13th Jun 2002, 09:32
"Free insurance was revoked" - unlikely. If you've negotiated that at the point of purchase, it becomes a legally binding part of the contract between you and the garage, and you are due it regardless of whether the garage mucked up. Provided you had it written into the purchase contract, the garage doesn't have a leg to stand on. If it wasn't written into the then you've been a silly boy and won't make that mistake again!
25th Jul 2003, 10:59
Incompetent Renault garages? Who would have believed it.
Every single time I have taken my Clio diesel into the local Renault dealer, I have come away with the the feeling that I have been taken for a fool - again. Just this year I have had the following problems with them.
1. Got my car back with a series of scratches on the roof, as if someone had put something heavy on the roof and dragged it off. The denied it and basically said that because I could not prove the scratches were not there when I delivered it, they were not going to do anything about it. Fair enough, because I could not prove it, but I washed and polished my Clio the previous evening by hand, and the scratches were not there then. Put that one down to experience.
2. Had a problem with the engine cutting out and running roughly. Took it to the dealers who diagnosed a faulty fuel pump. I first got a verbal estimate of 'about £2000'. After I told them this was not going to happen as the car was probably worth not much more than that, I got a written quote of about £1000 - for which they charged £70. The quote included taking the pump off, sending it to a repair specialist and then replacing it together with a new cam belt and re-timing, and said it would be off the road for at least a week; probably two. I was getting a bit dubious at all of this, so took it to a specialist diesel garage, who fixed it in two days, did not have to take the pump off and charged me £150 total. It has now run 10,000 more miles without a problem. I have also found out that to take the pump off does not require changing the cam belt or re-timing - so why was I being quoted for that?
3. As part of the problem above, I thought it may have to do with the injectors, so asked how much it was to replace a set of 4. They quoted £400+ each. I rang up other Renault dealers who all quoted about £70 each.
4. Today was the final straw. I was informed that there is a recall to replace the throttle cable and check a bolt, so booked it in a week ago. Went to pick the up at about 5.00pm today to be informed that it was not ready, so could I bring it in another day? When I asked why, I was given a variety of excuses including:
A. They had ordered the wrong throttle cable, and only found out when it had arrived
B. They cannot order the throttle cable in advance, because there are 6 different types, and they do not know which one it is until they inspect the car.
C. It takes 45 minutes to inspect to find out which throttle cable it is, so they did not suggest that I brought the car along previously to find out that information, as it needs to be booked in because it takes so long.
D. They could not inspect the throttle cable until this afternoon, because they were much too busy, by which time it was too late to get it for today (even though they did the first recall job on the car in the morning).
E. Even if they ordered the cable today, they cannot do the work tomorrow because they are much too busy
F. They need to know several days in advance of when I am bringing the car because it takes several days to get the cable.
G. They tried to order the cable, but no-one has one.
H. They cannot order a cable, because the ordering system is down
Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to which of these contradictory statements was true? I sure couldn't.
19th Aug 2005, 04:40
We bought a Renault Megane Scenic with 44,000 miles on the clock, and we too have paid horrendous prices for finance with Welcome. We have had numerous problems with it; snapped shock absorbers etc, and now it's in the garage again needing a full steering rack and pump. I would never buy a Renault again; their aftercare is non-existent.
20th Apr 2001, 00:47
Kick up a massive fuss, preferably when there are people looking at new cars in the showroom. Ask for Renault customer services address and telephone number in the garage and tell them why (to complain about poor service from this garage), phone/write to them (repeatedly if necessary), then when all else fails, get a legal friend to draft a letter threatening legal action, also write to watchdog, top gear etc. I've had a free years warranty and stuff fixed for free from manufacturers because of persistence and questioning why something goes after so few miles/months. Next time you buy, when they get to bartering, drop the free insurance if you can (always difficult to get them to acknowledge the years no claims, Vauxhall even refused to give the no claims unless a 2nd year of paid insurance was taken with them - however it was the cheapest quote I had), and get them to throw in extra warranty instead. ALWAYS question charges etc. Most dealer mechanics know how to connect a diagnosis machine to a car and press a button to find out what's wrong, a lot of them are pretty poor at much else.
In short be a pain. If the garage gets difficult, simply take your business elsewhere and write to the overall boss explaining why you never intend to go back there.
Adrian.