Faults:

Cam-belt, water-pump, ABS sensors, trim rattle and breakage, suspension mounts, etc. Mostly wear and tear. Tried to look after the car as much as I could, it got all the oil changes and everything as scheduled.

General Comments:

The Modus is an odd looking car from Renault. It was a spacious and comfortable enough vehicle, but everything else was average or poor compared to rivals.

Expression was a basic spec, wheel trims and wind up windows in rear. Up front however it had electric windows and A/C, so I suppose it was good enough for just cruising about on your own.

Dash trim felt so cheap and nasty, and I hated the orange digital display for speed and other functions.

Ride as OK as was the handling, but this car was slow. 1.2 petrol engine did a solid 45 mpg however.

Pretty low value at age and mileage for a trade in. Since moved on to a more modern Seat Toledo, a much better car in every way. The Renault was OK, but nothing special, don't know if I'd go back to the brand, other cars offer more for the same money.

Faults:

Nothing has gone yet, but I needed a car that's easy to get into and it had to be automatic...

I have always done my own maintenance, but these cars by design are for dealer maintenance; working on one of these is like a gynecologist decorating his front room through his letterbox.

These cars have so many faults it would take too much time to list them, but here are a few:

Just to put new rear discs on requires that you buy new wheel bearings and ABS rings.

Camshaft dephasers are an expensive item that also require the cambelt being changed; another expensive item.

The automatic transmissions have built in flaws, and repair/replacement can mean it outweighs keeping the car.

If you get the dreaded fault code 1608 or df002, it means your electric power steering has gone and that will set you back £1300.

A transmission can cost £3000.

Then you have the mundane things like windows dropping down, numerous electrical faults caused by water in the fuse/relay box, immobiliser faults, dashboards with dry joints, and a host of digital warnings where you're told to pull over, turn off, wait and restart, water coming into the cabin, taking the front off just to change the light bulbs; the list goes on.

But from a design point of view, it's a spacious little car; plenty of cubby holes/storage. It's comfortable and easy to drive, with big windows. But it's let down by designer flaws/dealer only repair systems.

If they put a non computer transmission unit in it and an engine that did not have a dephaser cam system, and took out all of the non essential sensors, it would have been up there with the best, but they did not!

So there it is, a good car spoilt by dealer greed!

General Comments:

Whatever you do, only use fully synthetic fluid in the transmission; never put Dex III in it!

Faults:

Everything.

Exhaust EGR valve went at 55,000.

Broken front spring.

Broken rear spring.

Rusted brake pipes at 60,000.

Driver's side electric window mechanism destroyed itself at 55,000.

Main body control module went at 51,000 - cost £700 but replaced under warranty.

Air con packed up. Blower motor stopped working.

Electric sunroof gave continuous problems with jamming etc.

Electrical problems are rife.

To cap it all, the airbags didn't work when the rubbish handling put the car in collision with a tree.

General Comments:

Practical - the 1.5 DCI engine is nippy. Too nippy for the ability of the chassis.

Renault electrics are a disaster area. The dealers know how to charge as well - £350 for a module, then another £120 + VAT for programming??? Come on!!

The handling is dangerous. Steering lacks feel and understeers badly when pushed; it is not uncommon to come out of a roundabout on a different lane to the one on which you started. Lost control, skidded on a twisty road, and ended up stuffing it into a tree. It's now written off, which is good riddance to the wretched thing to be honest. I would pay to see it put through the crusher.

The £30 road tax for the engine emissions is good. About the only good thing I have to say about it. Keep it as a town car, but for the open road it is a disaster.

In short these cars are cheap, nasty and built to a price. Avoid them.