Annoyed at circumstances and stealership

[Gillmeister]

Took my car (03 172 CUP) to a stealer last week, expecting the worst, having been told I would be paying £190 for the 54k service.

I was called 6 hours later with the following work on my car required:

Headlight inoperable
Cambelt overdue
Brake fluid due change
Coolant due change
Front brake discs
Rear brake discs

Total cost with random 20% discount: £1124.48

So I drove it home with all the above work still outstanding, with it booked in because I couldn't see any other way around it, even though it galled me to have to pay that amount of cash. This was last Wednesday. Didn't drive it thurs/fri as I didn't have to and didn't want it falling apart, at first they wanted me to sign a disclaimer to state that they told me the car was undriveable and I took it away anway. They decided that wasn't required but obviously I didn't want to risk it.

On the saturday I had to drive my car, it was unavoidable. I covered around 12-14 miles tops. After about half the distance my toxic fumes warning light started flashing at me. The book says to lower speed until the light stops flashing and alert Renault ASAP. This I did yesterday (monday), when I dropped it off for the cambelt and other work doing on it.

I was called late yesterday telling me that the spark plugs were failing and needed replacing at a cost of ~£140. I told them to go ahead as the car was undriveable (ever since the warning light came on the idle has been erratic at best and revs kept dropping for no discernible reason) and they replaced the plugs.

I drove it home last night, well, limped would be a more apt term for it. Couldn't get over 2500 revs without it behaving very erratically, dropped revs completely then sputtering back into life, etc. Been told I need a coil pack fitting now, which they said would be a possibility when I first found out about the plugs.

Does this all sound right? They service my car, I get a warning light the next time I drive it, they change my plugs to fix a problem that appears to have been caused by them (do they touch the plugs during a service?), and the problem is still apparent so they want to charge me another £240 to change this coil pack they say is a problem! Why change the plugs if the coil pack is the issue?

Properly ****ed off.

 

[leecup]

Took my car (03 172 CUP) to a stealer last week, expecting the worst, having been told I would be paying £190 for the 54k service.

I was called 6 hours later with the following work on my car required:

Headlight inoperable
Cambelt overdue
Brake fluid due change
Coolant due change
Front brake discs
Rear brake discs

Total cost with random 20% discount: £1124.48

So I drove it home with all the above work still outstanding, with it booked in because I couldn't see any other way around it, even though it galled me to have to pay that amount of cash. This was last Wednesday. Didn't drive it thurs/fri as I didn't have to and didn't want it falling apart, at first they wanted me to sign a disclaimer to state that they told me the car was undriveable and I took it away anway. They decided that wasn't required but obviously I didn't want to risk it.

On the saturday I had to drive my car, it was unavoidable. I covered around 12-14 miles tops. After about half the distance my toxic fumes warning light started flashing at me. The book says to lower speed until the light stops flashing and alert Renault ASAP. This I did yesterday (monday), when I dropped it off for the cambelt and other work doing on it.

I was called late yesterday telling me that the spark plugs were failing and needed replacing at a cost of ~£140. I told them to go ahead as the car was undriveable (ever since the warning light came on the idle has been erratic at best and revs kept dropping for no discernible reason) and they replaced the plugs.

I drove it home last night, well, limped would be a more apt term for it. Couldn't get over 2500 revs without it behaving very erratically, dropped revs completely then sputtering back into life, etc. Been told I need a coil pack fitting now, which they said would be a possibility when I first found out about the plugs.

Does this all sound right? They service my car, I get a warning light the next time I drive it, they change my plugs to fix a problem that appears to have been caused by them (do they touch the plugs during a service?), and the problem is still apparent so they want to charge me another £240 to change this coil pack they say is a problem! Why change the plugs if the coil pack is the issue?

Properly ****ed off.

If i was in your shoes id be ****ed off too!!! and the stealers really are bending you over and ****ing you tbh! 140 pounds for spark plugs!!! why dont you go and get a set and fit them yourself? same for the brake's its an easy job and you would save a fortune, and as for the cambelt why are you going to the dealers for it?? why dont you visit a renault specialist like k-tec, gdi etc etc and get it done for half the price?

the symptoms you describe do sound like a coilpack but once again it takes litterally 5 mins to replace i strongly recommend you get your car back do some research and fix it yourself, really fu**es me off to see these dealers ripping ppl off.

 

[xxxic3xxx]

sounds like your being taken for an expensive ride to me but what can you do about it? i dont suppose you have any proof. that said... looks like your lumbered with a huge bill

unless your going to the stealers for warrenty benefits then use direct replacement parts and change the majority yourself then take it in?

