Renault Clio dealer warranty try-on?

brinks62

Hello,
I bought a 3 year old Clio 1.5 diesel in February from the local Renault main dealer, with a 6 month warranty from them. It has since developed a few niggling problems and I booked the car in to be sorted under the warranty - or so I hoped.
It was banging/knocking underneath on the n/s, had an intermittent squeal from the o/s front wheel (could be stopped by touching the brakes), would squeal loudly from the fanbelt area when starting in damp conditions (or after a wash!) and the aircon had stopped working.
After looking at the car, the dealer phoned to say the banging was a problem with the brake pads rattling in the caliper so needed modified pads (?). The brakes discs were apparently also below the legal minimum thickness. I was quoted in excess of £200 for the work. The aircon was seen as a 'wear and tear' item and would also be chargeable if it was just a gas refill.
I expressed my astonishment that a car I only bought less than 6 months ago (for top dollar) would need all this work so soon and queried why all this was not rectified before the car was sold to me, as it must have been apparent then.
Although the service receptionist was helpful and polite and checked with the sales director where I stood, I was told because I had done 9k miles since buying the vehicle, it was all down to wear and tear.
Sorry to be long-winded but where do I stand on this? Can I not expect a car bought from a main dealer to have been thoroughly checked and any impending problems rectified prior to signing my life away for five years, without having to fork out what for me is big bucks within 6 months?
Any advice welcome. I will find out what the other two problems I mentioned are when I pick up my car this afternoon. I have refused to have the work done as I believe I am being fobbed off.
Thanks.

Hintza

You have done a lot more than just average miles and as such I think the brakes are your problem.

As for the air con I'm not convinced that is a wear and tear item and perhaps they should pay for that. (Someone might argue differently though)

davidjwest

You might get more joy from Renault head office. I had a similar problem with a Vauxhall Corsa I bought a few years back and the warranty had just run out. The dealer wouldn't offer anything but Vauxhall head office agreed to pay two-thirds of the bill that I thought was fair and accepted.

k3lvc

If I was paying top dollar for a 3yo car I'd have expected at least 1yr warranty but looking at Renaults website they look light compared to other manufacturers on their 'Approved Used' and it seems to be down to local dealer rather than a manufacturer supported scheme.

In terms of the brakes you're pushing it after 9k miles to get anything from them - IMHO you're only opportunity is if you have the (full) service records which show the brake wear at last service.

As for the aircon did it work when you bought it ? Has it 'stopped working' or is it just not as efficient as it was in which case a recharge might be in order.

I'd be inclined to get them to do the brakes/aircon at your cost (you've had 9k miles of use already) and to extend the warranty for a further 6 months for true faults

Alias_Omega

brinks62 wrote: »

Hello,

1. banging/knocking underneath on the n/s
2. intermittent squeal from the o/s front wheel (could be stopped by touching the brakes),
3. squeal loudly from the fanbelt area
4. aircon had stopped working.

1. Could be anything from ball joint, shock top mount, exhaust movement etc.

2. New pads required, £16 ishy from halfords, though supplied and fitted look towards £50

3. When was the cambelt & aux belt replaced? The squeel will clear as the belt warms up. It does sound bad, but to get rid of it prob need a auz belt change.

4. Aircon recharage, it leaks out as its a gas. £50 from kwik-fit which is a bit steep, though expect it to be £35 from a mobile guy.



Also,

The car is not out of renaults warranty period, the dealer has tied you into the garage with its 6 month warranty which is pretty much worthless. The garage will charge you £80 per hour labour on the work, which a small independant renault specialist could do for £40 per hour. You dont need genuine renault parts, but infact for the same price as the genuine parts, you could probably buy higher spec items.

The dealer will tell you that your brakes are worn, and usually to the amount of "they are 50% worn" etc, which means they are 50% remaining. After all, they do have overheads to meet.

I would whip the car down to the local independant brake garage for brake pad change, ask them to look at the disks, where they may remove the lip and advise you to change the disks next time round. Whilst they are there, they can look at the knock and go from there.

As an example, I had a Clio 182 (2.0lt sport thing) and i could purchase Brembo replacement disks for £80.

fivetide

Belts - is it menat to have FSH? If so did they say they'd servic e it before it went out? If so, what did they include and what should have been done.

be aware though, its French.

5t.

Hammyman

fivetide wrote: »

Belts - is it menat to have FSH? If so did they say they'd servic e it before it went out?

5t.

FSH doesn't mean that the belts won't go slack in 9,000 miles.

Brakes are classed as consumables so you're going to have to pay for them.

Aircon does need regassing every few years and a regas is a consumable.

The only claimable thing is the knocking noise but £9k in 6 months is 18k in a year which is 50% more than average annual mileage.