SAFRANE owners thread.

[andyberg]

7 minutes ago, SiC said:

Where was that?

I passed by Atwell Wilson and found out that it was a drive-it day. Pretty busy (maybe everyone went there instead?)

It was at Farrington Gurney farm shop, just down from Midsomer Norton. There were a few drive it day landys there.

[sierraman]

The Safrane is glorious, a rare sight these days as well. I know what you mean about attendance at these events by the pillocks in the recent Audis, unfortunately that’s what people think you are into when they get you are ‘into cars’. Then it confuses them when you explain you’d rather be publicly flogged or have a rumour you have a micro cock spread around than drive a 2016 Audi A3.

[andyberg]

Thanks to @Datsuncog for the mini Safrane. Here is mini me with a grown up Safrane. 

The grown up car is still providing superb comfort, even more so now I get to drive a large variety of brand new cars now from a Dacia to E class Mercedes. The Safrane is still the comfiest car to sit in and waft along in an unhurried manner. 

[andyberg]

Sad, some may say, but I have managed to get an original sales brochure for the Safrane. In a time before everything got arty and loud! Just look at the standard equipment list, ah proper times....

On another note. I haven't driven her for over a week, been using my son's brilliant 106 as it's much better on fuel. She seems a bit sluggish? Maybe I'm used to driving modern cars everyday which are very responsive and (mostly) seems to have a bit of get up and go, but the Safrane doesn't appear to have any urgency about her? I'm not complaining really, she's from a different time and I love the fact she's a bit lazy. 

[Schaefft]

On 21/04/2024 at 11:59, Floatylight said:

Quite fancy a Safrane, liking the look of this one..

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2129469074089716/

Sadly no budget at the mo, so if someone wouldn't mind buying it and bringing it into the fold. 😉

There's still the greyish-green pre-fl V6 on here which I briefly owned and would benefit from some TLC. Low mileage as well plus green interior!

[angle]

Found you

[andyberg]

1 hour ago, angle said:

Found you

😂😂😂😂 Sainsbury's Bath. 

[RustyNuts]

On 21/04/2024 at 11:48, MrGTI6 said:

Lovely motor! Such a rare sight now. 

I drove a Safrane several years ago and it's one of the most comfortable cars I've been in.

I seem to recall that one had a 5-cylinder engine, but that could be my brain getting muddled! 

No you are correct! I have two of those bastard engines. One in storage, (original from the car) and one in the car that was dropped in from another I dismantled.

They are an absolute pain. Big, bulky, very heavy and they come out with an automatic gearbox attached making them even heavier.

When dismantling for a head gasket, it's best done with the engine out. If it's in it's absolutely evil (yes, that's how i bloody did it).

Thankfully Volvo still have gaskets, bolts, pumps etc but their parts departments can struggle to identify the right parts. It took my local dealers 6 weeks of email exchanges before we finally nailed the right one - and even then he ordered in the next suspect just in case we were both wrong.

On 21/04/2024 at 12:08, andyberg said:

I changed the plugs on mine last weekend and the engine casing has a Volvo stamp on it. The guy I got this one off, Petrolblog, has the 5 cylinder version. Same spec as mine, executive, but these were the days when if you chose a bigger, better engine you got more upgrades on the spec. So he has puddle lights, better stereo, electric rear windows and the famous voice synthesized computer.

Yes they are Volvo lumps but only in the phase 2 (why was it never Mk2? - whats with the phase thing?). Anyway there was only the 2L and the 2.5L in the UK ph2. In the EU there was a 3L but it wasn't a volvo lump.

Petrolblogs 2.5 is definitely a nicer option but even then the 2.5's specs were a mix n match affair. Some had the front heated windscreen, many didn't (I've had 3 of the 2.5s and they all had it - but many other 2.5 owners I've spoken with have never had it). There is also the 6CD disk changer in the boot, sat-nav, electric seats (and if you retro ofit them from a ph1, electric seats in the back).

On 19/05/2024 at 08:50, andyberg said:

Sad, some may say, but I have managed to get an original sales brochure for the Safrane. In a time before everything got arty and loud! Just look at the standard equipment list, ah proper times....

On another note. I haven't driven her for over a week, been using my son's brilliant 106 as it's much better on fuel. She seems a bit sluggish? Maybe I'm used to driving modern cars everyday which are very responsive and (mostly) seems to have a bit of get up and go, but the Safrane doesn't appear to have any urgency about her? I'm not complaining really, she's from a different time and I love the fact she's a bit lazy. 

Sales brochures and anything else you can find are a bit of a compulsory purchase when you have a Safrane, I've got quite a few bits myself including the workshop manual thats nearly the size of an old yellow pages. There were at least two versions of the sales brochure but possibly others.

