Yet more Reanult dealer stupidity

[rt172]

Ive really had enough with Renault dealers. I will not be taking any car that I have to one again. They are worse than useless.

Once again the culprits are REG VARDY of ECCLESALL ROAD, SHEFFIELD. After our 172 flooded earlier in the week, we dicovered the car was still under warranty. We called Renault Customer Services to see if they were covered. They said they didnt know until they knew what the problem was and said we should take it to our dealer to diagnose.

We called Reg "Feckwit" Vardys and they said that they didnt know if it was covered and that we should drop the car in this morning so they could diagnose the fault.

Ive just called them to see if they have found out was what wrong, only for them to announce that they have found the problem, repaired it without telling me first that is WASNT covered under warranty and charged us £70.48 for 1 HOURS LABOUR!!!! Jesus fecking CHRIST! I had a wheel bearing changed by my local garage for £70 earlier this week, that included parts and labour.

Renault dealers are lying, cheating rip off merchants and something needs to be done about it. Much as I love the cars, Renault dealers are nothing short of a f**king disgrace. How do Renault UK expect to get repeat trade? i cant see myself getting another one after this. I have NEVER had a satisfactory experience from a Renault dealership. Everytime I take them my car, something like this happens. If I had been told that it wasnt under warranty, I would have not agreed to pay £70 for them to fix it (it was a blocked drain pipe - no parts required!). £70/hour is extortionate and for the feckwit crappy service that they offer, I am NOT prepared to pay this sort of money.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!

Rhys

PS: Rant over. For now.

 

[Griff]

Simple dont pay. Happened to a friend of mine, changed all 4 of his tyres and tried to charge him £120 per tyre. He didnt pay either.

 

[Tom]

Dont pay it

You didnt ask them to fix it.

 

[16V_Matt]

did u refuse to pay it then!

 

[Bryan]

simple

refuse to pay because you never asked them to fix the problem and state that you will be contacting renault uk when you get home, see what there reaction is, normally they are only chancing their luck, 1st mention of renault uk and they will brick it, and then process it as a warranty claim

out of interest what was wrong?

 

[Lee]

I have to admit. £68 for an oil and filter change this week didnt bring a smile to my face. But I was relieved to find they had put the sump plug and filler cap back on!! Something is very wrong where you think like that......

So far, Ive been to the main dealer twice, and on both occasions its been fine. Just hope it continues.

How did you get on at Renault Wolvo Griff?

 

[badley]

Send this page by email to them and see what they think.

 

[greeper]

This is why I decided not to get a clio as a company car but went for the Golf. Only went to my dealer once and that was more than enough, and thus sold the car.

 

[Chris_H]

dont pay it and if they get arsy mention renault uk then say you are willing to go to court as you have enough cash kicking around for a farce of a law suit. always works.

 

[GR7]

I agree with what has been said.

Refuse to pay it as they didnt ask for your permission before fixing it, especially as you had already mentioned "warranty" to them. They should have told you that it wasnt covered and should have asked you if you wanted them to go ahead with the work, even though the warranty didnt cover the problem.

 

[greeper]

Talk to Barry Williams he is incharge of Customer Relations at Renault UK, he managed to sort my problems out plus got £200 of Renualt vouchers to spend.

 

[Dyewitness]

what was your problem greeper?

 

[GR7]

Personally I have found my nearest Renault garage is OK but it is probably because it is a "franchised" dealer, but the other "main" dealer isnt nearly as good.

I think that dealer care, or rather lack of it, is what lets Renault down in surveys such as the JD Power survey.

Maybe it is because the engines are so cramped underneath the bonnet that mechanics dont really like working on them and therefore dread Clio owners going into their garages! I know some guys who dont like working on most Renaults and they say they are physically the worst cars to work on, especially when it comes to doing jobs like repairing/replacing clutches and cam/timing belts etc as so much has to be removed to get to what is the simplest of jobs on any other make of car.

 

[Griff]

"How did you get on at Renault Wolvo Griff?"

Hi Rod, Well in a word Sh!t. Meeting a representative of Renault UK next week to discuss the probs. Wolvo managed to sort the alarm and locking probs but I was kept waiting for 45 minutes while they apparently road tested the car. Soon discovered no extra miles on the clock so what they were doing for 45 minutes god only knows.

 

[Griff]

Quote: Originally posted by greeper on 04 July 2003

Talk to Barry Williams he is incharge of Customer Relations at Renault UK, he managed to sort my problems out plus got £200 of Renualt vouchers to spend.

Hes on annual leave apparently. I tried to contact him aswell.

 

[Sport182]

First thing you want to know is what was the problem and why wasnt it covered under the warranty, cause no doubt if they had told you you had to pay for the repair you would have argued the point with Renault.... buy fixing it without your permission they have taken that opertunity away from you!

Totally out of order.

 

[Scudetto]

i should think the poor bloke needs as much holiday as he can get.

g

 

[Lee]

Quote: Originally posted by griff_90 on 04 July 2003


"How did you get on at Renault Wolvo Griff?"

