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Fri 18 Nov 2016 08:04

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - charlotte kimber

I have a 2011 Renault Scenic 1.5 tdi with 87,000 miles on the clock. The cam belt is due and I've been warned it may well need the water pump doing at the same time, the garage estimate that it will be £750ish (inc servicing).

I now have to make a decision over whether to change it as I think the trade in value will only be about £3k.

I do 25-30K per year, live half way up a Pennine and so there are occasional challenging driving conditions, although I have winter tyres. The scenic has always rattled, squeaked, shuddered and has never been a smooth ride. But it seats 5 which I need, and I've got used to the cruise, speed limiter, bluetooth and other gizmos.

Budget to buy outright would be about £8k inc the Scenic. Preferred options - possibly a SUV (although not many will seat 5 in comfort), or an estate (Octavia/Volvo/Ford/Honda), which will be challenging on that budget. I also need something with good fuel economy because of the mileage I do and something that just feels solid and predictable in poor conditions.

I've not had a car loan/pcp for many years so don't know what current thoughts are about them and whether they would make the budget go further.

What are your thoughts - spend the £750 on the scenic and keep it another year until its got 115-120k on the clock, or change it?

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 08:32

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - catsdad

If you didn't already have it I do think many on here would recommend a Scenic. But as you already have it the situation is different. If it needs a cam belt it is sensible/essential to change the water pump too.

On the mileage you quote I assume you haven't had the car long so you might be taking a big hit if you trade it in now? So if it's going well I 'd be inclined to keep it. Anything newer will depreciate more in £ terms than the Renault.

if you minded to change then a car you could run into the ground is a Dacia. A Stepway or a Duster (maybe even 4 wheel drive) would be considering. You might also find a month Renault/Dacai dealer which would help with the trade in.

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 08:43

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - SLO76

The recommended timing belt interval on this engine is every 6 years regardless of mileage but your garage is right to recommend you do so at 87,000 miles and they're correct to suggest you change the water pump at the same time. It's only common sense that this is done at every timing belt change while the car is stripped down anyway, it adds little extra cost and the lifespan of the pump is at best 100k.

They are however being more than a little greedy regards the price. £750 for a service and a belt change!!! The t/belt and water pump should cost between £250-£300 and a standard service £100-£150. I suggest you shop around.

As for changing the car. Well Renault don't have a great name for longterm reliability, with electrical and trim issues becoming more of a problem as it ages but they do resist rust well and the 1.5 dci is one of their better engines. It's well tried and tested and I've seen commuter Clio's with well over 150k.

The value of your car is at best £2,500-£3,000 and it will lose it at a far lower rate than a newer car and should if maintained correctly continue to run for many years as long as you can stomach the occasional wee rattle and knock.

Your suggested budget of £8k will buy a good 1.6 diesel Skoda Octavia or 2.2 diesel Honda Accord both of which will cover 250k if looked after but you'll be buying a car that's either older than your Scenic in the case of the Accord or a CRV or barely any younger with an Octavia. The Skoda also requires a timing belt and water pump every 5 years. The Honda is chain driven.

If you want to change I'd suggest upping the budget and buying something newer with low mileage such as an Octavia 1.6 diesel or a Honda Civic 1.6 DTEC, otherwise stick with what you've got with one exception, change your garage. As your car ages an overpriced garage will empty your bank account rapid style.

Edited by SLO76 on 18/11/2016 at 08:49

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 09:45

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - oldroverboy.

Go and buy a post facelift Dacia Duster before having the service/cambelt done, add to the warranty to mke it a 5 year warranty and but the service pack, just finance the extra, don't do pcp. with your total deposit a personal loan or hp will be fine in my opinion. assuming you are not already borrowing...

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 11:24

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - charlotte kimber

I must live in an expensive part of the world. Two trusted independants have priced the work at £720ish, Renault have quoted me £1200 for the same thing.

Trade in value is confirmed at £3000...

Car has never been financed so that's not an issue.

