200: *WARNING* to all 200 owners! Everyone should read

[Gez]

This is more so for 200's people who have bought new/pre-reg/still within warranty.

I bought my 2012 Clio 200 new from Renault.

4 years warranty etc as any other new Renault.

Just 6 months into ownership I had an alternator failure- replaced under warranty.

In total the car has had;

New alternator
New exhaust manifold- waited 6 months for!
New gearbox
electrical fault with drivers door
New drivers Recaro
aux input
a/c failure

Now to say that's a fair list on a car that's only just turned 2, is an understatement. The car is a proper 'Friday built' car.

The car has FULL Renault service history and 34,000 miles

So this takes me up to now, a/c failure happened just 4-5 weeks ago, a/c completely lost all gas after a pressure bang, then an instant hissing through the dash board, phoned Renault and they advised to bring it in.
Car was ready for collection and they said all it needed was a re-gas, I started the car and there was still an a/c pump whine (sounded like a worn bearing noise) so I asked a mechanic at Renault to come out in the car and listen to it, to which he replied "all Renault a/c pumps are noisy" even though I questioned how was mine silent before hand the pump released all the gas, to which he replied "it'll probably quieten down after a while, now there's gas in it again" and he assured me it would be fine and I don't need to worry. So listening to the 'professionals' advice, I accepted the car back.

1,300 miles later, leaving work to come home, I was met with a quick misfire and then the car cut out. Phoned the AA breakdown that is included with the cars 4 year cover, and the car was collected,
AA report; 'alternator belt shredded and jammed up into timing casing.

So, an engine failure now....

Spoke to customer services at RUK and advised them what's happened with the car and that once and for all, with all the problems it's had, I'm rejecting it, that I want an exchange car or a refund.

Chris at RUK completely agreed with me on the Friday I broke down, then coming Mondays phone call, a complete opposite response off RUK. "Our mechanic has looked at the car and it seems a stone has hit the crank pulley and caused a dent in it, and that has caused the failure! So our warranty doesn't cover it, The cost will be left to yourself, maybe we'll do a little good will on it due to the issues the car has had, but it's not warranty covered"

so I've outright refused to take that as an excuse! A stone!? There's no damage to any of the arch lining, under-tray, paint work within the engine bay or surrounding area, so it's impossible that a stone has done such a dent to the 'crank' pulley and entered/exited the engine bay without a trace..
So, it's either the a/c gas failure has caused the dent as the gas has released with the pressure OR a mechanic (even unknowingly) has damaged it while it's had the extensive work done to it (the list above). To which I've had a reply of "iv'e spoken to he mechanic, and he said he hasn't damaged it"

of course he's going to say that!

So the car is sat in Renault with the top end stripped down, it's suffered 5-6 bent valves and a dented 'crank' pulley, now the reason I've added the ' to the 'crank' pulley, is that the picture they have said is the crank pulley, is actually the a/c pump pulley! So they're trying to pull a fast one in my eyes.

I've had the bill forwarded to me that Renault are expecting me to pay for a top end rebuild and other parts...

£5,504!

and funnily enough one of the costs is for a new a/c pump!! £978!

My argument is, If a stone has done that damage, then the car isn't fit for purpose and shouldn't be on the road,
it's a ticking time bomb until another stone does this damage and costing a further £5,504, how many engines am I expected to buy/replace?

These cars are advertised as a car ready for track, and offer Renaultsport track days to enjoy the car, how can they offer them if a stone can do such damage? Especially with all the gravel traps around on tracks if these cars are susceptible to stones entering the engine bay.

I have spoken to everyone and anyone at Renault, my next steps now are an engineers report and push towards court action against them.

So, anyone buying/bought a Clio in warranty just needs to be made aware that the warranty isn't worth paying the extra for a Clio, you're better off buying an older 200 out of warranty, and put the money that you've saved from buying older into funds for a rainy day..

I'm completely gob smacked with the service I've received from them, they're even pushing me to pay this bill ASAP or otherwise they want the courtesy car back ASAP!

 

[shaney b]

Id post this on the actual renaultsport forum ive saw a few posts like this and a man called jeremy seems to get it sorted he must be head of something at renault, maybe worth a shot.

