My itchy-car-feet thing continues… Looking for something bigger than my Focus, somewhere under £4000, with a reasonably pokey diesel in it (not because of economy- I just prefer how they drive) and enough space in the back for a lost aztec tribe to remain lost in.

Obviously Mondeo is what hits the top of the list but looking around I see a lot of Laguna 1.9DCis. They seem to come in cheaper than the Mondeo for a comparable car… A little bit smaller but still a respectable size. Anyone got experience of the 2 to compare, or even just owner experience of the Laguna?

Still leaning towards the Mondeo tbh but this seems like it could be a good contender.

I had a 1st generation Laguna Estate. It took me and my buddies everywhere for around 3 years, very reliable(*), fast, good handling, spacious. If it hadn’t been a company/lease car I’d have probably kept it.

* I had a niggly fault with the tyre pressure sensors which would result in them switching off whenever I passed Newbridge. I always wondered if it was something to do with the radar system for Edinburgh Airport.

Lagunas are terribly unreliable.What about a Primera ?

We had a 1.9Dci at work, was about 6 years old, first the auto gearbox went cost £4k to sort out, then about 3 months after the engine went so we had to scrap it.

Mate in the trade will not buy them from punters, says it all really. Lots of electrical issues

I’ve got a couple of mates how own or have owned laguna diesels. They’ve vowed never again. Unreliable. My mates had a problem where the engine was redlining and kicking out a lot of smoke. I happened to drive past and stopped, managed to kill the engine by stalling it. Renault after sever alt trips to the garage eventually fixed it, but it never ran properly afterwards.

My mates had a problem where the engine was redlining and kicking out a lot of smoke.

That’s when they start burning their own sump oil, usually terminal, your mate was very lucky. I think lagunas have a similar belt arrangement to meganes, which is that the auxillary belt runs next to the main timing belt. The auxillary belt tensioner can and does, in my experience, fail causeing the auxillary belt to go into the main belt, which lunches the engine.

And they’re horrible to work on (having rebuilt a lunched one!). I would never own another Renault, and that’s saying something, as I own a Peugeot now!

Well this seems decisive! Cheers folks.

Raindog – Member
Lagunas are terribly unreliable.What about a Primera ?

Dont do it !! , same engine problems that renault have, my primera has turned out to be an expensive buy !!, turbo went at 53k at a cost of £1460 !! and now the timing chains are rattling (68k) like u wouldnt believe when cold and they are a major job to do at well over 1k to fix … gonna run mine into the ground till it dies ….
not very economical either,high 30s-low 40s and thats not thrashing it !!

Stick to a petrol engine with a manual box in ANY car if you want to avoid big bills!

I ran one for 4 years.Problem after problem and allways expensive to fix.Gave up on it in the end and got rid.As mentioned above i had several traders who would not take it in part exchange for any price.I’ll never buy renault again.Avoid!

I’d go with a Mondeo every time. The mondeo is vastly bigger, much more reliable and the Nissan will have a poor resale value and the diesel are equipped with renault engines = lose/lose situation

The silver lining for Renualts are the very comfortable seats.

They are an ergonomic nightmare. Nothing is where you expect to find it. You have to press controls on the dash and on the centre console to set the satnav ffs. Only positive feature is that the automatic parking brake is quite good.

I have Laguna 2 sports tourer 2.0 dti which I was given and there is plenty room for bikes etc.Fuel economy is about average and speed comfort are OK but nothing exciting.
Suspension seems achilles heel with shocks replaced after about 20k odds and the rear beam bushes are rattling for the last 30k as it is a bastid job to do apparently.
Would I have another ? probably not but since it was free I don`t care tbh.I have had worse.

I didn’t know the Primera had the same engine as the Laguna – I withdraw the suggestion 😳

No, don’t buy one. Especially the 1.9 DCi

Raindog – Member
I didn’t know the Primera had the same engine as the Laguna – I withdraw the suggestion

almost identical engines, laguna and primera were a joint venture between renault and nissan ….. both bags of c**p
I`ll sell you my primera ? … 04 plate with 68k on the clock .. 2k and its yours 😀

Well this is going well Anyone else want to assasinate the Laguna?

Renault Laguna estates, any good?

NO…..

I have had a megane and a mondeo.

Mondeo was more basic in feel but will run for ever. Renault has some nice touches buy the electrics are not up to it. Don’t bu a renault.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/renault/laguna-ii-2001/

just spent £450 on a reconditioned turbo for my 53 plate Megane (same motor)and a morning fitting it, make a cup of tea type Renault and turbo into google and don’t make any plans for a few hours.

i bought a 1.9 diesel ‘sport tourer’. without doubt, the worst car i have ever had. still have to drive it due to financial embarrassment, but it really is shit. small boot, rattles, endless repair bills, crap mpg and shit mpg. avoid.

ps apologies for non caps but typing 1 handed while eating pizza. at least the italians get something right, unlike the stupid french.

If you want to buy a Laguna for £4k, buy one for £1k and then spend £3k on it inside the first 12 months, and every 12 months thereafter!

Shame, as when they were new, they were very nice cars to drive. But used they make less sense than burning the £20 notes you’d use to buy it on a bonfire! Even forgetting the engine problems, you’ve got the most unreliable electrics in any car ever and suspension that needs replacing every few years.

PeterPoddy has a point about manuals and in particular, petrol cars. Problem is the price of fuel these days, average milage for most people and an average petrol is going to cost £1k more per year in fuel than the average diesel!

£4k on an estate car…? Hmmm… Sadly gotta be a VW/Audi/Skoda to be honest! And even then they won’t be without their faults, just that at least VAG faults will be cheaper to fix in general (on a diesel engine) than on a Renault or a Ford.

Hilarious ! I inherited a laguna tourer 1.9 when I purchased a company. 18 months old only issue I had was the pressure senders on the valve caps. Sold it to my father in law for the balloon at 3 years (£4.5k) … And four years later hes just started talking to me again.

Collapsed front steering arms, £400 for self levelling headlights, dash LCD panels died, spat out two turbo’s (literally) brake disks that lasted less than his tyres, tyres that lasted less than the tank of diesel, wiper motor shorted out the steering column controls and the alternator dropped clean off after shearing itself free.

Nice sunroof though.

Problem is the price of fuel these days, average milage for most people and an average petrol is going to cost £1k more per year in fuel than the average diesel!

Fair point, but in comparing two cars from the same manufacturer say, both identical in trim spec etc, one diesel & the other one petrol, the diesel car will be dearer to buy than the petrol car to start with.

So false economy I think.

mboy – Member

£4k on an estate car…? Hmmm… Sadly gotta be a VW/Audi/Skoda to be honest! And even then they won’t be without their faults, just that at least VAG faults will be cheaper to fix in general (on a diesel engine) than on a Renault or a Ford.

Nah, not so much… £1200 for my current Focus and though it’s given me some hassle, it’s not been expensive to sort and it’s going strong.