Views on the Renault Laguna? (2001 model)

Dingatron

Ok as the title says, I'm looking for views on the Renault Laguna. I just test drove a Supersport (I think thats the model?). Full spec. 1.6 16v 5D, e/w, pas, a/c, c/d, h/leather, alloys etc. 61,000 on the clock and coming in at a price of €8k which I think is good? Comments would be good as I really don't know much about cars. What milage does the timing belt need to be done at etc?

BrianD3

The timing belt should have been done at around 50k. In the owners handbook, it says to change at 72k but all renault dealers I've spoken to have advised that it should be done at 50k. Timing belt change cost is around 400-480 euros at a renault dealer.

The Laguna II has a bad rep for reliability (there is an awful lot to go wrong in the car and if it does it's probably going to be expensive) Having said that I've found mine very reliable. I've done 75k in it and in that time the only probs have been minor electrical ones. Car is a 03 - earlier cars may be less reliable. Also, the diesels seem to give more problems than the petrols.

The wheels on the car you looked at are probably 17" Silverstone alloys. These look nice but the tyres are expensive. Around 100 quid each if you go for cheap brands, close to 200 quid for Michelins/Continentals etc. The wheels are also pretty unsuitable for Irish roads as they break easily if you hit a pothole leaving you with a big bill for replacement.

Best thing about the car is the great seats and suspension. Like the Peugeot 407, comfort is as good as what you'd get in a big Jag/Lexus/Merc. Handling is OK. Safety is very good, equipment is also very good. Space inside is a bit less than some competitors which is no surprise as the Laguna is more compact than cars like the 407, Mondeo, Passat.

BrianD3

Dingatron

Thanks BrianD3. I'd heard about the 17" alloys alright. Having said that it will be used for motorway driving 90% of the time so I reckon as long as I'm careful they should be ok. Pricey tyres though. How big of a job is it to swap the front/back tyres to get more life out of them,without screwing up the tyre pressure sensors? Also is the asking price fair if the timing belt has been done already?

BrianD3

The wheels cannot be swapped around without resetting the computer AFAIK. If you want to swap the front tyres with the back tyres, you'll have to get a tyre fitter to take the tyres off the wheels and swap the tyres only.

Dunno about the price - I would have thought 8k is a bit low actually. Check out the buyandsell adn carzone.ie to see what people are looking for for similar cars. If the asking price for your car is well below the normal asking price for these cars, then be a bit suspicious, it might be "dodgy".

BrianD3

Dilbert75

All I know about it is that a colleague recently got rid of a 2001 (I think) diesel model after only about two or three months - a legacy of electrical / electronic problems. Car froze up in a filling station one day, had to be towed and spent nearly 2 weeks in a garage. Finally gave up on it and handed it back to the garage who sold it after it died suddenly in the middle of a drive.

lomb

i have seen a lot of lugunas being towed by the AA. never a good sign...........

unkel

What BrianD3 said. It's a nice, safe, comfortable and stylish car packed with bells and whistles, but brace yourself for problems. Do not buy privately and make sure you get a long warranty from a dealer

The Laguna II is pretty much on the bottom of customer satisfaction and reliability surveys:

Honest John wrote:

Joint Second Bottom (to Espace) in 2002 Which reliability survey of cars up to 2 years old; 56 cars surveyed. Only 87% breakdown free (same as Alfa 156) in 2003 Which survey. Renault had above average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 114.24 v/s lowest 31.93). Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk Petrol and diesel models poor for problems and faults; petrol poor for breakdowns; diesel average for breakdowns in 2003 Which survey. 4th from bottom out of 137 models in 2003 Top Gear survey. Laguna joint 10th bottom model in 2004 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Only 88% of cars up to 2 years old breakdown-free over previous 12 months in 2004 Which? survey. 2004 Which? quote: "A stupendously unreliable car. Renault seems to have restricted building the Laguna to Friday afternoons. An unenjoyable drive, too, especially for tall drivers."

