stop? Can Xenons be retrofitted?
Xensons can be retrofitted, i remember seeing a thread a while back about someone doing it but it cost some serious cash if i remember right, as you need a lot of stuff not just the lights a lot of people just put HIDS in (although depending on how picky your MOT tester is this might not be feasible). The RSTuner doesn't disable it full stop it allows you to adjust the speed that it comes back on at so you could put it down as 150mph so effectively off all the time rather than kicking back in at 30mph. If your after one cheap your best bet is to buy one second hand (around 100-120ish) then you'l need to buy a licence(£50ish?) for your car and the ESP module (£20ish)(may as well remap it at the same time too! Remap is around £100 i think) but then you can sell the RSTUner if you no longer want it for the same price you bought it. Would probably cost around 150-200 all in for remap / ESP tweak after selling the box on. I doubt you'd borrow one as you'd need a licence for it to work on yours then a license to get it to work again on the donor (i think anyway i know you do for remaps but unsure about the ESP module, as it can be used as a fault code reader etc on any car without a licence i think) The lower ride height isnt a massive difference to be honest its about 10mm i think but it is a bit harsher than FF suspension.
I'd imagine RStuning could probably change the ESP settings as they sell/ use the RSTuner from fastchip but i'm honestly not sure
Perfect - the RSTuner is quite expensive but I suppose with a remap as well it's not bad value. I've heard that the torque of the DCI was limited to not kill the driveshafts, but I'm not sure how true this is - but my current car has 170 HP / 300 ft-lbs so some more power would be nice! I've also seen a reference to using a "Clip" (Renault diagnostic device) or even just cutting some wires and putting a switch in do to it (although with the 225 not the DCI).
Oh forgot all about CLIP actually, yeah your right it can definitely be done Via that too, whereabouts are you located as i'm sure their will be a specialist with CLIP nearish you, and it would be cheaper than a stealers!
Sorry - I should of said I'm in Suffolk. I've not even driven one yet but I want to have my ideal spec in mind before I do - currently looking at an "interesting colour" (not black or silver so blue or red), ESP disable (but now not necessarily cup!), ideally lux (but only for the leather interior I could retrofit). Oh, and cheap - max £5k, ideally closer to £4k. I'm sure that long term I'd probably want to buy the diag gear (can't help but tinker) but it's a lot to start off with.
I know engine dynamics are down in kelvedon (i think), Andy is a very knowledgeable guy and good prices too, i had some cams fitted and mapped by them for my old clio or you've got 519 automotive down in bedford but that's a bit further away
Between £4-5k no diesel car comes close. The closest rivals in similar class are the Astra 888 cdti, leon fr tdi 170, Toyota auris T180 and the ibiza cupra pd160. Try getting one of these for the same price at the same spec. Ive driven a standard meg 175 lux none cup on a lenthy test drive and just driving normaly a to b you cannot tell the difference between cup and none cup. Its only when really pushing on you can tell its a cup. So i wouldnt be to bothered about narrowing your search to just a cup. Both cup and none cup are fairly refined on the road i find no difference in harshness with the cup shocks/springs. Why do you want the esp to be disabled? My esp has only flashed up/cut in a couple of times on heavy acceleration in the wet. The dci puts the power down very well mine has over 370ftlbs and rarely spins the wheels. They have a very refined smooth torque delivery. Not like the other diesels mentioned above. If a nice low mileage none cup lux came up at the right price. I would go for that over a cup thats had modifications or higher mileage. xenon lights are quite rare as standard. I have them but i cant say its a massive plus. Id easily of fit a 4300k hid kit for the same effect.
One of the things that's doing it for me is the claim of a really well sorted chassis, and I'd like to take it on track. Seems a bit of a waste to have a drivers car - but let the details be handled by a machine!