 

[Gez]

Already tried Jeremy, he's not interested. Sounds like he doesn't want to step on this guys toes in customer services.

jeremy said 'customer services have assured me they're doing all they can"

 

[shaney b]

Hmmm i dont know what else then, maybe get another mechanic from a different garage take a look ?

 

[Gez]

Fred@BTM completely agreed with me thought and is gob smacked. He's never heard of such a weak excuse to try and get out of a repair bill.

Especially with a car that's just 2 and well under the mileage for warranty

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Send it to the a Sun and Mirror papers and locals in the Cardiff areas

 

[Gez]

Hmmm i dont know what else then, maybe get another mechanic from a different garage take a look ?

thats what I'm doing, I've got an engineer to come out soon and write a report ready for court.
I was told not to bother with an independent report as Renault only go by their own, now they've stripped the car down and pushed me into a corner, now they've said they'd accept if an engineer would go and see it. What good is it now that they've stripped the car down and not left it in the state it wad presented in on the breakdown

 

[dajones]

Warranty is not worth the paper its printed on, My steering wheel is peeling Renault's cost WITH they're contribution... £387+VAT. I can get a brand new wheel from KTEC for £200!! or a re-trim for under £150. Her argument for the re-trim was "you cant guarantee the quality of the work" to which my reply was a wheel falling apart after 28,000 miles is an item full of quality?

Bad news on the car gez. I hope it doesn't take to long to sort and you get a good result with renault.

 

[Gez]

Exactly Da, it's not, I'd never pull a penny out of my pocket for a new Renault again, it's not worth paying the extra and then loosing in depreciation for warranty that's not worth having.

They were slow with the other warranty work also.

 

[Gez]

[MENTION=556]Gorms[/MENTION]

do you have any advice? Was it you that had issues with yours?

 

[Mentalpen]

I'm lost for words!

Where is the car out of interest?

 

[parkincj]

Literally the situation we all have nightmares about.

I reckon with enough pressure they will fold, the history is shocking and their reasoning a complete joke.

Best of luck matey!

 

[Gez]

@Mentalpen it's in Calow Marsh Renault, it's a family run independent garage for Renault, now where my concern is, they have a board I've taken a picture of in the garage whilst having an argument about the car.

There's a turnover board in the garage that states their target turn over, the target is £35,000 for the month and they're at £31,000 so my £5,504 will tip them over their target, so I'm guessing that's a big thing for them to get this out of me.


Also, because I think it a mechanic that's damaged the car, the cost will come out of the garages pocket, so they've said a stone to pass the buck off the garage IMO

 

[JamesS]

Renault UK and their dealer network are a complete and utter joke.

My fiancée has had a Megane 3 from new, bought from Holden Renault in Norwich. The alternator failed 6 months before the 3 year warranty expired. It was replaced at no cost and at the same time I advised them that the air con wasn't working and I suspected the gas had leaked out, which it shouldn't have done on a car of that age. They investigated and advised me they could find nothing wrong.

8 months later and the alternator "failed' again (battery was not always charging).

The service person at Holden Renault was either genuinely a complete moron, or thought he would try and bamboozle me with technical talk, not knowing I've worked in the automotive industry for 10 years, and I ended up complaining to Renault UK about him as he told complete lies. Renault UK agreed and would not liaise with this person as they couldn't deal with him either.

The dealer then advised us us that the alternator had failed again, and that warranty on the alternator only ran the length of the car's original warranty, so it was no longer covered. I clearly explained to both Renault UK and Holden Renault that the part would be warranted by its supplier and I knew Renault would recover all costs from their supplier, as per standard automotive supplier agreements.

The he dealer also advised us that the air con compressor had a corroded fixing and needed replacing, and as it was out or warranty we would have to pay that. They completely neglected the fact this problem had been reported in the warranty period.

We ended up with a bill for circa £1200 for the alternator and compressor, on a car 2 months out of warranty. Renault UK were absolutely f**ck all use during this time!

About 2 months after this the same battery charging fault occurred, and the car went back to the dealer. Initial diagnosis was failed alternator. After a discussion with the tech at Renault, explaining that the ppm production figures meant there was more chance of me winning the national lottery, than 3 dodgy alternators on one car, they agreed to look for other problems. A day or two later we were informed that a dirty ground had been discovered and this was the cause of the problem.

