You have to love French sports cars. Perhaps it’s because they’re doing something they’re not supposed to – the reputation of French cars is (with a few notable exceptions) for being comfortable, not terribly fast, and sometimes quite innovative. Of course, there are some French performance icons, like the Peugeot 205 GTi, but we didn’t get those here in North America. So the next best (in fact, the only) thing is the Renault GTA, sold for one year only as the top end marker for the Renault Alliance line, built in conjunction with AMC. It and the entire Renault-based product line expired sooner than planned, due to Chrysler’s acquisition of AMC (geez, which Europeans *won’t* they sleep with? Rootes/Sunbeam, Renault via AMC, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Fiat). If you want a sporty French car, check out this 1987 Renault GTA for sale for $2750 in Highland, CA.
This car is said to have roughly 185,000 miles, but looks nothing like it. The photos are somewhat low-light, but taking that grain of salt into consideration, the original paint looks impeccable, and the body seems to be free of any dents. It counts a speedometer and air conditioning repair among its needs, but those are probably easier to set right than the major cosmetic issues these typically have.
There is surprisingly little scuffing on the body-color bumpers, which means the onus is on the buyer to keep them that way. The multi-spoke turbine-style wheels are classic, and all the little aero bits and blacked out trim add to the 1980s vibe. This is hopefully one of those times where buying a high-mile car is actually better, as there are hopefully no storage bugs, and the owner has kept on top of most issues.
What little can be seen of the engine could probably use some cleaning. And the area between the two firewalls appears a little crumbly, but with this being a lifelong California car, it’s hopefully just dried out sealant in a joint. The condition of the shock towers suggests rust is unlikely.
This looks nothing like a 185K-mile car, and the dash is even free of cracking. Door seals look decent, and the only sign of real wear is the driver’s floor mat. While fun to drive, these cars were built to a price, so it’s hard to understand how it remains in such good shape. If you’ve been looking for one, this is probably worth your while.
Rusty But Trusty 
April 23, 2014 at 6:49 am |
I didn’t think these Renaults were capable of achieving such high mileage; they were pretty lousy cars back in the day.
July 7, 2014 at 8:05 am |
Let me guess, you’ve never driven one? I owned a new one and put 192K on it, and I bought a convertible that now has 154K on it. BTW, those were trouble free miles aside from routine maintenance and the occasional motor mount and wheel bearing. Pretty good for “lousy” cars.