Faults:

Fuel pipes burst when we first bought the car. I had no recovery policy at the time and my mum was using the car, she broke down 50 odd miles from home. My dad had to tow her.

The power steering reservoir has a leak. It seems to leak more when the wheels are left at an angle/full lock either way when parked.

Gearbox failed. £250 to get it re-conditioned. Me and my dad fitted it in the winter in sub-zero temperatures. (That was fun I can tell you.)

Clutch cable has snapped around 6 times. The first time it snapped was due to wear and age. Since the first one went it's been a nightmare. To avoid garage costs, me or my dad usually try and fix it, but you have to be a contortionist with 6 hands to fit a clutch cable on one of these cars. Its the design on the inside, behind the clutch pedal arrangement that's the difficult part. To get through tot he engine the cable runs through a hole in the body of the car. To stop the cable rubbing on the edge of the hole you are supposed to fit a small white clip. This was the impossible part of what should be a very simple job. As a result, the clip wasn't fitted and the cable had a life of around 3 months before it snapped and we'd have to get it replaced again. After the 6th time we took it to the garage and they fitted it for £60. You could say I'm stupid, but garages have a tendency to gouge your eyes out when it comes to little cheap and easy jobs like this.

Half of the bulbs behind the dash have never worked. To replace them you have to remove the whole dash which I ain't gonna break my back doing. However, not knowing whether you're running out of petrol or not at night-time gets annoying.

Exhaust rattles like billio at high speeds 70mph+.

Rear window heater is knackered so parallel parking in the winter just isn't happening.

Theres an oil leak somewhere in the engine.

General Comments:

My dad bought this for me at the local auction for £600.

At the time I was still having lessons and I was a keen 17 year old who was happy to have any wheels at all.

The mileage was high at 180k, but my dad assured me that diesels would last forever. In some respects he was right. I have to give the car credit, mechanically the engine is a total trooper. It's done 210 thousand miles now and still runs fine.

But soon after I'd past my test it soon came apparent to me that I was stuck with a tractor-shed. While my mates cried with laughter while they zoomed past me in their GTi's at 90mph, I was stood with the bonnet up looking at the engine while itching my head by the side of the road.

First of all, if this car has over 150k on the clock it isn't worth much over £100.

Due to the length, it's also difficult to park especially for new drivers. It has no street cred whatsoever.

If cars had names mine would be called Boris.

In the cold it doesn't seem to want to start and spews out blue clouds of choking thick smoke for 60 seconds before spluttering into life.

If you want speed, avoid this car like the plague. 0-60mph comes in err... three weeks. Well 15.5 seconds actually, but by the time you've reached 60 you've probably reached you're destination.

I've spent so much on this car for nothing really. I'm desperately seeking to buy a new *petrol* car now I have the money and I honestly cannot wait to get rid of this shed.

Now, I suppose this goes for a lot of diesels, but as far as the interior goes it isn't too bad. Apart from the dash bulbs going out its not too bad.

The seats are VERY comfy and you seem to sink into them when you climb into the car. However, the car is low and passengers have complained of feeling car-sick over long distances.

Mine isn't fun to drive at all, but the 16v petrol version gets to 60mph in 7 seconds so to be honest I really wouldn't mind trying one of those out.

But overall, I don't hate it, like I say, it lasts forever.

I'd highly recommend one of these cars to a farmer. Honestly, they are workhorses. But, if you're a new driver, steer clear.

Faults:

I have had the car almost its whole life. Apart from normal wear and tear replacements I have had the following;

2 broken front coil springs, only apparent at MOT time.

Gear lever broke.

Clutch pedal assembly had to be replaced.

Car has always run hot, and the heater is very poor.

Idling speed is very unstable.

None of these I think are that exceptional. The one that is odd is that the car is now on its FOURTH Ignition/Starter Switch. These have failed at regular intervals leaving the car immobilized, but unsecured (the key cannot be removed)

Renault claim that they have no significant problem with the item, and virtually that mine is the only one ever to fail. It keeps doing so, such that its something I'm always expecting.

Does anyone else have this experience or am I really the only one?

General Comments:

Reasonably comfortable.

Very dull and slow.