2003 Renault Espace IV - 7/1 MOT'd again, lovely

[r.welfare]

Thanks, half the reason for documenting it in detail is to provide anyone else thinking of buying one with an idea of the potential pitfalls! I'm hoping the next 12 months (and probably 10-12k miles) should be covered with basic servicing only, but let's see.

[beko1987]

Fuck me you 2000s Renner lads are hardcore!

[r.welfare]

Not sure about that, just sentimental and fiscally imprudent. Most of the cars I've owned have been scrapped by the subsequent owner.

 

Still, I must say it does drive nicely now and the gear change (since I replaced the transmission oil with the proper Tranself NFP stuff, not expensive from Neilsen CDG via Amazon) is superb.

[vaughant]

 

- with Zafira 2.2's the odds are stacked against you at beating the house;

- the car was evidently cheap for a reason - and cheap MPVs should be viewed with particular suspicion;

- always best to buy the best example you can afford, rather than being swayed by the purchase price.

EFA and totally true, however mine was basically owned by the same couple from new but I'm guessing a "well it keeps working so I won't bother servicing it as there's nothing wrong" attitude must have been adopted.

 

£50& vat is standard fodder all over really, any less and its most likely to be a one man band cash in hand type operation, and why I do my own work wherever and whenever possible.

 

When I had my unit the guy I took it over from priced everything at £25 an hour, I worked out my overheads and staff came to more than that easily so I adopted £40 inc vat.

Went bust a year and half later but never mind 😂😂😂.

 

Great to see one of these kept going, I've been tempted myself through the auctions but noticed nobody ever bids on them unless their literally being given away, a quick google did reveal the full horror of faults albeit mainly dci models.

 

Still I score your efforts one millionty out of a possible 10.

 

Fantastic.

[r.welfare]

I'm not sure what the residual value is currently; I'd like to think it's appreciated a little bit. I think any seven seater under a grand is a bit of a lottery probably.

 

If I had my time again I would have gone all out and got a 3.5V6.

[SiC]

I'm still very tempted by a 3.5 v6 for the utter lols as a big, fat, hairy really fast MPV that can upset many German "sports" saloons on the traffic light GP.

 

However MPG in the high teens driving nicely, low teens hammering, I think would get a little annoying.

[r.welfare]

Realistically I don't think the other petrol options are much better; I'm getting about 28MPG and I reckon that would be slightly worse with the turbo version. I reckon I could get a 3.5 to do at least 23MPG in the same circumstances (although for the past week I've been using a 17 year old 2.5 litre six cylinder 3 series coupe and getting 32MPG in heavier traffic).

 

I'm not sure what the diesels will do (other than break down more). Life's too short to worry about MPG, and there's the 350Z tuning catalogue to consider.

[cort16]

I got low to mid 30's in my Avantime 2.0 turbo, which i thought was pretty decent.

[spartacus]

Props to you for carrying on, I think a lot of us know what it's like though, you get an overwhelming desire to make something what it really should be.

Wd rd agn.

[r.welfare]

One year in with this crate. What are the scores on the doors?

• 11,900 miles driven
• Repairs and maintenance £2,345 - U WOT M8? The big ticket items being what amounted to a serious amount of engine work (new cambelt, dephaser pulley, waterpump, aux belt, tensioners and crank pulley) after the rubber damper in the pulley let go, then inner and outer track and tie rods and a n/s lower arm after the front wheels started pointing in different directions
• That's 20p per mile. Blimey
• 28.7MPG averaged. Most regular-bodied 2-litre beaters I've had do around 30 in similar conditions, so not bad

What needs sorting in the coming year:

• New tyres (Kumho Ecstas) to go on. The Uniroyals on the front when I bought it wore alarmingly on the outer shoulders (see steering issues above) but the Avons on the back wore quite well. However Avons are £85 from Tyreleader and the Kumhos were £55. Should be cheaper than that really but they are an odd size (225/60/16), moving to 215/65/16 as used by most of the small 4x4s and crossovers would help
• See if I can tidy up the interior a bit (small rips in headlining etc)
• Fix the broken central locking on the passenger door

Things I like:

• Still think it looks good for an MPV (subjective I know) inside and out
• Long-legged gait on A-roads
• 6-speed 'box is smooth
• Powerful A/C
• Should be reliable now (everyone loves an optimist)
• Rust resistance

Things I don't:

• Needs more power - or less weight. Might chuck a K&N on it to see if that helps
• Rear seats are a bit rubbish, the 'modular' concept (each of the rear 5 chairs are self-contained and can be swapped about) means no foot room, the backrests don't rise high enough for comfortable adult use, and they don't save much space when folded up
• Boot's too small with the seats in - Renault covered this by offering the Grand Espace for more money of course, but the boot width is pretty crap as well
• Crap space utilisation generally really
• Fragile interior trim
• Bouncy, bouncy ride and wallowy handling (although it grips well) - it's possible the shocks are tired which are the only suspension component not replaced
• Engine bay access
• High revs at motorway speeds (6th is about 22mph per 1000rpm I would say)
• Radio reception

Sum up: Next time a Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan I think.

[r.welfare]

Happiness is a fresh MOT:

 

 

Had a pair of droplinks in stock (a tenner from the great Amazon selloff) so fitted them when I got home.  Rear discs haven't got any worse than last year, they have the wheelbearing and ABS toothed ring built-in so can be a bit pricey.  The windscreen bullet hole hasn't got any worse either.

 

So, scores on the doors for the last 12 months and 12,000 miles is a total repair and maintenance expenditure of £869 comprising:

• Nearside lower arm (plus fitting)
• Four tyres (plus fitting) - in 7000 miles the new ones have worn evenly but still shed 3mm of tread, not sure if that's indicative of the car being heavy on tyres or the brand (Kumho)
• Front discs and pads
• Rear pads
• Battery
• Secondhand front hub and ABS sensor, after I cable-tied the sensor cable in the absence of the proper clips and it pulled it out of the hub (plus fitting and a brake fluid change)
• Two oil and filter changes
• One air and pollen filter change

All this takes the repairs and maintenance running total down to 15p/mile.  A bit better.  Average fuel consumption is still about 28mpg, which is a bit shit really but just goes to show that underengined cars are not economical devices.

 

To be investigated in the next 12 months:

• Front passenger door still doesn't lock.  Need to take the unit off and see if a plastic clip has broken inside, there's a cottage industry for cheap replacements apparently
• Maybe swap the offside rear door (dented) for another, but it's got an airbag in it which gives me the fear a bit.  Beat out the dent from the leading edge of the rear wheelarch at the same time

Must admit that djoptix's V6 has sorely tempted me but I want to get the cost per mile of mine down a bit further, plus my electric handbrake still works.  Also I'm expecting to move house by the end of the month which will mean this being used as a van and no time for spurious repair work...