Renault Fluence and Renault reputation (warning-old thread)

Pikasso

I am looking at getting the new Renault Fluence on the scrappage scheme for a seriously good price of €15,800.

Pros:
Have secured their finance offer of 5.9%
Annual road tax of €104
52 mpg
5 yr warranty with AA Roadside assist
Cruise control
Bluetooth radio
Hands free key card
Air conditioning
..and lots more.

The only problem is... everyone keeps telling me not to touch a Renault - electrical problems etc

If they have so many problems then how do Renault have the confidence to offer a 5 yr warranty?
How come their sales are so healthy?

Basically, with so many pros my only con is the Renault reputation.

Please! I'm looking for genuine advice here. Not hearsay and bitching between members ( as I discovered on a search about Renault in other threads!).

Berty

I had a Laguna and couldn't get rid of it so sold it on for a massive loss against it OMSP.

My father had a Megane and couldn't shift it and only traded it in the other day for a Ford and was robbed on the trade in.

I don't go for the unreliable factor but mainly its a market perception that the cars are crap and because many salesmen are just fools for their customers they wont carry something their customers wont buy. It wouldn't make good business sense to have used French cars on the forecourt.

The Fluence looks pretty horrid from the pictures. My local Renault dealership was closed when I went to see one in the flesh.

If you pick up a Tom Tom model then you are doing well the others wont be much in a few years.

Crazy Taxi

Pikasso wrote: »

I am looking at getting the new Renault Fluence on the scrappage scheme for a seriously good price of €15,800.

Pros:
Have secured their finance offer of 5.9%
Annual road tax of €104
52 mpg
5 yr warranty with AA Roadside assist
Cruise control
Bluetooth radio
Hands free key card
Air conditioning
..and lots more.

The only problem is... everyone keeps telling me not to touch a Renault - electrical problems etc

If they have so many problems then how do Renault have the confidence to offer a 5 yr warranty?
How come their sales are so healthy?

Basically, with so many pros my only con is the Renault reputation.

Please! I'm looking for genuine advice here. Not hearsay and bitching between members ( as I discovered on a search about Renault in other threads!).

Thats a seriously good finance rate! is that fixed for the life of the loan?
Go for it!
On the warranty thing, I'd rather have a car with NO warranty because it didn't need one than a car that was back and forth to dealers with niggly problems.

R.O.R

Renault don't have the confidence to put a 5 year warranty on it, that's through an aftermarket insurance company.

That said - it actually looks fairly well in the flesh and for the price, not even the Octavia can compete on size and specification.

If you are planning on keeping the car for a while, it could be a sound buy. Hopefully they've now ironed out the issues they had with earlier models, but even if not then the warranty gives peace of mind.

BrianD3

The Megane III (closely related to the Fluence) has just come 5th in the latest JD Power satisfaction survey was rated something like 10th in the reliability part of the survey. I don't recall a Renault ever doing that well in JD Power before. Also Renaults from about 2005 onwards do well in the ADAC Pannenstatistik (German breakdown statistics)

My family have owned numerous Renault for over 20 years, there have been some niggly problems and wear & tear but on the whole the cars have been very reliable, long lasting and trouble free. In my view Renault's reputation for unreliability is exaggerated and the new ones are better still. As you say the 5 year warranty is a big selling point especially on a modern complex diesel with potential for big expense if something goes wrong with diesel injection, turbo, DPF, DMF etc. Can happen with any make and result in a 4 figure bill if not covered by warranty. I would be quite wary about buying a modern diesel with a 2 year warranty which what you get on a Ford, VW, Skoda, Audi, BMW, Opel, Peugeot and probably others.

Re: sales figures, Renault was the 2nd best selling make after VW in Ireland in April. It's unheard of for Renault to sell more than Toyota and Ford in this country.

