Pollen Filter

[paul172 .]

Just had my 12,000 miles service 2day, usual things done, second oil & filter change. mechanic also changed the pollen filter in the heating system, give me the old filter to look at i couldnt believe how dirty and black it was having only covered 11,250 miles. Ill certanly be changing that more often than every 12,000 miles. how often do yous lot change your pollen/particle filter? cheers Paul172

 

[EightBall]

I queried how often the pollen filter should be changed when I had my 12k sevice. Some said it didnt need changing until 36k. Renault UK however have informed me that it is every 12k for the pollen filter. Just out of interest how much was your service?

 

[gamesmasteruk]

Hey Guys.

Just got my 172 serviced by my local Mechanic who does all the work on our cars.

Cost £114 including Pollen Filter and Oil change etc as in accordance with the renault servicing schedule.

Renault wanted £167 for 12,000 service and another £30 for pollen filter ! Total = £197 + vat !

We bought all the renault parts from the main dealer and had my trustworthy mechanic do the service instead.

What worried me was that renault sold me the car and when i asked them to book in the 172 they asked me : .....What car is that ? ! They sold the damn vehicle !

Worrying eh ?

I agree with you Paul about the filter - I couldnt believe the dirt in it !

Dont pay attention to Renault main dealers - they havent got a clue ! Im changing my filter at every service and oil change.

And as long as you use official parts and your mechanic is vat registered you dont have to go to main dealers to keep the warranty valid.

 

[paul172 .]

The service was £20 and the pollen filter cost £8, it took the mechanic about 2 hours to do the service and i got my service book stamped as well, all was done at work, i wouldnt pay what renault main dealers charge. cheers Paul.

 

[Jeremy Townsend]

Gamesmaster

Thats not quite right. A condition of the warranty is main Dealer serviced

 

[RobFenn]

I was going to say that, that means its invalid now doesnt it?

-Rob

 

[gamesmasteruk]

Hi Jeremy,



I checked this out as i was concerned before i took the car to my regular mechanic and this is what i found out ...

As long as you use official parts and the mechanic is VAT registered the warranty is still valid. I checked with Renault UK at Rickmansworth and also our family Solicitors. Basically forcing you to use a main dealer is against your european rights ! believe it or not ! (i love solicitors) and as long as the service is done within the mileage and time span specified then you are ok.

The Main delaers fill you with crap so you pay over the top prices but in my past experience when a fault developed on our other clios renault UK were more than willing to help out.

We had an old 16v clio 1.8 and the clutch cable keep snapping yet the car was serviced by our mechanic and not the main dealer.

We have had no problems so far (touch wood! )



Hope this helps guys,



Pete

 

[paul172 .]

I forgot to say that my car was seviced by renault uk which is where i work. not a little back street garage. paul172

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by Jeremy Townsend on 01 May 2003

Gamesmaster
Thats not quite right. A condition of the warranty is main Dealer serviced

Renault dealers ARE GOING TO SAY THAT ARENT THEY? They must lose so many customers to better, reliable and more realistically priced independents, who also value your custom!!

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by gamesmasteruk on 01 May 2003

Hi Jeremy,
I checked this out as i was concerned before i took the car to my regular mechanic and this is what i found out ...

As long as you use official parts and the mechanic is VAT registered the warranty is still valid. I checked with Renault UK at Rickmansworth and also our family Solicitors. Basically forcing you to use a main dealer is against your european rights ! believe it or not ! (i love solicitors) and as long as the service is done within the mileage and time span specified then you are ok.

The Main delaers fill you with crap so you pay over the top prices but in my past experience when a fault developed on our other clios renault UK were more than willing to help out.

We had an old 16v clio 1.8 and the clutch cable keep snapping yet the car was serviced by our mechanic and not the main dealer.

We have had no problems so far (touch wood! )

Hope this helps guys,

Pete



PETE YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS. A long term friend of mine owns a very busy independent garage and because of their honesty, competence and pricing, they regularly service and maintain all makes of cars. Apparently there was some new ruling brought out from last October about this "your warranty will be void" business! As you say, as long as they are VAT registered and use genuine Renault parts.

It is just sour grapes with the dealers, as this is where they hope to make their profits since buying new cars has become so competitive and profit margins are so low.

A couple of years ago an "independent" very busy BMW garage on the east side of Edinburgh took the main dealer to court because they began to refuse to sell them BMW parts with which to carry out their work at much cheaper cost than the main dealer. The guy who started up this garage used to work at the main dealership and realised how much people were getting ripped off, so started up on his own and now has an extremely busy workshop and sales, which really took loads of work from the much more expensive main dealer.

Anyway they won their case and the BMW main dealer was forced to continue selling the proper filters/parts etc and the independent is busier than ever now, due in part to the publicity of the court case. Served the dealer right - jealousy and loss of service work I suppose!

 

[gamesmasteruk]

Hi GirlRacer,

Thats a good post of yours

The main dealers in my experience worry me when i have dealt with them as they dont seem to share the passion of the 172 as we all do -

They seem very lost when i speak to them about the car as i think they are more used to servicing basic models. The main dealers "bully" people into thinking they have to have the cars serviced there but what people dont know is what you have listed in your article.

My mechanic is very honest and on a previous experience I have even witnessed one my cars been "raced" past me by the main dealer mechanic!

I hit the roof !

My local mechanic gets his kicks from racing far more powerful cars so he doesnt need to abuse my car on test drives - A think it comes down to if you have a good relationship with your main dealers which i dont as i have caught them out more than once. Its not a case of always saving money as you can get what you pay for but if you find a good honest mechanic who is better priced and does a far better job then it makes sense. Personlly i would rather give my mechanic the dealer rate as he is so good ( hes probably reading this and upping his rates as we speak !) The main dealers i have experience has always done the minimum even when we bought the car they were so lazy. The Best dealer main dealer i have dealt with was Whitehouse in Kent when i lived there but the others especially the one in worthing was a disgrace - I will get off my soapbox now !

cheers Girlracer.



pete

 

[Locky]

... going back to pollen filters... where is it located??? as Im sure I have something near the fan on mine.. like a leaf... I can here it buzzing against the fan until it moves somewhere..