HungryJoey

Well my dad drives a Laguna 01' 1.6L Sport plus... Along with a E240 V6 avantgarde, He rpefers teh Laguna... Its is absoloutly packed wiht little features here and there and its never broke down on him once in the last 4 years he has had it , honestly, he is dead impressed with it , Only let down is the engine, its a bit on the sluggish size, i think the car is too heavy to only have 1.6 , I would go for 1.8 Minimum or 2L GT :>

Goodluck, All around great car, highly recomend.

lomb

HungryJoey wrote:

Goodluck, All around great car, highly recomend.

just make sure u get it covered by the AA, u cant really trust anyone with that kind of technology except the japs.
even the germans cant be trusted never mind the french. i would never personally buy a modern renault. i had a look at a new megane and it had some kind of weird electronic parking brake. i mean whats the point? whats wrong with a cable? and WHEN it goes wrong 2 weeks out of warranty only a dealer would be able to repair it by replacing a module at a cost of 2 grand. NO WAY.

greglo23

make sure the balljoints have been replaced as they dont last more than 25,000 miles. a friend who is a really steady driver told me his started making noise at 17,000 miles.

lomb

greglo23 wrote:

make sure the balljoints have been replaced as they dont last more than 25,000 miles. a friend who is a really steady driver told me his started making noise at 17,000 miles.

lol

Dingatron

Humm! Thank for the replys guys. In two minds now. I'm pretty sure the car is legit as I know someone that knows the owner. I'll see if I can get a service history for it and do a bit more thinking. Whats the story with balljoints (the cars, that is). Is that an expensive job? Problem is I love all that "extra's" thing and this one has the looks etc but as you seem to be saying looks are shag all when you're stuck on the side of the M1 a 4 am in the morning. Food for thought.

BrianD3

I've never heard anything about this balljoint problem. And there is no mention of it on honestjohn.co.uk. As I said earlier, I've done 75k and as far as I'm aware my balljoints are fine.

Personally I don't think the Laguna is nearly as unreliable as people say. The car is a bit like the Alfa 156 in that there are a lot of rumours going around about the car and people are saying stuff like "my mate's brother's uncle had one of them, it was rubbish" There is undoubtedly some truth to the rumours but there's also plenty of exaggeration going on.

BrianD3

knifey_spoonie

2 window regulators are 2 grand fitted so run.Theres a good reason your geting a 01 car for 8k

BrianD3

knife_fighter wrote:

2 window regulators are 2 grand fitted so run.Theres a good reason your geting a 01 car for 8k

This sounds like another rumour. 2 electric window mechanisms for the Laguna II are 128 sterling from GSF car parts.

Where did you get the 2 grand figure for parts and labour?

BrianD3

Rallysnapper

window regs are close to €300 from a main dealer, tyre sensors give lots of problems, if it has digital air con be careful(if the lights go out its €600 for the unit), ball joints and suspension rubbers give trouble. the garage i work in will never trade another series 2 laguna in as there is too much to go wrong. if i was offered one for €100 i'd walk away from it, they are more hassle than they are worth

Nuttzz

Im a laguna II driver (02), the turbo popped at about 10k miles but was a quick fix, other that that they are very comfy and a good car to drive.

8k is good for an 01 i'd say, as 02's are 14-16k over on carzone, is it an old style or new style?

Dingatron

It's the old one (Jan-Feb 01) which is probley why the price is low as well as maybe needing a timing belt. They are a good looking car and I'm going to get a mechanic to check it out.

BrianD3

If it's an old model Laguna (introduced in 1994, facelifted in 1998) then things are a bit different. There are no tyre pressure sensors, alloys are 16" on the 2001 and the car is generally a bit less complex. It will still have a complicated climate control system though. The old one is not as good to drive as the Laguna II however it is still a very comfortable car.
old model Laguna


BrianD3

greglo23

it`s only the series 2 Laguna that has the balljoint issue. saw one the other day with 31,000 miles up and it fell out.

knifey_spoonie

BrianD3 wrote:

This sounds like another rumour. 2 electric window mechanisms for the Laguna II are 128 sterling from GSF car parts.

