COLLECTING MY MEG TOMOROW!! WOOO

[onlyme]

as the tittle says im collecting my meg tomorow
at £4,200 iv got an 04 1.6 meg dynamic
50,500 miles on the clock
new breaks,
new bat,
two new tyres,
years MOT and 6 months tax
i have full service history and a 30 day warenty from the private dealer im buying from

now, when i get it is there anything i should check for that i might not yet have thought of? i know the cam belt has not been changed, im under the impresion 50.000 miles is usualy the first notch mark for this to be done in most cars. is this right? should i get it done?

thanks for your help guys

simon

[pw981]

cambelt is 72k or 5 years - whichever comes first.

[onlyme]

right well its an 04 on 50.500 so due doing then.

thank you mate

[Toodeep]

Congratulations.

The biggest thing that afflicts the 1.6 is the dephaser pulley issue so listen carefully for any unusual sounds when starting up and don't skimp on oil. Use the best synthetic you can afford and nothing below the minimum recemmended spec of oil and filter. There's loads of info about these issues on here. There are plenty of minor electrical niggles, many of which can be prevented by keeping water out (check the access hole for the headlight bulb in the passenger side wheel arch has its cover in place) but the dephaser has turned out to be a constant worry for me. Get it looked at in your 30 days.

If you have both key cards, check they both operate everything (ie doors, boot, deadlocking, total closure, ignition). Don't accept "The battery's dead on that one." - If so, swap batteries. If you have 'Hands-Free', check the lock buttons work on the outside door handles.

If you have manual a/c or climate control, check the air is actually colder than ambient and the fan works at all 4 positions.

Ditto for the wipers/washers. Some people report their front wipers don't operate on every setting. Look in the bulkhead trough where the wiper motor is located for standing water.

Have a feel around for water in floor storage boxes and door pockets. It's not a deal breaker but could be a bargaining chip.

Good Luck

[chevin]

Check everything that moves and everything electrical....

Being serious - try all the windows, hence the reference to the door pockets. Also run your finger across all the brake discs to see if there is a lip at the outer edge. I've just had my dics changed at 50 k miles as Renault have a wear criteria for when they need changing - its probably soon (search on the threads on ths website ) - Ren charge 2 x £300 for front and rear - independents will do it for less than 2/3 that

[markren2004]

If cambelt hasn't been changed then dephaser will also be the original. I would consider changing cambelt, dephaser and water pump at the same time as they all run from the cambelt. you will be lucky not to have the "dreaded dephaser issue" at some point in the future, a lot of times its the reason people get rid of the car.
Obviously use your 30day warranty to ensure dephaser isn't failing first as the warranty would then pay the cambelt/dephaser(£500+).

BTW, using quality oil to keep the dephaser issue at bay is a myth, i use high quality 0-30 full synthetic and still has dephaser failure.

see the common issues for other things to look out for
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8855

[onlyme]

right this is all brill thank you guys.

chevin-im having brand new pads and disks fitted as part of the deal

2 deep, most of this has been checked apart from the locking? the cards i have have 3 buttons. all iv managed to do it unlok and lock with the two that are joined. and iv managed to set the alarm with the single button. at least this is what i think its doing. when i pres it the lights on the car flash but there is no sound involved at all.

what are the other functions and how would one go about accesing them?

thank you!

[onlydiesels]

also,take the emergency keys out of the keycard and make sure that they both fit the door lock on the n/s/f door (beneath the handle cap).
although it`s been said to check wipers on all speeds,also check that they work on auto setting too if fitted,(1 click down of the stalk,drop a bit of water on the sensor area of the screen), if so with the auto setting on,put the car in reverse to see if the rear wiper operates automatically. it should do 1 sweep.
it`s been known that when/if the windscreen is replaced,the original sensor is refitted hence no auto wipers.

check under both front wheelarches to see if the headlamp bulb access panels are in place as it can cause elec probs if they are or have been missing.

