New to the forum, need help finding my first RCZ!

[Chris556]

Hi guys,

Apologies if there has been a similar post (I'm sure there has been!) however I wanted to put out a post to get your advice as I'm now on the lookout to get an RCZ, a car that I've wanted to own since they were first released.

I'm in the process of doing research online on what to go for etc, but wanted to ask if there's a list of things to look out for when buying an RCZ, such as common faults or problem areas outside of general servicing etc?

Thanks all!

 

[indoldn]

Welcome!

Which model are you thinking of getting? From what I read diesel seems to be the most reliable one. I have a THP200 and below some of additional things I would check for:

-Start cold and listen, if very rattily could be timing chain
-Check rocker cover for any sign of leaks
-Check jacking points and damaged sills, unfortunately the jacking points are soft and easily damaged especially the front & can be costly to fix
-Check no power loss during test drive
-High power fuel pump is a common issue as well
-Check SatNav is not flickering as you close/open
-If locking nut still fitted check they still look ok. Personally, I would check that they can be loosen easily & replace them with standard ones. They should be torque to 90Nm
-Check the plastic air intake turbo hose for any sign of damaged
-Check front springs as they are known to break at the bottom. Mainly because the sleeve that sits over them traps water so they corrode
-If you see economy mode activated then battery could be low and needed more charge or may need replacing soon
-Check for sticking rear brakes, seen some posts where people are saying if the car has been unused for awhile with hand brake on you may have this issue
-If you have an ODB code reader, could always plug it in to check if there are any error codes. Do bear in mind if battery is low you may see some spurious error codes

Hope this helps.

 

[Ian J.]

If you are driven by reliability buy the diesel but bare in mind these cars are remarkable value so spending a few £ maintaining them is no worse than the depreciation you get on other cars.
As with any car make sure its got an up to date comprehensive service history.
Petrol versions need regular oil changes .
Welcome to the forum ,
I'm on my 3rd RCZ and would probably be on my 4th if they still made them.

 

[Verminator]

Hi there and welcome to the forum
I have two Hdi RCZs in the household and they have a great 3rd gear foot down and your gone.. One more thing to look out for is LEDs not working in the middle brake light costs around £200 to fit a new one, but when I got the one for the wife it had two not working but the garage replaced it as part of the deal, also did the wheels too. Full service history too...
Happy hunting

 

[Chris556]

Welcome!

Which model are you thinking of getting? From what I read diesel seems to be the most reliable one. I have a THP200 and below some of additional things I would check for:

-Start cold and listen, if very rattily could be timing chain
-Check rocker cover for any sign of leaks
-Check jacking points and damaged sills, unfortunately the jacking points are soft and easily damaged especially the front & can be costly to fix
-Check no power loss during test drive
-High power fuel pump is a common issue as well
-Check SatNav is not flickering as you close/open
-If locking nut still fitted check they still look ok. Personally, I would check that they can be loosen easily & replace them with standard ones. They should be torque to 90Nm
-Check the plastic air intake turbo hose for any sign of damaged
-Check front springs as they are known to break at the bottom. Mainly because the sleeve that sits over them traps water so they corrode
-If you see economy mode activated then battery could be low and needed more charge or may need replacing soon
-Check for sticking rear brakes, seen some posts where people are saying if the car has been unused for awhile with hand brake on you may have this issue
-If you have an ODB code reader, could always plug it in to check if there are any error codes. Do bear in mind if battery is low you may see some spurious error codes

Hope this helps.

Hi Indoln,

Thanks a lot for your feedback here, very much appreciated!

Will be looking for a diesel due to higher motorway milage, so thanks for all of your points here.

Hoping to go and view a couple over the weekend, let's see how it goes!

 

[Chris556]

If you are driven by reliability buy the diesel but bare in mind these cars are remarkable value so spending a few £ maintaining them is no worse than the depreciation you get on other cars.
As with any car make sure its got an up to date comprehensive service history.
Petrol versions need regular oil changes .
Welcome to the forum ,
I'm on my 3rd RCZ and would probably be on my 4th if they still made them.

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your points here, I'm looking for a diesel ideally due to doing quite a few motorway miles, so I'm glad to hear you rate their reliability!

Hoping to see a couple at the weekend, so let's see how it goes.

Cheers

 

[Chris556]

Hi there and welcome to the forum
I have two Hdi RCZs in the household and they have a great 3rd gear foot down and your gone.. One more thing to look out for is LEDs not working in the middle brake light costs around £200 to fit a new one, but when I got the one for the wife it had two not working but the garage replaced it as part of the deal, also did the wheels too. Full service history too...
Happy hunting

Thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for your points here, I'll make sure to check them when I go to take a look.

 

[Verminator]

Hope you find your dream RCZ if I was you I would look for the most loaded one for you price range..
Eg. Leather seats, sat nav, black pack, xenon lights, service history, lower mileage, 19"wheels, and two keys for the car.....

 

[Jambondrums]

I bought a diesel RCZ GT a few weeks back. I'm a petrol head and had never wanted a diesel, but due to work commute, I decided that a diesel was needed. She is surprisingly quick and that is coming from a daily driver of a 360bhp Insignia VXR. I have just had her remapped and.it really does go well now and the economy is great. I can't really add anything to what the guys have already said, just the normal things like check service history, condition of wheels, what tyres and condition of are fitted, brakes, just general over all condition. Oh, maybe check in the spare wheel well too, the foam may well of been used and not replaced. I found that out with mine, have subsequently bought a space-saving spare though.....
Best of luck with rhe hunt.

 

[DKZ5745]

One final thing. They all look amazing, so don’t be blinded by the good looks of the first one you see. You will want it, but it might not be the best one, so let your head rule your heart, or you could end up with an beautiful looking lemon.