Laguna V6. Let it die or save the beast?

[R9UKE]

About a year ago I was up at a used car place with a friend looking at a car for him. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a rather tired looking Laguna II sitting at the back of the yard. I became intrigued when I saw that it had headlight washers (the Renault geek inside me knows that this is the first sign of a special one). You can imagine my reaction when I spotted the engine badge

 

 

It was a dream come true, and abandoned French gem just calling out to me! These are really few and far between here, I know of only three others, one of which I've owned already. Got talking to the guy who owns the yard. He took it as a trade in and has had no interest in it at all. It was offered to me at £650 which I thought was a bit much, given the state it was in at the time. The passenger window had fallen into the door and gone unnoticed for a month of winter. Car was full of leaves, water and mold and window was (and still is) held up my masking tape and a screw driver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car has now been sitting in this condition for a year. The gap in between the window and the door has let water constantly get in and flooded the passenger foot well. This is now a nice representation of a pond suffering from excessive algal bloom. The rest of the interior has also deteriorated. Mould and spider webs everywhere.

 

The fuel pressure regulator is missing and so the car will now not start. I have previously driven it and it drove very well despite what he tells me is quite a major oil leak. It also looks like the front suspension coil on the passenger side has given up as the car is sitting down at that side.

 

Visited him today - these pics are fresh and as the car sits.

 

 

 

 

He tells me it's days are numbered. Some second hand parts company has offered him £350 and it'll be going to them soon. He says I can have it for that if I want. I remember seeing this car driving around a few years ago and promising myself I'd own it, but it's just gotten in to such a state.

 

What do you think?

[qwerty]

Old Renaults always get rare but never seem to be worth much. Which in my mind means you have to save it!

 

Absolutely no logic.

[sporty-shite]

What could possibly go wrong?

 

Seriously, though, these still feel really modern to me. Bet someone blew their brains to buy this new, just a few short years ago.

[Craig the Princess]

He tells me it's days are numbered. Some second hand parts company has offered him £350 and it'll be going to them soon. He says I can have it for that if I want. I remember seeing this car driving around a few years ago and promising myself I'd own it, but it's just gotten in to such a state.

 

What do you think?

 

I think you are buying trouble at £350. I suppose it depends on how much ability you have to fix those problems.

[autofive]

if you want it offer him 200 cash, let him browbeat you to 250

[peter9000uk]

My 1.8 Dynamique has headlights washers, that is because it has Xenons so not that special. That one looks like an Initiale going by the seats and climate. No Sat Nav I notice so someone tightwadded when buying it. I was offered a 53 plate Initiale estate with sat nav and 75k on it for what he's asking for a hatchback with issues.

[Lankytim]

Run away! It you will pay £350 for it, spend another £500 getting it back on the road and the damn thing will implode after 6 months anyway.

 

You could take a risk on it, for £350 I suppose........ but I wouldn't!

[R9UKE]

Split right down the middle so far, as I thought you'd be!

 

This is the Privilege model (Between the Dynamique and Initiale). And I know £350 is the least the stubborn bastard would take. I tried negotiations today and they ended with him walking away shouting £350 at me!

[Cheggers]

£350 for a project Laguna II sounds like a lot of money to me, whatever it's got under the bonnet.

[Shep Shepherd]

I'd leave it. However, If it wasn't water-damaged, it would probably be worth a punt at the price the guy's asking.

[Negative Creep]

I bet that water ingress has done wonders for the electrical systems.............

[Father Ted]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-RENAULT- ... _500wt_949

12 mts mot, some tax - £205

[Father Ted]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-RENAULT- ... _500wt_949

£320 gets you the inastate

[ashmicro]

You'd have to be brave! Thar car was probably sold new by Charles Hurst, so was most likely fucked up by them even before it had numberplates screwed on to it.

[theorganist]

I really like the design of these, they seem to stand out a little from a lot of more mundane modern machinery!

 

It seems odd that we are talking about saving a car which has not that long ago ended production but I suppose that is the throw away society we live in today!!

 

It does sound rather expensive at £350 so maybe it is best to walk away!! Then again that is not really the Autoshite way!!

[Lufthansa-Terminal]

Save it..............................But!

 

Ring round a couple of yards to see if any do offer £350 that way if it ends in tears you can break it or sell it to them with a minimal loss

[baldrickthecunning]

I would imagine these are especially rare in Ireland due to the extortionate road tax system.

 

This one looks like real trouble to me, OLD executive Renaults are enough bother without all the electrical problems that come with sub 10 year old models. You could get it going and then find out that the autobox is a dog - or many other similarly disastrous scenarios, and if that is the case - you know that laying your hands on spares would be equally difficult. I'd prefer the centimental Montego to this!

