New Renaults are Gash. Discuss

[Swervin_Mervin]

It seems not a day goes by without someone posting about how their new/nearly new 172/Cup/182 is in the garage.

And then theres all the posts saying how the same garages have then caused more trouble.

It seems, in my view, and having owned other supposedly poor french makes, that owning a new Renault is pointless.

Good as the 172/Cup/182 might be, they aint good enough to outweigh the above IMO, and as such I shall never even dream of owning one from new.

 

[jon_r]

Its certainly a shame when you fear taking the car into its own manufacturers garage.

I always try and wait for 3 problems to become unbearable then book the car in.

I must admit it has dampened the ownership experience.

 

[George16v]

It holey depends on the car you get mate. I have not had much trouble with my mk1 172, Compared to the amount of problems I had with my Cup, K-reg 1.4 RT and Renault 5. Think it is all Luck as to whether you get a good car or not!

 

[Lee]

Both mine had loads of work done on them, but were never once off the road and unusable.

The dealers make like very hard for owners.

Good job the car is so f*****g good for the money really.

 

[blink172]

Where do you think they make the 4k+ saving over its german/jap rivals? Just look at the handbrake cover, its thin, brittle plastic where as in a german equivolent it would be made out of seal ribs and hens teeth.

If you want build quality and decent materials, your going to have to pay the money and move up a step in manufacturing leagues

But at the end of the day, i love my car, i was fully aware of the dealer reputation and build quality when i purchased, as was well aware that its got more rattles than mothercare and i still bought it as it is truely one of the best cars ive owned.

 

[GR7]

I think it is the attitude of some of the Renault dealers that cause them to appear very low down on the JD Power suveys every year - not forgetting the sometimes poor reliability of French cars and the inability of some mechanics to fix the problems satisfactorily.

Hubby says to me every other week "Isnt it time you changed that car!!" - especially when I tell him that yet another niggly thing has happened to it. He says that French cars are very flimsily built, and likes German cars for their reliablity and build quality.

 

[Dazz]

Like anything, people will only post about their problems - not people who havent had any problems.

I had a mk1 clio for a year and all that went wrong was a rear brake cyldinder. Ive had my 99plate 1.6 mk2 since April and not had one single problem. My Dads had his 03 plate clio for 18 months and all hes had done is the sunroof replaced and the rear door fixed. Both times were hassle free.

So for us its 3 clios - no bad experiences. Im sure theres many other people on here like this.

 

[Turkish]

No problems with my 172 i had from new and hopefully it will be the same with the 182. You also have to take into consideration the willy/16v/older car owners will have probably either A had all their problems ironed out by the 1st owner B had a car without problems as do some 172 and 182 owners or C accepted the fact that the car is X amount of years old and as a result will bound to have some minor issues and accepted them. Look at it this way people will ask for advise or vent frustration if they have an issue. There isnt really any need for them to post up saying " i drove my 172/182 etc today and it didnt rattle or have any problems" all you would get is sarcastic replies saying well done mate we really needed to know that.

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

Yes but the sheer number, particularly of 182 owners, that have problems is shocking, and Im sorry but the saving is no excuse for poor dealership experience or build quality.

How many other jap/german manufacturers can produce cars in that class without these problems? And when they do you dont get questioned or treated like a piece of dog turd.

 

[sh33n]

All new cars having teething problems, once theyre run in a bit and have their problems ironed out then theyre all good!! (well should be).

Chances are your car has its glitches when it was bought new, but you wouldnt have known when you bought it! (Im assuming you havent owned it from new).

 

[Lee]

If you read other boards youll see they all have a plenty of problems. German and Jap.

 

[blink172]

Quote: Originally posted by sh33n on 21 December 2004

All new cars having teething problems, once theyre run in a bit and have their problems ironed out then theyre all good!! (well should be).

Chances are your car has its glitches when it was bought new, but you wouldnt have known when you bought it! (Im assuming you havent owned it from new).

Er, its 5 years old through 4 variants of the same car. Surely thats enough time for renault to get it right.

 

[Turkish]

i used to work at BMW for 6 years, where we dealt with MINIs and BMW both of which are considerably more costly and neither were exempt from problems with build quality or design fault issues, the minis were truely shocking with many owners coming in and out week in week out with a list of faults not all were sorted the 1st time or 2nd time. They may have been treated better by the staff but the actual product wasnt always superior as people assume it is. ALL manufacturers have issues with their cars on the whole yes jap and german seem to be better but they arent leagues ahead as you assume.

