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 Updated on 9 November 2004 Latest Renault news. Tell us your car stories to share. Vehicles are expensive so getting all the info is important. Not just for Renaults!

Renault Route 24 for truly awful service

 

We bought a Renault from Renault Route 24 Meadowvale and have had nothing but bad service from them.-Anne

 

You are not alone, read the following letter on Gail’s Renault Cabriolet Megane and Route 24 Meadowvale, Germiston-webmaster.

 

We bought a Renault cabriolet from Route 24. First service they washed it with a high pressure cleaner- it had to be returned, a tractor went faster!

 

Second service the same thing. This time I made them fix it on a Saturday. They gave me a bottle of wine to apologize.

 

The front seat was showing signs of undue wear- the car had not done 30000 Kms and the stitching was ripping apart. After the repair it happened again within months, so back it went and was kept for over a weekend While joking with Shaun (who sold me the car), I was shown which fuse they remove so the clients do not see increased mileage on the car when they pick it up. Shaun gave me very good service unlike the service centre. When we received it back the airbag sign kept displaying and they said the removal of the seat had caused the problem. Another trip, and a day without a vehicle.

 

After this a strange thing happened, the left hand ((passenger side) rear tyre was found to be bald. We can not say why, but on buying a new one the tire dealer told us the only thing that could cause that level of wear was someone had replaced our tire with an old one. Tires are over R1100 for low profiles. We did not practice the K53 well as we only check our tires once a month at the service station, and rely on BP Lambton’s well trained staff. We can not say where our tire was exchanged.

 

Third service- back again to Route 24. This time before it needed another service we had to get the air filter changed- A Renault air filter costs R120 by the way, and takes five minutes to change. So check your next Renault service bill.

 

Fourth service- we got a bill for R4662.89, and told our complaint of erratic idling was not a fault- according to the computer. Two hours later the car cut out on the N3 highway doing 120 km/hr. Frightening stuff.

 

That night I posted this letter on the Renault website:

We have had our Renault cabriolet in to Route 24 for three services. After the first service they washed the car and got water in the coils. Since then it has never idled correctly, despite repeated returns to route 24. We learned to live with it, however after the 60 000 service which cost us R4662.89 today we collected the car and it now has upgraded the fault to cutting out on the highway.  According to your staff there is no fault on the car, however since we have just returned home in a lather and could not get over 60 km a hour out of this machine- we have very little faith in Renault. What are we supposed to do in order to get the car performance we fell in love with- because our experience so far is not making us keen to reinvest in a Renault.

 

The next day was a Saturday: Renault treated us with disdain, refusing to look at the car, despite the fact it was now a danger to drive. Not even an apology was received despite us having to miss appointments causing financial loss. They refused to give us any names or numbers to contact including the name of the CEO .When we phoned the Bryanstan Renault dealer, they told us the name and contact number of the CEO, but that since everything was closed we would have to wait till the Monday. They were sure Route 24 would sort out the matter and that since they (Bryanstan) would give a replacement car in this case so would Route 24.

 

Monday it went back in. Everyday for the next 7 days we had to phone Renault to find out that our car was still not ready. Renault at no time offered us a car since they were taking so long or even a phone call unless it was to return one of our calls; we ended up hiring an AVIS car for eight days, excellent service from AVIS was received as usual.

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When we got our Renault back the bill was R2900 and previously full tank was under half. We went straight to BP Lambton where we had an estimated ten litre fuel waste because the tank was now leaking. The computer gave out pretty flashing lights, but no data.  By now we were more than tired of the bad service Renault Route 24 dish out to clients. We phoned and demanded a car and a repair. We were delivered a Renault megane that was dirty, and had a petrol gauge indicator on under empty, but it went and I could get my daughter to school. That afternoon my Renault was returned without the computer being repaired and smelling of petrol. Our request for our old fuel pump and money refunded for our no fault test and fuel lost was ignored.

 

We decided it was useless talking to these people at Route 24 and contacted the head office. Head office told us the branch would contact us. A day later my husband received a nasty and abusive phone call from Renault Route 24 and was told to take his business elsewhere which we will certainly be doing. Apparently giving used parts back is not their line of usual business! We never asked for more than the used parts, our money for the 10 litres of fuel  and the R81 for the fault test and to get our car going as it did before the first service at Route 24 when all this started.

 

Spares are not easy to come by for DIY Repairs on Renaults. Only the Renault and BMW use certain spanners which make repairs a bit of a devil to do since those spanners are not easily come by. Second hand dealers were also reluctant to give us a name of a Renault repair centre they would recommend, in fact they refused on the grounds of bad come backs. Resale value is not too good either. We were told to keep the car and get it fixed as the financial loss on sale was over 46%..

 

Nice cars though. Our cabriolet still turns heads. Not too comfy, but it is a sports car. Big boot space and the flap in the rear seat come in handy for long items. ABS brakes are great since drivers in SA seem to have forgotten how to look in rear view mirrors or use indicators when changing lanes. Fuel consumption averages at 7litres per 100kms on mainly town driving, which is not too shabby for the power you have. Still would I have bought her knowing the problems-the answer is not a chance, it has been the most unpleasant new car experience of our lives, and the car has given us more trouble than our previous low of owning an Alfa Romeo.

 

Gail

 

Personally a company that does not automatically give me the used spares- comes up suspect in my books-webmaster

 

 

Jennifer had a Clio which was involved in a car crash and wishes to share the fact that not one of her air bags operated. Jennifer races Porches, so she knows how to handle cars and does not lose her head in an emergency. The rest of us kind of rely on safety features and would like them to work.

 

Air Bags have to be tested regularly not just on the Renault but other cars too.

 

 

Renault Sportage tends to be a little unstable in the wind, ladies be warned this is a typical problem with these large boxy cars- Vanessa

 

Not only the boxy cars, I had a polio (Volkswagen) dream to drive, except in high winds. David

 

I have a Mazda 323. A 1980 model that has done 80000 kms and is still going strong. It has taught four people to drive and been a university car for all of them- one could say it is very well educated. A full engine real was done at a cost of R4000 in 2003, and a small radiator leak, as well as batteries and tires have been the total running cost- beat that for a good car.-Davina

 

Try Zimbabwe for cars, I saw cars going without starters, air filters, and old engines were built to last- Jennifer.

 

Turbo diesels really get bad press, but my Ford twin cab is a pleasure. A quote by Ford for a turbo redo was R22000. I went to Turbo direct and the full kit costs R4500. Talk about a mark up. Anyway did not need it as after a R2000 service by in Alrode, I found the problem for poor performance was charcoal in my plugs. By the way a full set of heaters was bought from AutoZone in Germiston for R450 and took ½ hour to fit even though I had never worked on a diesel motor before. The quote of R4500 from Ford spurred my education strongly. I can now fit them in ten minutes. Ford Petermaritzburg was very good on my blowing a head gasket and delivered the spares to me on a Sunday. - David.

 

In my company Turbo diesels do 600 000 kms if looked after. I have found you have to service them regularly, remember our diesel is dirty in SA next to overseas standards.-Mark