sbk1972

Gents,

Currently looking at one for my girlfriend. 60K miles, good condition.

So, what should I look for ? I havent much wisdom with these type of cars. My brother had a R5 GTX which used to snap clutch cables often, are the R19 the same ?

Headgaskets ? Diff ? Gearbox ? engine ? Rust ? What are common problems with these cars ? Anyone know the MPG ??

My g/f does about 80 miles aday, so are these suitable for a daily runner ?

Any good forums ??

Hope to read some good advice.

Cheers

SBK

RichB

I had a non cnvertible phase II for about 5 years, gearbox went when about 3 years old but other than that, no real problems. Getting on a bit now though.

I seem to remember the rag tops suffered from leaky roofs and badly misted screens, probably fairly common on 10+ old convertibles...

I loved mine then I got the Scoob.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Probably the daftest car you could buy, only bother if its a tiny mileage minter, old ,french, convertible, not a good combination.

Ok when new and as a concept not bad but just visualize chipping the ice off the inside of the windscreen on a cold winters morning, I have had leaky cars and its horrible. Make sure the carpets are properly dry, if not you life will be miserable, I had two years with a Golf GTI on which I couldnt trace the (numerous) leaks, soul destroying, wet eggy smelling carpets, mouldy door panels, steamy windows. One bionus was when it was really cold the inch or two of water that gathered when it wasnt being used was just lifet out as one block of ice !

sbk1972

Jacko, have you actually owned a R19 16v ?

I appriecate what you are saying about convertibles in general, but apart from that, what are the other components that make the car up like ? gearbox ? engine ? etc. Do they suffer from hg failing ?

Trying to search around for infor, bit thin on the ground. This car has had a new clutch, new cambelt, and done 63K miles.

SBK

MooseRacer

What age is it? I have to say I wouldn't choose one as something I'd like my g/f to be driving 500miles a week in.

sbk1972

L Reg.

Monkeybone

Like the other chap I owned a phase 2 19 16v hatch for 4 years (before a woman wrote it off for me ).

I loved it, and if it wasn't for the fact that finding another mint one was nigh on impossible I'd have bought another to replace it instead of the 172.

Keep them well maintained and they don't cost much to run, 30mpg (less on teh cabby I'd have thought) and less handling polish on the convertible but not bad. Not sure I'd want ot do mega miles in the cabby though, old soft tops are a long way off their modern counterparts.

I did approx 350 miles a week in the hatch no problem before it got killed.

Engines generally strong, cooling system can be fragile if not looked after properly.



RIP (and the P plate was for the missus as she had only just started driving) What the pic doesn't show is the gaping hole where the car used to actually have something in the rear 3/4 area, it was kindly removed down the road by a ford ka.

j4ckos mate

buy a saab 900 conv off ebay

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

The R19 16v was a great car in its time, its very dated now (especially inside ) and its gutless unless you rag the *** off it, the convertable is 100kg heavier with the same engine, you will be outpaced by 2ltr mondeo petrol engined cars, which is a bit scary.
If you can stand the rattles, squeaks, skittish handling, heavy (very heavy) clutch that all renaults of this era suffered and build quality then go for it they do look quite nice (the convertable) but its not going to be refined you may be better going for (dare I say it) a VW golf convertable, Astra convertable or ford escort convertable as other options (I think what car did a test with these back in 92/93 using a phase 1 r19 (in white) and the 3 above, the r19 came last )

Tony

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Had a non convertible and the ex had the convertible version. Fun cars to drive however we had cooling problems and ultimately headgaskets go on both of them.
I ended up driving mine to destruction, it took 5 litres of water and a litre of oil to get it 35 miles to the auction house. And some poor sap bought it for more than what I paid for it

Monkeybone

Doesn't surprise me, as a conv it's a bit crap, also a phase 1 conv is rare as hens teeth.

I've got an autocar test with the mk3 golf, mk5 xr3i, zx 16v and sunny sri and the 19, the 19 comes out middling but it's quicker than all of them bar the sunny and they really rated the handling.