Stevie Dakota

I'd have no concerns with current Renaults, great warranties and a genuine effort to improve product and service has seen them getting far better reliability ratings than previous gen cars. Fluence is a also quite a handsome car IMO.

northknife

Pikasso wrote: »

I am looking at getting the new Renault Fluence on the scrappage scheme for a seriously good price of €15,800.

Hi Pikasso,

When are you going to make a decision as wether to buy or not?

Pikasso

northknife wrote: »

Pikasso wrote: »

I am looking at getting the new Renault Fluence on the scrappage scheme for a seriously good price of €15,800.

Hi Pikasso,

When are you going to make a decision as wether to buy or not?

Have secured the finance in April (low interest rate finished after that) and will make the decision in the next day or two.

Gophur

Berty wrote: »

............

My father had a Megane and couldn't shift it and only traded it in the other day for a Ford and was robbed on the trade in.

.............

How, exactly, was he "robbed"?

You mean, he made a deal for a Ford, accepting the offer for his Megane? I assume he did everything without coercion. In fairness, accusing a Motor Dealer of "robbing" a customer is OTT.

EPM

Gophur wrote: »

How, exactly, was he "robbed"?

You mean, he made a deal for a Ford, accepting the offer for his Megane? I assume he did everything without coercion. In fairness, accusing a Motor Dealer of "robbing" a customer is OTT.

Talk about being pedantic...

Berty

Gophur wrote: »

How, exactly, was he "robbed"?

You mean, he made a deal for a Ford, accepting the offer for his Megane? I assume he did everything without coercion. In fairness, accusing a Motor Dealer of "robbing" a customer is OTT.

EPM wrote: »

Talk about being pedantic...

Jeez Gophur, Im not suggesting the dealer had a striped jumper and a mask. :rolleyes: You know exactly what I mean so don't ask me to elaborate.

Pikasso

Oh, God. Here we go again. :rolleyes:

Berty

Pikasso wrote: »

Oh, God. Here we go again. :rolleyes:

The joys of sitting in front of a keyboard. GO WARRIORS! LOL

Ali Babba

I wouldn't take a Renault, new or old, for free even with 10 year warranty, horrible cars and nothing but trouble, as another poster said already you'll end up going back to the dealers with problems all the time with them. Don't buy one OP you'll be sorry.

air

Does anyone know if a replacement / courtesy car would be provided during any warranty work under the Renault warranty?

Gophur

Berty wrote: »

Jeez Gophur, Im not suggesting the dealer had a striped jumper and a mask. :rolleyes: You know exactly what I mean so don't ask me to elaborate.

Perhaps, but you did say the dealer robbed him when, in fact, he lost his shirt through other means!

I assume some shopping around was done before hand and the dealer offering best deal won the race?

One may save €5k when buying a new Renault, one will definitely lose most of that when it comes to part-exchanging it later on.

smash

My mother had a megane, only trouble it ever gave was the clutch went.... after 11 years!

I bought a new Megane in 2005, knew the dealer and got a good price for it, sold it 4 months later and only lost €100 but if I hadn't got a good deal in the first place then I would have lost a lot!

BigEejit

Well, you may be planning on keeping it for the full 5 years and flogging it when the warranty runs out. So from that point of view, resale is not such a biggie as the residual value is not going to be the best anyway on a 5 year old car.

But keep in mind if it is one of those Monday morning cars (as in, the staff on the production line all came in with hangovers) and it gives constant trouble.... then you should enquire if the warranty is transferable with ownership.

To be honest, I see plenty of renaults on Irish roads, they cant all be bad ones ... and as is normal the squeaky wheel makes the most noise (people who have one go wrong on them give out about them a lot and further erode renaults rep).


Saying all that:
Me <

---

> renault
^ fifty foot bargepole

air

The warranty is transferable alright, says so on the PDF brochure. You have to fill in the new owners details on change of ownership & post it to the insurers I guess.

air

air wrote: »

The warranty is transferable alright, says so on the PDF brochure. You have to fill in the new owners details on change of ownership & post it to the insurers I guess.