As for it being lazy, the 2L is known for being under powered so you're not imagining it. These are large heavy cars and compared to todays moderns, probably heavier and larger. Even now the safrane is larger than a lot of cars out there and the boot space is huge. I can't remember the BHP for the 2L but I think it was around the 130 mark? It will still do you proud on the motorway and will hurt your wallet far less than the 2.5. Incidentally, Renault also used the 2L Volvo engine in the Lagunas from the same era in time - my old neighbours sons girlfriend had one and I had the task of jump starting it one day so I have personally witnessed the same engine in the Laguna.

I've got the 2.5 and it is more exciting and will still give a lot of modern cars a run for their money - last night for instance my partner and I travelled at separate times to see her family 30 miles away. When it was time to come home, she led the way and thought I'd struggle to keep up with her 2L TDCI Turbo Ford Kuga. As we went through a village I took my usual shortcut and found myself waiting for her to catch up with me for some time. She eventually turned up (with me being virtually stationary) and we carried on - with her behind me. I had to slow down and wait for her twice as she was unable to keep up and even then I got home first, checked the coolant level and then waited for her a few more seconds before she turned up lol. But there are some cars that it simply won't keep up with but that said, I did give an Audi TT driver who was behind me a shock last year lol.

Your car is fitted with passive rear wheel steering - thats why it rocks from side to side more than most when you turn.  The idea is that as it tilts over, it forces the rear wheels to turn slightly and counteract the G-forces at high speed. Consequently you can take most bends faster than most other (and newer) high end cars. Take a look under yours, you'll see the tracking rods at the back!

[Lord Sterling]

Wow, nice Safrane Andy! Looks amazing in black too. 

In terms of the brochure, I do that too, I've got brochures for my Jag and Vectra, both are of spec and era as both cars are run-out specials (Vectra has a 2.6 instead of the more common 2.5 and the Jag is an XJ8 SE).

You mentioned that.you drive other cars every day, what job is that? As when I delivered the Micra I remember I may have still been trade-plating at the time.

[andyberg]

1 hour ago, Lord Sterling said:

Wow, nice Safrane Andy! Looks amazing in black too. 

In terms of the brochure, I do that too, I've got brochures for my Jag and Vectra, both are of spec and era as both cars are run-out specials (Vectra has a 2.6 instead of the more common 2.5 and the Jag is an XJ8 SE).

You mentioned that.you drive other cars every day, what job is that? As when I delivered the Micra I remember I may have still been trade-plating at the time.

I work for Europcar now, collecting and delivering rental cars in my area. Ranging from fiat 500’s to Merc E class. 

[andyberg]

I decided even before I got my Safrane that I didn't want to use it during the winter if possible. I have been using my son's 106 but really I need my own winter beater car. So this Saturday I shall be picking up my very own and exciting Honda Jazz! Courtesy of @Sigmund Fraud

Other than that the Safrane continues to bring a smile to my face every time I drive it, I could literally drive it all day and still want to keep going. I have however noticed a rattle coming from underneath, steadily getting worse. A bit of crawling around later and I think the cat has decided to break up, the rattle stops at anything over zero throttle. New ones are a very reasonable £100 so it looks like one will be ordered very soon. Not bad for a 26 year old exhaust system, I just don't fancy having to free off the same 26 year old nuts and bolts.

[andyberg]

Replaced the cat today. Front of car up on ramps and crawl around underneath for 3 hours! I’m too old for that, I ache all over now. On the positive side new cat is on and the old one had definitely seen better days.  It’s all broken up inside and I wonder if that dented the performance* a little as the innards look like they were blocking the exhaust flow a bit. Update when I take it out. 
In other news I have had the ex @Sigmund Fraud Jazz for 160 miles and a week now. It is a delightful little thing, and feels like a much bigger car when you are inside. I tried the air con and a slight hint of cooler air came out and the compressor kicked in. I bought a can of that cheap home regas m9 stuff off eBay and the air con is ice cold now, if it lasts a few weeks that’s ok I’m just seeing if it works. 
Also bought some of that Bilt Hamber wheel cleaner as it’s supposed to be the best stuff. I’ll have a go at both sets of wheels and report back. 

[andyberg]

Update: the Safranes performance appears to have been released again, I do think the broken up parts inside the old cat were restricting exhaust flow. I can now feel the full 130 horses under the bonnet😂 kickdown is much improved. But I still ache all over. 

[andyberg]

Not too shabby for a 150000 mile car. The little Jazz is proving its worth. Really a cracking car, it just gets on with providing hum drum every day transport. 

[RustyNuts]

Thats a great MPG. The 2.5 safrane see's me typically getting 24MPG!!!

