Renault, Pile of scrap, or Reliable Wheels?

colm_mcm

Renault, Pile of scrap, or Reliable Wheels? preferably going on experience,rather than hearsay

PaddyFagan

As always when the topic of brand relalibility comes up there is some risk of brand bashing because "my second cousins, mate had one and it was a pile of junk...." - I've owned two Renaults, a Clio for 4.5 years and a Megane for 2 - One problem with the Clio and one with the Megane (but this was a warentee repair) - I'd say that's fairly average with a European brand....

On the other hand some of the garages are muppets of the highest order.....
(But I'd contend that this is true of any brand in this country.)

Paddy

colm_mcm

yeah, I must stress to try and base your answer on first hand experience. to make it fair

kikel

Pile of crap i'd say. Cool styling and gadgets though.

connundrum

/Looks around for Junkyard :eek:

Pile of poo tbh. Test drove about 6 laguna's 4 months ago, they were actually comfortable but none of em felt 'right'. Steer clear IMO

Owen

Extremely poor residuals unless you're trading for another Renault. The only exception to this is a Clio.

Saruman

I had 2 clios both from new... the first one 2001 was perfect... only traded it in off a new one because some learner driver girl was chatting to her mate and not looking at the road and rear ended me... was watching her in my rear view mirror hoping she would stop... Anyway it lost whatever it had then and i wanted a new one so i got the newer model dynamique in 2002. Lovely car to drive, sporty suspension so hugged the road around corners etc...
This one had computer faults though... every few months a computer glitch, bring it back.. they reset the computer and shortly after it happens again.

So like any car.. some are good, others crap.

I would not buy a new one again.. maybe a second hand Scenic....

Wishbone Ash

Years ago I had a 400 series Volvo which have Renault engines. Never again. That car was by far the biggest heap of shít (engine wise) that I ever bought. I wouldn't go near one again. Probably unfair, I know, but it put me off Renault for life.

connundrum wrote:

/Looks around for Junkyard :eek:

:D:D What is his sig? Something like "Renault - I'd rather stick pins in my eyes".

BrianD3

My Renault experience consists of
-have driven around 300,000 miles in them
-family have owned around 20 of them
-many of the cars have been owned for long periods, over 10 years in some cases
-friends and work colleagues have bought Renaults based on my good experiences with them

Reliability in all of these cars has been generally very good, there have been wear and tear issues at high mileage but that's to be expected. There has been the odd silly reliability niggle like an ignition coil going in my Laguna, a common fault in many modern cars including Fords and VWs. BTW Renault paid half the cost for fitting 4 new coils despite the car being out of warranty and despite the fact that only one of them was faulty.

Whatever about reliability build quality has been good in Renaults for at least 15 years if anything I'd say the quality of bodywork and paintwork is better than most cars and interior build quality is alright. Exaggerated stories of Renault interiors "falling apart" are rubbish. If you are a clumsy oaf with size 14 boots and you kick the **** out of your car's interior every time you get in then maybe bits are going to fall off alright.

I agree that residual values are poor but since when were residuals a guide to how good a car is. Poor residual values are down to a cars image not necessarily how good or bad it is in reality.

Renault's image is not helped by posters in this forum shooting their mouths off and making exaggerated sweeping statements based on limited experience. Also, the general consensus among pub experts, Joe Duffy/Gerry Ryan listeners and taxi drivers is that Renaults are crap but since when were these groups a source of reliable information about anything. I mean if taxi drivers were to be believed you'd think that dem Nigerians are taking over the country and being handed free cars by the state :rolleyes:

Motorists have a lot to thank Renault for, it has been one of the most innovative car companies over the history of the motor industry and has produced many interesting and ground breaking vehicles over the years. The problem is most people are ignorant of this and all they have to go on when judging Renault is they heard their brother's friend's cousin had an electric window fail in his Megane :rolleyes:

skibum

We have a 00 reg 1.4 scenic for the last 3 years, has never given us any problems or let us down during that time. (touches nearest lump of wood )

Only thing I don't like is the 1.4 engine is a bit weedy for this car. The timing belt is "inside "the engine so thats why it costs around €800 depending where you go to get the belt done.

BrianD3

skibum wrote:

Only thing I don't like is the 1.4 engine is a bit weedy for this car. The timing belt is "inside "the engine so thats why it costs around €800 depending where you go to get the belt done.

That's actually a good engine though, might be a little small for the Scenic but does put out 95-100 bhp depending on the year. That's more than most 1.4s. VWs basic 1.4 produces 75 bhp and Ford's 75-80. The timing belt expense on the Scenic I believe is due to lack of access because of the shape of the car. Other mini MPVs are probably the same.

overdriver

I'll have to wade in with the opposing side here. My brother's Clio is a lovely car to drive and is very comfortable, butI still wouldn't buy one, based on the experience of other friends and relatives. I knwo what the point someone else was making about hearsay, but at the same time, this evidence is more direct for me.

