For a cheap and practical family car a Megane Scenic is pretty hard to beat. They have been around for ages and being really popular finding a decent second hand one should be easy. Being a French car they do have some interesting foibles. From doing a bit of research and test driving an apparently "immaculate" example I discovered some pretty important things to look for when buying one.
Alarm/Immobilizer The Immobilizer is integrated into the ECU and activated via a IR dongle in the key. To replace one of these keys the cost is ~£125 from a Renault dealer. As the immobilizer is integrated into the ECU is cannot be removed but can be deactivated by entering a 4 digit code (every time you turn on the ignition) using a button on the dash. You can get the code from a Renault dealer for ~£30 or various sources online for free. It seems you can get electronic devices that you can wire in that enter this code for you automatically for about £80. If the remote fob doesn't work its batteries could be flat, the fob could be dead, the fob could need re-syncing with the ECU or the IR receiver may be dodgy. A common fault is water ingress into the IR receiver built into the unit near the front courtesy light (water comes through the base of radio aerial which sits above it). Sometimes this can be dried out and sealed, and new unit is £60 from Renault. There is plenty of info online about immobilizer problem and they seem very common. Without 2 working fobs its potentially going to cost lots of time and money.
Engine It seems engine are generally reliable but prone to oil leaks. The timing belt needs changing (petrol engine) at 60,000 miles. They are prone to headgasket failure if the coolant is not changed regularly and kept topped up (as all French engines are). The expansion tank should be free from a coating of red/brown sludge on the inside which indicates it hasn't been looked after and you could be in for trouble. Coolant should always be a strong blue or red color with no sign of contamination. Difficulty starting when the engine is warm is sometimes a problem and needs to be checked.
Body Work They tend to go rusty round the back wheel arches. If the arches have started going you will probably be able to find other spots of rust starting/bubbling around the car. Rust is probably to be expected on a old/cheap/French car but only gets worse with time and is a pain to sort out properly. The paint work is not of brilliant quality so expect scratches etc. French cars are notorious for poorly designed drainage channels through the body which get blocked with dirt over time and cause problems. Brake hard and listen for a sloshing sounds near the front footwells, this indicates that water has collected in the sills and they need draining/sorting out. If the blower only works on the max setting this probably means the drainage channels at the bottom of the windscreen have clogged and water has got into the fan motor (frying the block of resistors used for different fan speeds). This means taking the dash apart to fix it.
Brakes Under heavy braking the car should pull up dead straight even if you take your hands off the steering wheel. If it veers or just one wheel locks up etc then this probably means you have ceased brake calipers slider pins (or the pads are right down or there is a bigger problem with the brake system). This is a common fault on all cars and can be a pain to fix, sometimes requiring new calipers. Brakes should be responsive and take little effort to stop the car.
Misc Air con should get really cold fairly quickly otherwise it is £50+ to have it re-gassed. Turning the steering wheel from lock to lock while stationary should produce no strange noises. Pulling away in 1st with the handbrake on should be difficult otherwise the clutch is worn (or handbrake needs adjusting!). CV joints shouldn't click when accelerating on full lock. Can be problems with the cables inside the back seats for the mechanism to move them up/down so this needs to be checked.
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