CT_dunmow

I had two phase II 16v (the executive model...5door)

I loved them but they broke all the time ; Things that went wrong in order of regularity + severity:
wheel bearings, binding brakes, leaky shocks, rust! (particulary around front of bonnet), overheating eventualy head gasket, clutches (the worst job ever!), gearbox x2. (Motor is a little honey though over 4k, best induction roar going)

The main reason it broke all the time was because it is French, the second is that they are quite old now have done plenty of miles (generaly thrashed) and kept in a wet climate.

I still love them, wouldnt have a cab as all the above will happen + it wont be safe or particulary quick.

Still if you get one, make sure it is the latest Phase III (N or P reg) and thats its been garaged.

CT_dunmow

Me at Bedford Autodrome, perhaps this is why things always broke on mine..

Danlp6

ive got a mint ph1 that i love to pieces. cureently undergoing a full engine rebuild, had her resprayed last year too.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Have not had an R19 personally but used to trade quite a few cars and old/French wasnt a good combination as new/French does not seem to be either. Our R5 1.7 had major gearbox failure at 40k.

Look at the problems people have with the new Laguna's, the french should stick to what they do well, simple, quirky, fine handling and robust cheap cars, leave complicated to the Germans and Japanese.

Buying something that old without a proper roof to do a sizeable mileage is folly, ok for summer and local but I wouldnt trust it for 500 miles a week.

sbk1972

Hi all,

Many thanks for your replies, you all make sense and, if honest, I think very much the same. Brother used to have a R5 GTX 1.7, and that thing was a piece of ****.

The guy who is selling the conv is sending me some pics, and I will see. Im also looking at a MR2 / 309 Dturbo / Rav 4.

Cheers

SBK

PG

for 500 miles per week........best of a bad lot......309 (don't you mean 306?)Dturbo.

silent running

Exactly as Tony says.

The F7P engine (1.8 16v) is a good'un, picks up nicely at 4500 and likes to rev, but you do have to cane it to get any results. The plugs are very deep down in the cam cover. Engine mounts aren't the strongest. If you enjoy fixing random electrical problems and tracking down squeaks, you will be in your element. Plus I think it runs a torsion bar rear like the Clio 16v so make sure that's not seized otherwise that is a ******* job to fix.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

If you want something rare and slightly more reliable than a renault (more of a second car than anything else) then this eBay.co.uk: 1992 PEUGEOT 309 GTI GOODWOOD GREEN (item 300045561392 end time 12-Nov-06 20:00:00 GMT) may do you rare in good condition and still quite pokey (this one only has 65k on the clock which is good!
Id buy it myself but im skint

Tony

impreza_terzo3_no257

tbh honest i wouldnt bother mate. i have had too many 19 valvers and they just arent worth the money you'll end up delling your house with the amount of things that go wrong with it trsut me been there and ended up in debt. if you want a decent renault get a williams clio or megan 2 ltr F7R powered lumps are more reliable as i found the hard way, 150bhp stock more than enogh for your missus. Remember if you do go see a clio williams please please please please have a look under the inlet manifold at the tag on the engine bay, its a tight sqeeze but it could save you buying a replica. see the F7P and F7R engines look exactly the same in every way, the only way you will be able to tell if the engine is definately a williams clio engine is y the tag on the engine. if it says F7P its a 1.8 16v 137bhp(1.37bhp if the **** has been ragged of it) and the person selling will have to let you have it for free(again worthless)however if it says F7R then your looking at a genuine willyclio, because it will be the proper 2.0ltr 16v 150bhp. as you know cars of this sort are usually owned by 18yr olds under daddys insurance(been there ;-) )so give it good test drive, make sure nothing is tapping in the engine bay, check service history espesh the cambelt, they are prone to go through them, and general body work. if you decide to get a 19 pm me coz ive got a shed load of 19/clio valver bits.