1981 Renault

SportWagon Wagon

4 - Cyl.

Automatic

vf1bc35b9b0208214

Gasoline

I have available for sale a garage kept, 1 owner since new until last year, 1981 Renault 18i SportWagon. In the 5 years I've been keeping track of Renaults for sale on eBay, I have never seen one come up for sale. This may very well be the best condition R18 in the states. The car has been purchased new in Spring Valley, NY and has been there all its life. Unfortunately, the owner owner moved to Florida and passed away. I purchased it and fixed the few things it needed...new speakers, new exhaust, new brakes, and a couple of very minor things. The oil has been changed and the car runs very well. The wagon has 60,000 miles and drives like a 60k mile car should. The steering is straight, does not pull to either side and is free from any vibrations. The brakes hold like any modern car. Rear drum brakes have been replaced, a 2.25 hour job @$97 an hour labor rate. The front pads are ordered and on their way, they will be replaced by the time the auction ends. The suspension is excellent, it is very smooth on the road and handle potholes very well. No squeaks or rattles. The engine is a fuel injected (!) 1647cc inline 4, meaning winters won't be an issue, unlike the carburated cars. It is not a fast car, but keeps up easily with traffic and does it while achieving high 20's mpg city, 38 mpg highway. Tried and tested, I drove it from upstate NY to NYC and the gas needle barely budged. All electrics work, signals, horn, lights, gauges, even the dome light. Original Renault radio works as well, speakers are new but still have 1 original Renault speaker that works. The interior is in excellent condition, the headliner is perfect, the carpet is in good condition, no minor parts missing. The seats are excellent, aside from a tear in the driver's seat. Now to the best part...the exterior. It is in mint condition, the original paint has a nice shine to it, as can be seen in the pictures. There is very very minimal rust, only some surface rust on the inner rear wheel arches and a couple of dime size spots by the rear bumper. Also, on the front passenger side there is a small hole that is an easy fix. It seems that someone tried to jack up the car by where the fender meets the body and made a small hole. Aside from that, NO RUST. Even in the door jams, trunk area, windows, under the car, NOTHING! The car has been very well maintained and garage kept. The body is laser straight, all panels are a perfect fit. No dings or scratches, truly well kept. All exterior moldings and in great condition. Even the bumpers are excellent, no one banged it up in its 30 years. The tansmission is a 3 speed auto, upshifts are smooth, same as downshifts. It can be confidently driven on a daily basis, I have been driving it to work every day. Once in a while, while cruising on the highway it will downshift to the passing gear and then will kick back up to third. Very minimal issue, it is NOT the transmission, something minimal which I never got around to check since it is not an issue to me. But I wanted to give a fair and proper description. The only reason I am selling is because this is my fourth car and my second Renault. I purchased it with the intent to use it for winter but it is in too good of a condition to be abused in the harsh NY winters. Test drives are encouraged and welcomed. I also have the original sale receipt along with service receipts.The car is also available for sale locally, so I reserve the right to end the auction before it is over. In the event that someone is ready to purchase it, I will email the high bidder and give 24 hours time to consider a final bid. Any questions and requests of more pictures or videos are welcomed! Happy bidding and good luck. A few parts for the car have been ordered through RockAuto.com. Not that the car needs it but it is part of the tune-up I wanted to give it. New spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap & rotor, oil drain plug, air filter and front pads will all be installed prior to the auction ending. On May-17-11 at 16:52:06 PDT, seller added the following information: As requested by a few, I uploaded pictured of the engine. I haven't gotten a chance to clean it, so the new owner will have to do that. Within a few hours, this area of the car can match the rest of it. It has been previously owned by an elderly man who obviously didn't pay attention to cleaning the engine bay. It can be seen that even here there are no rust issues. A very minor issue I would like to bring to attention is the RPM needle. It is slightly bent and it does not function properly, it will need recalibration if deemed necessary by the new owner. In the picture with the interior it can be seen that the needle points at 1,500 RPM, although it was idling smoothly at 750 RPM. The needle functions, but goes from 1,500 to 2,500. Not an issue for me, but as I previously said before, I didn't want any surprises for the new owner. The Quartz watch functions properly and I didn't need to adjust it since I owned the car. Note the original Renault radio, of course properly working. Also, although a new muffler has been installed, the pipe from the engine to it hasn't been changed. In the last few days it started making very little noise, I checked underneath and 2 half dime holes have been found. I will patch those but I suggest within a year that a new pipe should be installed. Again, not an issue, just an explanation. The car has been detailed with Meguiar's claybar, a tedious process but worth it as the paint is smooth like new now. A quick polish and fresh coat of wax is all is needed for a mirror finish. Unfortunately I do not have the time to do it, so it is at the new owner's discretion. More questions or picture requests are welcomed.