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Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - tommyb460

Just looking for other views/experience on this -

I purchased a Dacia Duster in 2014 from new with a 7 year warranty. Car ran perfectly until around May this year and since then it has been in twice for various quite large problems. Most recently at the end of August it was taken in by recovery service with an electrical fault which resulted in it being an earth strap which needed replacing. I was told it would take 3 days to fix it which then came and went got extended to 7 days...again came and went - no contact made to me from the garage (a Vauxhall dealership which Renault use), I was constantly having to ring them to see what progress had been made. Eventually after a week of no car I was told the part was on back order from France so they had no idea when I would have my car back, resulting in various phone calls to ask for a rental car to help me get my children to nursery/school and to work after another week Renault eventually gave in and provided me with a rental car for 10 days. No contact from Renault or the garage during this time except for me having to ask for an extension on the rental car as I had Enterprise ringing me to say they hadn't extended it. Eventually after 4.5 weeks I was told my car was ready. I collected my car the keys were just handed to me no apology was made just bluntly told where to find my car in the car park and off I went.

With a few other minor issues I tried to take up with the garage again no apology or offer of any help, I today received a phone call from Renault complaints department who after me explaining I was not happy with the length of time I had to spend chasing people up and without a car, I was offered £100 dealership voucher.

My question is is this a fair offer or not? Never been in this position before.

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - SLO76
It’s a five year old budget car. Yes it’s not particularly brilliant service but they fixed it for free and spent hundreds of pounds providing you with a free hire car and they’ve given you £100 towards your next service! I think you did well here. If it was a £30,000 new BMW I’d say otherwise but it’s a 5yr old Dacia, I think you need to lower your expectations a tad.
Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - edlithgow

If it was a £30,000 new BMW I’d say otherwise

Me too,

I'd say you wouldn't be likely to get a 100 quid out of BMW, and if you did it wouldn't buy you very much at the dealership.

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - Chris M

I can understand your dissatisfaction with Renault and the garage but I think it's their usual way of not keeping the customer happy. If it were me, I'd vote with my feet.

Not being familiar with the "earth strap" on a Duster, it may not be possible, but I'd have thought any semi competent mechanic could fabricate a temporary fix. Your experience demonstrates just how we are being ripped off by garages who charge a fortune per hour in labour rates, but employ low paid monkeys.

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - Miniman777

Your experience demonstrates just how we are being ripped off by garages who charge a fortune per hour in labour rates, but employ low paid monkeys.

And have no real practical skills or innovation.

Furthermore baffles me why HJ waxes lyrical over such an ugly utilitarian cheap car that cant event match the emissions of its Renault counterpart.

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - thunderbird

Most recently at the end of August it was taken in by recovery service with an electrical fault which resulted in it being an earth strap which needed replacing. I was told it would take 3 days to fix it which then came and went got extended to 7 days.

A couple of years ago I bought a new battery but due to family problems it did not get fitted immediately. When I got around to it I discovered I had bought the wrong one (live and earth the wrong way around) and whilst the live lead was OK the earth lead was too short. As expected the factors would not exchange it due to the time that had elapsed.

So the next day I took the earth lead to our local auto electricians who made me up a new lead which I fitted that evening.

I cannot understand why the garage could not do something similar. How hard can it be?

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - gordonbennet

It can't possibly have been just an earth strap, even the worse mechanic in the country could have fixed something up.

Without a car for a week is a poor show and yes its getting a little older now but by no means an old car.

I don't get why your car should be going to a Vauxhall garage, from the sounds of it they don't want to stay in business anyway, ''those pesky customers eh nobody needed them''...a sentence many companies should have engraved on their corporate tombstones.

Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - elekie&a/c doctor
I suspect that the earth lead is not a simple cable and terminals . Looks like is has an electronic battery sensor built into it.
Dacia Duster - 2014 - Help with Renault/Dacia complaint - edlithgow

"ugly utilitarian cheap car"

You say that like its a bad thing?