[R9UKE]

I'd prefer the centimental Montego to this!

 

LOL. Looks like I'm drawn to absolute liabilities of shit heaps. I love the unexpected though, and I'm sure a lot of you do as well, otherwise this would be a Mark 4 VW Golf forum.

 

I actually already had those two ebay ones in my watch list

 

I bought this V6 for £350 last May. MINT condition inside and out, it was cheap due to a cracked exhaust right above the subframe where the guy was quoted stupid amounts to fix it. It makes the one I've posted about look shit value indeed.

 

 

 

[Negative Creep]

I do think they are very handsome cars, but it must have one of the worst reputations of any modern car. I guess that's the reason why you don't see many mk.3s on the road

[catsinthewelder]

I wouldn't bother at any price, especially as you could get a runner in nice nick for next to nowt.

 

The Megane I used to have ended up full of mould and mildew because one of the kids had spilt a carton of fresh orange juice on the back seat just before the (first) engine blew. I spent hours trying to remove it (I loved that car) but the marks were permanent. Changing an interior is going to be a right laugh on a car with a bizzilion airbags

[stuboy]

run while u can

[warren t claim]

Give CAVCRAFT a call. They sell Lagunas with tax and test for less than that.

[ashmicro]

I'm no Renner fan, but that estate looks brilliant value @ 350 bills. Me and a mate bagged a 5 year old Renault 21 at Wilson's auction years ago for buttons, no bids except for our solitary one! I fitted the anti-percolation kit and my buddy drove the car for 2 years without problems. OK, the new Renaults aren't so easy to put right, but the theory is sound - fix it up and have a nice (and in this case unusual) car for very little money.

[barefoot]

It looks like a pile of shite to me.

But it's better than that crap heap of a Montego you asked about last time.

 

So, the next load of old toss you trip over might be a bit better

 

& its possible if you hang on a bit longer still,

you'll find something in a barn that only needs a wipe over with an oily rag to restore to concours.

[Lord Sterling]

Hmmm, looking at the pictures I would say it should be saved being a V6 and possibly the best looking modern IMHO. But thats my simple side talking (As it always does) Whilst this is obviously better than the Montego and you are a Renault fan, it should be a better buy, BUT with it having been flooded in the interior and exposed to the elements for at least a year you are most probably going to have to replace most of the interior (I assume by the pics the seats are velour?) Certainly the seats and carpet will need changing.

 

As someone here has already said the electrics may have already been exposed to water, the yard owner has also informed you of a major oil-leak occurring, then of course you've got all the other work/money to spend to get it roadworthy and yet more work/money to get it near tip-top. If you are really looking for a long-term project, can store it and have parts-a-plenty then I'd say take it on, the worst you can do is break it for parts, keep what you need and sell the rest. You could almost certainly make most of your money back.

 

Just beware, these projects can turn into money pits. That said, sometimes seeing a good car back on the road can be worth all the money spent on it.

[406V6]

The good news is that the V6 is a superb engine that is also shared with Peugeot & Citroen and depending on how you view the parentage is not a Renault engine. It is powerful, very refined and economical for a V6. Also worth saying that it doesn't have any mechanical weak points, with the only common problem being that early coil packs blew up regularly. The bad news is that it needs a cam belt change every 5 years and that's a big job in Peugeots & Citroens, so presumably in the Laguna as well. Good luck if you can get this one out and running.

[fiatdaft]

2 words, barge and pole.

[Justin Case]

I know that we are all different, but if I was looking for a particular model then I would pick one that I could use right away, like this one which in real terms isn't much more, even though it may be a bit of a trek for you to fetch it:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

 

On the other hand if I was looking for a project I would be looking for something older that I could work on and restore, rather than just keep replacing parts until it finally goes. On that basis I would give it a miss; if you are really desperate to own that particular one buy it, but I don't think that it would be an enjoyable thing to own, and that's really what it's all about.

 

Let it die.

[garethj]

I know that we are all different, but if I was looking for a particular model then I would pick one that I could use right away

 

On the other hand if I was looking for a project I would be looking for something older that I could work on and restore, rather than just keep replacing parts until it finally goes.

What he said.

 

If you reeeally want it, then buy it of course. But don't be under the impression it'll be a cheap way of getting a posh car, the odds are stacked against you

[M'coli]

It would be cheaper to buy a known good example ont' mainland, fly over here, drive back with a heavy right foot via the most expensive ferry route than it would be to buy that and get it sorted. Which is a shame.