OK, very long story short, bought my Meg from a main dealer that at present, shall remain nameless. It came with a 3 month warranty. During that time I had my local Renault main dealer do some quick work on it and they gave it a complimentary inspection. They identified that both lower swivel hub bushed had "Excessive Play" and needed replacing and quoted £760 to fix it. That sat well with the clunking I was getting but I declined and said I'd get it done under warranty. The place I bought the car from took it back, spent a week examining it and then declared there was play, but minor and no work needed doing. They said my local dealer were not Renaultsport trained and were therefore wrong. Again, cutting it short but despite getting Renault UK involved, they refused to do anything about it so I had it examined by 2 independent garages, one being Mark @ MRS and both said the same. Lots of play, especially in one side. Because it was taking months and I was getting nowhere, plus Mark's very reasonable prices to rectify, I saved myself the stress, had him replace them (excellent work and top guy by the way!) and got back to enjoying the car. I've kept the parts that came out and the nearside joint has play that can be felt by hand! So, I'm now speaking to the head office of the place I got it from, who seem disinterested too. My question is, what can I really do and is it work the hassle as I've had the parts replaced! I could ask them for the money back, but they will say replacing the joints alone is not safe most likely, which we all know is utter horseshit, but still. Do I send the parts off to Renault UK or to Motorcodes etc? Or do I accept that for a pretty small sum, I've got my car back to perfect condition, just enjoy it and slag the hell out of the dealer via every social media method I can think of? Thoughts appreciated as right now I'm thinking life is too short, just move on and enjoy this wonderful piece of french machinery that's rekindled my past love for performance cars and driving. Nath.
I think you may have answered your own question. Personally , if there was obvious play in the steering components then i would have lent on them a bit stronger. But as with alot of places they will want to get out of paying out on anything. All depends on how stressed you want to get over it. I`m speaking from buying new cars for years, & wondering who the f*ck builds some of this shit, the bullshit that salesmen/techies come out with & just general piss poor service! ( like being told by Audi that an S3 isnt really intended to be used like that `around the Ring`, then why has it got a lap timer!!!!!!).
Depends when you bought the car, but from 01/10/15 - the Consumer Rights Act means you can return faulty goods within 30 days for a full refund. However now you have replaced the parts yourself, I don't think you would be able to go down this route. I work in the motor trade (sales), so very familiar with this. I would just move on and enjoy the car now as you will not get any support from a dealer or dealer group unfortunately
Thanks guys, I think I have kinda made my mind up, just thought I'd get some sanity checks Having visibly aged getting stressed over cars before, I think a few hundred quid is well worth it to get back to enjoyment. And I did consider returning the car, but these things are so rare and I'm so picky, I really didn't want to let it go. That and I become emotionally attached to bits of metal and plastic!
I think this was a good choice nath, yes initially the original bill was high but as you know there are some great indy's out there e.g. mark black, that can lower that bill so much as to save any stress n hassle, when I bought mine I could have had a bill for 1400, mark got it down to 220, and like you I love this car, been along time and many cars that I found something that puts smiles on my face every single day I drive it, glad you got it sorted mate and I def think you should name and shame to help others avoid bad customer service, now enjoy your beast mucker stress free :cool:
If you have all the correspondance documented and the report before the work was done, claiming that nothing was wrong but evidence to prove otherwise, then seek you actual cost of repair back via small claims court. Minimal outlay from yourself an if you get something then all good. Or just be happy that your cars 100% and do an honest, non-defamatory feedback post on how you were treated, and by whom. If this is then linked to a variety of places, so others see how you were treated, that may be payment enough, just dont leave yourself open to action from them.
Well, just a quick update. After a polite, but formal message to the dealer HQ with a copy of the invoice from MRS and detailing the worn parts that came out, they have decided to cover my costs, including a very small charge for fuel, totaling £300. It took some serious hassling, a lot of time and more than a modicum of stress, but I've now got the car that I paid for in 100% working order, so I am a very happy bunny. At some point I will do the totally honest review in the dealer section so that others can make an informed decision based on what I have been through and the eventual outcome.
Sounds like mine might be the same, clunking from the front but been to three garages and none can detect any play in the hub joint.
Ah see mine 100% did have play confirmed by 1 Renault (non-renaultsport) main dealer and 2 independents. The only people saying it didn't have play was the main dealer I bought it from that stood to lose out having to replace both front hubs under warranty. In the end I had them done by markblack@mrs and the ones that came out, particularly the near side had play that could be felt by hand!
Audi dealers are the worst ! Haven't got a clue and cowboy workmanship (Tonbridge Audi) ( Walton on Thames Audi)
Dont even get me started on Audi sales people. I have yet to come across one that has any interest, or basic knowledge of any form of motor car. They are all reproduced faces for a massive corporation regurgitating marketing bollocks to the people that feed off the feeling they are somehow bettering themselves by buying a 'premium' brand. I certainly admire their products in some cases but I would never actually buy one with my own money ever because of the people that sell the product and the image they try and project.