Hi Rod, Well in a word Sh!t. Meeting a representative of Renault UK next week to discuss the probs. Wolvo managed to sort the alarm and locking probs but I was kept waiting for 45 minutes while they apparently road tested the car. Soon discovered no extra miles on the clock so what they were doing for 45 minutes god only knows.

Not good. Wolvo are Independant arent they?

I was waiting 2 and a half hours while they sorted the front suspension tower mod out. They offered me a coffee and appologised for the delay.

I took a picture of the milage reading before leaving the car. They covered a mile in it, enough to do a lap of the block

 

[bigmoose]

I had my first service on my clio in April and I was a little disturbed to notice that I had very little oil left by May, so after a little inspection un derneath the car, I noticed that it was pi55ing out oil. I was due to go to Manchester at the end of the week so I tried booking it in and the earliest they could do for me was 2 weeks, so Ireplaced the sump plug myself and drove up north, and booked it into Lookers @Chester. They were brilliant and they sorted out the rattling suspension for me, however by then the damage had been done and I was wanting to get rid of the car.

It is amazing that some dealers can get away with the way they treat customers. Anyhow, it appeard that the garage who carried out the service had replaced the filter without removing the sump guard and has not tightened it properly.

By the same token I went to an Audi dealer to get some wipers for the S3 and they offered to fit them there and then (no charge), and they were cheaper than Halfords!!!

 

[Griff]

"Not good. Wolvo are Independant arent they?"

Nah, Renault themselves mate.

 

[Black Fox]

Not all renault dealers r the same,I should know, I work 4 one!

 

[rt172]

The car had a leak into the passenger side of the car, apparently caused by a blocked drainage line. All theyve done for £70 is unblock the drain.

Ellens going to pick up the car this afternoon. If they do charge that much then well complain to Renault UK. Well probably have to pay as we want the car back, but Ill take it further if we do.

The car also smelled terrible because of all the damp being there for a week. Any odds on whether theyve cleaned it up for us?!?! Not holding my breath (although i might have to if theyve not cleaned it )

 

[Griff]

When you took the car in you should have signed a job sheet detailing the problem(s). If they have charged you £70 this should have been indicated/estimated on the job sheet and charged accordingly.

There is abox on the form that says ""carry out all repairs as found necessary". If you havent ticked this box they have no argument.

 

[Paul16V]

I never have no trouble with renault mate. Thats cos I never go there for any work done lol. Only go there if I need a part then either fit it myself or get a mate to do it for me.

When you buy a renault with full renault service history is that a good thing? lol Probably not hehe.

 

[paddymph]

reno are f**kwits, i hate going there, if the car wasnt so good id have handed it back long ago.

as a club we should be big enough to put forward a comprehensive, concise arguement.

 

[rt172]

Okay, car back, and more annoyances/stupidity....



First off, they claim that we never told them that it was just in for a diagnosis.

Secondly they claim that they tried to call me at work, but I didnt reply so they went ahead with the work anyway. I had my phone on at all times and guess what.....no call! Vardys lying again then.

Finally, and this makes me FURIOUS, is that the mileage when I dropped the car off was exactly 26000 miles. Nice easy number to remember. Mileage on collection was 26003 miles. So, either their premesis is like the fecking tardis and much bigger inside than it looks from out, or someone has had a lunchtime spin in our car. That is a f**king disgrace. There was no need for them to drive it anywhere. They just unblocked a drainage pipe and its fecking dry today anyway. Why did they feel the need to do that?

Oh yes, they also said that they didnt realise that we wanted the work doing under warranty. We were told to take the car to them to see if it would be covered under warranty. They said theres nothing about that on the notes of our phone call to the. We pointed out that its not our problem if they cant comprehend what someone tells them over the phone.

So.....one big feck off complaint to Renault Customer Services coming up. Im going to mail them the link to this post, so if anyone else would like to try and make Renault aware of what their dealer network are like.....fire away.

 

[John V6]

Out of interest what do you think your charge out rate should be ?

I think in reality your are in for a shock in order to make a profit.



All the best



John V6

 

[rt172]

Quote: Originally posted by John V6 on 04 July 2003


Out of interest what do you think your charge out rate should be ?

I think in reality your are in for a shock in order to make a profit.

No idea mate, I just think that when other garages seem to be able to do work that Ive asked for and do the work right for about half the price of Renault, then simple economics dicate where I take the car.

The matter of fact is that we wanted the work done under warranty if covered, and the work done by someone who charge less that Renault if not covered. They didnt bother giving us the choice, and they decided to take my car out for a drive unrelated to the work being carried out on MY money.

Rhys

 

[Neil82]

Is it true that of you get your car serviced at another garage using genuine Renault parts they cant void your warrenty? Im sure its some European law or something???



Anyone know?

