Laguna II - would you?

[Peter C]

I've been offered a 2003 (53 reg) Renault Laguna 1.8 16V Estate petrol manual in exchange, straight swap, for my 300TD.

 

The car has 77k miles on the clock, cam belt was done at 72k. Car has all bells and whistles, being a higher spec model, including climate control, 8 speaker stereo, all works ok. Car has long MoT and tax.

 

What's the verdict? Is an 8 year old Renault a liability? I dislike my wife's 2008 Megane, which we bought new. What are the chances this thing is not going to go very wrong in the very near future?

 

I like the look of it, the colour is ok, although the interior looks awful, even with half leather seats.

 

The guides value it at £1.8k-2k, which is a bit more than my old Merc is worth.

 

I know it's shite, but how bad can it be?

 

Sorry about the crap photos, these were sent by the owner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete-M]

No. Don't. Just don't. You'll have a billion electronic and gearbox problems quite probably before you finish reading this post.

 

Then the keycard will go tits up.

 

Oh, the trade really value those things at closer to £500, if you can get someone to buy it or take it as a trade in.

 

They're a proper liability. Nice enough things when they work, but that's a rarity.

 

Trader I know paid £1400 for a one owner, 18,000 mile, 53 plate top spec DCi job (full leather, panoramic roof thing, sat nav etc) three years ago and still had trouble shifting the thing for anywhere near what Glass's guide reckoned it'd fetch.

 

I think he got £2995ish off a cabbie for it in the end, and ended up paying close to a grand in warranty repairs on it before the thing finally left him alone.

[trigger]

^ This. plus it will be hard to shift in a weeks time once you've decided that you don't like it.

 

The Merc is a much better machine

[pogweasel]

If you don't intend to keep it it should be fairly easy to sell, at least to someone who just wants a newish car and knows fuck all about them, hang onto it and it's a downward trajectory to £100 scrap fodder, which you won't get with your old Mercs...

 

At least it's not a diesel automatic, which really is automotive russian roulette.

[Pete-M]

At least it's not a diesel automatic, which really is automotive russian roulette.

 

The six speed manual box has the life expectancy of a chocolate bar in a blast furnace if the oil hasn't been changed very regularly too.

 

The one good thing about these is that if you accidentally end up with it, if you shove it through your local motor auctions you may actually recoup up to about £1100 for it. They do look like a lot of car for the money and car auctions in the last couple of years have been full to the rafters with clueless cocks who think they can get a bargain and who bid retail money for shite like Laguna IIs, keeping the auction and Glass's price artificially high.

 

Unfortunately, the Polish buyers know better and it's over the six year limit for a lot of councils to register it as a cab.

[Peter C]

This one has a 5 speed manual.

 

I quite like it and it would suit my short term needs. Being smaller and easier to drive than my Merc, which my wife struggles with, it could be just the ticket.

 

I've read what Honest John has to say about them. I am worried.

 

Peter

[pogweasel]

Honest* John is an SHIFTY BASTARD.

[trigger]

I be questioning why he wants to swap a 53 plate Laguna estate for a L reg Mercedes Estate.

[254575]

i love them, very stylish. having the bottle to own one is another story.

 

similar story to K series cars. if you have a good one, you cant see what all the fuss is.

[Pete-M]

So should you consider the Laguna II as a serious alternative to the new Mondeo and new VW Passat?

 

Of course you should. It's much better built than the troublesome Laguna I. If you value stunning looks, relaxed cruising at 70–80mph, decent seats, a comfortable ride and lots of gimmicks above the fine handling and sheer driving enjoyment of the Ford or the VW's aura of quality, then the Laguna II beats both the Mondeo and the Passat.

 

It's a piece of shit

[oldford]

We sold one to a customer. When it was well out of warranty the headlamps failed, so he took into to the local Renault dealer to be fixed. The dealer asked if he wanted an estimate of the repair cost, he, thinking it was only the bulbs declined and told them to fix it. He had a bit of a shock when he collected the car, a £800 bill for a new control unit was waitingfor him.

[Timewaster]

Based solely on bar room experts opinions and general prejudice, I would run away.

 

Swaps always seem a bit iffy to me. Couldn't he easily sell is luverly Renault, Haggle a deal on your Merc and make himself a few quid?

[Peter C]

My wife's 2008 Megane is supposed to be shit but in the three years that we've had it, it hasn't given any significant problems. I caned it to Poland and back twice, it has done about 35k miles and is good for a lot more. That said, just before its first MoT it needed a new wishbone, which was replaced under warranty.

 

A 1993 W124 diesel Merc with 182k on the clock is good for another 20 years and 200k miles of reliable motoring. Will the Laguna last another 6 months?

 

One thing that I can't cope with is rattles and squeaks in a car. I suspect that Renault fitted the Laguna with an 8 speaker ICE to drown out the noisy interior plastics.

[Mr Lobster]

Fatha_Lobs had an 05 plate 2.0i Dynamic until about six months ago and to be fair over the five years and sixty odd thousand miles he had it then it wasn't actually that bad, couple of minor electrical issues (speedo head died when fairly new and the usual keyfob problem) but otherwise reasonably ok. Comfy enough for long distance and a decent enough thing.

 

I'd have one if it had been very well looked after and was sufficiently cheap. If you expect the odd problem then you won't be too upset when they happen (and they probably will).

