View Full Version : Appauling service from Renault
James_Surridge G1 5 GTT
10-03-2013, 15:22
Cut a long story short......the end! No only kidding.
I asked Renault Birmingham to MOT my Clio...All booked in for 1100 and they said they could not start it and it would be started at 1300!!
After a long drawn out complaints procedure direct to Renault UK they basically said each garage is under there own managment and entitled to do what they want.:scratch:
Suffice to say..Goodbye Renault:sad2::cry:
Penfold aka The Dealer
10-03-2013, 15:28
Yeh all garages are just franchised... Even so a complaint to the main franchise company should result in some sort of comp offer etc...
Or take ur car to a dedicated mot garage that you can trust...
James_Surridge G1 5 GTT
10-03-2013, 15:33
I did in the end...
Cut a long story short......the end! No only kidding.
I asked Renault Birmingham to MOT my Clio...All booked in for 1100 and they said they could not start it and it would be started at 1300!!
After a long drawn out complaints procedure direct to Renault UK they basically said each garage is under there own managment and entitled to do what they want.:scratch:
Suffice to say..Goodbye Renault:sad2::cry:
Why goodbye Renault? To be honest i don't understand what you thought Renault were going to do? I do understand that you would be pissed off and an apology should have been forthcoming but sh*t happens, is it really that serious?
James_Surridge G1 5 GTT
10-03-2013, 16:03
Why goodbye Renault? To be honest i don't understand what you thought Renault were going to do? I do understand that you would be pissed off and an apology should have been forthcoming but sh*t happens, is it really that serious?
Ye.. It just makes me feel my loyalty to the Brand has been for nothing..You know the big corporate group ****ting on the little man etc etc:coffee:
Because it was delayed 2 hours?
Really
Bit strong? But on the other hand they are cu**s!
Ive spent £46,000 with Renault London west on 3 differant Renaults in the last ten years recentlywe had to take the Megane sport in with a door problem fobbed off told stuff that didn,t happen and instead of the car being done in a day it was three days got used to garages bull****ting now,next car comes from Nissan so still a Renault of sorts.
TNT ANDY
10-03-2013, 19:46
Guys Guys Guys.
Generally speaking, big companies don't give a fcuk about anything apart from sales, don't just get on about Renault, you'll have the same issues with BMW, Sky, Adrien Flux, Your school, the dentist................ Go in to buy something then it's yes sir yes sir can I suck that for you sir :laugh:
You hand over your hard earned then slam - there's the door in your face. You only get good service from bespoke companies that are leaders in there own fields, with 1 or 2 exceptions.
Had same issue here as well . Renault do own some garages , my renault Manchester is Ownd by renault great service there
Got to agree with TNT Andy. My old man had his Merc serviced recently. They charged for a new rear wiper blade but after 3 months it was knackered. I suggested to them they forgot to change it as part of the service, backed up by the date code on the actual wiper itself. Their reply was that it was wear and tear. 3 Months for a rear wiper blade wear and tear :sad2: Still not a problem, if you do get crap service vote with your money people and go elsewhere.
I had crap service from a Renault dealer as well in the past although they are now closed down, I wonder why ?. Car was booked in for a new wheel bearing, CV gaiter and other stuff that it had failed the MOT on. I was in London at the time but the only dealer that could do it quickly was over 40 miles away. Took the day off work and dropped the car off with them. Wasted a whole day in the local town and went back to get the car. They gave me a quote for the work it needed ?. Told them I already knew that and had instructed them to do the work. Their reply we didnt have the parts in stock. FFS the car had been booked in for those specific tasks. Never went back there and got GDI to do the work but that's another story.
And you actually got it back from GDI?
I think that the problem is not necessarily the service, like I said sh*t happens things go wrong, but the customer service. So easy to get wrong but also so easy to get right and also so cheap and generally cost effective. I do not understand how so many companies fail to understand this and continue to get it wrong.
At least 7 years ago, in Renault Ilford after all of the above, and lies after lies followed by insult after insult, I was only just able to stop myself dragging the runt sh1t f**k over the counter and punching the scum repeatedly until he bled.
Other arguing people in there clearly felt the same.
The sh1t had taken the 5 for a blast and not repaired the wheel bearing which was faulty and under warranty. Another manager there had admitted so and agreed to change it. It was booked for such but, as above, collected it to find there were no parts in stock and it was not done.
I'd previously watched through a viewing window as an idiot mechanic broke the bumper driving onto the ramp then lied and said no such thing happened, even though the inner bolts were ripped out and the bumper hanging lose. He also simply used a vast breaker bar to clamp the rear bolt. Those bearing are not the type the are lose and need a high torque, just 90ft lbs or whatever.
