Faults:

Jumps out of 5th gear when the engine is warm and accelerating.

Front brake discs replaced.

Front foot wells full of water; discovered that the sunroof drainage pipes behind front wheels were blocked and causing water to enter the cabin. Unblocked the pipes and car is currently drying out.

General Comments:

Comfy ride, good handling, very economical (50 mpg).

Slow acceleration, engine noisy, noisy inside.

Has been reliable other than the annoying 5th gear problem.

Faults:

Head gasket blew around 60,000 miles, which is common fault with the 8 valve 1.6 petrol. That was annoying and cost around £500 to fix, but this included a new cam belt etc which was due at that mileage anyway.

There's always been a clunk from the front suspension, but as the car has passed three MOT's in my ownership (with the clunk) I guess this is OK!

The exhaust heat shield regularly rattles, and needs tightening up every 4-5 months or so.

The paintwork is fading badly now as the car is 8+ years old, and there are signs of rust around the rear wheel arches and chassis sills.

General Comments:

The car handles nicely, if with a little too much body roll, but there's loads of grip (even with the cheap tyres I tend to buy!).

The interior is comfy and a fairly pleasant place to be, nicely equipped with air con and sunroof, although a little cheap looking. And the back seats are a little bit lacking in leg room, especially behind me as I'm 6'3".

All in all a decent cheap family hatch - much better to drive than Astra's and Escort's of the same era, which I tested at the time I purchased the Megane.

Faults:

I didn't have the car at this point, but according to the service book, the car had a new engine at 13000 miles.

In my 6 years of ownership, 40k - 126k, I had the following major work done (NB this does not include wear and tear replacements like the exhaust, battery and brakes which needed lots of replacement) :

3 catalytic converters (yes, 3!!)

New alternator

New starter motor

About 6/7 lots of replacement front suspension

New fuel pump thing

And finally, a blown head gasket.

General Comments:

I really like the look of this car, it's nice looking beast. Unfortunately it isn't that reliable and always seems to need something doing to it. MOTs and services were a nightmare, they would frequently cost £300+ once the suspension and/or cat had been replaced.

I was about due to replace it anyway (i'd had enough of being towed home) and then the head gasket blew. I bought a Ford Focus instead. I already like it better.

Faults:

TDC sensor on the blink just after I bought it. Turns out it is faulty wiring. Plastic clips used until it went in for a service with Renault dealer. Cost GBP 110, including labour. This is the third sensor replaced on the car since it was first purchased by the original owner.

Auto gearbox now refuses to change from third to fourth gears in normal mode. Warning light on display. However, will change gears, for now, in 'sports' mode.

General Comments:

Most recent service cost GBP 800. They replaced brake discs (why weren't they machined??) and it took them 45 minutes to replace the brake fluid!!

Apart from the problems the car handles alright and is comfortable to drive.

Faults:

Petrol smells in cabin caused by insufficent clamping of pipe to engine connection.

Battery did not charge properly - new battery fitted.

Occasional clunking noise from front n/s.

Occasional exhaust rattle due to poor fitting of a replacement (cheap) tail pipe.

General Comments:

Comfortable to drive and handles fairly good - better than the Vectra I had previously (which suffered from the infamous /annoying Vectra steering knock).

Has a 2 litre 8 valve engine, which is adequate, but no more.

Interior is OK, but has a slightly fragile feel about it, but all the gadgets work OK so far.

Spare plip key expensive - £140 including coding in by Renault dealer.

RXE model has air con, electric roof, electric windows all round, alloys, immobiliser, drivers airbag only, electric mirrors.

5 door hatchback has good sized boot and rear passenger space is OK. Had a cambelt change at 64000 before I got it (check this first - it is essential). Underside of the car is starting to show signs of rust.

Fuel economy pretty good overall for a 2 litre in both town and motorway.

Overall, a nice car to drive, but not exciting. Car is nearly 8 years old and is probably not worth repairing if anything major goes wrong. Get one cheap with a full service history if you can.