The reviews of the Laguna - particularly the Dynamique, or as I call it the demonique, are pretty poor.

Dingatron

I have a 01 Laguna Concorde with 83,000 miles on the clock. No trouble with it in the last 2 odd years bar a broken fog lamp and the odd bulb blowing. 1.6 engine is not the quickest but it very comfortable for long drives. Thumbs up from me although I probably put the kibosh on it now.

junkyard

24 years of motor trade experience, I say they're crap. Read the facts in any review site or motoring info site, there's never smoke without fire, I think resale tells it all tbh.
Comparing the ratio of comments to votes here it strikes me that peoples dogs and cats must be voting too. I don't here too many people defending Renault with the exception of BrianD3 and one or two others..

prospect

junkyard wrote:

24 years of motor trade experience, I say they're crap. Read the facts in any review site or motoring info site, there's never smoke without fire, I think resale tells it all tbh.
Comparing the ratio of comments to votes here it strikes me that peoples dogs and cats must be voting too. I don't here too many people defending Renault with the exception of BrianD3 and one or two others..

I wouldn't say they are brilliant, but I wouldn't say they are crap either.

Also, as always with this forum, they contributers are very few.
This poll has 24 votes. What is that as a percentage of car users in europe?

Guy:Incognito

Was the differently worded thread, but about the same thing from yesterday not enough? Seriously, the renault debates are the new alfa debate.


As stated before, all renaults owned by me (3) and ones owned by my friends/family have been a1.

colm_mcm

the poll was really to get a good idea of peoples annonymous opinions, replys are optional.

BrianD3

'Tis quite a good thread, the previous one about "French Cars" was too general. It's more helpful to discuss a specific make or model preferably. BTW I voted that Renault are no better or worse than other European makes. At the moment in the poll slightly more people are saying Renaults are alright than are bashing them. I bet if the poll was limited to those who have OWNED at least one Renault then the result would be more in Renault's favour.

Obviously this poll is all about reliability of course, posters in this forum are obsessed with this for some reason. Endless posts talking about the reliability of Alfas, Renaults etc. yet very few post actually talking about other aspect of the cars or manufacturer. Rarely is it mentioned that
-Renault have produced most of the great hot hatches of the last 20 years
-For decades Renault have been at the forefront when it comes to useful innovations in family cars
-along with Citroen and Peugeot have the best ride comfort and seat comfort among family cars
-Have managed to produce small, cheap rugged cars with some semblence of character to them.
-small matter of 15 Formula 1 world championships, BTCC championship win, rallying wins.

But that's all irrelvant to some feckin eejit who drives a 1994 VW Vento SDI then boasts down the pub about how "shes a great yoke to go" and how he "wouldn't touch one of dem Ren-aw-lts" with a bargepole :rolleyes:

lomb

ive had alot of experiance with peugeot and they were/are crap.
if you buy a renault you will lose your shirt on it, the complex electrics will fail after the warranty runs out and you will be paying 000' for ecus for various units in the car. hell even mercedes have major problems on their recent cars with regards to electrics and mercedes is an innovater, renault merely copies what mercedes does on lesser cars. businessmen dont skip a beat if their sl needs a new throttle slide at 2 grand, but somehow something tells me a megane owner wont be happy if he gets the same bill..
also the residuals are crap. steer clear..

colm_mcm

I admire French cars, some of the things they do with electronics are amazing. the problem is when those things go wrong. There's a lot of thought put into them, for example a basic old model Clio will have speed-proportional stereo volume, the front wipers speed up as the car does, and the rear wiper comes on if you have the front ones on and put the car in reverse. The Laguna is the most comfortable car in its class, maybe the 407 is up there.

Unfortunately, if the car loses a huge amount of money and is unreliable, this stuff becomes less important.

eamon234

A few experiences to note. I had a 1.6 99 Megane for about two years no problems I put about 100k on the clock before I sold it on and never had a problem with it (unlike the sh1theap of an Opel Astra I bought after it which practically blew up)
Funnily enough while the Astra was getting a new engine (after months of trying to find one) I borrowed my mum's trusty Renault 19 (170k and only ever needed a new steering rack!) and proceeded to crash it head-on into a cement truck - I walked away from it there wasn't even a dent in the driver's footwell area. So don't forget - safety is a big plus factor with these cars, even the old ones.
She subsequently bought a 01 Megane and has had no problems bar a minor electrical one which the dealer sorted straight away.
My boss also had a 03 Diesel Laguna as a company car for 18 months. He drove the living arse out of it and put up 120k - once again no problems.

