New Aussie RCZ Owner

[Johnny AUS]

Ever since I saw the RCZ first hit the Australian roads, I knew I had to have one!

It wasn’t until December 2022, that I began seriously looking for the right one. It had to be pearl white, manual and diesel. I came across a few on Facebook Marketplace and CarSales that were either the wrong price or wrong colour. There was a charcoal one in Queensland 1,000km away from me. It was at the right price, but is had an air conditioner issue. It would also have needed to be blue slipped (a thorough inspection by a specialised mechanic) to be transferred to New South Wales registration. Then there was a 2nd generation grey one, but the seller was asking $22,000AUD. Which was way too much! There was an orange/red one on the South Coast for $16,000, but the colour looked burnt and faded and was not to my liking.
I had notifications setup on CarSales and Marketplace to notify me, whenever an RCZ came onto the market.

One Monday morning, I received a Facebook notification of an RCZ for sale. I clicked on the notification that took me to a beautiful white, manual, diesel RCZ. It was everything I wanted in an RCZ. The right colour, the right engine, the right gearbox, and most importantly, the right price! The only issues was where it was. Just on the outskirts of Canberra. About 300km or 3 hour drive. The difficulty was working out when I could get there, due to working. I quickly messaged the seller and then called him. We exchanged driver’s licence details and I requested a picture of the registration paper. All seemed legitimate. I got his bank details and sent a deposit of $500AUD, sight unseen. Not something I’d ever done when buying a car before.

I had to work out when and who I could go with to pickup the car, 3 hours away. Wifey didn't want to drive that far. So I asked my brother if we would like to come.
I organised to go get the car a week and a half later. It was one of the longest week and a half of my life!

One Friday evening, my brother, sister-in-law and 2 of my kids jumped into my LDV G10 van. We made the long, arduous… 3-hours trip, but seemed like forever, to get to the meeting point. The drive was smooth. Not an issue at all. We finally got to the McDonald's restaurant in a suburb of Canberra.

On arrival to the carpark, I saw the pearl beauty. I quickly hobbled over and put a big kiss on the bonnet and stretched my arms over the bonnet with a big hug. I had a quick look over the car. Didn’t even bother to open the bonnet. I wasn’t going to walk away from a car that was everything I wanted and drive back to Sydney with only the van. So we went into the restaurant. Cash exchanged hands as did the registration paper. McDonald's it was for dinner that night. It was one of the best tasting McDonald's meals I had ever had.

Looking back through my Facebook wall, I had posted in June 2013, a picture of the side of a white RCZ, black wheels, and it’s rear wing up. I simply wrote “WANT!”
I finally manifested my dream car!

Driving back in the dark, my brother got the first stint to Goulburn in the RCZ. Seeing all the road kill of dead kangaroos on the side of the road, frightened the hell out of me. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking “What if Jeff (my brother) hits a kangaroo in my new car?” These animals are tall and have hard bodies. They leave a lot of damage. Next minute, as we’re zooming along at 110 km/h, a stupid kangaroo, was standing in the middle of road in the right lane as we blasted by.
We pulled into the service station at the Big Merino in Goulburn, took some pics (1st pic below, you can see me with the RCZ and the merino's behind. Yes the famous Australian Big Merino in Goulburn is male as you can see in the picture). We then got to swap vehicles. As soon as I got back onto the motorway in my new car, I never thought that I hated driving my LDV on the highway so much. Going from something that rocked and swayed in the winds, to something that was just so planted and stuck to the ground, was an amazing feeling!
We finally got back home just before 1AM. What a joy to drive. My dream car that I had wanted for 10 years, was finally home!

EDIT: I had also lodged an online form request with Peugeot Australia last week. Today, I received a phone call from them. The Peugeot staff member Richard, asked for my VIN and confirmed that my car has a satin carbon roof. Not just a wrap. He was able to e-mail me a copy of the build sheet for my vehicle. So I believe that having a carbon roof, pearl white, diesel in Australia, MUST be something of a rarity.

 

[RCZ-mad]

Great story mate, it's always a great feeling when you finally get something you've wanted for a long time! The car definitely didn't disappoint me and you're right how planted it feels.