[pumpkin7]

get the cambelt and the water pump done at the same time. water pump is around £60. i only found this out after my cambelt was done.

i have a 53 plate megane with 52k on the clock. problems i have encountered thus far are:

1. cambelt needed doing. it should have been done in january but wasn't.
2. the air con doesn't work. the compressor is knackered. although, it was regassed by renault 2 weeks before i had it. by the time i actually got the car, all the gas had escaped through leaks in the system, and renault refused to refund the £60 they charged to top it up... eventhough they shuold have checked for leaks at the time
3. i found the backs of my lights and the wheel arch covers in the boot. not much help tbh
4. over the past week since having the cam belt changed, it's developed a really annoying starting problem. i know that it's the variable valve cam, and i know it's not letting any oil into the engine on first start up. £400 to fix. touch wood though, it hasn't done it since wednesday so i'm hoping it's just fixed itself.


i also have an after market dvd player fitted which doesn't work, but that's because it's not connected properly. i have lots of lose wires that connect to each other in some way, but i don't have a clue how to fix it all back together. and also i have after market reverse sensors that also don't work, again, probably because of the shoddy wiring... but i'm not taking the inside of my car to pieces to find out why they don't work. i can reverse perfectly ok!

oh, and i've also had to change the numberplates because they were illegal.

[onlyme]

im good with ICE i may be able to help you with the DVD player if you can feed me with some more info

[pumpkin7]

im good with ICE i may be able to help you with the DVD player if you can feed me with some more info

oo ok, i'll go and take some pics so it's easier to understand.

right.


meh i went to an audio place today, seems that the red thing isn't meant to go into the corresponding red hole and goes into the yellow one... wtf! he also figured out that i need 'the box' replacing so that my reverse sensors work too. sorted.

[Toodeep]

2 deep, most of this has been checked apart from the locking? the cards i have have 3 buttons. all iv managed to do it unlok and lock with the two that are joined. and iv managed to set the alarm with the single button. at least this is what i think its doing. when i pres it the lights on the car flash but there is no sound involved at all.

what are the other functions and how would one go about accesing them?

thank you!

No. The single button unlocks the boot only so if you are pressing it after locking up you are effectively providing a way into the car. There is indeed a flash so I can see why you would think it relates to the alarm. On my car this is the only way to unlock the boot but I understand this is a fault and it should unlock with the doors either using the keycard or the dashboard button.

When locking up using the lock button on the keycard, pressing it twice in quick succession deadlocks the car (ie the inside handles won't open the door even if the window is broken) and closes any open windows or the sunroof. You should hear a corresponding second click.

The alarm is set automatically when you lock up. I think there's some routine involving pressing the dashboard door lock button 5 times (engine off) to disable the volumetric sensors if desired.

The only other thing I can think of relating to locking is that you can enable or disable automatic door locking by pressing and holding the dashboard button with the engine on until you hear a tone (about 5 seconds)

If you don't have a handbook there is a pdf download available if you register on the owner section of the Renault UK website. There is one in the FAQ section of this forum but it relates to the '05 facelift. I'm not sure to what extent but they will be slightly different.

[onlyme]

automatic locking mate?

i presume this means the car will lock if you walk away? with the card is this right?

if so its not doing it at the mo. but thats not a big deal TBH

i have OCD and one of the main things that bugs me is weather the car is locked or not, it beaing atomatic would annoi me as id walk up to it to check only for it to unlock as i approach lol

[Toodeep]

No sorry. Automatic locking as in the car locks itself when you drive off. It's a security measure that some like and some don't. Stops people opening your door uninvited at traffic lights etc. Some recent Renaults (not Megane IIs) do indeed lock themselves as you walk away and some Megane IIs were equipped with a 'Hands-Free' facility meaning the car would unlock when you get close to it, start without inserting the key card as long as you have it on you and when you park, lock by simply pressing the buttons on the outside door handles. BTW you probably have these buttons whether or not you have 'Hands-Free'. I can see how having HF would be an OCD sufferers worst nightmare. You could always lob your keys to a passer-by across the road every time you park! Don't worry we're all a bit OCD somewhere. I can't see two clocks tick over at different times so have to set every clock (home, car, laptop, watch, mobile phone, hi-fi) to the exact time.

Just to wind you up even more you can flash your headlights before locking up to light your way to your door but you'd then have to check all the doors are locked, that all the windows went up and wonder if you've accidentally pressed the boot unlock button all before the headlights go out. If you made it you'd then feel compelled to wait until you're sure they're actually going to go out.

[onlyme]

so far by the sounds of things i have everything that was available lol

i have the buttons on the outside handles that work! and the black sensers that open the door as long as you have the key on your person. and i dont have to insert my card at all however if i dont do it once in a wile i am told the battery will die (its charged by the car when in the slot)

the only thing i did wish it had that it apparently doesnt is a "bip" or some sort of electronicle sound so you know its actually locking.