Description
2003 Renault Clio 172 (Ph2)
Monaco (Williams) Blue 1/ 468
127k miles
11 Months MOT
I bought the car with next to no service history so I decided to get it up to speed with a major belt service for piece of mind.
I drove the car on a 600 mile round trip down to Lands End, Cornwall to see relatives and it didn’t miss a beat.
Since having the engine serviced and timing sorted, the car has performed flawlessly and pulls well in all gears.
I bought this car because I could clearly see it had never been stripped out (which most of them have been).
The condition of the car for its age is what some would call presentable, there are scuffs, scratches and some dents that can pull out.
That being said, the car mechanically wants for nothing.
It’s a superb hot hatch.
The car came with a few mods but since then I’ve added some of my own to give the car a more cup orientated spec:
- Last owner possibly installed cams and had a map put on it
- Eibach proline springs
- New KYB dampers
- New rear brake lines
- Lower dog bone poly bush mount
- KTEC intake
- BTB stealth catback exhaust
- Cup spoiler (freshly sprayed)
- Cup steering wheel (retrimmed)
- Cup coloured seatbelts
- 182 alloys on falken tyres
In my ownership since June 2024 the car has had the following work done to it:
- Dashboard plastics removed and rubbed down (they go sticky due to age). Gtechniq Trim restorer coated.
- New bonnet seal for top of slam panel
- New JVC door speakers to replace the crackled OEM ones
- New Pioneer (period correct) head unit
- New knock sensor fitted
- New upper engine mount fitted
- New freshly sprayed spoiler as old one had bad lacquer peel
- New windscreen washer jets
- 4 matching Falken Sincera tires fitted
- A KTEC air filter was added (still have stock airbox and resonator).
Went to garage for cambelt overhaul:
* New cambelt
* New cambelt tensioner
* New cambelt idlers
* New camshaft end seals
* New associated bolt hardware
* New auxiliary belt
* Cam cover and breather assembly resealed
* Helicoil repair to stripped thread
* Repair to seized bolt in auxiliary belt tensioner
* Oil and filter change 5w40 (Semi)
* New sump bung and seal
* New old stock BTB stealth catback exhaust fitted
* New centre exhaust hanger fitted
I also sent the car to the garage for its last MOT and told them whatever it needs, just replace it!
The bill got quite big but I wanted this car to be in good shape , unlike so many leggy examples.
The work last done on the car:
- New OS driveshaft & CV boots
- New front brake discs and pads
- New track rod ends
- Tracking adjusted
- Gearbox oil change
- New power steering pressure sensor fitted and fluid top-up
- Horn contact cleaned
- New xenon bulbs
- Misfire on cylinder 3 diagnosed and fixed (good compression)
- Windscreen washers adjusted
- Wiring to horn repaired
- NSR light connector repaired with new indicator bulb
- OS headlight ballast unit cleaned and installed
- New MOT
I have receipts for all of the above work in my ownership so you can see how much I’ve spent on her already.
The only downside to this car is the bodywork, I can’t imagine it would take a lot to bring it to its former glory.
I’d like to think it wouldn’t take a lot to get this car absolutely mint as I’ve already done the hard work of getting it mechanically sorted.
Mechanically she needs nothing- it’s just cosmetics.
It doesn’t suffer from any rot (see sill pics) and only a dusting of surface rust on the rear beam, which most road going cars have after 2 years of use in the UK.
Mileage may possibly go up on weekends to keep the battery charged as I hate leaving cars sitting around.
If you have any questions do get in touch!
I thoroughly recommend viewing the car in person and having a look at what’s been done.
Price is open to near offers.
I can assist with export but I cannot ship the car out personally.
Thank you for reading. I bought this 172 primarily because it was in better shape than so many that were on the market at the time.
It didn’t suffer from any misfires or knocks and was in good running order, so I decided to spend a fortune getting the cambelt and many other things changed so it’s future proofed.
It’s been a fantastic little hot hatch- it gets all the looks and smiles from faces young and old.
The variable valve timing sounds gorgeous as it reverberates through the cabin.
This is the last of the hot hatch icons that will surely be a higher price in the next 5 years if that.
So many of these have been used and abused so finding this one was quite a challenge.
It’s painted from factory in Monaco blue which if you are clued up on Renaults, is the official Williams colour.
It’s an early phase 2 but it has all the mod cons, electric windows, mirrors, auto wipers and lights- it’s a well sorted little car.
