1978 Renault 12 from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Most of the problems I have had with the car are due to age related wear rather than poor design or shoddy workmanship. It wasn't very well looked after by the previous owner.

New motor after about 100 000 km's of owning (piston collapse). Replacement motor also eliminated starting problems which were the most annoying thing about the car: refused to start even in comparatively mild Australian winter mornings of +3 to +9 C.

Brake performance fades quite quickly after servicing.

Floor carpet wears out very fast in the front - 20 year old pristine carpet will be destroyed in a matter of months.

Dashboard gauges prone to inaccuracy/blowing/dying completely.

Windscreen wiper pivot rusted completely through (driver's side, of course!)

Acceleration is pretty underwhelming. If you buy one, get the 1.4 L engine.

Desperately needs a 5th gear: 3700 rpm at 100 km/h in top 4th.

Has amazingly comfortable seats for a 70's car - excellent for long drives and sleeping on.

With a bit of proper maintenance these cars are extremely reliable. The motor is absolutely bulletproof. Great long distance car.

Economy is not too bad, somewhere around 8-9 L/100 km if kept tuned and not hammered on the highway.

Oddball body shape and quirky accessories still endear and turn heads 20 years later.

Three nuts per wheel is a tribute to French engineering - tyre changes are very quick.

Door lock design makes these almost theftproof.

Back seat a bit cramped, but heaps of boot space.

This is a car you really have to DRIVE.

I have had a Renault 12 TS for 24 years and have almost 480k on it - the most comfortable, reliable and best built car of its time. Pity the build quality of todays cars aren't the same as the good old 12.

Renault R12 wagon, I found that the car was robust and very easy to repair. Parts were easy to get, taillight lenses were damaged when I bought the car. It does have very comfortable seats and roomy front cabin space.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the car was working in all departments and had no oil leaks and all the bushes were in good condition. After some TLC was applied and fresh paint, it was a enjoyable car to drive and yes people did comment on the model.

Do not buy any sort of 12. They are all tinny rust-buckets.

If you want a decent 12, then buy a Romanian Dacia 1300, they are much more modern looking.

Apart from being a tinny rust-bucket, is it OK?

I'm not too sure what Mr Dacia is on about. They are not even available in Australia. From what I can gather they they are a shoddy 12 knock-off that suffer from typical Eastern Bloc quality control.

I wouldn't exactly call this car tinny (tare close to 1000kg and is all steel) and they don't seem to rust any worse than any comparably aged car. Apart from that they are very much OK. I have since bought another which has recently been restored and a lot of the niggles have been sorted out, particularly the minor electrical hassles. Proper maintenance is essential - this is not a 15000km service interval car.

Your best bet would to be find one which has been restored. aussiefrogs. com may help.

I still drive my one, yea they do rust, and leaks a bit of oil from the gear box... but then I would not get any other car that will last another 25 years, for the price you pay for R12 today.