Nissan owns 15% of Renault and renault 44% of Nissan.
I've seen it suggested in here that Nissan reliability will go down and Renault up.
Any evidence either way?
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I am not a fan of either brand but Renault are certainly upping the stakes on the warranty front. I suppose the proof of the pudding though is when you try and get something fixed - will the dealers respond ?
It is not that easy turning a bad name around - MB are still feeling this.
You may improve the product but it is another matter entirely changing the infrastructure that supports it.
Toyota have been doing it for 50+ years now and it is driven from the very top. I have read articles where the CEO of MB says silly things like - we will be matching Lexus in 2 years from now. Well I think that is daft - does he really think that Lexus are going to stop improving and wait for him to catch up.
Renault are certainly putting the effort in but it depends on the service people get as well.
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I've got an old Nissan - a 2000/w Primera (so before the alliance) and a later clio.
Both are reliable and serviced by the same indie.
The real difference is at the dealers - both in the same town.
The Renault dealer is excellent - even though we don't get the car serviced there, and didn't buy it from them, they are willing to handle warranty work, and do the job properly.
The Nissan obviously isn't in warranty any more, and the dealings I've had with them have not been great.
I would buy another Renualt, but I'd have to think carefully about another Nissan; purely because of the dealers.
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My understanding where Renault are concerned is as alluded to above - that most of the customer experience is defined by the dealer. There are some appalling Renault dealers around who really couldn't care less, but get a good one and they're a pleasure to deal with. We thankfully lucked in on a good one from the start.
As far as the manufacturer customer service goes, my one experience has been excellent. After a single written complaint, Renault UK paid the full cost of a £300 out of warranty window failure on our car without me having to argue at all, so it seems if things are not changing, there are at least isolated people within the organisation who are willing to help.
I really do think it's a dealer thing though, not only from a service viewpoint, but in that a good dealer will maintain the car to a higher standard which will make it more reliable and more satisfying. Much as I like the cars, I can't see them being particularly tolerant of poor maintenance.
Cheers
DP
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I bought a '53 Almera (boring, I know) a couple of years ago, before I realised the Renault involvement. It's done 20K in less than five years.
I wanted a reliable motor, at a reasonable price, and it seemed to fit my requirements.
I've had a Lambda sensor fail, before the dodgy petrol scare, (replaced under warranty).
A recall to replace the headlamps - FOC.
An eighty quid bill to fix an air bag fault (dodgy connector under pasenger seat).
Citroen, Renault, Peugeot reputations scare me, and I wouldn't buy one willingly, and despite HJs dislike of cambelts, I still prefer them to chains. I've done a chain replacement on a Micra, and I expect I'll have to do the same on the Almera sooner or later. I've found belts a lot easier to replace.
I wouldn't buy another Renault/Nissan, or many other manufacturers, but what's left?
I suspect I'll being looking seriously at Korean output next, as I'm quite impressed by my fifty-quid Kia Pride.
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Renault's dark period was 2000 - 2003 when quality control appeared to be a bit poor. The latest Renaults seem to be doing much better. The Modus is proving a reliable car and I've heard of satisfied Clio 3 owners. I know a bloke who runs an independent Renault service centre - typically his trade is he sees very few Renaults less than three years old as most people seem to keep them serviced at the main dealers while the warranty is running. He then gets them for service and repair after the warranty expires. He's beginning to get the earliest Moduses and Clio 3's in now and rates them highly. In fact he reckons that Renaults built from about 2004/05 onwards are in a different league. Maybe the tide is turning...
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FWIW, the most recent ADAC breakdown statistics indicate that on the whole, 2005 and 2006 Renaults are doing pretty well.
tinyurl.com/49ykwu
It will be interesting to see the next lot of statistics which should be out in a month or so.
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recent ADAC breakdown>>
If only we knew what they meant!
Edited by Pugugly on 12/04/2008 at 13:22
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I was interested to see what people thought. We've had four Nissans over the years.
Mrs O had a Mk I Micra on a D prefix bought at two years old which we ran until 2001. From memory it had a new battery, a couple of exhausts, tyres and a set of HT leads. We sold it on.
In 1998 I bought a Mk II Micra because it was a good price and the deal included 2 years servicing and 1 years insurance. Mrs O took that over in 2001. That had a new tyre (something in the road) and a new indicator bulb.
In 01 I bought a 1.8 Almera at one year old. That's had a new wheel bearing (warranty), a dip headlight and a battery.
The Mk II Micra was p/ex'd for a 3 month old Mk III in 2005. Nothing wrong.
I suppose the point I'm making is that stats tell one story but personal experience may tell another. I quite like Nissans but it's vital you find a half-way decent dealer.
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Sister has a 2003 Micra 1.4 SVE - one of the early current shapes. She's owned it for about two years now.
It's only done about 40,000 miles, and hasn't had an especially hard life. It's had some minor trim issues since she bought it, loose door handle surrounds, ill-fitting bits of dash, loose cup-holder console, but I put these down to it being an early new shape model.
Electrics, however, are proving very troublesome. It has keyless start, which is fine, but the remote locking doesn't always lock it. The electric boot release mechanism has gone, the reverse sensors don't always work, the heater has lost about 90% of its ability to heat and occasionally a buzzer of unknown origin goes off in the cabin, and can go for hours even when the car is off, locked and standing still!
Might just be a Friday afternoon car, but I think the electrics are Renault-supplied. I'm not a believer in the rule that all French electrics are iffy, my own 9-year old Xantia still has fully-functioning electrics after 162k miles.
Perhaps the electrics, like the trim, were a bit shaky in earlier models. Anyone with a later model able to attest to reliability?
It's all a far cry from the 1.0 litre, entry-level, J-reg MkI Micra I passed my test in - don't even think it had servo-assisted brakes!
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