Anyone own a Renault Fluence?

TBi

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Off topic, but you've got to be ****ting me. This is a company that has a ridiculously vast experience in product innovative. There's not many out there that can claim the depth of their product portfolio. I'm not a fan, but look at their phones for example , almost every aspect is designed and built in house. How many other companies can you say that about.

Phone OS is created and designed by google with the interface Touchwiz initially a direct copy of Apple's iOS. They might have a big product portfolio but innovation they don't have. This is my last off-topic comment here.

byronbay2

riverrock1 wrote: »

OP:My mother has owned one for 3 years.She finds it very economical and reliable. The only minor niggles are the glove box and door pockets are tiny,and its not very comfortable, seats are very hard.

Correct about the glovebox and door pockets (both are annoyingly small) but I don't get the hating on the seats. I have found them absolutely excellent. Have gone for several long drives (Cork-Letterkenny for example) and never had any problem (stiffness/sore back etc) during or at the end of the journey. Drove my FIL's new Honda SUV last week and had a sore back after 20 minutes.

FWIW, I have owned a Fluence for 3 years and have had no problems of any kind during that period - at 60K kilometres now. No problem with speed but acceleration is a bit slow - still, not as bad as people are making out. It was my first time buying a Renault and was worried about reliability but have had no issues. I was one of the "€15K with scrappage" people mentioned earlier and think that I got great value (trade-in value notwithstanding) a that price.

ThisRegard

toyotaavensis wrote: »

Remember that a vw or toyota will hold its value better when you come to sell it.

repsol wrote: »

A Focus or Golf is a much nicer car and will easily sell on for you in 2 or 3 years. Qashqais and Corolla Verso are worth a look if you prefer more headroom Try selling your by then 5 year old Fluence and see what you will get for it.

Someone with a much better knowledge than I or you posted hard facts in the Duster thread dispelling such claims, it may have been more in relation to the Megane as opposed to the broader Renault range.


OP, might be worth looking at a Grand Megane also, plenty of space for everything the comes with a baby.

ltdslipdiff

In fairness, you can't say Renault got it wrong with the Fluence, they got it 100% right. They ticked all the boxes for the Irish market - cheap tax, diesel, long warranty to silence all the "I had a 2003 Megane - worst car I ever had" nay-sayers, saloon, cheap hard-wearing interior, and most importantly, discounting the bejaysus out of it with a little help from the Greens/Government Scrappage scheme. Problem now is people are going in to dealerships and collapsing in shock on the floor when they see that the cars are now starting at €22,600 and not the magic €16k odd like scrappage days.

What about all the Ssangyong/Daewoo/Chevrolets that were sold in the good times, they still have a loyal following albeit over the age of 50 generally. I would consider the Fluence a much more pleasant drive than any of these.

road_high

I read today Renault were at over 9% of the Irish market which is a super figure for them. Even excludes Dacia which adds another 1.6% or something.
They must be doing something right to be selling so many cars. Sounds like they have actually upped the game hugely in reliability and quality. The Fluence was a lot of car for the money a few years back at €15k scrappage.

are_you_busy

\it is a perfect family car

kala85

Any more opinions on the fluence. Thinking of buying one and just looking for some feedback

I bought a fluence in 2011 New. Very happy with it, no problems bar one issue with Bluetooth that was fixed under warrenty with a software upgrade.

Nice big boot, plenty of space overall, comfortable to drive, fairly economical. Good value for money in my opinion.

NIMAN

I did a days car hunting recently and viewed Focus, Golfs, Leons, Fluence's and I have to say I wasn't mad keen on the Renault at all.

I am sure its probably reliable enough and probably would have suited my needs, but just something about it didn't speak to me. Not mad on the interior styling. Or the exterior for that matter.

Plus the Renault sales guy was giving me a lot less for the trade-in that others.

bazz26

Your local Parish Priest's new company chariot....

Old diesel

With all the talk of the Fluence been a Samsung product - is the Mk 3 Megane (09 on) a Samsung product as well????

slimjimmc

NIMAN wrote: »

Plus the Renault sales guy was giving me a lot less for the trade-in that others.