Basically it seems the whole time as this was the root cause, and they didn't discover this the first time round, leaving us with a huge bill, for something that wasn't faulty.

Throughout this whole time Renault UK were useless. They have absolutely no technical knowledge on anything, and didn't seem interested in helping.

Moral of the story, there's no way I will be buying a Renault covered by any sort of warranty again, and will stay well away from the Renault dealer network, and would advise people to specifically avoid Holden Renault as their service is beyond piss poor.

 

[parkincj]

[MENTION=636]Mentalpen[/MENTION] it's in Calow Marsh, it's a family run independent garage for Renault, now where my concern is, they have a board I've taken a picture of in the garage whilst having an argument about the car.

There's a turnover board in the garage that states their target turn over, the target is £35,000 for the month and they're at £31,000 so my £5,504 will tip them over their target, so I'm guessing that's a big thing for them to get this out of me.


Also, because I think it a mechanic that's damaged the car, the cost will come out of the garages pocket, so they've said a stone to pass the buck off the garage IMO

You'd expect warranty work to come under their turnover. They will be paid by renault to complete it. Might be wrong but I know this is how it works at Toyota from a mate that works there.

 

[Gez]

I know that, but it what I'm saying after that makes sense. If they are seen liable for the damage, it's going to have to come out of their pocket, so rather than admit fault and fix it, they're denying the damage and passing the bill onto the consumer.

 

[Fernandez]

Absolutely disgusting behaviour by Renault but one that doesn't surprise me. Although not the same I had an issue with a cracked rear screen right by the wiper hole when i first had the car. Renaults explanation was that 'A gritting lorry must've sprayed some grit onto the window causing it to crack'.... yes i laughed as much as you at their incompetence.

I ended up getting my insurance to replace it, when the Auto windscreens dude came to replace it he informed me that the rear wiper motor had not been fitted correctly causing a stress crack. Obviously i still got nowhere with Renault.

Also had a similar issue with my Recaro wear, they offered me £500 towards what they said was a £1058 repair, when I pointed out I could get both seats retrimmed for £500 they informed me that 'the price reflected takes into account the quality of materials that Renault specifies for the seats' when I pointed out that the distinct lack of material quality was the main issue behind the common wear problem i never received a response back.. My now opinion is that Renault customer services are a fuking joke and to be perfectly honest im glad my car is now out of warranty so I don't have to deal with them.

After saying that I think if you keep on at them they may come round in your favour in your case due to the circumstances surrounding the failure, after all the cambelt and aux belt are closed areas to avoid stone damage. The cam belt is enclosed by its own covers both metal and plastic and the bumper has an undertray and a plastic protection cover in the front of the bumper to protect the exposed areas of the aux belt and its ancillaries . I know its major hassle for you but you'll have to fight them tooth and nail.

 

[Gez]

[MENTION=3575]JamesS[/MENTION] thanks for your reply, it just confirmed Renault are a joke and as always, the customer service is the same as any other cheap brand

 

[parkincj]

No you're right mate, if there's a failure of a pressurised system and they just re-gas without finding route cause it probably has something to do with that. In most other industries you'd get nailed for that.

Keep on at them, 5k is a ridiculous price!!

 

[Gez]

[MENTION=1272]Fernandez[/MENTION] I've just never heard of such basic, insulting replies for reasons to faults, I've told them that they're insulting my intelligence, and if its the 'stone' route they want to go down, then they've shot themselves in the foot even further.

Ive kept this on the low for the last couple of weeks incase Renault actually sorted their act out, but it seems to be more laughable excuses they come up with.

I said that the car is a ticking time bomb if that's the cause is a stone, I said so if I paid this bill and 2 miles down the road it happened again, am I expected to just pay up again?
The reply I had was laughable "it's the same principles as a tyre, you could replace that than within 2 miles a nail or something could go into it again, it's just luck of the draw"

i then explained that a tyre is constantly in contact with the road, whereas an engine is not on the road... And with all the cases surrounding it, it just should happen..

So basically they're actually staying that they're not surprised if one of their cars doesn make the destination of a normal commute..