Worst After Sales Service/Warranty policy

I bought a Renault Duster 1.5DCI Automatic from Renault Bethlehem (Multifranchise) in 2021 brand new. On 16 June 2023 my wife and I went to the Kruger National Park for the long weekend. We haven't been away for a long while and the kids was staying with the grand parents. We are living in Pretoria. The holiday cost us a lot of money in the first place.

After driving through the Kruger we smelled something bad through the aircon and after exiting at the Numbi gate the security guard indicated that my car was leaking Diesel. We were close to the lodge and upon inspection at the lodge we saw that there is a hole inside a diesel pipe next to the aircon pipe and the diesel was pouring out of that pipe. The car was only on 55,000 km's at that stage.

It appears that the two pipes was moving against each other which caused the hole in the diesel pipe.

On the morning of the 17th of June 2023 I decided to phone the roadside assistance of Renault (which is through Liquid capital) and they towed the car to the nearest Renault which is in Nelspruit. Our holiday booking was only until the 18th of June 2023 and I had to be back at work on the 19th of June and our kids were back home and they had to be at school on the 19th of June. The car was only towed on a Saturday which means that the first day that someone can look at the car is only on the Monday and even then it is not to say that the car will be ready on that day.

We decided that we need to head back to Pretoria since life do not stop if your ****py Renault breaks down. I was informed that Liquid Capital will either pay for accommodation or a rental car up to the value of R500.

We were sitting at the lodge in the Kruger without any transport. To get a rental car we first had to get to the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport. Luckily we managed to get a lift with a couple that stays in Nelspruit (No help from Renault SA or Liquid Capital at all). From there we had to organize a rental car by ourselves and just the one way fee back to Pretoria was almost R500. Just on that you would never be able to get accommodation for R500 a night or in that case proper accommodation.

Back in Pretoria, I had to go back to work on the Monday. On the Monday I haven't received any feedback with regards to the status of the car, I phoned Renault Nelspruit, Renault SA, Liquid Capital and even got the dealer where I bought the car from in Bethlehem to try and get hold of someone that can give me feedback. Eventually just before 17h00 on the 19th of June 2023 I received feedback from Renault Nelspruit (Who I have phoned) that the diesel pipe needs to be replaced which I could have told them that morning with a video if they have asked or contacted me.

Renault Nelspruit indicated that the car will be ready on the Tuesday. On the Tuesday I then started to phone Renault SA and Liquid Capital as I am in Pretoria and the car in Nelspruit. It turned out that I am responsible to get the car back to me. After a quotation it would have cost me R9,500 to tow the car to Pretoria. I then decided to rent a car again in Pretoria and drive to Nelspruit on the Friday to pick up the car as it will work out cheaper (If I do not consider my lost Income for the Friday's work).

During the process of organizing the costs of this all, no one from Renault SA is taking any responsibility even though the lady at Renault Nelspruit indicated that the pipe wasn't properly fitted causing the leak (Only Renault works on my car during services). Renault SA refers me to Liquid Capital, Liquid Capital indicates that they will only refund me to the maximum amount of R500 and they refer me back to Renault SA.

To sum it up: * Between Liquid Capital, Renault Bethlehem, Renault SA and Renault Nelspruit there are too many individual companies involved and no one takes responsibility * An expensive holiday was ruined due to my Duster breaking down while it was still under warranty while I am on holiday and there is absolutely no help whatsoever from the manufacturer (Renault SA) to sort out your logistics. You are on your own if your Renault breaks down when you are on holiday. * No help whatsoever to get the car back to me in Pretoria. Renault SA (Or Liquid Capitals') warranty policy do not consider that the car can break down when you are on holiday away from the city/town where you live. * After spending thousands of rands out of my own pocket I can only claim R500 from Liquid Capital, even though my Renault breaks down while it is still on warranty. When a car is under warranty it should give your customer the peace of mind that you can drive your car without any problems. Now I am afraid to drive far distances with my Renault.