I thought my Nissan Type S V36 Skyline was pretty responsive, then I got the Alfa 159 Ti and that was a step up in handling but the RCZ is the better than both of them by far. The sports suspension is obviously a big part of that but I think the relative lightness helps greatly as well as its about 200kg lighter in curb weight than the Skyline.

 

[Verminator]

What a fantastic story to what I think will be one more chapter in the future of owning a beautiful RCZ... Hope you have a great time and adventures together..
Drive safe and stay lucky
Les n Karen

 

[Johnny AUS]

Great story mate, it's always a great feeling when you finally get something you've wanted for a long time! The car definitely didn't disappoint me and you're right how planted it feels.

I thought my Nissan Type S V36 Skyline was pretty responsive, then I got the Alfa 159 Ti and that was a step up in handling but the RCZ is the better than both of them by far. The sports suspension is obviously a big part of that but I think the relative lightness helps greatly as well as its about 200kg lighter in curb weight than the Skyline.

So far so good. This has probably got to be one of THE best handling cars I have owned.
The other 2 great handling cars I've had were a 206 GTi180 (completely stock), GC8 WRX with adjustable Whiteline rear swaybar and a K11 Micra Super S, with lowered suspension and a dual rear sway bar setup.
The RCZ is on par, if not better than those cars in handling.

 

[Johnny AUS]

What a fantastic story to what I think will be one more chapter in the future of owning a beautiful RCZ... Hope you have a great time and adventures together..
Drive safe and stay lucky
Les n Karen

Thank you so much Les n Karen. I'm loving it so far!

 

[will_berry70]

Superb!
Mine's a Dark Gray HDi, and I'm thinking I'll ship to Oz with me in due course. We might even meet up one day

 

[Johnny AUS]

Superb!
Mine's a Dark Gray HDi, and I'm thinking I'll ship to Oz with me in due course. We might even meet up one day

They are lovely cars and if you can't part with it, take it with you.
The RCZ in diesel are pretty rare in Oz.

 

[Kyemin]

Beautiful story! Love the details and how relatable it is to my own.