One garage are looking at alternatives for me, but I'm still torn. Will look at the Dacia, I hadn't thought of them...

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 11:45

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - RobJP

You might be just as well seeing what prices are for the work further away. The prices you have been quoted look ludicrously high to me.

Put it this way : on an Audi A4/A6 with the 2.0 diesel engine, the cambelt/waterpump is usually £600 or so at an Audi dealership - and those places charge £100+ per hour labour.

If you put up roughly where you are, someone might even know of a decent garage withing reasonable distance.

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 12:12

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - charlotte kimber

I'm in the upper Eden Valley if it helps. Most places are an hour away...

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 12:23

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - daveyK_UK

face lift (64 plate onwards) dacia duster is a good option.

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 12:21

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - SLO76

I must live in an expensive part of the world. Two trusted independants have priced the work at £720ish, Renault have quoted me £1200 for the same thing. Trade in value is confirmed at £3000... Car has never been financed so that's not an issue. One garage are looking at alternatives for me, but I'm still torn. Will look at the Dacia, I hadn't thought of them...

Seems so. I take it there's little competition about? The prices you've been quoted are grossly inflated. Priciest timing belt change I've ever done was a VW Caddy at the local main dealer and that was £350 including water pump, the service was £130 on top of that. You are being cheated unless there's something else they're quoting for. Get a few quotes from garages further away then ask yours to match it, they most likely will. Trade in value will vary depending on the margin the dealer has in the other car so don't focus purely on that. It's the cost to change that's the important figure. Some dealers mark up cars but overvalue trade ins or offer big discounts so make sure you shop around. I'd stick to Japanese with the high mileage you're doing. They stand up to it better than French motors and retain more value come resale time. You can get a decent Honda Civic 1.6 diesel on a 13 plate with reasonable miles for around £9k. They're incredibly economical with realistic real world economy in excess of 70mpg on distance runs, there's loads of room, they're well made and always sellable even with six figure mileages. It's worth travelling to buy a car rather than relying on local (clearly overpriced) garages to source you one.

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 13:22

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - corax

What's access like on the Scenic? Might be a pain to get to the cambelt, so they won't want to do it and charge a silly amount to either get rid of you or make themselves a nice profit for the bother.

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 15:07

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - oldroverboy.

Google Cam belt changes carlisle, put in your details and get some quotes, but go back to my earlier suggestion and get a duster with its warranty. you'll save in the long run!

Duster in Carlisle for sale.www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=distance&...R

I can personally recommend lookers.

Edited by oldroverboy. on 18/11/2016 at 15:09

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Fri 18 Nov 2016 15:42

Renault Scenic - Need to change car? - Ian_SW

Financially, the best thing to do is keep the Scenic until it doesn't work any more. It will only lose another £500 or so in value over the next year, whereas putting 30k miles on a nearly new car will reduce it by £3000 or more. That means the Scenic only has to last another year (which it should easily do) to cost the same or less.

If you buy a nearly new car now, in three years time it will have 90k miles on it and worth no more than your Scenic is now so whatever you have spent is effectively gone. If you keep the Scenic for another three years, it will be worth next to nothing and have 150k miles on but will have cost you little extra in the meantime.

As far as the cam belt goes, £750 is a lot of money to spend on something which may or may not actually need doing. Replacing a cam belt just reduces the probability of it snapping (and then scrapyard time for the car). You could take the risk of not changing the belt, and just have a look at it instead to check for cracks. If it looks ok, it's pretty unlikely to snap in the next year, and you may get away with three years or more. A few years ago a mate decided not to bother changing the belt on his old Volvo 440 which was still on its original belt, 8 years old, about 100k miles and rear arches made of filler. The car eventually expired around four years and 60k miles later for completely unrelated reasons, and even then the belt still looked fine.

If you take that approach, you do need to realise that the car is at risk of catastrophic failure at any time and be prepared for that (I.e. money sitting in the bank to buy a replacement).

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