Just thought I would write a small summary of my current gearbox saga with my Clio 200 for any potential buyers looking to purchase such a car. (Mine is still in warranty by the way)
Don’t get me wrong, I love this car, handles great, gets a lot of “thumbs ups/Waves” the thing that has pushed me over the edge is these Renault gearbox’s, and I’ve taken to writing on here to get some honest consumer advice. Now before we go any further I don’t “rag the arse” off the car, it gets a good warm up and to be fair I drive it like a bit of a granny during the weekly commute to work to save fuel, with the occasional blast every now and then at the weekend.
So…this ‘Gearbox Saga’ started back in September 2011 when I had some issues of stiff gear selection, started with first, then progressively to the other gears (this was mainly from cold starts) took the Clio into a Local Renault dealer and after some inspection they put in a new gear box, job done….not quite…
This seemed to solve the problem for a while but 2 months ago it reared its ugly head again although this time it was happening with a warm engine, I’ve been stricken on the M25 in the middle lane traffic, Slip roads off the A3 and anytime it feels like being in a bad mood and not wanting to go into any gear, the solution is to push the car for a bit to get it moving and try and slip it into gear (fun in the rain) Took into Local Renault Dealer again, and…after some phone chasing (again) low and behold it needs another chocolate gear box fitting. (Although this time it would take two weeks for the gearbox to come from Paris, which is longer than last time, makes me wonder if the gearbox from September 2011 was a Cadbury’s or Nestlé one?!) In the mean time I get the pleasure of driving a Twingo.
So the car has been in since Monday this week, got the call yesterday afternoon to collect it (with its second new gearbox in 8 months)….signed back the Twingo back, got in mine, and guess what…..I can’t get it into reverse, with a bit of persuasion I get it in and then stricken myself on the forecourt by not being able to get it into first, second, third etc. The service manager comes out, has a look starts it a few times, and also can’t get it into gear with a disillusioned look on his face after a stressful week at work I bite my tongue and took the keys to the horrible red Twingo (again) and drove home.
Really don’t know what to do now….anybody had the same experience? Anybody got any pointers? Shall I speak to Renault UK? The Warranty is due up in December….Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
Rob
(Disappointed Clio 200 Owner :nope