I live in Portugal and been driving cars for 25 years now. My first dream car was a Nissan Micra. In a time all affordable city cars were 8 valves, Micra was 16 and it was my Tie Fighter. I was young and crazy and such a small fast city car was a joy to me.
Then bad luck struck me. A firefigher truck lost control on a descent while attending an emergency and completly destroyed my parked Micra. The sadness was so big that I never wanted a car after that. I drove many, had access to many, but never one of my own.
In the past years, since the start of Covid, I was driving a Renault Clio from 2000. It was a working car, belongs to my girlfriends parents, it was more than enough.
Last year, when I went to pick her up from work, I saw an RCZ and something clicked inside me. What a beautiful car. Went home thinking about seeing the price of it and learn more about it. When I saw the price tag, I understood. It's affordable these days, but it's a car with a decade, it's a pretty risky investment since lots of bad owners put hundred thousands on them and it's like a russian roulette. I love the car, but it's out of the question.
A year goes by and now I know the car pretty well, I admire it but I'm never gonna put myself in the position of buying one, unless a miracle or amazing opportunity shows up. I'm not looking for the car, but one shows at my parents door.
My girlfriend looks at the car and says:
"I like that one!"
I comment to my father:
"It's a nice car, not very expensive."
He states:
"It's a good car."
With these words, I go back home with the thought of seeing what's for sale, at what price.
Me and my girlfriend sit on the couch and start seeing the advertising on car sale sites here in Portugal.
Everything is beyond 100.000 Kms, sometimes, alot more. My enthusiasm starts to fade. My girlfriend starts to lose interest too.
She gets up to go to the bathroom and there's only a couple of more advertisements to check. The idea was, again, dead. No way I would buy and RCZ with such risk involved from a stranger.
While I blink my eyes, I roll the mouse wheel to one of those final advertisements. I start to read:
"Peugeot RCZ 2012 THP 200Cv Basically new 46.000Km"
I couldn't believe it. I click it and it shows a flawless white pearl RCZ. At least it looks like it. Is it a trick? A scam?
I scream to my girlfriend:
"I FOUND IT!"
She says:
"What?!"
I scream again:
"I FOUND IT! 46000 KM! IT'S NEW!"
She comes to see it and now things get real. I don't give a what. I'm gonna call this guy and hear what he has to say. She's stunned by my determination.
I dial the number, he answers.
"Oh! This car belong to a lady who's husband gave it to here on her 50th bithday. She had 13 cars. Only problem this car had was one kid one time hit the front chrome strip with an electric scooter, so no accidents. I bought it from her with 33.000Km. I love the car but I'm building a house and I almost never drive it. I need the money because my old house isn't selling and we need to move with the construction of the house. The car is absolutly new. Always serviced on Peugeot and lately I've taken it to a guy I know who I trust for 20 years"
We make a pre-agreement. I need to see a video of a cold start of the car, more clear pictures from it before I decide to make +300Km to check it with my eyes.
The guy promises it for the weekend and I spend all week in ansiety. Is this it or not? Is the car good or not?
After three days, I'm going mad. Before I go to bed, I speak to God inside me:
"Well, you could, at least, give me a sign if I'm doing the right thing or not, no?!"
Next morning, I wake up and my mind is set. It's too risky. I'm not going to buy a car that has a high chance to bring me problems with my girlfriend and family. I rather buy a new car, small city car, for the price of it. I'm not gonna buy it.
I get to the Clio to go to work, and the car simply doesn't start. Battery is completly dead. In the years I drove this car, it never made this sound. I had battery problems once or twice, but easly fixed. This time, it was completly dead and it would even moan after trying to start. Very strange noise.
Here's the sign I was looking for. Catch a Uber to work, and now with God by my side, I'm certain that I'm getting this car.
Weekend comes, I wait and wait for the videos and pictures. I give the guy a call. He said he already sent it to Whatsap, but I don't use Whatsap. I install it and see.
There where 4 very small videos of the car. One with it covered in the garage, another without the cover, other with him getting inside it and one with the cold start of the engine. Everything was perfect. The car was immaculate, the start was absolutly normal, and it was filled with extras. Nav, leather, it even had the original alarm.
But with the videos it came a sentence that almost killed me.
"I have a proposal for the house. If I sell it, I won't be selling the car. Can you wait another week?"
Is this guy kidding me? Is this some sort of elaborate scam?! Another week like this?
Hell. Yes. God said yes. I'm gonna wait. I'm gonna wish he sells his house and still sells me the car because, if everything goes right for him, there's no reason to go wrong for me, right?
The week starts. I check RCZ all over Europe, I see nothing as good or promising as the one I got my eye on.
Wednesday, I'm leaving from work and I get a Whatsap message.
"The house sale didn't go through. I have another proposition for tomorrow but I'm not gonna keep my hopes up and I'm not gonna keep you waiting. If you want the car, I sell it to you."
I guess my smile could be seen from the moon but I was feeling for this guy also. I immediatly gave him a call, we talked and it's settled. I'm going to travel 300km to see the car on monday and this is his final word, he's selling the car, no turning back.
I send a message to my girlfriend, telling her that it's gonna happen if everything is as he said on monday.
Next day, he send me a message.
"You gave me luck. I sold the house today. I guess I had to sell the RCZ to be able to sell the house"
I replied:
"Yeah. God has these things"
He said:
"He surely does"
4 days go by, ansiety on max.
Monday, 8:30 am I get with my father to travel those +300km and see the car.
We get there, the guy is late, another 30 minutes that seemed like forever.
Finally he arrives and we go to his garage. The car is beautiful, absolutly new, or very close to it.
Purs like a kitty, looks like a Lion. All original. No exhaust, no bullshit anywhere. Engine is clean. Not clean as a whistle, clean as a very well treated engine with 11 years would be.
5 hours later, I'm driving back in the highway with my father following me on his Lexus, both stepping on the gas here and there, trying to avoid radars and stopping here and there to have a coffee and smoke a cigarette.
The car is a big size kart, with amazing grip and very low center of gravity. It's the most fun car to drive I ever drove (and I drove a convertible BMW with traction on the back for a couple of years). Everything is working as new. There's no a scratch inside or outside.
I find myself thinking:
"This is probably the happiest day of my life"

