Just thought I would have a look on the Parkers Forums see what theyre like, but it may aswell be called Broken Renault Forums or something because that is what nearly every thread is about.

http://forum.parkers.co.uk/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=8

This post stuckout the most for me:

QuoteHi my first post,
I have a Renault Laguna Privilege DCI, 03 reg 57,000 miles,
I purchased my Renault Laguna privilege DCI sports Tourer on the 8th March from the first owner and was overjoyed, after saving up the Ã,£6600.00 it was well worth it at last my family have a nice car.
On the 11th of May 06 to my disappointment whilst driving to work I lost all power but was able to get to Renault Croydon at 305 Brighton Road, Cousdon, Surrey, CR5 2NH, where they were able to diagnose the problem as being the Intercooler, air cooler and fitting clip which were all renewed costing me Ã,£284.91, I am very disappointed that I was not made aware that this was covered by the yellow OTS Scheme having paid out and have only found out myself now that it was.
Everything seamed to be ok until to my disappointment on the 1st August 06 whist driving I lost power again and within seconds a warning sign indicated fuel system faulty and immediately black smoke pored out of the exhaust, my children were petrified screaming and upset, I had to get them out as fast as I could and ring the fire brigade. I tried to stop the engine by pressing the stop button but it would not stop, I removed the Key and tried again and it still wouldnââ,¬â,,¢t stop. As we huddled in the poring rain by the main road scared of what would happen to my nice car the Fire brigade turned up, they said that the werent able to stop the engine either and that all they could do was to cool the engine with water, finally the smoke stopped poring out of the exhaust and the engine stopped.
My car was then taken to Renault Bridges of Newbury, London Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1BB as they was just around the corner and they were able to diagnose the fault as, the turbo impellor had broken causing the engine to seize, this was unbelievable we were now without a car. They quoted Ã,£6195.14 to fit a new engine and turbo. I got in touch with Renault customer services and a 20% discount was offered to reduce it down to Ã,£4957.00 only Ã,£1643.00 short of what I had played for the car. After talking to my director who has bought Laguna cars from Renault as company cars, a fleet of about 20 cars for a number of years I was amazed that he has had the same problem with at least 5 of them. We had both bought Renault because they are so stylish and comfortable and were now disappointed. In asking the question what causes this even Renault garages have said that once the turbo goes wrong nothing can stop the engine, they have even tried to stop the engine by putting it into gear to their vain as this has broken the gear box and clutch as well as the engine. Surly the engine should not have seized through the Turbo impeller breaking, It seams to be quite common though, the problem being that the engines turbo continues to draw oil from the sump through the breather pipe. At last I found that Renault run a OTS Scheme for cars that are under 3 years old and have less than 90,000 miles, covering the Turbo, intercooler and the engine, but to my disappointment it appear that because I have missed the 54,000 mile service by 4,000 miles I am not covered by the Yellow OTS scheme, had I not missed this service the garage have told me that they would be fixing the car right now, its not as if I hadnt made the effort to book the service and I had to cancel because my daughter decided to fall off a climbing frame and end up in hospital, but I didnââ,¬â,,¢t expect the engine to seize at 57000 miles. So I then ask should the turbo have been checked when the intercooler was changed? And what is checked at the service that could have prevented the engine from seizing, it appears that at a 54000 mile service the turbo is not checked for impellor damage, and shouldnââ,¬â,,¢t the engine stop button have worked to stop the engine even for safetys sake? And finally why does the engine seize through the turbo breaking? surely the turbo shouldnââ,¬â,,¢t be designed to cause this when it fails.
Could you please advise me on what you could do for my situation, I have written two letters to Renault and one to VOS.
regards pete

lol I nearly posted this topic yesterday

My sisters just bought a clio....

I think the sticky says dont post any more Renault probs, put them all in the one thread because none of the other cars get a look in, heh.

*chuckle*

After talking an old boss at a car hire company I decided that a renault was never the way to go.  He recons the Fiats have less problems!

yeah those Grande Puntos are great cars.

I rapidly forming the impression that French is not the way to go. Fiats, Renaults, etc all seem to have their problems.

fiat is italian nige
in reply to all french cars have problems i dont think thats fair, im pretty happy with my little pugger

there are plenty of good french cars about, but few new ones.
IMO since 2001 they have pushed cost cutting to the max and it shows. Renualt are the worst but it is evident in lots of cars now.

Quote from: Eddfiat is italian nige
in reply to all french cars have problems i dont think thats fair, im pretty happy with my little pugger

Ahh thanks for correcting me :whoops:

My Clio isnt that bad and has few problems for a twelve year old car so I shouldnt complain, but I also know the amount of money/work spent on it and how my last one behaved.

Seems like Cypher hasnt had much luck with his Megane recently either.

The strange thing is, it has never broken down on me or anything major gone wrong in, it just some how every year becomes some how illegal to have on the road. :?

Last year rear brake compensator and spring, this year front brakes worn, back brakes out of balance, and the engine was just not working properly, emiisions all over the place.

Since it was repaired mind, the car has been driving an absolute treat, engine is idling properly, its much smoother and Im getting the miles back.  New brake pads are starting to bed in.  I have a horrible feeling though Im going to need new drum brakes come next test If I stick with it.

As much as I know they are going to have problems, I still love Renaults.  I just sat in a Megane 225 the other day (no not just stationary), I thought it was absolutly fantastic in every way.  I couldnt live with the MPG though, 23 average.

The only Laguna I was inpressed with was the 2.0T sport tourer.  Found it quite different but not much more comfortable than my vectra at the time.

My brother nearly got an old style Renault Megane, except someone esle beat him to it and he ended up with a Hyundai Amica. It rolls a bit and doesnt feel too too sure on corners but it gets you there and hasnt had any major mechanical problems in the year hes had it so far. (bought 2nd hand)