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by Swervin_Mervin on 21 December 2004

Yes but the sheer number, particularly of 182 owners, that have problems is shocking, and Im sorry but the saving is no excuse for poor dealership experience or build quality.

How many other jap/german manufacturers can produce cars in that class without these problems? And when they do you dont get questioned or treated like a piece of dog turd.

A friend of mine has a Mercedes which is about five years old and has done about 90,000 miles and he noticed that there was a small area of rust on the back edge of the rear window/boot area and this is apparently a known problem area and without question, the Mercedes dealer has taken the car in, given Ian an 04 Golf while it has £7,500 worth of paintwork, panel replacement and almost total respray done on it under the perforation/paintwork warranty - I dont think we would get the same treatment from Renault - they would probably patch it up!

 

[Liam]

Quote: Originally posted by *GR* on 21 December 2004


I think it is the attitude of some of the Renault dealers that cause them to appear very low down on the JD Power suveys every year - not forgetting the sometimes poor reliability of French cars and the inability of some mechanics to fix the problems satisfactorily.

Hubby says to me every other week "Isnt it time you changed that car!!" - especially when I tell him that yet another niggly thing has happened to it. He says that French cars are very flimsily built, and likes German cars for their reliablity and build quality.





whats your latest few "niggly little things" girlracer?

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

I think I did specify that I woulny buy new. As it is I would consider a used axample if I felt it was at the age where everything had been sorted.

 

[GR7]

The gaiter thing has now come away from the handbrake and is just a bit of cheap plastic. The exhaust fell off went the other week, it has has two windsceen washer bottles replaced, the rear wiper blade has been replaced yet again because the edge split and it was only wiping half the window. A few other things that my garage have fixed but I cant remember the exact technical terms. Good job I dont have to take it to Renault!

 

[littleone]

not only french car my last golf oil n petrol leak n the new polo l pick up five mins then broken down due to ecu problem wait three months to solve it so it depends on luck


[Edited by littleone on 21 December 2004 at 2:45pm]

 

[Lagerlout]

Quote: Originally posted by Swervin_Mervin on 21 December 2004

It seems not a day goes by without someone posting about how their new/nearly new 172/Cup/182 is in the garage.

And then theres all the posts saying how the same garages have then caused more trouble.

It seems, in my view, and having owned other supposedly poor french makes, that owning a new Renault is pointless.

Good as the 172/Cup/182 might be, they aint good enough to outweigh the above IMO, and as such I shall never even dream of owning one from new.



You only hear about the problems!! Out of all the 182s sold, only a small percentage of them are members of this club. How can you say all new Renaults are gash based just on what you see here?

Go on any other forum and youll find the same thing.

My 172 has had no major problems, my local dealer is superb and of the two things its been in for (rattling seat and window), both were sorted without problems.

 

[Turkish]

Quote: Originally posted by *GR* on 21 December 2004





The gaiter thing has now come away from the handbrake and is just a bit of cheap plastic. Its a cheap car these things sometime happen

The exhaust fell off went the other week, Under use caused this

it has has two windsceen washer bottles replaced , ham fisted fitting at fault in this case by the dealer

the rear wiper blade has been replaced yet again because the edge split and it was only wiping half the window. These are made by Bosch the same people that supply OE fitment wipers for BMW A few other things that my garage have fixed but I cant remember the exact technical terms. Good job I dont have to take it to Renault!

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by Loony on 21 December 2004

i used to work at BMW for 6 years, where we dealt with MINIs and BMW both of which are considerably more costly and neither were exempt from problems with build quality or design fault issues, the minis were truely shocking with many owners coming in and out week in week out with a list of faults not all were sorted the 1st time or 2nd time. They may have been treated better by the staff but the actual product wasnt always superior as people assume it is. ALL manufacturers have issues with their cars on the whole yes jap and german seem to be better but they arent leagues ahead as you assume.




It is just that (our nearest) BMW treat everyone well and also make you proper fresh coffee in a proper cup with nice mints, if you have to visit them at all. The only time I was at Renault when I had a boot water leak on day one of new ownership, I helped myself to a plastic cup of coffee from a machine that the mechanics also used! (Not a critical thing I know, but still its nice to be treated well).

 

[littleone]

where is the superb dealer just for record

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

I know many other makers are no better, the g/f is having trouble with her Ibiza tailgate at the mo and had a pipe replaced under waranty, but the service from the dealership was exemplary.

