Old renault 5

[electra1]

I am getting a car for free- it's an E reg renault 5, which belonged to my boyfriend's grandad who recently died. I was wondering what problems it's likely to have. Apparently it's been sat in a garage for the last few years and it's only got 20,000 miles on the clock. I know nothing about cars so would like to know what I'm getting myself into.

[Toureman]

Join this forum and ask the people who know............

http://renaultforums.co.uk?referrer=599

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[homer75]

If you know nothing about cars then don't throw money at a car of this age regardless of the mileage. It's probably done those miles in short trips anyways so no advantage there. Politely refuse it and spend your money on something newer.

[clancyblob]

I got a D reg one like this about 3 years ago, still going OK now. An elederly relative had it from new, and it was used once a month to go to Tesco. There was some rust/rot that needed a weld for MOT (check the under edge of each side of the car, in front of the back wheels, and just behind the front wheels. Rust hole cost me �60 to have welded.) It had original brakes, which felt odd. The car was so old the glue sticking the original pads and linings to the brake mechanism had deteriorated, the pads and linings were loose! Not costly to replace, should be well under �100 in a garage. Because the car had stood in a garage after being in the rain on some occassions, there had been no airflow to dry it. So check brake pipes for bad rust, it's a slow job to replace them so a garage has to charge serious money (�100 or so), also check the surfaces of the front brake discs, if standing wet for ages they can rust and pit.

My advice? Take it, get an MOT test to set what it would cost to get it up to a safe standard (about �40 for the test). If more than �250 give it away on Freecycle, or put it on eBay for spares or repair. They are a good car still, for a runabout. Renault basically changed the body shape and called it a Clio!