After reading many of the posts on this site about the poor build quality of the Clios, and Renaults below par customer service and Garages, i was half expecting to find our new Clio Sport (172) falling apart when we went to take delivery, and the dealer throwing us they keys and slamming the door in our face.
In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. The car was in immaculate condition (they even washed it before we picked it up), and I could spot none of the build quality syndromes which I had been told plague these cars. The dealer gave us a comprehensive tour of the cars features, and told us how he had spotted a tiny dent in the door (while looking down the length of the car against a light) and had the panal beater remove it before we picked it up. I drove away very impressed.
There was a free service at 1000Km (whats that in miles - not much) just to check over the car, make sure everything was working fine and give us a chance to paint out any problems or flaws. We even recieved a follow up letter form the Service Manager inquiring if the service was completed to our satisfaction and whether it was ready at the time proposed. He said "Should we fail to meet your needs and expectations, if there is an ongoing concern or repair that is not being addressed to your satisfaction, or if you have any suggestions as to how we may imporve our service to you, the please contact me."
I guess Im just saying that I have found both the build quality and the customer service to be of a high quality, depist being a relativly affordable and good value car. And it drives like a dream.
So to a few of you on this site - You shouldnt beat up on Renault/s so much, anyone would think you were trying to scare people away from these fantaistic cars.
And to prospective buyers - Take the criticism into account, but trust what you experience of the cars and the dealerships.
So anyway, Congratulations and thanks to Renault for a great car.
David - MkII Clio Sport - Sydney