Then they denied there was a faulty bearing and it was in fact all my fault and I was imagining the MOT inspector, and several other people, including Mark Fish who measured the run out with a dial gauge and wrote a report, all found the new Renault wheel bearing had excessive play.
There were no cars there for service, just vans.
I did complain to Renault UK.
I went to another Renault main dealer in Harlow who, while I was looking at their array of awards for best Renault dealer, also immediately drove the 5 straight out for a blast, then also lied that they could feel no play, FFS, I had a fu*king report with measurements on it. Everyone I know could feel the fu*king play.
My conclusion, Renault main dealers, cnuts one and all.
TNT Tricky Nicky
10-03-2013, 22:02
I've not used a Renault dealership apart from for parts, a safety recall on the clios and a service for the other halves car, only because they were the cheapest place so I can't complain.
In my opinion, if Renault wanted my customer loyalty they would always have the cheapest prices and best deals to keep me going to them. Until then, I use the local Citroen dealer for mot @ £27.50 inc free retest and an indepdent garage who always give me honest advice/quotes as they know I'll know if they bull**** me :laugh:
James, loyalty counts for nothing with big companies. They are faceless. Yeah lots of people work there but they are all individuals just trying to make their own way. No one person gives a hoot. What does surprise me is the Renault UK response. Franchises are supposed to be locked in to providing a structured offering with agreed service levels (otherwise, what's the point of being a franchise, outlets could have a negative effect on the brand if they are allowed to just do their own thing). McDonalds for example is extremely strict.
This is why it's always better to go to independent garages. Because even if you get the same cr*p service, at least it's only 40% of the price. :sad2:
I took one of my old GTTs to an independent and one time I came back to find it parked on the road with a big dent in the front wing. I complained and he said it must have happened in the time since it had been parked up and that as it was not on his property it wasn't his pigeon. The fact was, it was still in his care and he should not have left it on the road in any case! :mad:
I'm amazed anyone would take a car into a dealer for work/servicing etc - it must cost a fortune? Indy garages every time for me. The only stuff I buy from renault are the genuine parts as usually they're the best.
Corporate brands - won't give a hoot, smaller companies have to try harder.
Renault customer service has and will always be the ****s. You will only get decent service if you know somebody who works there.
I rang the local stealers this morning about a recall, after been on hold for 15 mins they said they will ring me back..everybody sounded absolutely clueless as expected..still waiting for callback i doubt they will ring at all.
I wouldnt even consider going to a dealer to get any work done unless its a recall.
gttjames
11-03-2013, 13:56
have this....
3years ago my car went in as the wing mirrors where 'flapping' about, very loose on pivots, both sides, no sign of damage atall and car 2 years old, so took it in (r26) they replaced them under warranty. I noticed straight away there was bad wind noise from osf at 50mph upwards and terrible at 70mph - took it back, left it with them - heard nothing so went down there 'no fault found'. Took car as needed it, still terrible, booked it back in again... picked it up 'yer we'v sorted it' - still the same, took it back, this time took someone out and he clearly agreed wind noise which wasnt there before they changed mirrors. Picked it up later in the day - sorted. Well had my wing mirror off the other day, they only filled it with ALOT of silicone - where a seal was clearly supposed to be, rang up to just buy a seal as was pissed off - not availbalbe seperatley lol. Cheeky buggers.
Saying that, ordered some bits for r5 last week from a different renault dealer, bloke was very helpfull, spent 10mins on phone cheeking part numbers for me and searching for bits i described. Actually did his job - all depends on individual aswell i suppose
Whilst I'm somewhat confused by James' anger at only a 2hr delay for an MOT ;) :D I can empathise with him totally with regards to the incompetence of Dealership feckwits - My company barge has a fbw throttle, and since day one it has a tendency to 'stick' on over-run, so that where a car would naturally decelerate when you lift off the gas, this POS instead holds throttle for a few seconds, then decelerates.
This can also be demonstrated as such by if you quickly dip the clutch at the same time, the revs/rpm needle 'hangs', then drops to idle.
Whether it's a sticking throttle pot', an issue with the over-run area of the map, or just a Merc' trait to reduce jerky throttle (say in traffic scenarios), I don't know, but it drives me fecking crazy, and if anything, it's a bit of hazard given it maintains speed when you come off the gas.