Just to update this... Went to view one (5 door, 110k, Lux pack, not cup) today, had a drive, was very impressed. The seat was a bit weird (it "rocked" back and forth in a certain position), and the dash seemed be vibrating towards the windscreen. Was told it'd been bought from auction with a damaged bumper / bonnet this year and repaired, but the repair was very good as I couldn't spot it. Was about to call and say I'd have it (subject to inspection) but I've HPI'ed it and it's come back as a Cat D this year. Can't see a £5k car getting written off for a bumper & bonnet so I have to suspect the impact was bigger that the seller let on
Stay well clear I'd say. The rattling dash is a common fault. A quick spray of wd40 all along where the dash meets the windscreen stops it. 110k I'd be wanting to see documentation of a clutch change and aux belt change atleast. Or it could become very expensive to run within a short space of time.
The owner was unsure if the clutch had been changed - but I'd expect whichever one I'd buy would probably need it doing at some point. Is the aux belt expensive to change?
I was quoted £360 (after 25% discount) at Renault, but it was for Laguna 2.0 dCi. Mr Clutch could do it for about £200.
5 But if you get one that's only done 60k you will get a few years before it starts to slip. The clutch is a expensive job it will be atleast £1000. Another thing to point out is cars that have been wrote off are dearer to insure than cars that haven't. Getting a cheaper high mileage dci is false economy if you ask me. Factor in all those expenses your looking at the same price as one that's done 60k.
The dmf will need changing at the same time. You could cut corners and just change the clutch. But I wouldn't at the torque I run. Going off other peoples experiences the clutch usually starts to slip at 100-110k which isn't too bad for the amount of torque as standard.
Since when? I've just sold my cat d clio and the insurance never asked anything about it being written off when I changed cars over
They Will already know. A car that's been wrote off before is classed higher risk. And in the event that its in a crash again it's value is heavily reduced. Some companies even put them as a value = zero.
It gets wierder and wierder. I saw this car in Northampton, sold buy an Eastern European (I'll get back to this!) named George. Car stayed up for about a week after I viewed, then disappeared from eBay - fair enough, though it'd been sold. It's then come back up again a few weeks ago in Birmingham, but with the same pictures (taken in Northampton). Bit odd - but maybe the locations been "tweaked" to entice more punters. Cars now come up on eBay with new pictures, listed in Birmingham - and is now being advertised as HPI clear (it wasn't and still isn't!). Being sold by a fellow called "Adam Kahn" who definitely isn't who I met - but has the same phone number! Crazier still - despite not having sold since going up for sale in August, it's had the wheels refurbed, a few thousand miles extra on the clock and is now up for £5k from the £4700 it was before! Glad I walked now... (YB57 HDE)
After a remap 4/6 weeks ago my clutch is now slipping in 6th at..... 45k :eek: I am actually gob smacked!
The same seller is now selling a very similar car - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENUALT-M...795?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item234d37d81b - it's a 5 door, in blue, with 114,000 miles, with newly replaced brakes - I can't tell if it's the same car because the reg is obscured - but on balance it must be, surely? Except it can't be, because: The car I saw was written off because of a bump on the front corner and bought last year by George and repaired. This car is "CAT D, DONT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF IT NEVER WAS DAMAGED IT WAS JUST STOLEN RECOVERED" The car I saw was then sold to the current seller in 2010 This car is "OWNED IN THE FAMILY FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS ALWAYS MAINTAINTED REGARDLESS OF COST"
To save starting another thread.....is there an easy way to spot the cup packed 175 (Like on the 182 Clios the Cup Chassis had anth wheels)?
Lucky escape there I'd say mate, given what you've just posted. Can't you make do with a 225 or a cheap R26? Much more choice. EDIT: just seen that thread is old....
RS Tuning did the clutch too, I had a custom friction plate made with the standard pressure plate and dual mass flywheel and it was just shy of £1400
I spoke to Renault UK, they made a few phone calls and rang me back. That is the build number. Here it is and the chap who did the plaque with his contact details:
I phoned them up about mine just a couple of weeks ago and told me they weren't able to give me that information until September. Who was it you spoke to at RUK?