Guy:Incognito

eamon234 wrote:

A few experiences to note. I had a 1.6 99 Megane for about two years no problems I put about 100k on the clock before I sold it on and never had a problem with it (unlike the sh1theap of an Opel Astra I bought after it which practically blew up)
Funnily enough while the Astra was getting a new engine (after months of trying to find one) I borrowed my mum's trusty Renault 19 (170k and only ever needed a new steering rack!) and proceeded to crash it head-on into a cement truck - I walked away from it there wasn't even a dent in the driver's footwell area. So don't forget - safety is a big plus factor with these cars, even the old ones.
She subsequently bought a 01 Megane and has had no problems bar a minor electrical one which the dealer sorted straight away.
My boss also had a 03 Diesel Laguna as a company car for 18 months. He drove the living arse out of it and put up 120k - once again no problems.

I always find the safest option is to not crash into anything big and heavy.:D

Diddy Kong

The biggest problem with the Renault and the Laguna at the moment is the re-sale value. I spoke to a dealer about 2 weeks ago and he said he sold one last year for 26k odd and the same guy came back to upgrade and all the dealer would offer for the car was 14k....which is a hell of a drop.

Interceptor

I've had a Laguna, a Megane Classic and an Espace and I will never, repeat NEVER buy another Renault. I would prefer to drive Fiats and Rovers for the rest of my life than have to own another rubbish Renault.

'cptr

crosstownk

colm_mcm wrote:

I admire French cars, some of the things they do with electronics are amazing. the problem is when those things go wrong. There's a lot of thought put into them, for example a basic old model Clio will have speed-proportional stereo volume, the front wipers speed up as the car does, and the rear wiper comes on if you have the front ones on and put the car in reverse. The Laguna is the most comfortable car in its class, maybe the 407 is up there.

Unfortunately, if the car loses a huge amount of money and is unreliable, this stuff becomes less important.

Well said - and I agree entirely.

I'm not a fan of Renaults recent reliability problems. It's not that every Renault on the road is a nightmare, lemon, monday morning car or whatever phrase you choose. It's simply that a higher proportion of them give trouble in relation to other makes and models at the moment. And as others have said this is affecting the residual values of Renaults. So even you have a 100% reliable 2004 Renault Laguna, it will not acheive as much on a trade in because of the reputation.

Live and let live - buy a Renault if you like them - there is a lot to like as Colm stated. Just be prepared for the drop in value.

All that considered I voted "pile of scrap". It reflects what I see daily. But in the past two years the amount of Renaults on company fleets has drastically dropped due to the poor residual. The same thing happpened with Alfas. In my job a headache with a Renault is never far away. Not trying to 'Renault bash' - just my experience. I've as much trouble with VW's (not the most reliable brand in the world either) as I do with Renaults. But I've 5 times more VWs than Renaults.

colm_mcm

I was more tolerant of french and italian cars before I started working in the motor trade and saw how much less reliable they were. I thought it was all hearsay too.

eamon234

Stekelly wrote:

I always find the safest option is to not crash into anything big and heavy.:D

Weeeelll..... strictly speaking he crashed into me!

eamon234

crosstownk wrote:

Well said - and I agree entirely.


All that considered I voted "pile of scrap". It reflects what I see daily. But in the past two years the amount of Renaults on company fleets has drastically dropped due to the poor residual. The same thing happpened with Alfas. In my job a headache with a Renault is never far away. Not trying to 'Renault bash' - just my experience. I've as much trouble with VW's (not the most reliable brand in the world either) as I do with Renaults. But I've 5 times more VWs than Renaults.

Just as a matter of interest - what would you reckon the most reliable to be?

junkyard

I think its fair to say that people in the motor trade will have more experience in seeing problems in the likes of Renaults than most other people and as a result are more reliable witnesses than most.

BrianD3

BrianD3 wrote:

Renault's image is not helped by posters in this forum shooting their mouths off and making exaggerated sweeping statements based on limited experience. Also, the general consensus among pub experts, Joe Duffy/Gerry Ryan listeners and taxi drivers is that Renaults are crap but since when were these groups a source of reliable information about anything. I mean if taxi drivers were to be believed you'd think that dem Nigerians are taking over the country and being handed free cars by the state :rolleyes:

What a breath of fresh air.

Its all to common I wander into a thread about Fiats or Renaults and many of the replys are from people spouting crap they heard in the pub about those brands being crap.

Fiats, you mean fix it again tomorrow !!!1 FTW
:rolleyes:

crosstownk

eamon234 wrote:

Just as a matter of interest - what would you reckon the most reliable to be?

TBH, A Toyota. Not my first choice to drive, but taking into account reliability, ownership experience and residual value, the Toyota brand is tops. Most Japanese brands aren't far behind either. Japanese design and styling is not as good as the European manufacturers, imo.