LN
Lenley N

1 reviews | Active since Oct 2013

24 Nov 2019, 23:26

NEVER buy Renault, their service stinks and their cars keep breaking

My wife and I bought a brand new Renault Duster from Bidvest McCarthy Renault Gateway. A few days after collecting the vehicle, my wife noticed that the rear drum brakes were badly rusted and had what appeared to be a crack. The car was sluggish between gear changes (EDC, supposively a smooth shifting gearbox). We alerted the sales lady and she asked us to bring the car in. On the first visit, the guy in the workshop had a glance at the brakes, sprayed some lubricant on it without even removing the wheels to do a proper inspection and told us the car was fixed. After objecting to this fix, the car was booked in for a second, more thorough workshop inspection. Komlin Naidoo, the workshop manager told me that they had 'fixed' the drums by treating them and repainting them and there was no power lag according to their test. I objected to that as the car was new and I didn't want a repair. Komlin then agreed to replace the drums but said he would need to take parts off another new vehicle as Renault did not yet stock parts for the Duster although the model was launched 1 year prior. 5 days later, whilst still waiting for Komlin to call me back to let me know when the vehicle could be brought back to have the brakes replaced, I noticed water pooling in the boot of the vehicle after it had rained. I drove the vehicle straight back to Renault for the 3rd inspection in 3 weeks of owning the vehicle. The vehicle was again booked in for a thorough workshop inspection. The vehicle was collected for the 4th inspection and that evening Komlin called my wife to say that the brakes had been replaced whilst they had the car and that they had removed and resealed the boot lid rubber seal, although they couldn't find the leak. He assured her the car was water tested twice and was dry. The next morning, I went past the dealership and the car was parked on the roadside, not on their premises. Upon engaging the dealer principal about this, we inspected the car together. Upon opening the boot, we found a puddle of water again. Komlin agreed with the Dealer Principal to send the car to a panel beater for testing. That evening Komlin again called to say that the car was dry and ready for collection. My wife had already contacted RenaultSA and requested a replacement or refund as the vehicle was clearly defective from factory. Renault then asked for the vehicle to go back to the panel beaters for a comprehensive "independent" report, according to their requirements. Innocentia from RenaultSA then stopped replying to emails from my wife and ignored voice messages. We finally got a reply 5 days later saying she was still busy. A week and two days after the dealership had collected the car from her, my wife went back to the dealership to enquire about this so called "independant" report from the panel beater and to ask about what was happening to the vehicle. After multiple asuurances from Komlin that all issues were addressed (even though they still can't account for where the water was entering the boot) and that she had his word that there would be no further issues, out of pure frustration and the effect the stress of this was having on her health (the dealership was made aware at the outset that she had major health issues) , she took the vehicle home. Yesterday (23 November 2019), two days after collecting the vehicle, we visited friends and parked on a slightly inclined driveway. When returning to the vehicle, we saw a sizable puddle of water (about 30cm diameter) and found that the rear window washer was leaking continuously. Komlin was contacted and then explained that this was because they had filled the window washer reservoir when they had the car. The reservoir is in the front of the vehicle and the ignition was off so there was no power to the pump to push water to the rear washer so this makes no sense. Between Renault South Africa and Bidvest McCarthy Renault Umhlanga, could one of you do the honorable thing, according to the CPA and refund us for a clearly defective product?

0
Replies (0)