 

[Edd]

After that quote I wouldn't have gone back to Renault. Could surely get that work done for half the 1100 quoted at an independant garage, maybe less if you sourced afew parts yourself.

£140 to change the spark plugs? Did you ask them to break that down into parts and labour? My NGK plugs cost me £29 for four and took around 20mins to change and I'm not that handy with the spanners.

 

[Inferno]

Get to a specialist! You will save £££'s, where in the county are you?

 

[Andyman]

Your getting totally screwed over mate.

Bar the cambelt, all those jobs are a piece of piss to do and theres clear detailed guides with pictures on how to do it step by step on this very forum

 

[Gillmeister]

The only reason I went to Renault is because I was looking to chop it in for something bigger. I've got a boxer dog and he just doesn't fit in the Clio any more. I envisaged it being the last service it would have and that I'd just get it out of the way. I was P/Xing it for a Saab 95 aero 2.3 turbo, and the garage I was exchanging with were saying they needed the car to have FRSH to give me the price needed, so I needed the stamp in my book.

Wish I'd not bothered now and just gone elsewhere, but what I want to know is whether the information given to me is accurate or not.

 

[Andyman]

The only reason I went to Renault is because I was looking to chop it in for something bigger. I've got a boxer dog and he just doesn't fit in the Clio any more. I envisaged it being the last service it would have and that I'd just get it out of the way. I was P/Xing it for a Saab 95 aero 2.3 turbo, and the garage I was exchanging with were saying they needed the car to have FRSH to give me the price needed, so I needed the stamp in my book.

Wish I'd not bothered now and just gone elsewhere, but what I want to know is whether the information given to me is accurate or not.

How much were they going to give you for the Cup with and without the history?

Id avoid the Saab too tbh.

 

[Gillmeister]

They reckoned the difference in sell-on price would be £400 so would pass that deficit onto me. So £400 the difference. They were offering me £4300.

So less than £4k for a 5 year old completely unmodified cup with 52k miles on it.

 

[mark123]

Sounds like they booked you in for a basic service i.e. oil and filters.

Once they had you on the hook they then "realised" the big 5 year service was overdue. Which is basically everything they did before they started their trial and error fault finding techniques.

The prices are pretty normal Renault. As is the keep replacing things until we find the fault technique. Spark plugs don't normally just suddenly fail. But they are due at the 5 year service. They clearly just forgot to sting you for those first time around.

In summary all that stuff was due at the service (apart from the coil pack). But the fault finding was crap and it is suspicious that a fault occurred just after you got your car back.

 

[AlexS]

Im not defending them but the clip report prob showed a missfire in cylinders 1-4, the first step is to change the plugs as the service interval on plugs is far too long and non genuine cheap plugs can also cause a problem. I guess doing process of elmination a specialist may well have just tried a set of plugs they had in stock, renault probably thought you could of done with a set anyway.
If they had been changed on the service they would of been under parts warranty.

 

[Henry]

no one knows what they actually 'did' to it whilst they had it in, but it's not necessarily anyone's fault that the coil pack failed - could just be coincidental. the plugs aren't due until 72k, so you could use that as a bargaining point and argue that, if they weren't causing the running problem that they now suspect the coilpack is, why should you be paying for their replacement? could be worth a go as it sounds as though you'll be hit with a big bill (even with the mysterious 20% discount) once it's all done.

the sums involved are just a fact of life in having a manufacturer's dealer maintain a car. does all sound like an unfortunate set of circumstances.

seperately, was at a dealer yesterday to have the bonnet recall thing looked at and i was asked to sign a disclaimer stating that i understood when some of the service intervals (brake fluid, coolant, etc) were - think it must be standard practise (but why?)

 

[mark123]

Plugs are 5 years/72k. I know someone who has the original plugs in at 125k with no probs. Mine looked fine 72k when I replaced them.

The NGK plugs are the ones Renault use and they're 35 quid from a typical motorfactors.

They were due at the service so why didn't they replace them with everything else. Just another example of poor service.

"The computer said" attitude is part of the crap fault finding problem.

 

[Henry]

Plugs are 5 years/72k.

didn't know that - my book just says 72k

bargaining point removed by the sounds of it

 

[c__w]

Modern spark plugs in modern engines will probably last the lifetime of the engine/car; they very rarely fail and it would be last thing I'd change if it suddenly started misfiring/emissions warning light on. It's always most likely to be a sensor or coilpack.

All seems very expensive as the brakes are very easy and cheap to replace and would get them done elsewhere.

