3rd Jul 2001, 14:19

I drive an rti 2.0 16v (1996) with 132,000 miles done, I have not had any such problems and my brakes do not wear out at 10,000 miles. best car I have ever had!!!

3rd Oct 2001, 17:23

I own a 95 20s RTI, I must say the brakes thing is a mystery, I use Lockheed AP (a good option if you own the sports range of Laguna!). I will say however, that Laguna exhausts are prone to rust when left standing on a sales forecourt so take a look before you buy.

Other than that, with fully comp insurance for an under 25 year old at £500 (Direct line), it's a bargain luxury sports car! Pay no more than £4000 for a good one though.

20th Jan 2002, 13:27

I bought a second-hand (P-reg.) Laguna three years ago, and my wife now has it. Although I have few complaints with the car, I would never buy another Renault. The alarm system is appalling (that on my newer Vectra is far superior), and we are going to have to replace the rear near-side membrane a second time, as it still leaks like a sieve (a neighbour with a similar car, but three years older, neglected to tell us about this leaking problem, as he was sure it would have been fixed by Renault after three years!). I would have preferred another Peugeot (superb), but they won't go in my garage any more.

20th Feb 2003, 16:51

I own a 96 Laguna RTI and apart from the horrendous cost of Renault parts and crappy dealer servicing I have no complaints.

I bought it with 63K and have now done 105K. Changed the Brakes once. (In 40000 miles!) exhaust (rear box) and timimg belt (at 70K). Clutch is original and the motor still pulls strongly. I think it still looks good too.

22nd May 2003, 10:03

I have had a 1995 1.8 8V since September last year - bought at 140K on the clock. It needed a new exhaust section and battery before Christmas. Timing chain, another part of the exhaust replaced for the MOT retest in March.

OK I have spent £900 on it in under a year, but it cost less than £1000 has done 12000 miles at 35MPG and swallows anything I care to try and fit in it - Dishwasher - worktops, kitchen units.

I have recently fitted a new stereo and CD changer in the boot + rear speakers - OK I had to get Renault adapters, but the car is about to do a 1000 mile round trip across Europe so I have no reason to complain.

Strangely I love the car, it has its many faults - thirsty around town for a 1.8 - electrics are far too inconsistent - but I wouldn't swap it for any other £1000 car.

I will keep the car until it goes to the great big scrapiyard in the sky.

22nd Feb 2007, 16:42

I bought a 95 RXI 2.0 16v a year ago, and have not had one problem with it since I bought it.

The whole range of lagunas have a problem with the exhaust, but have it replaced with a better version and you will have no problems.

As for all the other wear and tear, this is normal. Although I see from your stats that this seems to happen earlier, so all I can say is that you are driving it too hard?

Take it a bit easier, and look after your car. It won't break so often then! Added fatures on mine are the 'talking computer', which is quite nifty, and all the other standard add-ons, e/w, e/m, e/s/r, r/c/l, pas, good sound system, and mine only cost me £500 cash in 2006.

Insurance with direct line is £395 when I was 24, so can't complain there.

Stop driving your car so hard and it will last longer, driven normally you should get the following life:

Clutch: 40,000 miles

Brakes: 50,000 miles

Tyres: 40,000 miles.

And of course keep it regularly serviced (every 10,000 miles, or I prefer every year regardless of the mileage), plus oil changes every year, keep brake and steering fluid constantly topped up, and this is a beautiful little car!