 

[paddymph]

yep its true. We just opened a garage and if a biker brings his bike to us and we ose OE parts then he keeps the warranty, same on cars i would have thought.

 

[KDF]

Quote: Originally posted by GirlRacer on 04 July 2003
Personally I have found my nearest Renault garage is OK but it is probably because it is a "franchised" dealer, but the other "main" dealer isnt nearly as good.I think that dealer care, or rather lack of it, is what lets Renault down in surveys such as the JD Power survey.Maybe it is because the engines are so cramped underneath the bonnet that mechanics dont really like working on them and therefore dread Clio owners going into their garages! I know some guys who dont like working on most Renaults and they say they are physically the worst cars to work on, especially when it comes to doing jobs like repairing/replacing clutches and cam/timing belts etc as so much has to be removed to get to what is the simplest of jobs on any other make of car.


Out of interest GR, which garage is that ? I take mine to the Renault garage at sighthill industial estate.

 

[007]

TBH my local dealer fitted a new part I didnt think my car needed - when the car died for the 3rd time (first time after the new part) they took the back car in and worked on it on and off for over a week - at no charge.

The fault was the car would suddenly die and not restart - the problem was it was very intermittant. They virtually had to beat me off with a stick when I tried to get my car back as they wanted to be certain it wouldnt do it again.

After my first misgivings I was impressed - its booked in for a major service next week so we will see how it gets on then!

 

[king.stromba]

My whole family owns a Renault. We go to a local independant guy who specialises in Renaults. Hes an old fashioned guy with old fashioned values and hes heard of customer service. I took my Williams in for an oil change, i supplied the oil and filter and he did it for a fiver. Nice.. Saved me getting my hands dirty.

 

[greeper]

Quote: Originally posted by Alymac on 04 July 2003

what was your problem greeper?

Cars passenger airbag deployed for no reason, it took them 4 weeks to fix it under warranty, they kept the car for the entire 4 weeks. Took 30+ phone calls to get it back and they never even valeted it plus they set off another airbag.

Apparently Renault have a problem with the sensitivity of their airbags they can go off if you go over bumps or down pot holes.

Camden in Northampton are under investigation by Renault UK due to the amount of complaints they have had.

I loved the car but hated the service hence Golf Gti

 

[rt172]

I dont want to get rid of my car just because the dealers are rubbish. Ill just go to the garage who did my MOT and wheel bearing change for £100 at the beginning of the week. Same work as Renault charge £210 for.

And the bonus is that my local One Stop dont thrash my car around for 3 miles while theyre at it. I know where Ill be going in the future.

Rhys

 

[Dyewitness]

i think that thing that sums up my dealers was their parts departments trying to tell me that renault didnt make touch up paint for their metallic black colour

http://www.parks.uk.comwww.parks.uk.com

 

[GPRIM]

Quote: Originally posted by greeper on 04 July 2003

Quote: Originally posted by Alymac on 04 July 2003

what was your problem greeper?

Cars passenger airbag deployed for no reason, it took them 4 weeks to fix it under warranty, they kept the car for the entire 4 weeks. Took 30+ phone calls to get it back and they never even valeted it plus they set off another airbag.

Apparently Renault have a problem with the sensitivity of their airbags they can go off if you go over bumps or down pot holes.

Camden in Northampton are under investigation by Renault UK due to the amount of complaints they have had.

I loved the car but hated the service hence Golf Gti

MY 172 is going in on tuesday because the exhuast is rattling and the serv light keeps flashing on, the car was bought second hand from renault but had been sitting in the garage for nearly a year, they told me to run it in gradually and thats what ive been doing, my reg number when looking for insurance did not come up when i typed it in and there is no engine size on the v5 logbook just make, i am a bit worried

 

[GPRIM]

going into camden renault where i bought it from

 

[billabong]

Yep you can put my name in my disgust for Renaults not the dealers! Although I have been back no less than 3 times for them to fix my rattling sunroof (today being the third) and they have finally decided to replace the sunroof rails. To be honest on the whole my dealer has been pretty good, and they send the car to a sunroof specialist who dont seem very good, and its been back 8 times now to other have rattles and squeaks and a problem with the engine stalling fixed and they have done them with no problems, they even lent me one of their own company cars today because they didnt have any courtesy cars left! The dealer in qusetion is SJ Cook & Sons, Staple hill, Bristol. They are pretty good. Its the quality of the cars that Renault supply that gets me, I didnt expect this many niggles from a brand new car! If Renault could get the standard up to VWs and build PROPER sunroofs, I would have no complaints and I dont think anyone else would!

 

[f1web]

Reg Vardy dont go there! The amount of trouble I have heard and experienced with them is unbelievable! and I have heard stories about a few renault dealers to. Find a decent local garage and stick with them. Or even better do as much work as you can yourself. Out of the four new cars my parents have bought over the last 5 years the two renaults have needed warranty work. The first needed a new radiator and the second a new alarm sensor, alarm control unit and the window and sunroof adjusted. the two citroens have been fine.