 

[Gillmeister]

Well, if the spark plugs should be changed as part of the service, and the service cost £184 as described, why am I being charged for them a week later?

 

[Fred@BTM]

they cost a fortune from renault £14each + vat IIRC!!!

they've fucked up in the service dept by the sound of it

 

[Fred@BTM]

coilpack costs £240 to change! f**k ME!

£80 and 4 x 10mm bolts + £160 labour, hahahahahahaha "hi this is renault calling, we've been smoking crack"

 

[mark123]

Well, if the spark plugs should be changed as part of the service, and the service cost £184 as described, why am I being charged for them a week later?

Sorry not as part of the original oil service, but when they decided the cambelt needed doing they should also have said the plugs as well as they are on the same service interval.

Crack smoking Renault dealers explains a lot actually

It is probably worth getting quotes for those jobs from other Renault dealers - asking them to break down to hours labour and parts. Then compare this to what you've been charged then kick up a stink with the dealer. Maybe try Renault customer services too.

Even the plugs they must have charged you 2 hours labour and it is a 20 minute job. They didn't give you new leads as well did they?

 

[Gary172]

As said above find a good local specialist.

Your bill is at least double what it should be but how else are they going to pay for that nice showroom this month?

Stop being taken for a mug.

 

[Gillmeister]

Thanks for that Gary, that's what I'm posting here for

 

[Andyman]

I think you should contact Renault UK about this. If you dont compalin they'll just carry on fleecing folk.

The book time for a coilpack change will be half a hour, 10 mins in the real world but not sure they book time anything under half a hour?. Youve been charged at least a hours work there. Totally wrong.

You could even get quotes from other dealerships to compare on the various work youve had done.

 

[AlexS]

Book time on a coil pack on a 172 Cup is 0.4hrs, they may also add a clip test onto that to clear the fault codes which would be an additional 0.3hrs.

 

[box car willy]

I recently changed the coil pack on my Cup, i timed it and it took 4 minutes !!!!

i ordered a new coil off the internet, it cost me £50 delivered... how the f**k they think they can charge £240 is beyond me

 

[SkidMarx]

You cant blame the dealers for parts prices, they are fixed by renault. The labour charges are daft tho.

 

[Brett]

I'd always go to a clio specialist tbh, renault are idiots and thiefs I don't know how they get away with it.

 

[Cooksport]

everyone always has a go at renault mechanics, prices are set by renault and the time that they get a time limit to get it done within, this is also set by renault. Obviously you will be able to find it cheaper in other places. But they still aint bad!!

 

[AlexS]

^^^^ +1
It cracks me up how naive some people are on here, Renault's hourly labour rate is alot less than some of the other mainstream manufacturers.
Also you do realise that the majority of specialists and their employees are ex-renault mechanics!!! Yet everyone is always banging on about how they won't let renault work on their car!

 

[mark123]

^^^^ +1
It cracks me up how naive some people are on here, Renault's hourly labour rate is alot less than some of the other mainstream manufacturers.
Also you do realise that the majority of specialists and their employees are ex-renault mechanics!!! Yet everyone is always banging on about how they won't let renault work on their car!

It's the ones with the nous that set up as specialists and the ones without who stay in that nice safe job with a big manufacturer, but obviously there are some good ones . The guy in this thread has clearly been over charged. That is no doubt more to do with how the garage is run than the mechanics.

I'm afraid my experiences of Renault dealers have been more bad than good. But I'm lucky I know enough about cars to know when I'm being fed BS.

 

[16v_paddy]

The thing with specialists and why they're better is because their livelihood depends on the quality & price of their work to keep their customers and attract new one through their reputation. If they ripped people off they'd eventually go out of business

Whereas Renault are a major manufacturer with not much chance of dealerships going out of business due to rip off's & piss poor service :nono:

 

[Russy B]

get a haynes manual and DIY. if u want i'll post you mine as i won't need it anymore

 

[box car willy]

get a haynes manual and DIY. if u want i'll post you mine as i won't need it anymore

is that for an RS clio though?

 

[123stevevw]

So your spending £1100 to get £400 extra for your car in P/X? I'm no Carol Vorderman but work it out fella!!!

 

[joe81]

Just do the basics yourself.

Could also be your lamber sensor could it not?

On a personal point of view everyone should learn the basics of car maintenance then you won't get your pants pulled down.

Plugs, coil pack, brakes all very DIY even on a 172, and i'm sure there would have been a few helpful chaps on here who would have rolled on by and given you a lift.

Good luck with it anyway, if in doubt have a word with a renault mechanic on the quiet and ask if they'll do it outside of work, many do!