If you don't like reading words like Renault and such please read Renault as Fiat, Dci as Jtd, 120 as 115 and Scenic as Mulipla lol

OK my parents went out today and decided that they wanted a new car

They went to Renault and got a price for the 1.9DCi 120bhp 6 speed Scenic Dynamique at 13,500, a good(ish) price for a 6 month old demonstator with 7k on the clock. In the colour they loved and the spec they wanted. They give a 3 year warranty (or so I am told).

They phoned me to find out what I thought. Motorpoint offer a brand new Scenic with 0 miles, unregistered for 12599 + tax + registration fee (£38) - pretty damn good! These come from Cyprus but are European spec and this is the Dynamique spec as above.

However, when my dad quoted this at Renault they said "You don't get a warranty from MP" So we phoned up to ask "You get a two year warranty with your main dealer". This has us confused.

My dad is all ready to go and buy the Scenic from Renault tomorrow but I have been telling him to slow down. I mean potentially MP will offer the same car, 6 months newer, 7k less on the clock all for £700 or so less than Renault when you add registration and tax.

This will be the first brand new car our family will have ever bought so it's something we aren't familiar with much but I know plenty on here are. I am currently trying to find info about the warrenties on the internet. Any links of info I can show to my parents will be great, I won't be able to say "But Stu said...." lol

Cheers
Paul

Car warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on. It's almost always complete and utter morons who do the work.

Example: a few months ago my mum clipped a wall with the wing mirror of her Citroen C5. It knocked the plastic cover off the mirror, which I clipped back on and I also checked that the electric adjuster still worked. My mum then took it to Dixon Citroen in Doncaster (where we bought the car) to find out how much a new mirror cover would be as the plastic was all scratched. They took the mirror unit to bits, put it back together and told her that she needed a whole new mirror unit for about £150. She didn't bother, but since then the adjuster didn't work properly. The car's exterior temperature sensor had also stopped working, we rang citroen and were told that the temp sensor is in the mirror, so it must have been damaged when the mirror was broken and that'll be £150 for a new one, please. Anyway, we didn't bother as it's a rip off. And today I decided to pop the mirror casing off and have a look inside.
To cut a long story short, Citroen's half-witted excuses for mechanics had completely f***ed up the mirror when they took it to bits. They'd broken the tiny copper wires connecting the temp sensor (which is on the back of the mirror glass), and they'd also forced the electrical connector block for this sensor onto the wrong end of the terminals, so that it jammed the mirror and prevented it moving properly. A bit of nifty work with a soldering iron to fix the wires and fitting the connector the right way sorted it all out. Temp sensor now works, mirror adjusts properly, no need to waste a hundred and fifty quid on a new mirror unit. Damn I'm good!

I'm not sure if its a case of incompetent mechanics cocking it all up (I managed to fix it without any training/workshop manuals etc so it can't be that hard!) or if it was a deliberate attempt to get us to shell out for expensive new parts. Either way it p*sses me right off. My folks actually paid an extra few hundred quid for an extended warranty when we bought the car, which my dad now wants to demand a refund on because it'll be the same d*ckheads who carry out any warranty work, and clearly they don't know one end of a spanner from the other.

But people with the Stilo seem to always rely on the warrenty that's why it's such a major point (as it is to my parents).

I still can't find much out other than:

Warranties...
13 The vehicle will be supplied with the balance of the manufacturer's warranty where available. Manufacturer's warranties for imported vehicles may vary from those for vehicles manufactured in the UK.
14 Any claim by the customer based upon defects in the quality or condition of the vehicle shall be notified to Motorpoint within a reasonable time of the date of delivery, or where the defects were not apparent on a reasonable inspection, within a reasonable time after discovery of the defects.

my dad bought an import not sure if it was from motorpoint - will have to ask, it was from belgium anyway.

The warrenty wasnt worth the paper it was written on.

Ah no If that's true I am losing the argument. It does however mean we will get the car sooner lol

Woo, i was right!

Renault say "If your car is an import, it has a unlimited mileage two year warranty" AFAIK third year warranty is poor on cars (????) so that's just fine.

Will be off to motorpoint tomorrow then i think to look at the cars, although it's a dynamique spec it must have all the same toys and most importantly this special centre console - if it doesn't and it can't be fitted it might lose the sale lol.

Do Ren*ult not have a similar customer service set-up to Fiat where you can phone with questions like this?

I assume so just my mum and dad like me to work things out for them lol

i'd go with 2 year warranty opposed to a 3... or 2½ year since its 6 months old already. did ur parents check out www.virgincars.co.uk ?
i found them quite cheap. its preregistered and delivery milage.