Twice it's been in to the local Dealership, and twice they've found no fault or issue. The first gem they came out with, is that it was probably the floor mat sticking. Must be some magical fecking floot mat then, to defy the law of physics, and lift itself to the underside of the pedal & remain there :rolleyes:
2nd time, I road-tested the car with one of the senior (:coffee:) technicians sat in the passenger seat; his reply was "Don't know mate. That's a new one on me". And with a shrug of his shoulders, he pretty much left it at that :dearme:
The diagnostic machine couldn't pick up any faults, so on asking if they could maybe contact Merc', Rastatt to see if this problem had been reported anywhere else, to which they declined to do so, I've pretty much given up hope of it ever being rectified.
I'd have a go at sorting it myself, but no doubt they'd throw the 'warranty invalid' BS at me, should something else fail in that area later down the line.
I'll mention it again come the next service, but I already know that'll be 10 seconds of wasting precious oxygen.
Problem is, I'm stuck with the POS car for the next 3 years :crap:
Still, at least one good thing has come from all this - I'll never, ever, buy anything to do with Mercedes in the future (even if I did ever have the money to do so), if this is what their after-sales service is like.
markey b
11-03-2013, 14:30
I'm the person u have to deal with when it all goes wrong, and **** does happen sometimes, if it was me I'd have called up before u came in to let u know of the delay, and if u were already there a lift home or courtesy car goes a long way. I'm not biased because I work at a main dealer, but if I didn't do my own stuff I'd take it to a dealer because a Fred in the shed doesn't have the back up when it does go wrong. We are a walk over when it comes to anything, dents in car park are repaired whether it could be proved or not, keeping the customer happy is worth more than a dent repair, a free pair of wipers etc
Just my 2p
scratcher
11-03-2013, 17:12
The last time I went to a main dealer was to Ford with my old Sport Ka for it's first MOT.
They had crashed it into a salt bin, tried covering it up, tried denying it, lied about having it fixed, used a full tank of fuel somehow and tried saying I was pulling a fast one and the damage was there before.
I wish it was just delayed by 2 hours :laugh::wasntme:
But I suppose they can't all be bad. You just never hear the stories about a nice smooth service. Bad news is good news, as they say.
Tony Walker
11-03-2013, 17:29
Whilst I'm somewhat confused by James' anger at only a 2hr delay for an MOT ;) :D I can empathise with him totally with regards to the incompetence of Dealership feckwits - My company barge has a fbw throttle, and since day one it has a tendency to 'stick' on over-run, so that where a car would naturally decelerate when you lift off the gas, this POS instead holds throttle for a few seconds, then decelerates.
This can also be demonstrated as such by if you quickly dip the clutch at the same time, the revs/rpm needle 'hangs', then drops to idle.
Whether it's a sticking throttle pot', an issue with the over-run area of the map, or just a Merc' trait to reduce jerky throttle (say in traffic scenarios), I don't know, but it drives me fecking crazy, and if anything, it's a bit of hazard given it maintains speed when you come off the gas.
Twice it's been in to the local Dealership, and twice they've found no fault or issue. The first gem they came out with, is that it was probably the floor mat sticking. Must be some magical fecking floot mat then, to defy the law of physics, and lift itself to the underside of the pedal & remain there :rolleyes:
2nd time, I road-tested the car with one of the senior (:coffee:) technicians sat in the passenger seat; his reply was "Don't know mate. That's a new one on me". And with a shrug of his shoulders, he pretty much left it at that :dearme:
The diagnostic machine couldn't pick up any faults, so on asking if they could maybe contact Merc', Rastatt to see if this problem had been reported anywhere else, to which they declined to do so, I've pretty much given up hope of it ever being rectified.
I'd have a go at sorting it myself, but no doubt they'd throw the 'warranty invalid' BS at me, should something else fail in that area later down the line.
I'll mention it again come the next service, but I already know that'll be 10 seconds of wasting precious oxygen.
Problem is, I'm stuck with the POS car for the next 3 years :crap:
Still, at least one good thing has come from all this - I'll never, ever, buy anything to do with Mercedes in the future (even if I did ever have the money to do so), if this is what their after-sales service is like.
similar symptoms from a faulty clutch pedal switch.
markey b
11-03-2013, 18:22
similar symptoms from a faulty clutch pedal switch.
Do mercs have clutch pedals? ;-)
should be easy to see with the diag machine.
you need to look at actual values and see what the ecu is seeing from the throttle pedal when you lift off. - you may need a throttle basic parameters resetting.
James_Surridge G1 5 GTT
13-03-2013, 18:59
Seems fair to say all the big dealers do not give a hoot about there loyal customers once the cash aint flowing....:sad2:
Tony Walker
13-03-2013, 19:41
Do mercs have clutch pedals? ;-)
lol must admit i think ive only ever driven 1 manual merc. i wonder if anyones ever mistook the parking brake for a clutch pedal?