Now I'm a proud owner of a Peugeot RCZ. 11 Years later, I get the feeling some of you had when you bought it new and it's an amazing feeling.
Thank you for reading my story as well.
I am as happy as Johnny looks in the picture up there. To own an RCZ is a special thing.
I can only hope now that Johnny and I keep having our blessing and attend in full to our RCZ needs, because I don't ever see me selling this car.
The previous owner had tears in his eyes and ran away when everything was set to leave with the car. I know good things will happen to him for what he did to me.
As I said to him, he will always be the guy who sold my RCZ to me. He has my utter respect and my best wishes.
As you Johnny. I hope your RCZ brings lots of joy, love and happiness.

Cheers!

 

[Johnny AUS]

Beautiful story! Love the details and how relatable it is to my own.

I live in Portugal and been driving cars for 25 years now. My first dream car was a Nissan Micra. In a time all affordable city cars were 8 valves, Micra was 16 and it was my Tie Fighter. I was young and crazy and such a small fast city car was a joy to me.
Then bad luck struck me. A firefigher truck lost control on a descent while attending an emergency and completly destroyed my parked Micra. The sadness was so big that I never wanted a car after that. I drove many, had access to many, but never one of my own.
In the past years, since the start of Covid, I was driving a Renault Clio from 2000. It was a working car, belongs to my girlfriends parents, it was more than enough.
Last year, when I went to pick her up from work, I saw an RCZ and something clicked inside me. What a beautiful car. Went home thinking about seeing the price of it and learn more about it. When I saw the price tag, I understood. It's affordable these days, but it's a car with a decade, it's a pretty risky investment since lots of bad owners put hundred thousands on them and it's like a russian roulette. I love the car, but it's out of the question.
A year goes by and now I know the car pretty well, I admire it but I'm never gonna put myself in the position of buying one, unless a miracle or amazing opportunity shows up. I'm not looking for the car, but one shows at my parents door.
My girlfriend looks at the car and says:
"I like that one!"
I comment to my father:
"It's a nice car, not very expensive."
He states:
"It's a good car."
With these words, I go back home with the thought of seeing what's for sale, at what price.
Me and my girlfriend sit on the couch and start seeing the advertising on car sale sites here in Portugal.
Everything is beyond 100.000 Kms, sometimes, alot more. My enthusiasm starts to fade. My girlfriend starts to lose interest too.
She gets up to go to the bathroom and there's only a couple of more advertisements to check. The idea was, again, dead. No way I would buy and RCZ with such risk involved from a stranger.
While I blink my eyes, I roll the mouse wheel to one of those final advertisements. I start to read:
"Peugeot RCZ 2012 THP 200Cv Basically new 46.000Km"
I couldn't believe it. I click it and it shows a flawless white pearl RCZ. At least it looks like it. Is it a trick? A scam?
I scream to my girlfriend:
"I FOUND IT!"
She says:
"What?!"
I scream again:
"I FOUND IT! 46000 KM! IT'S NEW!"
She comes to see it and now things get real. I don't give a what. I'm gonna call this guy and hear what he has to say. She's stunned by my determination.
I dial the number, he answers.
"Oh! This car belong to a lady who's husband gave it to here on her 50th bithday. She had 13 cars. Only problem this car had was one kid one time hit the front chrome strip with an electric scooter, so no accidents. I bought it from her with 33.000Km. I love the car but I'm building a house and I almost never drive it. I need the money because my old house isn't selling and we need to move with the construction of the house. The car is absolutly new. Always serviced on Peugeot and lately I've taken it to a guy I know who I trust for 20 years"
