Renault Kadjar

Rashers72

Looking at buying a demo/lease model. Low mileage. Either S Nav or Signature models. Price to exchange will dictate. Have jeep to trade in.
A mechanic we use recommended steer clear of Renault due to recent high service costs compared to unfranchised garages for basic stuff. He also said they may not stand over their 5 year warranty unless you went to them for all servicing, and effectively that is how they make their money back off me.
Any thoughts?

bazz26

Would your mechanic recommend a Nissan Qashqai out of interest?

Rashers72

bazz26 wrote: »

Would your mechanic recommend a Nissan Qashqai out of interest?

Not sure, but I don't fancy it tbh.

bazz26

Well the Renault Kadjar and Nissan Qashqai are the same car underneath the different styling so it would be interesting to hear if his opinion of the Qashqai is different.

Doodah7

Mechanic is talking through his behind. Given they were released at the start of this year, how many has he actually worked on? Given that every single one on the road is still within warranty and therefore any owner would have no reason not to go to a Renault garage, how many has this genius mechanic actually worked on? Precisely zero I would reckon.

If he could provide some actual proof that Renault won't stand over warranty on vehicles serviced elsewhere, that would be tremendous too. My advice: get another mechanic.

Stallingrad

Your mechanic is right about one thing, Renault servicing is not cheap, and you would be well advised to keep the are serviced with them while under warranty. But you could say the same of almost any new car. The Kadjar should prove reliable, drivetrain is well proven, we have a 2010 Clio and never used the 5 year warranty. I'd have no hesitation, they are an excellent car.

Rashers72

tallpaul - to be fair he was referring to Renault in general. He told my wife he had done repairs to 3 Renaults recently, where the individuals said his prices were much cheaper when compared to the main dealer. Note: My VW was with him for the same reason!!!

I previously owned 4 Renaults in a row, and apart from a lot of depreciation on the last one when I changed to go for VW, I was happy enough with them. Last service (100k kms) on last Renault was a major one and I got a big price to change timing belt, so got it done for 1/2 the price elsewhere. I was also really put off by one of the electric windows failing, out of warranty, and while I cannot remember the cost to fix with Renault, I know is was big. I got another mechanic to put a block of wood in place to hold it up, for about a year, until after a lot of public pressure (some consumer programme had someone who had a megane with 4 windows that failed!), Renault eventually agreed to recall all the failed ones. Left a bad taste in my mouth, and after 4 Renaults, I decided I was going to leave the brand.
But the Kadjar is ticking a lot of boxes for me now, hence my dilemma!

pippip

Sounds a bit like you are just comparing dealer prices to indy prices.
Always going to be much cheaper with an indy no matter what the make.

Toyotafanboi

Yeah, sounds like you are just comparing indy prices to main dealer prices. An indy will always be cheaper but if you're buying a €30k Kadjar, are you really going to skimp <€100 a year on servicing.

Renault went through a flakey phase a few years ago where the second half of the 5 year warranty was through a third party insurance company, but new Renaults these days have a good conprehensive warranty with Renault directly.

As mentioned also, the engine in the Kadjar has heen on the go for 15+ years at this stage in various different models ans brands in one form or another, so it's very well tried and tested, as is the chassis in the form of the Qashqai.

Stallingrad

Failing window regs are a thing of the past thankfully, but that sure pissed off a lot of owners.

One thing that drives me crazy though is both Clio and Scenic are prone to blocked water drain channels in the scuttle (the apertures are very small), which can results in water ingress, electrical mayhem and failed wiper motors. Really dumb design, hopefully that has been resolved.