A friend of mine bought a 12 month old Laguna from a franchised dealer that was advertised with just 3k on the clock and a bargain at £7,995. Turned out the car was a lemon with a catalogue of repairs required under what was left of the original 3 year warranty - very inconvenient as the car was off the road for weeks on end but at least no hard earned changing hands for my friend.
The shocker came when the dashboard electronics failed and, having lost faith in the first dealer, he brought it to another who quickly diagnosed that, according to the part records, the original dashboard had previously been replaced and could he verify the true mileage of the car. Back he went to the first dealer for an explanation and after a time of purchase). But they offered their profuse apologies for the 'oversight' in not divulging this minor detail at the time of purchase but it was still a bargain!. No-one could remember what mileage was on the car before the original dashboard was trashed except that the previous owner was a company car driver which didn't suggest low mileage.
What I find especially interesting in this tale is that the service history of the car does not show what work has been done or parts that have been replaced under warranty. Is this common practice? Surely the customer has a right to this information before purchase so that the quality of the product can be fully assessed? I for one would steer well clear of a 'real bargain' if it has a history of woes, warranty or no warranty!
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>>What I find especially interesting in this tale is that the service history of the car does not show what work has been done or parts that have been replaced under warranty. Is this common practice?<<
I believe that's true.
My MGF had a great deal of work done under warranty - and precious little paper to add to its service history.
I only managed to record one warranty job in its service history - and only then because there was a scrawled note on a piece of headed paper - "needs new gearbox".
It's rare to find any bodyshop work in the service history also.
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I believe BMW record everything (service + warranty) on their own computer system. they did when I drove them...So I believe do Mercedes..they did when I drove one.
As for relying on Renault to record anything:-))) having seen the Renault Clio opening bonnet saga, I believe Renault are a company whose products are to be avoided at all costs.
madf
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Most companies will hold records of warranty claims at HQ. BMW, for example, have the records on computer but IME will not tell you (as a potential purchaser) the details. Subaru on the other hand are very good, if you ring their HQ and quote the reg. no. of the car you are thinking of buying they will tell you what was replaced, and when.
There is plenty enough negative information on Renault reliability and dealer service that I have no sympathy for anyone who buys one.
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BMW may record everything, but they certainly don't give the customer a record of the work done, or at least not IME. My 535d Touring has had 4 seperate warranty repairs over the last 12 months (DSC twice, turbo once, indicator stalk once - yes, really, the indicators actaully *were* faulty ;-) ) and I've no paperwork to support any of it.
Interestingly enough though, our Megane CC has had 1 warranty repair in the 2.5 years we've had it (de-phaser pulley, whatever that is...), and for that we did get a 'zero charge' invoice detailing exactly what had been replaced...
Peter
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The complete service history, including warranty repairs, is available. The manufacturer's use it for reliability statistics. But the dealer will do anything not to let you see it.
Simply refuse to pay for the car and walk away. I have told them to get the printout, or provide a letter saying that the history is complete and there have been no warranty repairs.
Usually works.
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When I was speaking to a BMW about the *service* history of my car, one of the items was a new engine. The dealer then pointed out (and faxed receipts) showing that this was done under warranty. So they didn't make any secret of it.
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