Ok, please help me!
I potentially have the offer of a 2005 Renault Megane Scenic with approx 25k on the clock. Its a 1.5 turbo diesel with 100bhp?.
We should be able to get it VERY cheap, as stepson has been given it for nothing by some friends for nothing, because they inherited a load of money and couldn’t be bothered to sort a very simple brake issue (now sorted).
Its been sat for a year, as he’s only just round to looking at it.
Anything I should be aware of before I investigate this further? Real world experience would be appreciated.
Im aware of the cliché that avoid any french cars due to electrical issues.
(Im a fairly competent home mechanic, having done clutches, cambelts etc).

electronic dash is a main problem and replaced without the odometer adjusted hence a few low mileage models out there.
Also window regulators will fail at some point ( known problem). After market replacements can be fitted with a bit of fettling.
The egr valve gets clogged up but can be removed and cleaned easily. Later 1.5 lumps appeared in nissans. I found my egr valve by looking at a quashqai or Juke

My wife is on her second one.
We had a 56 plate scenic 1.6 petrol. Bought at 3 years old / 30k miles on it. Thrashed and abused for another 3 years and 40k miles. No problems.
We now have a 60 plate Grand Scenic 1.5 DCE – Bought at 3 years old / 30k miles on it. Thrashed and abused for the last 2 years and another 20k miles. No problems.
They’re not the most solid and well built of cars, but they’re cheap and extremely practical. Also tend to be quite plush and gadgety.

AT that price, have a poke about and if it seems to go well enough and gets its MOT, it’s all good.

Sounds positive so far…
It should be getting put through an MOT this week. We’ll see what crops up and take it from there.

I had one, most expensive non-routine fail was the dash as mentioned above – and from that point on the car registered 100,000km less than it should, so be wary of that 25k figure! The turbo also blew up but that was with about 200,000km on the clock, so perhaps not unreasonable. Apart from that nothing too major went wrong, just routine stuff like injectors etc.

I now have a new Scenic, so it can’t have been that bad.

Once it’s got its MOT, take it out on a long drive and get it hot. Bottle of Forte Diesel Treatment in the tank won’t go amiss either.

Generally people are very scared of Renaults (in fact anything French!) but probably the most reliable car I’ve ever owned was a Megane 1.9DCi. Personally prefer the older shape Scenics as they’re a less cumbersome shape, much more basic and easier to work on, and the 1.9DCi engine is a lot lazier than the 1.5 and still very economical. It’s mainly things like interior trim, boot release buttons and window regulators that die on Renaults in my experience, which is annoying, but relatively easily and cheaply fixed.

Oh and EGR valves cost a fraction of what they used to. Took it off my old Megane about 3 times to clean (needed it), but in fairness it was past its best anyway and the spring wasn’t returning the valve properly. Managed to get an OEM spec one brand new for £120 from a local specialist, which given that they usually last for 80-100k miles before giving any issues, seemed sensible to me.

I have a 2005 Grand Scenic and I agree it isn’t the best built car but a very comfy car to be for long distance, plus it swallows things in the boot. Biggest problems ive had were gearbox bolts snapping and electric handbrake “box” failing needing a complete replacemet

Pros:
Big boot
Comfy position for driving
Seats can be folded or removed in seconds
Cheap parts
Easy to work on

Cons:
French electrics!
Not the most economic (mine is petrol seeing 35-40mpg so diesel should better)
Make sure the dash has been changed – Renault re-called if im correct
Bonnect release snapped (easy to get fingers in to release)
Gearbox bolts have a history to snap, a known issue apparently

It may not be the best looking or glamorous car and Im always looking at replacing but with the ability to swallow bikes and “stuff” and for the cost of parts/running I just can’t justify to change it. You will age 50 years when driving it 😀

You will age 50 years when driving it

Yeah, it’s dull to drive. But it’s a people carrier, that’s to be expected!

I must confess, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Renaults ever since I had one of these when I was 19……….

It was described by my mates as ” Ugly, but well hung” 😳

It was described by my mates as ” Ugly, but well hung”

Do those same mates say you are a bit of a looker?

Depends whether they normally wear very dark glasses or not?

i had one, i crashed it,

again, i had the dash replaced, Renault stump up most of the cash though, think i paid £100 towards it

individual seats are removable which helps for bike stuff,

rear windows were a nightmare, both fell into the doors on occasions

id buy another

Sitting for a year? Marque notorious for electrics? Maybe if it were free.

cheekymonkey was on the money with the dath being replaced under a recall, odd that the dealers dont set the mileage crorrectly. Sounds like its actually done 100k, so still reasonably low mileage for a 10 year old car.