The cat is relatively cheap to replace these days but it's not up to the same standard as the original renault part - but it'll do the job. With that said I've found the whole exhaust is a bit of a pain. I've literally had the whole thing apart from the engine head to the back box.. it's always a pain to get back together and I've always had a raspberry ever since. I just cannot get it to be as quiet as it once was no matter what I try.  When I did my cat I thought it was shot to bits internally.. fitted the new one (thus unable to take it back)... turned out to be the middle box instead - when i cut into that with the grinder the weld on the pipe had given way and so the pipe was rattling around against the small blob of weld.

On the subject of 26 year old nuts and bolts, don't be in a rush to remove the small plate under the rear subframe to tinker with the handbrake... I did this in 2012 and it was absolute hell. It literally too me 2.5 hours per bolt they were that badly seized. Imagine holding a 2ft breaker bar up in the air for 2.5 hours working bolts back and forth, spraying more WD40 up into the threads, back n forthing again... 2.5 hours holding that thing up per bolt... my arms were horrible the next day. The bolts did thankfully all come out intact but I have snapped others in the past and had hassle sorting it - one time i ended up having to cut through one of the front coil springs while it was still on the shock absorber under pressure.

Odd and unique these safranes but I love them dearly. They are wonderful cars to drive. Mine is crippled at the moment, sports mode is unusable as every time I use it, the coolant pipe disconnects from the bulkhead and I loose all my coolant. It's a real pain but even without sports it's still holding its own on the road.

[andyberg]

2 minutes ago, RustyNuts said:

Thats a great MPG. The 2.5 safrane see's me typically getting 24MPG!!!

The cat is relatively cheap to replace these days but it's not up to the same standard as the original renault part - but it'll do the job. With that said I've found the whole exhaust is a bit of a pain. I've literally had the whole thing apart from the engine head to the back box.. it's always a pain to get back together and I've always had a raspberry ever since. I just cannot get it to be as quiet as it once was no matter what I try.  When I did my cat I thought it was shot to bits internally.. fitted the new one (thus unable to take it back)... turned out to be the middle box instead - when i cut into that with the grinder the weld on the pipe had given way and so the pipe was rattling around against the small blob of weld.

On the subject of 26 year old nuts and bolts, don't be in a rush to remove the small plate under the rear subframe to tinker with the handbrake... I did this in 2012 and it was absolute hell. It literally too me 2.5 hours per bolt they were that badly seized. Imagine holding a 2ft breaker bar up in the air for 2.5 hours working bolts back and forth, spraying more WD40 up into the threads, back n forthing again... 2.5 hours holding that thing up per bolt... my arms were horrible the next day. The bolts did thankfully all come out intact but I have snapped others in the past and had hassle sorting it - one time i ended up having to cut through one of the front coil springs while it was still on the shock absorber under pressure.

Odd and unique these safranes but I love them dearly. They are wonderful cars to drive. Mine is crippled at the moment, sports mode is unusable as every time I use it, the coolant pipe disconnects from the bulkhead and I loose all my coolant. It's a real pain but even without sports it's still holding its own on the road.

My Safrane was doing around 28mpg, I'm hoping for a slight improvement with the new (unbroken) cat. It was definitely the cat making the rattle as it has now gone. But I absolutely get what you say about the rasp of the exhaust! It starts around 2300 rpm and get louder around 3000, just at motorway cruising speed🙄 I do wish it was a bit quieter. 

I also agree with the Safrane being a bit odd, but she always makes me happy when I drive her. Had a bad week at work this week, took the Safrane out this evening to take my wife out for a meal and instantly found everything good in the world. My sport mode doesn't work, I get no 'S' next to the gear indicator on the dash, but then I never need it anyway. The Safrane excels at just wafting along sat in resplendent comfort.

 

[RustyNuts]

Never heard of a dead sport mode.. try removing all the furniture around the gear shift and see if the button is plugged in properly at the base of the shift (assuming yours is auto and not manual).

I know what you mean about it making you happy.. mine used to have this effect (still does to a degree but it looks a tatty old wreck now thanks to someones cat destroying the roof paint). Unfortunately I can't use mine much, it's used as a temporary vehicle on my partners insurance so i can only use it for a max of 90 days a year -and there isn't much of that left now. Still in some ways it's best being SORN as it's less use and less risk of something happening to it. In a way it's good and i'm grateful... we've had this car 16 years and while I've had some serious hassles with it, I'd prefer to keep it - another 14 years and it becomes tax and MOT exempt! At the rate my life is going, those 14 years won't take long to pass me by..

