2000 Renault Kangoo 665D from UK and Ireland - Comments

The vehicle has performed faultlessly in the two weeks and two thousand miles that I have driven it.

I bought this van at auction and it has supposedly got a full service history.

I wish to warn other owners of what appears to be a scam involving dealer servicing.

I drive up to 1,200 miles a week, so I do not trust garages with servicing my vehicle.

My Kangoo 665D has a full service history, from a Volvo Garage. The service Log-book is stamped and up to date. In reality, only half the items that were supposed to be checked or changed have been done. Over several years now, I have discovered what I believe to be a common scam among franchised dealers. It works like this: the dealer contacts the owner and reminds them that a service is due on their vehicle. The dealer describes the service (eg "Full Service" or "Annual Service") and offers to do the work. The owner duly sends the car in and the price comes to equal or less than the expected price, plus extra work, if it is is necessary. The owner collects the car and carries on, content. BUT - what was actually done? I have now come across five separate examples of the owner thinking they were paying for an "Annual" or "Major" service, but only actually getting a standard minor service. Normally, the owner is charged slightly less than the price that they were expecting, so the owner is happy.

My advice is DO NOT PAY FOR THE SERVICE UNTIL THE DEALER HAS WRITTEN DOWN CLEARLY WHICH SERVICE WAS CARRIED OUT.

Think I'm being paranoid? why not check exactly what YOU have got written in your service books and receipts. I'll bet it starts you wondering... Me? well, I've got a Kangoo with 52,000 miles and an original air filter, (which should have been replaced at 40'000 miles) yet a full service history. Its service book doesn't say which service (major or minor) was carried out when. Does your dealer tell you? What come back do you have against garages that offer you one service, give you another, and charge you 'In Between'?. None. DON'T PAY the garage until they write down the full list of work carried out or give the service its proper 'title'. I have a growing pile of written evidence that the practise is wide-spread. The garage stands to double or triple their profitability. How about YOU?

Interesting. My personal experience is as follows. About ten years ago I bought an eighteen month old Citroen ZX diesel from a franchised dealer. Later, when they serviced the car I believe that they omitted to change the engine oil. They denied this of course, but I felt that trust had been broken. I found an independent specialist who has now serviced the car for several years. I am pleased with the efficient and friendly service (I get a Christmas card each year with a £10 off MOT / service token) and a comprehensive itemised bill. Plus all the work done by them is stored on their computer. I am so pleased with the service and reliability of the car that I am loathe to buy a different car despite the ZX being nearly 12 years old and having 142000 miles on the clock.

This has nothing to do with Renault dealers and everything to do with dealers in general. But hey, there is not one area of life in the UK where sloppy lazy trades will rip you off if they can. SO the deal is - find somebody you trust - never mind if they are the "approved" dealer or a trading-estate workshop - and stick with them. The good guys are out there, they just take a bit of findng sometimes!

I have a number of vehicles ranging from my kangoo van for work to my BMW X5 3.0 diesel. I use an independent garage for all non warranty work on the x5 and for servicing the van and other family cars. When I sell my vehicles, I always show the buyers the full breakdown of all works carried out by the garage. They used to insist on showing me the packaging of the new parts with the old placed in them! I suggest we all support our small local garages - providing they are honest and carry out the work.