We make a pre-agreement. I need to see a video of a cold start of the car, more clear pictures from it before I decide to make +300Km to check it with my eyes.
The guy promises it for the weekend and I spend all week in ansiety. Is this it or not? Is the car good or not?
After three days, I'm going mad. Before I go to bed, I speak to God inside me:
"Well, you could, at least, give me a sign if I'm doing the right thing or not, no?!"
Next morning, I wake up and my mind is set. It's too risky. I'm not going to buy a car that has a high chance to bring me problems with my girlfriend and family. I rather buy a new car, small city car, for the price of it. I'm not gonna buy it.
I get to the Clio to go to work, and the car simply doesn't start. Battery is completly dead. In the years I drove this car, it never made this sound. I had battery problems once or twice, but easly fixed. This time, it was completly dead and it would even moan after trying to start. Very strange noise.
Here's the sign I was looking for. Catch a Uber to work, and now with God by my side, I'm certain that I'm getting this car.
Weekend comes, I wait and wait for the videos and pictures. I give the guy a call. He said he already sent it to Whatsap, but I don't use Whatsap. I install it and see.
There where 4 very small videos of the car. One with it covered in the garage, another without the cover, other with him getting inside it and one with the cold start of the engine. Everything was perfect. The car was immaculate, the start was absolutly normal, and it was filled with extras. Nav, leather, it even had the original alarm.
But with the videos it came a sentence that almost killed me.
"I have a proposal for the house. If I sell it, I won't be selling the car. Can you wait another week?"
Is this guy kidding me? Is this some sort of elaborate scam?! Another week like this?
Hell. Yes. God said yes. I'm gonna wait. I'm gonna wish he sells his house and still sells me the car because, if everything goes right for him, there's no reason to go wrong for me, right?
The week starts. I check RCZ all over Europe, I see nothing as good or promising as the one I got my eye on.
Wednesday, I'm leaving from work and I get a Whatsap message.
"The house sale didn't go through. I have another proposition for tomorrow but I'm not gonna keep my hopes up and I'm not gonna keep you waiting. If you want the car, I sell it to you."
I guess my smile could be seen from the moon but I was feeling for this guy also. I immediatly gave him a call, we talked and it's settled. I'm going to travel 300km to see the car on monday and this is his final word, he's selling the car, no turning back.
I send a message to my girlfriend, telling her that it's gonna happen if everything is as he said on monday.
Next day, he send me a message.
"You gave me luck. I sold the house today. I guess I had to sell the RCZ to be able to sell the house"
I replied:
"Yeah. God has these things"
He said:
"He surely does"
4 days go by, ansiety on max.
Monday, 8:30 am I get with my father to travel those +300km and see the car.
We get there, the guy is late, another 30 minutes that seemed like forever.
Finally he arrives and we go to his garage. The car is beautiful, absolutly new, or very close to it.
Purs like a kitty, looks like a Lion. All original. No exhaust, no bullshit anywhere. Engine is clean. Not clean as a whistle, clean as a very well treated engine with 11 years would be.
5 hours later, I'm driving back in the highway with my father following me on his Lexus, both stepping on the gas here and there, trying to avoid radars and stopping here and there to have a coffee and smoke a cigarette.
The car is a big size kart, with amazing grip and very low center of gravity. It's the most fun car to drive I ever drove (and I drove a convertible BMW with traction on the back for a couple of years). Everything is working as new. There's no a scratch inside or outside.
I find myself thinking:
"This is probably the happiest day of my life"