It's a manual 'box (I'm old skool ;))
Sparks, as said, the dealer hooked it up to their diag' machine & no fault (codes) or erroneous issues were found...or so they say anyway.
Tony Walker
13-03-2013, 21:02
It's a manual 'box (I'm old skool ;))
Sparks, as said, the dealer hooked it up to their diag' machine & no fault (codes) or erroneous issues were found...or so they say anyway.
nothing wrong with the switch in the way that its switching.... just out of adjustment so holds on to revs later than it should. i have to adjust a driving school of fiestas which do this.. not experienced it on a merc but its v similar symptoms.
It's a manual 'box (I'm old skool ;))
Sparks, as said, the dealer hooked it up to their diag' machine & no fault (codes) or erroneous issues were found...or so they say anyway.
The wagons i work on do this and its the pedeal when the computer is hooked up i go to parameters and you can watch pedal postion so flat to the floor is 100% and then when you realese it should drop back to zero almost instant the ones that hold abit of throttle or are slow to go back to zero replace pedal and it solves it its not much fun if your running 80 plus tons and it keeps goin even if its only for a few seconds :eek:
Tony Walker
13-03-2013, 21:20
The wagons i work on do this and its the pedeal when the computer is hooked up i go to parameters and you can watch pedal postion so flat to the floor is 100% and then when you realese it should drop back to zero almost instant the ones that hold abit of throttle or are slow to go back to zero replace pedal and it solves it its not much fun if your running 80 plus tons and it keeps goin even if its only for a few seconds :eek:
lol :wasntme: less fun for the little hatchback infront i should imagine :eek:
lol :wasntme: less fun for the little hatchback infront i should imagine :eek:
Thats what they tell you at college "imagine the lorry you work on is following your mum down the road " i always reamemberd that
Tony Walker
13-03-2013, 21:33
Thats what they tell you at college "imagine the lorry you work on is following your mum down the road " i always reamemberd that
im teaching at my old college now..... some of the cars i have to fix after they've worked on them is shocking.
The wagons i work on do this and its the pedeal when the computer is hooked up i go to parameters and you can watch pedal postion so flat to the floor is 100% and then when you realese it should drop back to zero almost instant the ones that hold abit of throttle or are slow to go back to zero replace pedal and it solves it its not much fun if your running 80 plus tons and it keeps goin even if its only for a few seconds :eek:
Is it the pedal mechanism sticking, or the pedal potentiometer itself causing the issue?
im teaching at my old college now..... some of the cars i have to fix after they've worked on them is shocking.
Do you enjoy the teaching tony? i had a really good tutor i think you can make a big diffrence to people especially to kids from a rough back ground who have managed to get an apprenticeship.
Tony Walker
13-03-2013, 21:48
yeah its fantastic, im not so involved in the teaching side of things yet, just supervising. Completing my teaching course in september. Its great when you see that they actually understood and learnt something.
Is it the pedal mechanism sticking, or the pedal potentiometer itself causing the issue?
Its the the throttle postion sensor thats built into the pedal its self the pedal is as free as a bird thats what i first thought was a sticking pedal
yeah its fantastic, im not so involved in the teaching side of things yet, just supervising. Completing my teaching course in september. Its great when you see that they actually understood and learnt something.
Fairplay to you i would like to give it a go one day i bet you do get some little ****s aswell lol
newbstar*
15-03-2013, 09:07
I'm the person u have to deal with when it all goes wrong, and **** does happen sometimes, if it was me I'd have called up before u came in to let u know of the delay, and if u were already there a lift home or courtesy car goes a long way. I'm not biased because I work at a main dealer, but if I didn't do my own stuff I'd take it to a dealer because a Fred in the shed doesn't have the back up when it does go wrong. We are a walk over when it comes to anything, dents in car park are repaired whether it could be proved or not, keeping the customer happy is worth more than a dent repair, a free pair of wipers etc
Just my 2p
Alot of the problems start with service advisers, you are the acception my friend :agree:.
Main dealers are often shocking in my experience, I try to ovoid going in them these days in case I go postal........
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/durant24/CinemagraphCollection-tbl_02_zpsb4169036.gif
Peugeot had me wound right up a few weeks back, I just bought a brand new van, £20.000 and the mouth breathers in the workshop didn't see the point in attaching the battery negative properly so consequently it broke down in Bristol city center with 100 miles on the clock.
I did get the 1st service out of them for free though after a rather stern email session.
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