 

But I can think of a lot more interesting / potentially less problematic stuff out there.

[Richard]

The keyfobs are easy to fix if you have a steady hand and a soldering iron.

[Pete-M]

Peter, if you like it, and you want it, do it. You don't need to justify anything to us.

 

I wouldn't personally touch it with an extra extra extra long bargepole, but this is Autoshite and we're meant to be the champions of the misunderstood shitbox. Allegedly. There are even people in here who'll defend Corsas. I can't say bugger all, I'm spending a small fortune welding a Peugeot 604 up.

 

When it breaks, post pics and the full story.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Owain-328i]

Its deffinately modern shite, however i dont find these appealing, as renaults of this era are dire. Electircal gremlins, build quality, and above all a miserable drive.

 

The first Laguna's would be more tempting to me to be honest.

[Negative Creep]

So should you consider the Laguna II as a serious alternative to the new Mondeo and new VW Passat?

 

Of course you should. It's much better built than the troublesome Laguna I. If you value stunning looks, relaxed cruising at 70–80mph, decent seats, a comfortable ride and lots of gimmicks above the fine handling and sheer driving enjoyment of the Ford or the VW's aura of quality, then the Laguna II beats both the Mondeo and the Passat.

 

It's a piece of shit

 

 

To be fair the Laguna was only a few days old when he did the test, so probably not enough time to suffer complete electrical failure.

 

Lovely looking cars though

[skattrd]

I wouldn't, but thats mainly because I find modern Reno's incredibly dull to drive.

[Peter C]

I've got a week to think about it. The Laguna man is based up north but will be coming down sarf next Sunday.

 

I suppose that selling it in three months time won't be easy.

[CIH]

I use to work with an MOT bod who worked at Renault all his life until ~3 years ago. He hated these things. He reckoned mk1 Lagunas were awesome in their day. Personally I'd avoid, they're the absolute definition of "shit moderns" but as Pete said it's up to you.

[Cavcraft]

I be questioning why he wants to swap a 53 plate Laguna estate for a L reg Mercedes Estate without offering you about £857 your way too.

 

EFA.

 

Also as Pog has said you may be able to offload it to someone who is utterly clueless about cars. It's an automotive white dog turd. If you swap your Merc for that I fully expect to hear you have been sectioned and are currently being housed in a Rampton for repeatedly dribbling down RAC recovery truck windows because God played nice music in your head and told you he would reward you with nice coloured sweets that made made you feel happy.

[wuvvum]

Mine was a pain in the arse and suffered more electrical faults in the three months I had it than any other car I've owned, including the "start/stop" button randomly becoming a "click/click" button for no apparent reason. Having said that, when it was working right it was a fairly pleasant and extremely comfortable drive (1.8 petrol like the one you're contemplating), and at under £400 for a 51 plater with long test it was the right money as well. I would consider another, but only if it was shit cheap.

[Bren]

At least it's not the DCi model or an auto - EGR valves on diesels unreliable, engine ends up running away on it's own oil until it seizes.

 

You have the best combination of power and economy with the 1.8 petrol.

 

Had a mk1 laguna, it was an auto, good car except for the auto box - it cost me £250 to get it fixed then I bailed out before it cost me anymore.

[Lankytim]

My best mate rolled up at our house a few weeks back in his shiny new motor- a 52 reg 6 speed diesel laguna estate. I had heard they were pretty dire and if he'd asked my opinion i'd had told him to steer clear. From what i've heard 6th gear is meant to mong up terminally, the turbos break resulting in the engine exploding, millions of electrical faults including on board tyre pressure displays on the dash that don't work from new., that kind of stuff. I have to say though, its very comfortable, and i'f one came my way, i'd have to say YES if it was nice and cheap. the worst part for my pal was that he got it at the bargain price of £2800. Good news for me, as I got his "knackered" Mk4 astra for scrap money. Turns out its not knackered, but I wont be telling him that.

[HillmanImp]

I thought you wanted a 4x4 which is why you wanted rid of the merc?

 

Don't by the Laguna. You will look like a failed middle manager.

[Rocket88]

The last decent car the Frogs produced was the 306. Modern Frogs are wilfully complicated. FFS, would you buy ANYTHING the garlic munchers proudly acclaimed as being "alive with technology"? Saying that, I briefly had a Mk1 Laguna estate, which was fine, although epically dull.

[Negative Creep]

At least you can generally fix the phantom electrics on older French stuff as there isn't much to it. I bet there will be much "hilarity" to be had once these cars hit the sub £1000 price range. Or when people decide to try and fix the multiplex wiring with solder and crimps. Or fit a new stereo and wonder why the central locking doesn't work any more. Or try and change a bulb.

[Rocket88]

At least you can generally fix the phantom electrics on older French stuff as there isn't much to it. I bet there will be much "hilarity" to be had once these cars hit the sub £1000 price range. Or when people decide to try and fix the multiplex wiring with solder and crimps. Or fit a new stereo and wonder why the central locking doesn't work any more. Or try and change a bulb.

 

 

I don't think French stuff have "electrics", just a series of random events that may or may not be connected to anything Mr Faraday dreamed up.

[wuvvum]

The worst part for my pal was that he got it at the bargain price of £2800.

Bloody wars. That's about 3x what it's worth...