You Will Love The Lady in Red….

You Will Love The Lady in Red….
My Fiesta had been stolen from my front door one November night in 2002 and after a month it still wasn't found so it was time to look for a replacement. I had hired a Renault Clio for the month so I had decided that perhaps this just might be the car, off to the showroom and have a look…There is just something about a car salesman that intimidates me, it's just the fact that every single car he shows you is flawless. I find that worrying and after looking at about seven different cars I was still deep in thought. Then over in a corner I spotted her, just sitting there gleaming but begging for some attention….
She was a 1997 Renault Clio 1.2, red in colour with only 43,000 miles on the clock. I gave her a long inpection, running my eyes up and down every single part of her slinky body. She was perfect in looks but did she have the personality to be part of my life for a few years, a test drive would determine that….She was a three door but that didn't bother me as my Fiesta was the same and that £2995 figure was looking better by the minute……..The Clio is certainly not the fastest of cars but I guess the fact it is a small car with a small engine would determine that anyway. She struggled for power going up a steep hill and her acceleration from stop left a lot to be desired but on a long drive she had a nice steady speed. The plus factor was she was good on petrol consumption and was giving me 100 miles to ten pounds in traffic and about 20 miles more on a good run. With the price of petrol at the moment finding a similar diesel model might just be a better option…
The faults I have found over the few years are to make sure you change the timing belt at 60,000 miles. I didn't and she just ground to a halt one rainy day and left me with a nasty bill of over £300 to repair engine damage. So do make sure that if your Clio is nearing that mileage to leave her in for a service. The Clio also has a key that is totally unique to your car, which is handy in stopping your car being stolen but not handy if the ignition barrel needs replaced or your battery runs out…My ignition barrel just went without warning and it cost £100 for the barrel to be sent from Renault and further money for the labour. One thing that can happen which didn't happen to me is the little battery inside the key running done. I once came across an elderly couple that this had happened to and they couldn't even open their car. Good idea is to replace the battery in your spare key once a year and carry them with you, or hide them somewhere in the car with you…..
I love the powersteering in the Clio but she's a bit bumpy. She's not the roomiest of cars and not a car for a family over 4 but she is ideal for my needs. The boot isn't the biggest and the spare tyre is underneath the car and that my friends is something you should check out. When I got my first puncture it took me nearly an hour to get the spare tyre released as the metal on the releasing nut had rusted. My advice if you buy a Clio is to check that out, put a bit of wd40 on it to keep it from rusting. It will stop you from being stranded miles from home straining to release the spare tyre…Overall I love my Clio, she has cost me a few pounds over the last three years but she has mainly been reliable. She doesn't have electric windows and I had to fit a cd player into her. The interior is pretty basic and the wheel trims are nothing to write home about. The fastest she has ever gone has been about 70mph but I am a tight git anyway and like to travel at cruise speed to save on petrol so I am happy with her speed.
The standard things like the tyres and wipers etc, I have only had to change the tyres once in the last few years but I don't do a big mileage. The rain in Belfast makes sure that the wipers have to be replaced once a year but they are cheap and the tyres for the Clio are pretty cheap as well. They don't need the air topping up that regular and I have only changed the oil once so it's thumbs up all round.The rear window heater, fog lights and hazzard lights are situated right bang in the centre of the dashboard and did I mention the trendy sunroof. The other controls like your indictators, lights etc are on your steering wheel and you also have an electric control for your front lights. This is situated to the right of the car, just tucked under the dashboard and slowly raises your main headlights. If you ever have to change a sidelight be careful as you can easily break this little baby and that my friends will cost you a cool £70 to replace….
So the question remains, can I recommend a Renault Clio to you. Let's just say when I am finished with this car I intend to buy a newer Clio. I dread the day that me and this little lady in red have to part, but for now she's deffinitely the best car I have had to date……..Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.......................Art...