Damn your parents getting the same engine as my future car (delivery date March 1st!)... i got the privilege spec though.

It's your cars big brother so it won't be as quick! Dynamique is second to top and has most of what privilege does without the (half?) leather right? Apparently it would cost around 1k more and only be worth £200 more in 3 years time according to parkers lol

Virgin cars came out similar price to Renault where as MP came out £700 or so cheaper. This car is also unregistered AFAIK.

I forgot about asking your Redsei.....lol, obvious choice. Chees.

Ok, I think there is some confusion between warranties for new cars and those for second hand.

All new cars come with a Manufacturers warranty, and I am certain this is irrespective of where car is sourced [although there may be different limits, etc]. This is usually for 2 years, and may or may not be mileage based.

In my case, Ulysse is now in its second year - and warranty work has already been done on it [including a new cat!?!]. The Stilo is 3 years old, but is now under 3rd year dealer cover - this is similar to manufacturers warranty, albeit with a few more exclusions. Again, I have already claimed on the Stilo for numerous things [including airbag sensors, new n/s front light, etc] - the Stilo was even bought second hand, but was allowed to be transferred into the remaining part of warranty.

After 3 years [or 5 in case of certain manufacturers], you are on your own, lol. This is when you could take out MBI Mechanical Breakdown Insurance - it is these that have had a lot of bad press, although getting better.

In Paul's case, getting an import should be ok, and Renault UK are obliged to give a pan-European warranty on it. That is the law, iirc

i couldnt fault the mechanical insruance on my bravo when the cambelt snapped this was all done under the insurance although i had only had the car less than 6 months.

pghstochaj said:

It's your cars big brother so it won't be as quick! Dynamique is second to top and has most of what privilege does without the (half?) leather right? Apparently it would cost around 1k more and only be worth £200 more in 3 years time according to parkers

Click to expand...

i get the handsfree card, 6cd changer, half leather, folding mirrors, climate control and sunglasses holder compared to a dynamique.

What's the handsfree card?

I know we only get single CD, no leather, only electric and heated mirror, we only get aircon and a sunglasses holder...get real

I would check out a few things when you buy the car. It also depends on how long you intend to keep it as residuals are always lower on imports.

1. The warranty will run from when the car was supplied to Motorpoint, so if it has been in stock for a little while you have to reduce the 2 years by this amount of time.

2. Make sure the alarm is full UK spec as the insurance company will ask. They always ask now if it is an import.

3. Take the Renault brochure and tick off all the features on the list to make sure there aren't any missing compared to the UK spec.

4. Find out of the breakdown cover part of the warranty can be transferred to the RAC or AA. I believe some manufacturers allow you to do this if you register it with them, maybe worth asking Renault UK.

5. You should ask Renault if the cars from Cyprus have the same corrosion protection as UK supplied cars as this used to be different.

It would also be worth looking at www.broadspeed.co.uk as they get a good write up in What Car and they supply UK cars to your door. You also deal direct with a Renault dealer and pay them direct. The current price is £13,900 and includes all costs. Or try www.autoebid.com as you can ask dealers to match the price you have been given.

Good luck with it.

Andy

An interesting M-Benz warranty article, from Telegragh motoring:

Q.
I used to hear lots of negative comments about franchised dealers' attitudes to imported cars. I bought a UK-spec Mercedes-Benz 230 SLK from mainland Europe little more than three years ago and have nothing but praise for my local M-B dealer. About 18 months ago, the wheels began to corrode around their centres. Although the car only came with a pan-European 12-month warranty, the rims were replaced free of charge. Last week I noticed the same thing was starting to happen again. I approached the dealer and M-B UK has again agreed to a no-cost replacement.
P.T., via e-mail

A.
That's very good news. In the past, I have received mostly negative feedback about M-B UK, but then it's in the nature of a column like this to attract more complaints than accolades.

pghstochaj said:

What's the handsfree card?

I know we only get single CD, no leather, only electric and heated mirror, we only get aircon and a sunglasses holder...get real

Click to expand...

i didn't like the dash without the climate control.

handsfree card... means.. i don't need to press any buttons to get into the car.. just walk upto it, it'll unlock, i open the door, and i can start the engine.
the card can stay.. on my keys or pocket and i won't need to use it at all.
keyless card is where u have to put the card into a reader socket to start engine.

Cheers Poggy for that excellent advice All good things to think about. Am on autoebid right now.

Redsei: Very posh, we will have to go through the torture of sticking the card into the reader

The get real was only intended at the sunglasses holder comment lol

i'll hunt u down on your bike sometime... oxford road and surrounding uni area isn't that big..
damn you... you have access to about 10 subways within walking distance!

And I have only visited on, on my first day