Transferrable only in private sale I believe, trade it in and warranty is gone.

air

Yep it says that on the brochure (private sale only).
Still I'd imagine resale should be good privately.
For someone that does a lot of miles, getting a 2 year old megane say with 3 years unlimited mileage warranty remaining could be a very attractive proposition.

air

air wrote: »

Yep it says that on the brochure (private sale only).
Still I'd imagine resale should be good privately.
For someone that does a lot of miles, getting a 2 year old megane say with 3 years unlimited mileage warranty remaining could be a very attractive proposition.

True, for about €9000.

air

RoverJames wrote: »

True, for about €9000.

LOL, you could be right
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Renault/Megane/Monaco/201016197665809/advert?channel=CARS

pajo1981

The new reanults are bullet proof - check out the survey stats.

They are also very refined and the megane is even supposed to be good to drive.

Don't mind all the pub-talk bull****ters - you could write down their entire combined knowledge of cars onto the back of an envelope.

Check out the car. If you like it; buy it.

-Corkie-

I dont know op renaults seem to be ok only the residual value is rubbish. Once you buy a renault you nearly have to stay with them. I have a few colleagues with lagunas etc and they have no problems i have audi/vw and experience a share of trouble. I often wonder is it a lot of bs talk of people running them down....

Leonard Hofstadter

The reason they are giving them away is because they have to.

They simply will not sell without the massive discounts being offered.

This should be a very good clue OP as to what kind of trade in value you will get in a few years time, especially a small saloon, as hatches are always worth more at this end of the market.

I know some say that their reputation will improve in time if they keep the reliability up but the truth is this is Ireland and a stereotype is next to near impossible to remove, just look at the strong resale values of Toyotas despite everything recently, and also VW's, again VWs have been selling cars here on something they were good at 20 years ago, VWs for well over 15 years now have not been well made yet people still buy them because their Dad had one in the 70s and 80s and they were "bullet proof"(which they actually were back then).

I wouldn't buy one OP, and besides the "5 year" warranty is 3 years from Renault themselves and the balance is third party cover(you're still covered either way of course), now if they were as confident as they say they are, do you not think they would cover the 5 year warranty themselves and not outsource it?

I would be very surprised if a Dual Mass Flywheel was covered in a warranty, these are usually considered to be consumables(even though single mass ones always lasted the lifetime of a car) and therefore will not be covered, if they are that certainly is a massive bonus.

PS the entry level Royale spec is quite basic, for not a lot more there is a Dynamic model which is much better equipped.

Pikasso

Pikasso wrote: »

I am looking at getting the new Renault Fluence on the scrappage scheme for a seriously good price of €15,800.

Pros:
Have secured their finance offer of 5.9%
Annual road tax of €104
52 mpg
5 yr warranty with AA Roadside assist
Cruise control
Bluetooth radio
Hands free key card
Air conditioning
..and lots more.

Oh, and this price also INCLUDES metallic paint & delivery!

heebusjeebus

Looking at the Fluence on the Honest John website and it says that its built in Turkey (where are the other Meganes built?) for the Turkish, Romanian and Russian markets. Its not available in the UK but we're getting it?
Is is possible to assume it is sub-standard if it is aimed at Eastern Europe?

Zonda999

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Looking at the Fluence on the Honest John website and it says that its built in Turkey (where are the other Meganes built?) for the Turkish, Romanian and Russian markets. Its not available in the UK but we're getting it?
Is is possible to assume it is sub-standard if it is aimed at Eastern Europe?

Its possible but i doubt it really. Renault are'nt the only ones to do that either, Opel did that only two years ago with the Astra saloon

-Chris-

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Is is possible to assume it is sub-standard if it is aimed at Eastern Europe?

It's possible, but it's incorrect.

MoodeRator

Had one out for a drive at the weekend and am quite keen on it myself. Anyone know how much to add on the stereo upgrade?

starfish12

OP you could put any car brand/dealer name in your post and get exactly teh same response...my mate had one and this this and this broke...or i traded mine in and only got a tenner for it!!

