Faults:

Smells inside of petrol.

I had to put a new starter motor on. This is a very tricky job to do from above the engine, I only just managed to do it after turning the motor around in the compartment it is 'hidden in', and withdrawing it upwards.

Another nightmare job is changing the heater matrix. The dash has to be taken completely apart including the centre console to get it out. The floor was wet for weeks inside the car!

The steering became absolutely terrible. It turned out that both track rod ends were worn out as were the lower bushes. Front tyres became badly worn due to the problems with the steering.

Brakes aren't too good. Put new disks and pads on front. Rear cylinder leaked and had to be renewed. Bled the system, but brakes still aren't good.

The hinge on the boot lid mysteriously became bent, and now the boot lid does not seal properly.

The full beam on the lighting circuit stopped working, have not found out the reason for this.

Clutch cable snapped.

The engine seems to be burning a small amount of oil.

Driver's seat staring to wear on upright near door pillar.

The suspension seems overly bouncy. Probably needs new struts.

General Comments:

The paintwork seems to be lasting extremely well and there is virtually no rust on the car.

Surprisingly quick for engine size.

Pretty flexible boot space.

Interior utilitarian, but it's what you would expect.

Faults:

The only real problem I have had is that the clutch cable has snapped 3 times, this has happened on other Renault (not just 5's) I have owned and it is apparently caused because the clutch cable is re-routed from left hand to right hand drive and causes it to weaken on English models. I have also had two reconditioned alternators. A hole in the manifold caused it to faulter badly but after it was welded it was fine.

General Comments:

I love this car, quite cheap to insure considering the engine size and it is 105bhp from standard. I haven't modified the engine at all and it is very fast considering. Handles quite well although the suspension is quite soft. If you are into modding you can get about 15bhp extra with simple mods. Extremely comfortable interior, like armchairs! All in all it is my the best of all the cars I have owned.

Faults:

The radiator died a death about two months after buying the car despite it having had a full service and diagnostic at my local garage before I took delivery. This was fairly cheap to fix just awkward and time consuming owing to a lack of space in the engine bay.

The Carburettor required a full service which was a lovely sunny afternoon under the bonnet. Very cheap to sort out and cured all the other niggles such as cold starting and running problems.

The head gasket blew a at 110000 miles. This one's not so cheap as the parts are rare. Managed to sort it relatively inexpensively, but it was touch and go as to whether it was a financially viable repair. It's an old car, only my love of this vehicle is keeping it alive.

General Comments:

The GTX is a serious piece of kit not quite a match for the GT Turbo, but it'll give it a good run for it's money, and it cost about half the amount to insure.

It's very forgiving if you hit a bend a little too quick, handles beautifully and accelerates so quickly.

Can be driven very economically as long as you keep the second choke on the Carburettor closed, but as soon as you need it the power is there.

The cabin is typically French, full of rattles and squeaks, but that's nothing that a good sound system doesn't cure.

It's a very comfortable drive and very easy on long motorway journeys.

Overall it's a fantastic car and getting less common by the day. If you buy one, try not to get red, the paint fade is ridiculous, just one day in the sun makes a noticeable difference.