Loyal customer disappointed in Renault Service

Disappointed in Renault's service.

Hubby and I have both been Renault fans for years. Before meeting each other we both had Renault Dusters and we've been diligent in having our Renault's serviced at Renault Service centres. However the last week have shown me a different side to Renault that have caused much stress, disappointment and unexpected costs in our lives.

On Tues 13 Sept we had our Renault Duster serviced at the Renault seamans Port Elizabeth branch. 75,000km service...cam belt replacement included.

Sunday 18 Sept I travelled through from PE --> CPT. We were to be in CPT for a week for work and a friend's wedding, whereafter we would travel back home ( PE ) on Sunday 25 Sept.

However On Wednesday 21 Sept we noticed our car was leaking some oil which seemed very odd since we had the car properly serviced last week. I thought perhaps they'd forgotten to put an oil plug in or something along those lines so we took the car to the Renault dealership in Paarden Eiland, CPT and they informed us that we'd need to leave the car with them for inspection + analysis, we can't ride with the car while it's leaking oil as there was a chance that this could cause serious damage to the engine.

On Thursday afternoon we were informed that there was damage to the sump (the engine oil pan) and that Renault Club - South Africa would need to do further inspection to see if the damage was due to an accident that we'd had with the car OR due to wear + tear (which would still be covered within the warranty) OR due to something having gone wrong during the car service the week before.

Great ...now we sat in Cape Town without a car!! The Uber bills were racking up ....accomm arrangements needed to be altered and we were given no direction as to how long the would be in for inspection/analysis. life plans back home in PE needed to be put on hold since we were left in a situation with lots of questions.

Late Friday afternoon we were informed that Renaults analysis showed that the crack in the sump was NOT due to bumping into a rock/an animal/a curb etc (bashplate which goes over the sump would show if the crack was caused because of our mistake - we would also totally take ownership if we had hit the car, but we haven't...) And Renault disclosed that they have seen similar damage to a sump before when there was damage to an engine piston.

We were also informed that there is only 1 sump left in SA (in JHB) and it would take 4 days to get to CPT and then it'd take them 2 days to do the labour. They would not order the sump unless we as the client made the necessary payment of R10,800...(this after just paying Renault R7,800 for a car service!!! ) If we missed out on getting this 1 sump that's left in SA then Renault would need to order another from France, which would take 3weeks to arrive in SA 🫣🥹 and then another 2 business days of labour.

We explained to the Renault Paarden Eiland manager that we could not afford to pay for this unexpected cost and that it seemed unjust given that we had not been in an accident/damaged the sump and their own analysis had shown this, therefore all evidence pointed towards Renault needing to take ownership of this problem.

We explained that: 1. We're away from home ie. We now don't have accommodation and the luxuries of being at home...leading to added accommodation, food, and random other needs costs... 2. We're stranded in Cape Town now without a car.... Leading to Uber bills /renting a car expenses ... 3. We're needing to change all our plans and miss out on important things happening back home (including my mother going in for a medical surgery which I now can't be there to support with since we can't get back home)

It's 11:30 am on Monday morning 26 Sept... And we have yet to hear anything further from Renault. Yet ..here we are. Stranded in a city that is not our own. Without a car. Without any form of support /empathy shown from Renault towards this situation.

What would we like... - a follow up , to let us know what Renault PE and Renault Paarden Eiland have discussed - a follow-up to let us know what next steps we should take - care, empathy towards our situation...none have been shown....they didn't even offer us a lift back to our accommodation when we left the car with them last week.