With no disrespect to Karl, who always does the best price he can, but is limited by the price that Renault charge him, but braking consumables are an area where money can be saved without any reduction in quality; this does not just relate to Renault but to most manufacturers.
As many people know, car manufacturers don't really "make" anything themselves, they engineer it, prepare a spec and then assemble components from third party suppliers. Just as tyres will generally come from well regarded manufacturers such as Continental, Michelin and Bridgestone, braking consumables will come from manufacturers such as Brembo, Ferodo, Bosch, Mintex, etc. These parts are generally available cheaper from the aftermarket, and so long as you stick to a recognised manufacturer the quality should be very similar to original equipment.
Unfortunately as Breeny Boy has found out you do need to do your homework and check the dimensions and compatibility as many motor factors do not have proper specs for the Renault Sport models, and can be unaware of the differences between the RS and standard models. The same can be said for some steering components where the RS parts are different so caution is needed.
What I am trying to say is that there is nothing wrong with buying established manufacturers parts from motor factors, but you should always weigh up the cost difference with buying genuine Renault; just don't always expect the genuine Renault part to be automatically be the best value, even if Karl supplies at cost.