I get the raspy sound at much lower revs.. at higher revs the engine does become louder and more throaty sounding and that's natural with all Safranes - I've had 3, they've all been like it. Part of the fun is sport mode and stamping the pedal to the floor, the engine really transforms it's sound to a race car sounding engine and it never fails to impress. Unfortunately that's unavailable to me right now. What I will say is don't put in cold or warm water if you ever run out of coolant - use the hottest water you can find (unless the engine has cooled over night) as a hot engine and cold water will lead to a busted engine. I've run out twice and put in hot coolant / water, it survived but when I was talking to the recovery driver he said he'd had the same thing happen recently and chanced it with cold... result? cracked engine head. With a safrane, you'll be lucky to find another engine so look after it!

[andyberg]

I’ll have a look around the gear selector when the weather is a bit dryer, yes mines an auto. I hope to keep mine going another 10 years or so, that’s my retirement when I hope to move to China. I do select when I use mine, pretty much the same reasons as you, the jazz I recently bought is my go to because I want to preserve the Safrane. I can honestly say it’s a car I never want to get rid of, others I have really liked, but this has really got to me. 
I’ll make a mental note about the hot water, thanks for the tip. 

[RustyNuts]

You're not the first to have that attachment to the Safrane. I met a guy once in a tesco car park who had one, naturally we got talking, he said he'd had brand new beemers, jags, mercs.. then he got divorced and his wife got the latest car so he bought himself an old safrane. He said it was far better than anything else he'd had and despite having originally intended to get shot after 6 months, had now had it several years and had decided to keep it.

I know another guy who's had 5 of them. He buys one, runs it, decides he can't afford to carry on running, gets rid.. then falls for the idea again, gets another.. lol.

I was doing an airport run back in 2010 in one of mine, 2:30am and there's me driving up the A21 to Stanstead and I've got a car following me a bit closer than I'd like. Eventually he decided to overtake me and pulled up alongside me like he was an assassin wanting to shoot me. The missus was a bit concerned too.. then he's floored it forwards, pulled back into my lane and then it all became clear.. it was another safrane and he was checking mine out!

I've had some odd but interesting times with the safrane, quirky cars but they're great.

[andyberg]

I drove the Safrane today, first time in a month, since having the little Jazz. Now as much as the Jazz does its job the Safrane is just majestic. I drove to Bridgewater to see a good friend and it’s just smooth and comfortable, even in the crap weather we are having today. I will be genuinely sad when ever this thing crosses the bridge. Hopefully not for a few years yet though. 
Heres a moody shot in a multi storey car park from this morning. Doesn’t she look good?

[andyberg]

Jazz news🙁 the bearing noise that only affected 1st to 3rd is now evident in all gears and at idle  with the clutch up. I think it’s terminal. Gearchange is still smooth and clean, but the noise is definitely much worse. To the point where I’m thinking it’s going to go pop at any moment. I knew all about the noise before I bought it so it no reflection on @Sigmund Fraud at all, it’s just one of those things. It could have gone on for years more. I don’t have the funds to get it repaired. Scrappy price is about £160 so I’ll sleep on it and make a decision in the morning. It’s a shame because it’s really a fab little thing, comfy, roomy and sips fuel. 
Looks like the Safrane will be moved to daily duties. 

[andyberg]

Took the Safrane to work. The Jazz is parked up while I see if the job can be done locally for reasonable ££. 
Gave her a wash, below is a picture that makes me feel a whole lot better 😀 I do love the look of this car

[Cookiesouwest]

3 hours ago, andyberg said:

Took the Safrane to work. The Jazz is parked up while I see if the job can be done locally for reasonable ££. 
Gave her a wash, below is a picture that makes me feel a whole lot better 😀 I do love the look of this car

Just don't rent it out by mistake

[Noel Tidybeard]

jazz gearbags can be noisy for quite lengthy periods

[andyberg]

25 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Just don't rent it out by mistake

It’s a far better car than the crap we rent 😀

[andyberg]

17 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

jazz gearbags can be noisy for quite lengthy periods

Yeah. I did read up on it before I bought it. I was quite happy to drive it as it was but in the past couple of weeks it’s gotten much, much worse. To the point I’m a bit concerned it may go bang. 

[andyberg]

Well I think the verdict is in. Jazz will be scrapped. I have tried local garages and gearbox specialists, cheapest quote is over £1000!! I’m not sure she can make the trip to that London for the place there that does the job for £500.  Scrap value is £160. So unless a shiter wants it for that then the bridge beckons on my return from holiday. 
on the plus side that will pay for a full ceramic coating for the Safrane that the chap reckons is guaranteed for 6 months. 

[Christine]

Jazz HT06OTP doesn't  show on any car /mot   checker ?

[andyberg]

7 minutes ago, Christine said:

Jazz HT06OTP doesn't  show on any car /mot   checker ?

My plate is on it AP51 BER

[Christine]

Hmm.. Honda  alloy wheels with recent new tyres... just as i've bought 4 new tyres for my civic !