Gentlemen, I need advice. My wife runs a Scenic 1.9 TDI which I bought for her in December 2002. Swan are a main Renault dealer in the UK. The car is also serviced by them and has Renault Insurance as well. My problem is, that recently the oil consumption increased dramatically and my wife brought the car into Swan to ask them to have a look. She was assured that it was normal despite the fact that oil consumption had increased. The car was then booked in for a major service with Swan and shortly afterwards, two weeks I think, the engine suffered a massive power loss. The RAC diagnosed the fault immediately, "faulty turbo". Well, Swan are fairly non-plussed. The now tell her that the turbo oil seal is leaking and the turbo, intercooler, piping, exhaust seals etc. have to be replaced at about STG1500/- (streling Pounds) at her cost. She called Renault who said that turbo failures with so low mileage cars are uncommon. After some 'toing and froing', Renault agreed to pay 60% of the cost whilst Swan reluctantly agreed to absorb 10% of the labour, about STG38/- I feel really upset by Swan's attitude. Quite frankly, I feel their service dept. has been negligent and should bear the full responsibility for the repair. (my wife offered to contribute partial cost for wear and tear). If this is the attitude for a main agent towards customers who buy cars from them, give them their servicing and maintenance work and buying insurance from them, this is the last time I will give them my business. I would like to seek the appropriate redress and seek the advice of members here who have had experience in making this type of claim. I would like to go on the 'warpath' but I reside in Singapore whilst the family are in Worthing, W. Sussex. This is a bit of a problem as Swan are not very forthcoming with their replies and the car is registered in the name of my wife. Any constructive advice or strategy is welcome. I want to act quickly so as not to delay matters. Thank you all. ctk
I think it has about 67,000km on the clock. I bought the car from Swan, it was 11 months old "N" reg.
Carbonrider, Thanks for your insight. Yes. Life seems to revolve around the assumption that trades or contracts are engaged between gentlemen. In many cases, this is quite true. However, on occasions you get 'smart aleck' characters or organisations that 'bank' on the fact that if they play 'hardball' they can get away with their less than honest activities. It does take precious time and causes angst to sort out these troubles. The only real defence is to let as many people know how these people conduct their business and hopefully, prevent others from being taken advantage of or better still, warn them off against doing business with them. I believe they started by being condescending to a woman driver/owner and then when I intervened, presumed that since I am not local, I would not take the matter up seriously. It is quite appalling that dealing with main agents can be such a unfulfilling experience. I will try to contact Renault in Singapore, if they will help. Thanks for the interest.
my wife's citroen PICASSO was the same 2 years old needed 4-5 litres between services which i thought was bad for a new car
So Gentlemen, any of you have any ideas on how best to solve this predicament I am in? I purchased a diesel unit because I believed that it would be more robust and reliable. With repair costs that come to about STG1500/- it is a large chunk of the residual value of the car. The depreciation on these vehicles are quite impressive. Looks like I am stuck with a rather unviable position on this. I need fresh ideas. CTK
To be honest, having been in a similar situation with an Audi..... You bought a used car. The car is now 4 years old. It has 67000km (or miles?) on it. If Renault are willing to pay 60% of the costs, I reckon that's a pretty good deal. I can't think of any reason why they would be even obliged to pay anything whatsoever. Scenics aren't designed to run until eternity. My company Laguna TDi is two years old with 20000km and runs like a bag of nails. With respect to the dealer, I guess you mean that he could have followed up the oil consumption story. To be honest, I would think that, even if he had done, this would have resulted in an exchange turbo (which is what is happening now). I don't think Renault dealers are into overhauling turbos. Regarding the 10% on labour - I would have thought that Renault would have paid 60% of the total bill. You say you have Renault insurance? Do you mean extended warranty? If the turbo is covered, then that should pay everything. Having spent most of my working life abroad, I know how annoying it is that a plumber sometimes has to be called out 'back home' to change a valve which you could have done yourself. That's just one of the penalties of being away from home. S h i t happens. Sometimes it's just better to bite the bullet! Best of luck, anyway.
Yes. **** does happen. They were really 'slick' when the sold me the car. Local business, care for customers, biggest Renault dealer, own service facilities etc. When it come to asking for service, it's a real struggle. They always bahave like there's no problem or bring it back next month. etc. Quite frankly, I think I would have been better of buying from a small firm who really care for your business. I have a number of cars, one being another Renault in Singapore. After sales service is superb and even got a bottle of 'bubbly' from them when they found out I was a repeat customer. I am well aware of wear and tear and offered to contribute towards the repair but you should hear their reply. Basically said we don't know what caused it but we would like to replace everything at your cost! It all 'boils' down to attitude. The lack of integrity and responsibility really irks me. Sorry for the vent, but people should know. ctk
That's why they are called Car Dealers... at least here in the UK. I have yet to find a dealer that really understands the meaning of customer service, professionalism and integrity. Most of them would not know that these words even exist.
As someone has already said 1.It is four years old/young or N reg ?2.It has covered 67,000kms or is it miles.3.It was not new when you bought it.4.The insurance covers accidents not "wear and tear." At what point does a dealer /manufacturer stop contributing towards the running costs of customer cars?I suspect that it could have been handled in a more professional/sympathetic manner,but at the end of the day a workshop is business.Just as a matter of interest what would Ferrari UK say about a similiar aged/mileage Ferrari witha problem?I think you all know the answer to that one!