Ive owned a few Citroens before now, and my family have had quite a few of them too. Yes they arent as well built as many other makes, but none of the citroens we owned gave us anywhere near as much gip as the last 2 new Renaults in the family (dci clio and megane). And when they did go in for work it was done without fuss, without damage and with a smile.

These things are a little more bearable when the dealership has some vague understanding that this is probably either your 1st or 2nd most expensive piece of property, and that they themselves are unhappy at the prospect of having to work on a new car.

And Im sorry but the line about all new cars having problems is cack. This is a scenario that seems to be getting more common with time rather than less. Renaults reputation never used to be anywhere near this bad.

[Edited by Swervin_Mervin on 12/21/2004 2:53:24 PM]

 

[Liam]

a few people have had their hand brake surround go faulty. Which bit is it that breaks?

 

[Turkish]

Quote: Originally posted by *GR* on 21 December 2004

Quote: Originally posted by Loony on 21 December 2004

i used to work at BMW for 6 years, where we dealt with MINIs and BMW both of which are considerably more costly and neither were exempt from problems with build quality or design fault issues, the minis were truely shocking with many owners coming in and out week in week out with a list of faults not all were sorted the 1st time or 2nd time. They may have been treated better by the staff but the actual product wasnt always superior as people assume it is. ALL manufacturers have issues with their cars on the whole yes jap and german seem to be better but they arent leagues ahead as you assume.




It is just that (our nearest) BMW treat everyone well and also make you proper fresh coffee in a proper cup with nice mints, if you have to visit them at all. The only time I was at Renault when I had a boot water leak on day one of new ownership, I helped myself to a plastic cup of coffee from a machine that the mechanics also used! (Not a critical thing I know, but still its nice to be treated well).

lol, give you an idea a BMW garage will normally charge £100 Per hour and renault one more like £55 per hour, thats alot for a cup of coffee and a mint.

 

[Turkish]

Quote: Originally posted by Swervin_Mervin on 21 December 2004

I know many other makers are no better, the g/f is having trouble with her Ibiza tailgate at the mo and had a pipe replaced under waranty, but the service from the dealership was exemplary.

Ive owned a few Citroens before now, and my family have had quite a few of them too. Yes they arent as well built as many other makes, but none of the citroens we owned gave us anywhere near as much gip as the last 2 new Renaults in the family (dci clio and megane). And when they did go in for work it was done without fuss, without damage and with a smile.

These things are a little more bearable when the dealership has some vague understanding that this is probably either your 1st or 2nd most expensive piece of property, and that they themselves are unhappy at the prospect of having to work on a new car.

And Im sorry but the line about all new cars having problems is cack. This is a scenario that seems to be getting more common with time rather than less. Renaults reputation never used to be anywhere near this bad.

[Edited by Swervin_Mervin on 12/21/2004 2:53:24 PM]



ive never had any problems with my local dealer, whenever ive spoken to them they have been polite efficient, got everything right and if they said they would do something they have. You get good and bad dealers with any franchise, the luxury car market dont tend to tolerate dealers pissing people off because of the nature of their reputation plus the volumes they sell and deal with mean they have the time to look after customers better. Quality and Quantity are connected im afraid, as soon as you have more people to deal with in a day you arent able to look after individuals as well as when dealing with a small number.

 

[Lagerlout]

Quote: Originally posted by littleone on 21 December 2004

where is the superb dealer just for record

Burton On Trent.

 

[Lagerlout]

Quote: Originally posted by Swervin_Mervin on 21 December 2004

I know many other makers are no better, the g/f is having trouble with her Ibiza tailgate at the mo and had a pipe replaced under waranty, but the service from the dealership was exemplary.

Ive owned a few Citroens before now, and my family have had quite a few of them too. Yes they arent as well built as many other makes, but none of the citroens we owned gave us anywhere near as much gip as the last 2 new Renaults in the family (dci clio and megane). And when they did go in for work it was done without fuss, without damage and with a smile.

These things are a little more bearable when the dealership has some vague understanding that this is probably either your 1st or 2nd most expensive piece of property, and that they themselves are unhappy at the prospect of having to work on a new car.

And Im sorry but the line about all new cars having problems is cack. This is a scenario that seems to be getting more common with time rather than less. Renaults reputation never used to be anywhere near this bad.

[Edited by Swervin_Mervin on 12/21/2004 2:53:24 PM]

Utter b****cks. If my mates 1.4 RT is better built and more reliable than my 172 Ill blow your bugle. The real problem is, todays Renaults are cursed by the reputation older models like yours got all those years ago!!! FACT!!