I've yet to come across a brand that EVERYONE agrees on!!

For what its worth IMO it sounds like a good deal, I do know of so called electrical problems with renaults, my clio had one, indicators used to all flash at once....teh car was 9 years old and it cost €30 to fix....and that was the biggest issue I ever had with it!

If you are happy with it, and have shopped around for a deal go for it!

Berty

starfish12 wrote: »

I've yet to come across a brand that EVERYONE agrees on!!

Skoda Octavia a motors forum favourite

Saab Ed

heebusjeebus wrote: »

Looking at the Fluence on the Honest John website and it says that its built in Turkey (where are the other Meganes built?) for the Turkish, Romanian and Russian markets. Its not available in the UK but we're getting it?
Is is possible to assume it is sub-standard if it is aimed at Eastern Europe?

Its because Irish people are trapped in the 70's and still think that its "posh" to be driving around in a saloon ....... I kid you not.

The whole rest of Europe ( including the UK) has their head out of their arse and has figured out that hatchbacks are just far better in every department as a family car, except for countries still in the dark ages i.e the ones mentioned above. ( Which includes us :pac: )

Like a previous poster said ,the Astra saloon was here but not in Europe, the Honda Accord used to be available as a hatchback across Europe but not here because we didn't consider it premium enough as a hatch. Corolla sells very well here as a saloon yet you never see one in the UK as a saloon , they were all hatches. Civic was the same, they didn't even bring the regular Civic saloon to the UK.

Zonda999

Opel Astra Saloon
Nissan Tiida
Honda Civic Saloon
Hyundai Accent
Renault Fluence
Toyota Corolla Saloon

Just some of the cars i can think of that we get here that they dont get in the UK because they are saloons. At least it gives us more choice but also brings in some dire stuff, the tiida springs to mind immediately..

Gophur

Toyota's Verso is built in Turkey.

Zonda999

So is the Saloon Corolla we get here

bazz26

We also get this beast, the Suzuki SX4 saloon:

Saab Ed

We did dodge these though.....

bazz26

Anyone remember this yoke?

Zonda999

bazz26 wrote: »

We also get this beast, the Suzuki SX4 saloon:

Missed that one, ye know, in that particular photo it doesnt look that bad really, its not the worst looking car in reality anyway

Jeez Ed, those polo and clio saloons just look wrong, just another piece of metal has been bolted onto the back, and that fiesta amazingly makes me want to puke for some reason, odd considering the hatch is a decent looking car, in general small saloons just are'nt "nice" cars clearly...

R.O.R

Saab Ed wrote: »

We did dodge these though.....

There was one of these monstrosities coming out of the car park at the ALMC show a couple of weeks ago, as I was on the way back to the car.

Going from looking at Ferrari's etc. to this abomination isn't good

DubTony

Saab Ed wrote: »

It's hard to imagine the guy who designed that actually standing back and looking at his work with pride.

shamwari

That Clio is mild compared to this :eek:



I like the Corsa B, but thank God they didn't sell the saloon here.

Pikasso

Deposit paid on Dynamique last week. Now all I have to do is wait....

Ali Babba

Is anyone going to step in and lock this thread on bad taste alone! I feel sick just looking at the pictures and a picture of that Renault Fluence thingy would just about finish me.....:o

Pikasso

You can always leave...;)

Saab Ed

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.....just for you ali babba

Guy:Incognito

Saab Ed wrote: »

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.....just for you ali babba

I want an American Eagle SX4.

MoodeRator

Pikasso wrote: »

Deposit paid on Dynamique last week. Now all I have to do is wait....

did you ever get delivery of your car? I have been waiting since March!!!!!!:eek:

Pikasso

MoodeRator wrote: »

did you ever get delivery of your car? I have been waiting since March!!!!!!:eek:

Yes. Posted about it earlier. Got it 5 weeks to the day after I ordered it - great car!