Should...or will Renault pay???

brownie4583

I recently bought a Renault Clio and it is just now outside the 3 year warranty period.
Anyway,to cut a long long story short(ish),whilst i was driving to Cannes in France,my car developed a horrible noise from the engine.
I took it to the local Renault dealer in Cannes,who after diagnostics,informed me the alternator was shot!
I had to wait a week for them to fit it in and repair it(including the nightmare language barrier),they had it for 2 days,then it cost me 565 euros for a new alternator,belt kit,accessories,labour and vat.:mad:
The car had only covered 18,000,so i have complained to Renault stating that the part was obviously faulty to fail at that mileage and that it just about ruined my 2 week hol because the car was parked up for 10 days of the 14 and i couldn't visit all the places we had planned,and we also had to pay for trains instead,so i have asked for 565 euros compensation from them.
I could not drive the car until it was repaired as the alternator could have failed completely(if it hadn't already)and left me stranded with no power,or worse!
Due to the circumstances,do you think Renault should at least pay the 565 euros cost of repair??
They have rang me,and i am waiting for further contact this week.
Your views please.

jaydeeuk1

Does it have full Renault service history? If so, there is a slim chance they may pay / part pay for the alternator - no chance imo for the costs of trains.

No RFSH, then no chance. They wouldn't even sort the clio bonnets out on the old car!

brownie4583

Yeah,FSH to date,they asked for details of that.
I have only asked for the cost of repair,nothing else.My previous 2 cars had 89,000 and 108,000 miles on the clock with original alternator!Mine was obviously faulty!

wealdroam

brownie4583 wrote: »

Yeah,FSH to date,they asked for details of that.
I have only asked for the cost of repair,nothing else.My previous 2 cars had 89,000 and 108,000 miles on the clock with original alternator!Mine was obviously faulty!

I am not sure that you can come to the conclusion that your alternator was inherently faulty just because the alternator has lasted longer on other cars that you have owned.

Things do wear out you know.

Like most things in life, you can get good alternators and better alternators, and I am sure there are bad alternators out there.

It could well be that Renault decided that alternators could be made slightly cheaper by cutting a few corners.

Anyway, none of that is the responsibility of Renault.

Even if your alternator is inherently faulty, legally any responsibility for that rests with whoever sold the car to you... not Renault.

Anything that Renault offer you is a goodwill offer.
Be nice to them and you may will get a better result.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Did you not have insurance (eg AA 5 Star) to cover you for replacement car, train fares, etc?

If not, it was rather stupid to be in France without it and expect Renault to cough up.

harveybobbles

Renaults do suffer with alternator faults. We had a few replaced outside of warranty as "goodwill".

Heck, even the Redbull F1 team suffer with alternator faults. and yes, its a Renault unit lol.

Hintza

brownie4583 wrote: »

Renault Clio......................
whilst i was driving to Cannes in France

You must have cut a dashing figure! :rotfl:

Notmyrealname

brownie4583 wrote: »

The car had only covered 18,000
They have rang me,and i am waiting for further contact this week.
Your views please.

Not a chance unless they're feeling generous If it were 18,000 town miles then the engine would've been running longer than 18,000 motorway miles for example:

18,000 town miles at an average speed of 20MPH = 900hrs.

18,000 motorway miles at an average speed of 60MPH = 300hrs.

So as you can see, an alternator on a car driven mostly around town could've had 3 times more running time than one that has done mostly motorway or non-urban mileage. The car doing motorway mileage would've had to have done 54,000 miles to get in the same running time which would be seen as reasonable for the lifetime of an alternator.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is just another example of why buying a car with well below average mileage isn't always a good thing.

TrickyWicky

There is a lesson to be learned here, don't buy a renault!

Couple of years back their reputtion was so bad they had ads on the TV saying "Remember when you said you'd never buy another Renault?.. It's time to change".

They gave the impression that they'd finally got the message from us, the public who buy their cars. Renault won't change, the only thing they change is their PR and methods for rinsing people of money.

They still make cheaply made, shoddy cars that are storing up trouble for their owners. Don't get me wrong, I like my renaults (I have 2 of them) and when they do it right they can make brilliantly wonderful cars that are both reliable and seriously comfy and impressive. They don't however do that very often.

brownie4583

An alternator should never need replacing at 18,000 miles!End of!
Anyway,glad to report i have received a £200 voucher to cover my next full service at any Renault dealer until May 2013,as a gesture of goodwill,(unless i have to spend it on another alternator before then!lol).

slyracoon

brownie4583 wrote: »

An alternator should never need replacing at 18,000 miles!End of!
Anyway,glad to report i have received a £200 voucher to cover my next full service at any Renault dealer until May 2013,as a gesture of goodwill,(unless i have to spend it on another alternator before then!lol).

Not really a good deal since the Renault Service will probably be £200 more expensive than elsewhere anyway