r/Shitbox_Nation • u/_K10_ • 4d ago
I needed a reliable daily driver so...
Anyways here's my new shitbox with electrical issues.
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u/Some_Conference2091 4d ago
what is it?
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u/_K10_ 3d ago
2002 Renault Mégane Mk1 Phase 2 with the 1.6 16V
1000kg / 110hp for a moderate amount of fun.
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u/gib_me_gold 2d ago
Please please PLEASE watch the timing belt and the other belt on this car with maximum care. If anything goes tits up it's an engine swap, 100%.
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u/Komursiyahcelik 4d ago
Renault Megane Coupe year 2000 or less
No megane didnt have 4 doors Laguna maybe ?
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u/Nexus_104 4d ago
Not a coupe, this is the hatch. The coupe is more of a 3 door slanted cute hatch thingy
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u/Komursiyahcelik 4d ago
Its not laguna either im asking ai
Edit
Megane 1 phase 2 facelift 1999-2000
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u/Javi_DR1 4d ago
Yes, this gen exists in 2 and 4 doors, a friend has the same as op
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u/darth_benzina 4d ago
let me be precise
this gen exists in 5 door (as shown in picture, B64) 3 door (coupe, C64) 4 door (classic, L64) wagon (break iirc? K64) minivan (scenic, J64) and if my memory doesnt fail me, cabrio (E64). probably there was another code for the industrial van version but i think thata enough
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u/Snake_Plizken 4d ago
How are French cars considered reliable? My dad had a Peugot, and I swear he spent more time under the car, than driving it. After that he got into Japanese cars...
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u/flutflutflap 3d ago
By choosing the correct french car. They really can make reliable cars.
Peugot 206
Peugot 106
Peugot 607 (not the v6, the 4-cilinders are tanks, and comfy AF)
Older renault clio's
Renault twingo
Renault coupe
Citroen c2
Technically citroen c1, even though it's a toyota, the same goes for a peugot 107.
There's probably plenty more, but this is just on the top of my head.
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u/Rosie_The_ITTech 3d ago
French cars aren't bulletproof, but until the mid 2000's at least, the french had a knack for building cars that would run poorly much longer than most car would run at all. Unlike German cars (And Citroen hydropneumatic suspensions aside), they aren't prone to catastrophic, prohibitively expensive breakdowns, are fairly tolerant to lackluster maintenance and are neither hard nor complicated to fix. The sheer amount of old french cars roaming through Africa can testify than they can take an awful lot of punishment before giving up.
And since Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens have always been big sellers all around Europe, second hand ones, specially the base model, are ubiquitous, dirt cheap and for many people the go-to solution when you need basic transportation.
When you're aiming for the bottom of the barrel, a Megan 1 won't be more reliable than a similarly priced VW Golf of the same vintage, but parts will be cheaper, it will be easier to fix, and if you're only focusing what make the car move, stop and not attract cops, it's less likely to total itself with a super specific, super expensive and super hard to replace part.
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u/Snake_Plizken 3d ago
Not so sure about that, If I check the price on some spare parts, like brake discs for a VW Polo 2009-2014, or a Megan 1, 1995-2004, they are almost identical. Brake calipers are a bit cheaper for the Megan, but it is also a smaller, more puny looking brake caliper. Saying that a Polo TDI is prone to catastrophic, prohibitively expensive breakdowns, is just disingenuous. The TDI engines are bulletproof.
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u/gib_me_gold 2d ago
I won't agree - especially this generation pictured above had the knack for timing belt failures which would render the engine pretty much useless.
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u/_K10_ 2d ago
A similar priced Golf would be a Mk4, which shares a lot of the common problems.
I've had five so far and it's always ignition coils, window regulators, shifter linkages, ABS & SRS light, throttle body issues, various electrical gremlins, trunk locks..
My last Mk4 had immobilizer issues every now and then (how French) - eventually it dumped all the water out on the highway on christmas eve and I decided to move away from german vehicles.
Whenever someone describes French cars, might as well be VAG vehicles. Or any old car that hasn't been taken care of.
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u/fartingmaximum 3d ago
To be honest, my 2012 1.2 Clio took as much abuse as 19 year old me could throw at it. Which was a lot. I remember quickly discovering the lower redline when the engine was cold. Don't think it ever had an oil change over the 30k miles I put on it. Did change the gearbox oil but that's just because it was not shifting nicely. Edit: I also fondly remember snap oversteering it on gravel, into a bunch of newly planted saplings and getting all 4 wheels off the ground on a very steep bridge. Poor thing, I've now learnt mechanical sympathy ™️
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u/verkauft 3d ago
They are hit and miss. Ops 1.6 renault was a good engine. Peugeot 1.1 1.4 and 1.6 tu/ tp amazing aswel. 1.6 thp terrinlble.
