Talk me into it!

[MrTurner]

Hi All,

Clio Williams forum newbie, not to forums in general though!

I currently run 2 cars and a motorbike, my wife and I share the cars. We're in the process of freeing up cash though, so one car and the bike are going.

Question is, what to replace the car with. I've posted into the Megane R26 thread, as that is the car that is going, a Meg 225 Cup.

Sensible option is a MK4 Golf. Our second car is a 1.8T, and with a re-map is plenty powerful enough! It does need regular cash spending to keep it tip top though (engine mounts, wishbones etc), and am expecting that with any car I'm looking for.

I guess from you guys I'm looking to see how much you need to spend each month on maintenance (without cost of mods :lol: ), and what the general ownership experience is like (and what have you owned before?).

What is the following of Williams like too? I've seen the Clio 172/182 fall into the hands of too many chavs, and the Megane is going to be heading the same way when you can start picking them up for sub £5k.. The Williams seems to be more of a classic now though?

Lastly (yes, I like to type :lol: ) what sort of price is right for something mechanically sound? I'd not be too worried about cosmetics (so long as the price reflects). Prices are anywhere between £1500 and £4000, so looking for any opinion before I get out there with cash.. I'd actually prefer to pick up something a little untidy but mechanically sound so that my time can be spent making it look nicer..

[MrTurner]

lol - can't find an edit button yet, the title is meant to be:

Talk me into IT!

[Allan]

Really all depends on the previous owners if its trashed you will be looking at big bills...

Only had mine 3 years but in general its not cost a fortune to run it, has needed new shocks, brakes tyres wheel bearings and services.

Doing all the work and not sending it to garages saves cash and parts are cheap so running costs for me are about 300 for insurance 200 for tax + another 600 or so a year in parts...

Petrol i get about 25 - 35 mpg depending on what im doing.

And i do about 10k a year in it as a daily drive

[spikey-ben]

Buy my one
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1091972.htm

Will take sensible offers

[MrTurner]

Cheers Allan, constructive feedback, and sounds like a feasible option.

Ben - a little too steep for me, and you've done pretty much everything leaving me little to do! If you struggle getting that price though let me know..

[vkosho]

Hi and welcome.

It depends really. You can get lucky and not need to do alot, or be unlucky and have things go wrong regardless of the cars history. I would suggest trying to find one with decent bodywork over anything else.

Parts are expensive as is labour due to the difficulty of working on these cars and not many mechanics know much about them. Buying one is deffinatly a commitment and will most likely become a serious project if you want to make and keep it mint! Its not like a golf where you can neglect it and it stays pretty much the same.

However i think there are so many good reasons to own one of these cars especialy over others. They have so much personality and character and get noticed everywhere. They drive amazingly and feel really special. And that more than makes up for any of the stress they can cause.

Ive only owned mine 6 months and have nowhere near the experience that some people on this forum have with them but i know already that i am madly in love with it and never want to sell it. I Highly recomend it!

[2 live]

Hi All,

Williams clio forum newbie, not to forums in general though!

I currently run 2 cars and a motorbike, my wife and I share the cars. We're in the process of freeing up cash though, so one car and the bike are going.

Question is, what to replace the car with. I've posted into the Megane R26 thread, as that is the car that is going, a Meg 225 Cup.

Sensible option is a MK4 Golf. Our second car is a 1.8T, and with a re-map is plenty powerful enough! It does need regular cash spending to keep it tip top though (engine mounts, wishbones etc), and am expecting that with any car I'm looking for.

I guess from you guys I'm looking to see how much you need to spend each month on maintenance (without cost of mods :lol: ), and what the general ownership experience is like (and what have you owned before?).

What is the following of Williams like too? I've seen the Clio 172/182 fall into the hands of too many chavs, and the Megane is going to be heading the same way when you can start picking them up for sub £5k.. The Williams seems to be more of a classic now though?

Lastly (yes, I like to type :lol: ) what sort of price is right for something mechanically sound? I'd not be too worried about cosmetics (so long as the price reflects). Prices are anywhere between £1500 and £4000, so looking for any opinion before I get out there with cash.. I'd actually prefer to pick up something a little untidy but mechanically sound so that my time can be spent making it look nicer..


as above really mate. on these cars, the bodywork is the most important thing. very very few have been untouched and still look good. and the body shops arent cheap, and are very hit n miss for quality. running is is peanuts in comparison.

iv had mine 8 years now, touch wood, apart from the mods, it hasnt really cost me a lot. gearboxes/brakes being the major outlay.

these cars are really a labour of love, thrash em and they keep coming back for more in my experience, leave em stood, or tickle em evrywhere, and they will become money pits. contrary to popular belief, but hey.

as for ownership...well..after 8 years, im still loving mine, and still have no intention of selling either of them(iv had 1 as a track car/ slag for the last 3 years) i know the newer stuff will be quicker, but lets face it......computers dont drive these cars, the man/woman behind the wheel does, no electrickery in these ;) and you can still keep the quicker cars honest with simple mods. as the 197 and vee found out into and out of fcs .


my advice. go for it......evryone should have a williams in their life. hehe. just dont go buy the first one you see, unless it is an absolute minter. check about, look at a few, there are some dogs out there, so be warned lol.