1997 Renault Safrane RXE 2.5

Summary:

Used Safranes (say 3-6 years old) are excellent value for money!

Faults:

The covers of the storage boxes in both doors fell off (broken hinges).

Generator broke down: battery was no longer charged.

Cruise control stopped, as water had entered the vacuum pump (could easily be repaired).

For the rest just normal stuff: exhaust, tires, cam shaft belt, etc.

General Comments:

The 2.5 liter 20-valve Volvo engine seems indestructible, and very suitable for running on LPG. Just new oil and spark plugs regularly, that's all the maintenance I do.

In general the car proved to be very reliable: it runs 220 km daily without a hesitation.

Climate control is excellent, even with four persons in a hot summer day.

I bought the car depreciated to 1/6 of the new price, but generally drives like new.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th August, 2005

1993 Renault Safrane V6i RT 3.0V6i petrol

Summary:

A cheap, luxuriuos, comfortable and powerful car

Faults:

The first-forward-clutch of the automatic gearbox failed at 110000km, resulting in an expensive repair of USD2000. Seems to be a "normal" problem for this type of transmission between 60000 and 150000km.

Small leakage in airco compressor, replacement costs USD600. Refilling every 6 years only costs USD100.

Damp windows if airco is switched off on rainy days.

"service" light on climate control lights up. The cause for this is unknown. This is not related to compressor leakage.

General Comments:

Absolutely fabulous car to drive, I am still having fun every day.

Very silent, spacey, comfortable and powerful.

The automatic gearbox repair was worth the money.

Unfortunately, Renault has no good successor for this car.

Cheap car to buy second hand: almost no Dutch person wants an gas-guzzler of 1500kg (we pay tax per kilogram). Automatic transmission has an a non-sportive image.

This is my first automatic transmission, and I never want a manual again, despite of the high repair costs. It drives smooth, comfortable, lazy or very quick.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 27th January, 2004

1993 Renault Safrane RN 2.2 12v VI

Faults:

I have had some problems with the engine cooling, and because it is one of the earlier models there are some small electronic problems.

General Comments:

I bought the car from a man at our buisiness, and I have (almost) never had a better, smoother or more comfortable car than this one.

My 2.2 vi includes :

- Cruise control.

- Automatic transmission.

- 139 hp.

- 205 kms top speed.

- 0-100 kms in 9.1 seconds - black colour, and all of the French comfort you can get for good money.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th December, 2000

2nd Sep 2004, 08:49

Hi mate, can you tell me what problem you had with cooling system? I seem to have one myself now. It heats up in traffic until the half-way mark, which I've been told was high temp (1/4 is normal) and then cools down from there. It used to stay still at 1/4 but now it's going up to half before fans kick in. I think it's the coolant temp sensor, but I can't be sure. Is there a way to bypass that sensor and just make a switch that would turn on/off the cooling fans? You can reply to mkoprulu@yahoo.com thanks.

1994 Renault Safrane RN 2.2i

Summary:

Above average comfortable car

Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

I'm very spoiled with this car. I have had my driver's license just 10 months and this is my second car.

I like the gigantic space inside, the fine large chairs, goodlooking dashboard, the light steering and quiet engine. I intend to keep it a long time.

The only thing I miss is the climate control.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd September, 2000