But what was the cost-to-change in comparison? You might get a higher trade-in value but if you have to pay a higher price for the new car are you really any better off?
I've never owned one and I'm not gone on their exterior styling but I've traveled as a passenger in a few and they seemed grand. Smooth, quiet and comfortable.

bazz26

Old diesel wrote: »

With all the talk of the Fluence been a Samsung product - is the Mk 3 Megane (09 on) a Samsung product as well????

The Megane is designed in Europe for Europe from the ground up.

The Fluence was designed for the emerging Asian markets and adapted for certain European countries where small saloons sell, borrowing bits from the Megane. A bit like the Nissan Tiida except with a bit more thought.

NIMAN

slimjimmc wrote: »

But what was the cost-to-change in comparison? You might get a higher trade-in value but if you have to pay a higher price for the new car are you really any better off?
I've never owned one and I'm not gone on their exterior styling but I've traveled as a passenger in a few and they seemed grand. Smooth, quiet and comfortable.

Well of course the likes of Focus and Golfs were more expensive to trade up to, but that's because I would say they are more desirable than a Fluence.

They are in my book anyway.

kala85

Any more feedback on the fluence from people who bought two years ago?

Toyotafanboi

Despite naysayers, the Fluence is a decent car.

Boot door switches can give trouble, so can front door check straps but both are cheap, easy fixes and should be covered by the five year warranty. Keycards are prone to breaking not that that is a Fluence exclusive, these are expensive and not covered by the warranty so make sure any prospective car has 2x working cards.

Other than that they are fairly solid tbh.

bazz26

For what's it's worth the Fluence is being replaced at the end of this year by the Megane Grand Coupe:




Might be some deals on old Fluence run out models to be had.

naughtysmurf

The check straps will be done under warranty, it's the only thing we had to get done other than regular servicing, 148k on it now, no other issues

kala85

Thanks for the feedback.
Really like the new megane coupe. Wonder will it be available in time for January 2017?

How much would the Keycards cost?
Price to get a Renault is coming in a good bit cheaper than similar Ford or Toyota

naughtysmurf

kala85 wrote: »

How much would the Keycards cost

I got a Megan II key card repaired properly for €70, in fairness the fluence key cards seem a lot sturdier

kala85

How are you finding the fuel economy and the cost of a service?

Toyotafanboi

From Renault, any change from €300 is doing well. As above though, lots of locksmiths are getting good at repairing them for ~€100 but even that is saucey.

kala85

What would keys for other cars cost - say toyota or ford?

Dionysius2

El Kabong! wrote: »

If family is on the way the I recommend you get a large hatch or estate. The megane estate would be similar to the fluence but a bit pricier.

Agreed Did my sums and research and a Megane hatch or Estate came out tops.

Have had my Fluence just over 5 years now. Has given me no bother at all. I find it a lovely car to drive, even on long journeys. Big plus is the huge boot.
The card key has literally been in my pocket for 5 years and apart from 2 battery changes its still perfect.
My local Renault garage is walking distance from my house, so have had the servicing done there. Not overly expensive for a main dealer and never had to have anything fixed or replaced other than the normal service items.
Am thinking of trading it in for a new one at the moment.

naughtysmurf

kala85 wrote: »

How are you finding the fuel economy and the cost of a service?

Our fluence has a full main dealer service history, it's not bad at all cost wise, the 1.5dci seem to be generally acknowledged as quite frugal as regards fuel consumption , if you want the exact cost details, pm me on Thursday, I'll dig the history out

Toyotafanboi

Renault has 4 services that they do on the Fluence, Service A, B, C, and D. Service A is the cheapest @ €189, Service C is the most expensive @ €279 and the rest fall somewhere in between those two figures. The intervals are recommeded to be 20k by Renault, but most dealers seems to promote 15k.

Timing belts are due at 160k kms and they are €599 to replace.

colm_mcm

kala85 wrote: »

What would keys for other cars cost - say toyota or ford?

Key cards are just a bad design in comparison to a chunky key. The cards flex and bend, which causes issues
Toyota and ford keys are expensive too.