Where did you get the 2 grand figure for parts and labour?

BrianD3

Ive seen the jobcard it said 2 grand inc labour and vat

Guy:Incognito

knife_fighter wrote:

Ive seen the jobcard it said 2 grand inc labour and vat

Aah the joys of billing the insurance company.

Pink Floyd

Does any one have any idea why when i turned on my laguna 2001 super sport dynamique this morning that instead of the radio coming up all that was coming up on the screen was 'SPEECH'. So i started off with my speech as to why the hell isn't the friggin radio working. Any button i pressed i just got a loud BEEP noise.... When i eventually got into work i stopped the car, turned it back on and it was fine... WTF??? Not the first time this has happend. Why would speech be coming up when i dont believe that there is any speech recognition in this car..

Any come across this? Any ideas?

Stephen

No idea. Something to do with a mobile car kit option or something? You know the way some of the more high end ones can mute the radio automatically when a call comes in?

mondeoman

my G/F's Brother bought a 2001 1.6 Laguna 2 last year & has had nothing but trouble with it.it had 26'000 miles & the 2 front balljoints where so badly worn there was about a 1/2 inch of play on each side.the 2 rear shocks where completely gone.both front window regulaters went (€440 each non main dealer).
so far the tyre pressure sensors are ok but i warned him about it.
I also found it not great to drive,glad to get back into my 8 year old mondeo tbh.;)

Guy:Incognito

Pink Floyd wrote:

Does any one have any idea why when i turned on my laguna 2001 super sport dynamique this morning that instead of the radio coming up all that was coming up on the screen was 'SPEECH'. So i started off with my speech as to why the hell isn't the friggin radio working. Any button i pressed i just got a loud BEEP noise.... When i eventually got into work i stopped the car, turned it back on and it was fine... WTF??? Not the first time this has happend. Why would speech be coming up when i dont believe that there is any speech recognition in this car..

Any come across this? Any ideas?

That comes up on my safrane when the voice is telling me about a problem (door open, seat belt not fastened, brakes discs worn etc) but I didnt think the laguna had the on board computer with the speech,

Dingatron

I've had that once or twice and put it down as something to do with the activation of my bluetooth mobile phone kit?

Guy:Incognito

Dingatron wrote:

I've had that once or twice and put it down as something to do with the activation of my bluetooth mobile phone kit?

I wouldnt think so. My bluetooth kit mutes th eradio but its not actually anything to do wiith the radio, its the cable thats in between the kit and the radio just cuts the feed, the radio doesnt know it's muted, and the display doesnt change.

As I said, the only time the "speech" comes up on my display is when the car is talking to me. Does the laguna even have this option? Maybe the same display unit is used in the laguna and safrane and the unit interprets certain things as the car talking? I'm guessing now

Dingatron

Stekelly wrote:

I wouldnt think so. My bluetooth kit mutes th eradio but its not actually anything to do wiith the radio, its the cable thats in between the kit and the radio just cuts the feed, the radio doesnt know it's muted, and the display doesnt change.

As I said, the only time the "speech" comes up on my display is when the car is talking to me. Does the laguna even have this option? Maybe the same display unit is used in the laguna and safrane and the unit interprets certain things as the car talking? I'm guessing now

The Laguna Concode (96-01) model has the speech unit. Not sure about the other models. I have only noticed it "stick on speech" when starting the car and this is when the phone kit kicks in. As I said its only happened once or twice so I wouldn't be worried to much. TBH the speech is starting to annoy me anyway so I must disable it for some peace and quite.

unkel

Driving behind a Laguna II today and when it indicated, instead of the right indicator flashing, the right brake light was flashing. See similar electrical problems like this nearly on a daily basis and almost always on French cars and FIATs. Let's just call it Meditteranean temperament