Now I'm a proud owner of a Peugeot RCZ. 11 Years later, I get the feeling some of you had when you bought it new and it's an amazing feeling.
Thank you for reading my story as well.
I am as happy as Johnny looks in the picture up there. To own an RCZ is a special thing.
I can only hope now that Johnny and I keep having our blessing and attend in full to our RCZ needs, because I don't ever see me selling this car.
The previous owner had tears in his eyes and ran away when everything was set to leave with the car. I know good things will happen to him for what he did to me.
As I said to him, he will always be the guy who sold my RCZ to me. He has my utter respect and my best wishes.
As you Johnny. I hope your RCZ brings lots of joy, love and happiness.

Cheers!

Kyemin, What an amazing story. They say that good things come to those who wait.​

Hope the RCZ continues to bring you many years of joy.​

I also once had a Micra. Mine was a K11 Super S with a cool body kit on it. Here is a picture with some of my other cars.

​

 

[Kyemin]

Kyemin, What an amazing story. They say that good things come to those who wait.​

Hope the RCZ continues to bring you many years of joy.​

I also once had a Micra. Mine was a K11 Super S with a cool body kit on it. Here is a picture with some of my other cars.​

​

View attachment 14496​

The micra in your story was the starting point of the relatable. Such a fun car to drive in the cities.
Mine was like yours, without the body kit. All white, full sport extras (wheels, aileron, etc).
When I saw your picture of yours, it made me laugh. I didn't remember that big antenna but now that I saw it, flashes of opening it and closing it came to me.
I had lots of fun times with my Micra and some people may find it a mediocre car, but to me, it's one of the best ever made. It saved my life many times with that chain in the engine that didn't break no matter what you did to it, and I made plenty of rallies with it. Even had a situation in a highway when I was following an Audi at 170km/h, trying to catch that windtunnel because Micra couldn't give much more, and suddently, on a left turn, he brakes hard because there's a car with the trunk open standing in the middle of the fast lane with 5 girls around it, one holding the triangle to sinalize it. The Audi with his big tyres struggled hard to avoid it, my Micra with smaller tyres seems to be doomed to hit the rail on the other side of the road. I only remember seeing all the sand on the outside of the track, looking at the rail, remember my playstation experience and lower the gear from 4th to 2nd and step on the gas, while trying to turn it back to the road.
The cars shook his rear side like a motocicle on a motogp race, if I was seated on top, it would shake me off.
But it work, got my grip back, let go of the gas and took 2 kilometers to fully stop the car behing the Audi guy.
Look at my friend that was with me and he said (I remember his pale astonished face and is big eyes popping):
"Not even Collin MacRae would have holded that!"
I went to the Audi guy to see if everything was ok. I had a bump on my left front, right above the left light. He's car was undamaged.
We searched, searched and searched, and we ended up finding a scratch in the bottom of his left back bumper.
Conclusion, Micra went down there when we both hard break and when they leveled, they made contact, Top of my left headlight with the bottom of his left bumper.
The mechanic say "You're lucky you're in a Micra, that car has a chain on the engine. When you changed from 4th gear to 2th gear, any other car would break the belt and you would end up in the rails for sure".
So yeah, I loved my Micra and it was an amazing car in everyway.

 

[Johnny AUS]

The micra in your story was the starting point of the relatable. Such a fun car to drive in the cities.
Mine was like yours, without the body kit. All white, full sport extras (wheels, aileron, etc).
When I saw your picture of yours, it made me laugh. I didn't remember that big antenna but now that I saw it, flashes of opening it and closing it came to me.
I had lots of fun times with my Micra and some people may find it a mediocre car, but to me, it's one of the best ever made. It saved my life many times with that chain in the engine that didn't break no matter what you did to it, and I made plenty of rallies with it. Even had a situation in a highway when I was following an Audi at 170km/h, trying to catch that windtunnel because Micra couldn't give much more, and suddently, on a left turn, he brakes hard because there's a car with the trunk open standing in the middle of the fast lane with 5 girls around it, one holding the triangle to sinalize it. The Audi with his big tyres struggled hard to avoid it, my Micra with smaller tyres seems to be doomed to hit the rail on the other side of the road. I only remember seeing all the sand on the outside of the track, looking at the rail, remember my playstation experience and lower the gear from 4th to 2nd and step on the gas, while trying to turn it back to the road.
The cars shook his rear side like a motocicle on a motogp race, if I was seated on top, it would shake me off.
But it work, got my grip back, let go of the gas and took 2 kilometers to fully stop the car behing the Audi guy.
Look at my friend that was with me and he said (I remember his pale astonished face and is big eyes popping):
"Not even Collin MacRae would have holded that!"
I went to the Audi guy to see if everything was ok. I had a bump on my left front, right above the left light. He's car was undamaged.
We searched, searched and searched, and we ended up finding a scratch in the bottom of his left back bumper.
Conclusion, Micra went down there when we both hard break and when they leveled, they made contact, Top of my left headlight with the bottom of his left bumper.
The mechanic say "You're lucky you're in a Micra, that car has a chain on the engine. When you changed from 4th gear to 2th gear, any other car would break the belt and you would end up in the rails for sure".
So yeah, I loved my Micra and it was an amazing car in everyway.

You seem to have a lot of great stories. I look forward to reading more of them

 

[Kyemin]

You seem to have a lot of great stories. I look forward to reading more of them

Hopefully, some positive will come with the RCZ! Don't hide your stories either. You started it with a great one too!