Faults:

New brake discs and pads all round.

New switchgear for main beam.

New alternator.

New clutch.

4 new tyres.

General Comments:

Quick car, handles great.

Normal car until you hit 4000 revs, then it just feels like a turbo kicks in!

The bucket seats are great.

All a bit noisy inside due to the performance exhaust and air filter.

And noisy inside because of the very hard suspension.

Expensive to fix, £210 for the alternator.

£200 clutch.

Faults:

I noticed a water leak, the water pump had gone.

Driver's electric window stopped working.

Central locking is dodgy.

The car is good, these are the only things that have gone wrong, not bad at 130,000 miles.

General Comments:

Good spec on these cars, virtually the same as the 16v - electric windows and sunroof, remote central locking etc. Boasts the same body kit as the 16v minus the vent. Compared to my friends 16v - it's the better car and half the insurance price, I can afford it at 19. I would recommend this car as a better alternative to the 16v. But the RSI is rare so you'll have to look hard.

High mileage cars aren't a great problem, make sure it has some history. These cars are getting very cheap and well worth considering compared to equivalent Escort and Astra cars which are inferior. Previous car was an Astra GTE and performance wise there is not much difference, the Renault 19 feels more comfortable and refined, and is free from rust.

Faults:

- Front N/S wheel bearing replaced twice and Constant Velocity joint boot as well.

- New radiator at 60k miles due to a stone hitting the core.

- Water leak inside the N/S rear headlamp, fixed under warranty.

- New oil filler cap rubber gasket.

- New middle silencer at 40k miles.

- New tires at the front at 60k miles.

General Comments:

It's a great car, just the right size and the engine is powerful yet fuel efficient.

As reliable as my wife's Honda, never had a problem.

I perform all the manteinance issues every 5k miles.

Uses no oil or coolant.

Paint quality is excellent, it's "Renault Sport Blue".

After the gearbox oil change, the level had the bushes changed too, giving new life to the box.

Beautiful designed car, Renault knows how to make a mid size car look sporty without the sporty price.

Low resale price, about £2500 is the max I can get from it, but now I'm going to keep it for my daughter.

Never failed a MOT.

No regrets on changing from Vauxhall and Honda to Renault... this says everything.

Faults:

Several dash bulbs are blown, a nightmare to remove the dash and sort them!

Bad knocking coming from the gearbox side of the car, bought the car cheap as this was a known fault. Have not investigated it yet. Knocks go with the car's speed.

One wheel embelisher missing.

Power steering fluid leak, coming from a split hose.

Problems for the previous owner:

Several sets of front wheel bearings.

New driveshafts.

New gearbox.

New alternator.

New front suspension.

New discs and pads all round.

New original wheels (old ones were stolen).

General Comments:

Bought this car very cheap as it was advertised with a knock from the drivetrain. When I bought it about a month ago, the knock was barely noticeable but has since got quite loud. The previous owner had much work done on the car including new driveshafts, gearbox, and alternator.

The car is almost immaculate, unusual for one of these (having owned 5 19 16Vs before!). It seems to have been very well looked after, although it was desperate for an oil and cambelt change when I got it, so they were the first things carried out on it.

She goes well, and the mileage doesn't seem to have affected both its condition or engine too badly.

Seats are the best I've ever sat in, hug you round those quick corners!

Lovely cars, if you can cope with the annoying and niggly things that go wrong with them and the limited space there is under the bonnet.

All my previous 19 16vs have been phase 1s, this is the first phase 2 I have had, and I have to say I still prefer the phase 1 shape, but this is still a good looking car.

A little concerned the head gasket is still the original, but I've done it before and I'll do it again if need be!!