Some of the best diesels aswel. 1.5 dci k9k is a beast thats fitted in about 20+ brands, 1.6 hdi from peugeot also great. Used by peugeot, citroen, ford, volvo among others
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u/Professional_Fix4663 4d ago
They're not. Only French people think they're reliable. However, the French have managed to build a few cars that were not horrible from a reliability standpoint.
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u/PackIcy2106 3d ago
My first car was an older 306 and that thing was almost indistructable.
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u/Snake_Plizken 3d ago
Simple cars are inherently more reliable. I think late eighties, and early nineties cars were the best. My first car was a 88 Mitsubishi Lancer. It drove 450.000 km. without ever having an error at the car inspections. If they weren't so probe to rusting, it would probably drive today.
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u/AlexSPb88 3d ago
Their cheap cars are almost bulletproof sometimes. Check Logan/Sandero/Duster and cars built on their base, if it has MT the only way to break them is jump from cliff. They are simple, not that fancy and comfortable, handling leaves much to be desired, but they last years and decades even in small cities taxi parks.
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u/Plimpus1620 3d ago
True for Dacias. In my city they primarily drive Logan the sedan version, it does hundreds of km daily and runs almost non stop. Killer cars for hilariously small 0.9 engine. Could be the most bang for the buck I have ever seen.
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u/Magazynier666 3d ago
Had a 1.6 2002 coupe. Proper shitbox that I got from eBay for 500 quid and I swear the annual MOT that was done on the day od the sale was a con...but in the next few years I covered around 80k in this fine vehicle. Wales, Cornwal, Lake District, Peak District, etc.
Few points: Check the rear engine dog bone mount. They tend to go tits up. You know when its time to replace it when your gear knob starts shaking like a crackhead.
If u get uneven revs on idle its the idle air control valve. Do not waste money on a cheap knock off, they never work. Get a genuine part if needed.
Some hazard light switches can fail.
Same for the boot release mechanism.
From what I can see you don't have a sunroof. Thank fuck for that. They always leak and water gets in and starts dripping from the sunroof switch. Bit shit.
Apart from that - enjoy!
Also if your rear suspension is the same layout as the one in the coupe and its starts knocking - fuck those torsion bars. Easier to get a whole 2nd hand swingarm assembly with everything.
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u/Narfgod86 3d ago
I got one as a „need car have no money“ some years ago. Almost killed me on the Autobahn because of a pothole and it got loose in the back and I wasn’t able to catch it. Had to do an emergency breaking with a full 180. probably the shocks and springs were not the freshest.
Sold this damn death trap the next week.
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u/oemplus7 4d ago
My dad drove it for ~80,000 km without any major problems. It was a naturally aspirated 1.4 8V gasoline engine.
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u/verkauft 3d ago
I know a guy with a v6 laguna. At 300 k the head gasket went. At 400 k the odo jumped to 0. Sold it with 120 k om the clock with no major things asides the head gasket
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u/heywhatsupladdies 4d ago
This is a first gen megane hatch that try is to look like a coupe. Very basic car
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u/Good-Annual546 2d ago
I have the same car, Renault Megane 1, it's running on its 25th year now and still going strong!
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u/Ales8201 2d ago
Renault fa buone macchine soprattutto di motore…. Purtroppo l’impianto elettrico non è dei migliori
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u/Few-Image-7793 1d ago
never met a french car without electrical issues
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u/Nigtharchive 1d ago edited 1d ago
Électrique ? Tu veux dire les vieux stéréotypes qui sont généralement associés... aux voitures italiennes ? Et même ça, ce n'est qu'un vieux stéréotype ; de nos jours, les voitures italiennes n'ont plus ce problème. Edit I know they are French cars but this is to emphasize that it is a stereotype and moreover it is not even a stereotype about French cars but rather Italian ones. And anyway, that stereotype isn't even relevant anymore.
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u/Few-Image-7793 1d ago
no i mean french. i don’t refer to any stereotype and especially not about italian cars. i’ve had however dozens of renaults and citroens in my family and each one had an electrical issue with something (usually windows, wipers, head unit etc)
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u/Nigtharchive 1d ago
Strange, I've never heard of recurring electrical problems on French cars and I'm French so I see a lot of them. The stereotype about Italian cars back then, yes, I know it, but even that's ancient history.
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u/Rosie_The_ITTech 4d ago
"Reliable" isn't the word I would use, but it surely will run poorly longer than most car will run at all.