 

[specialK]

We have had the following Renaults:-

Silver Mk1 172 - 60+k miles; Yellow Mk1 172 - 50+k miles; 172 Cup - 20+k miles; Diesel - 65+k miles; V6 255 - 19k miles (plus Slugger had a Scenic at one stage as well, and a 1.6RSi)

and not one of them has been off the road for more than 2 days, and that was the diesel!!! and that is well over 200k in 3 years!

you wont manage to convince us that Renaults are less reliable or crappier than other makes Im afraid!

 

[Lee]

Id rather have a new car with niggles than an old car with more serious issues any day of the week.

 

[specialK]

oh, and have dealt with 4 main dealers, again over the last 3 years, and none of them are crap - some are better than others with sales, some better with the tecky side, but none of them have been crap.

if you pay £50k+ for your car I am sure you have paid for a better customer service, but when you get what you get for so little from a 172/182 etc. then the smile on your face makes up for a bit of aggro most of the time!

and I feel sorry for you Swervin - you dont know what you are missing when you say you never want to own a 182 from new!!!

 

[TheCake]

My last car was German, a Golf of all things and relatively new. Dealers were worse than Renault, car was worse than my Renault...

I think people should stop harping on about how marvelous German cars are, when at the end of the day, they all have as many faults, problems, sarcastic and rude dealerships as each other.

 

[Turkish]

Quote: Originally posted by Lee on 21 December 2004

Id rather have a new car with niggles than an old car with more serious issues any day of the week.



My old 5 turbo never missed a beat and started every time, never broke down or had any problems in 2 & 1/2 years of ownership but that didnt mean in the winter or when going on a long journey i didnt worry that it might not start or could break down. With the 172 & 182 it doesnt even cross my mind that it could break down or fail to start.

 

[Dash]

Many cars have faults and need fixing. Yes it is inconvenient, but I look at it this way. If it wasnt any good, I wouldnt be sitting here right now missing it.

 

[D-CUP]

Try reading other car forums. All makes have problems. Its the nature of how cars are built nowadays.

 

[BigBoreBri]

Its seems to me its like this...

If theres a problem with a renault be this due to poor production or faulty materials then they wont do diddly squat about it; bar write a nice little tech note about it and wait till some one starts complaining before getting the dealers to sort it out!

Due to that it leads us having to go through all manner of sh*t with the dealers!!

French cars are not renownd for reliability, and my advice to anyone is to expect that!! I personally would only buy a 4/5 years old one so OEM parts can be bought relativly cheaply, hence avoiding dealing with the furry haddock reno franchise!!

In retrospect i had my 172 3 months, 3 1/2 weeks of that it was in the garage waiting for parts to be delived and the muppet mechanics figuring out how to fit them!!

I had my williams almost a year and had to replace one bearing, and two ball joints!

Because i wanted to keep the service history FRSH it cost me about £160 per minor service (Thats basically only a oil change FFS!!) and i had to re-thread my sump plug because the MUPPETS managed to damage them.... and then accused it of being my fault!!

Also all my local reno dealers charge £75 per hour labour... When i had my honda they charged £45 an hour, a minor service was £65 (oil change, fluid top-ups, full valet!) and they gave free drinks and even let me have a good scout around a CTR and S2000

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by James on 21 December 2004

Many cars have faults and need fixing. Yes it is inconvenient, but I look at it this way. If it wasnt any good, I wouldnt be sitting here right now missing it.

James, what has happened to your new car if you are sitting missing it right now?

 

[Dash]

It has night vision problems



http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=6&TopicID=129354&PagePosition=2link

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

People seem to have missed my point. The citroens I had were far more reliable, but that aside the service we got when they did go wrong was exemplary. They make cheap cars so how can the quality/quantity comment hold up there?

Not ONE dealership is worth a jot in the whole of the Manchester area and the area just outside manchester. Now that IS bad.

My local specialtst is expensive, but at least they only charge £30/hr, and dont give it me back with more problems than it went in with.

My only "old" car has given me less grief than my new ones. Most of th works to mine this year have actually been as a result of crash damage, or bits I knew needed changing before I bought it. It hasnt actually broken down once, or needed to go in for anything. Unlike my new renault.

It seems to me that whilst manufacturers like Alfa are finally pulling their fingers out to sort out dealership issues and build quality issues, as are Citroen and Ford, Renault just dont give a toss.

Probably cos numpties like you lot keep buying them and using the excuse that the problems are because its a cheap car.

 

[iceblue182]

dont forget renault is primarily state owned by the french government it will take time for them too catch up with the rest of the market