Feeling gutted

Cam belt due to be fitted today BUT I have the 1.6 vvt engine which means half of the car has to be removed in order to do the job. Front bumper, lights, wipers, right front wheel and undertray.
As my mechinic says the screws which hold the undertray in place cannot be accessed at both ends making removal almost impossible which is why pitstop had his car returned with screws missing. The cam shaft has to be supported at both ends so that the job can be carried out.
My local main dealer Picador offered to do the job for £1052 - 10% + free courtesy car for 2 days.
A tool kit is needed to hold the timing in place while the job is carried out, he does not have this kit and has no idea how much such a kit would cost.
He has done over 250 cam belt changes on all makes of cars and not come across this issue before.
My engineer who is very knowledgable cannot understand why Renault would make a job so difficult with a 5.5 - 6hr labour charge attached to it.
As he said to me why would anyone want to have so much removed from their car and then put back so it would never be the same as it was before the job was carried out.
He was talking about access to the fly wheel which he couldn’t even see, so here I am seriously considering a way forward.
TBH I don’t feel inclined to spend the kind of money the main dealer is talking about and having my car vertually ripped apart - I would rather put it towards another car - dispite the fact that I love the Wind to bits.
Feeling very gloomy right now, my mechanic was flaberghasted that anyone could do the job for anything less than £600 - provided of course that whoever was carrying it out had the nessecary tool kit.
Part of the problem stems from the fact that Renault has crammed the engine into such a small space making access so problematical.
Well thats my rant ...... sorry if people think I have exagerated - I can assure you I haven’t.
This may answer the question as to why so many Winds are available on the secondhand market.

Sorry to hear your news. 1.2 is an awful lot cheaper. Ask a garage to exchange for you. The 1.2 is a good car.

Thanks Barbs x

I am sure others have not paid as much as you are being asked but I can't see anyone close enough to you to say speak to their garage.

I may have a solution - watch this space .....

Bunyip, when I was looking into wind ownership, I phoned my local dealership and they quoted me £399 for the 1.2 and £599 for the 1.6, personally I think you're being ripped off!!
If it was me, I would be looking further afield, maybe a nice drive out for the day, maybe even an overnight stay, all the costs incurred would surely still be cheaper than what you've been quoted!
I really do hope you get sorted.

My total bill, in Jan 2017, of £638 (a fixed price quote) included a routine service & was calculated on Renault's quoted times but at a reduced hourly rate in compensation for my earlier complaints re work done on the Wind & Captur. I then got an extra £50 back for the coolant bleeding & undertray issues so total cost: £588.

It really pays to complain. I'm not rude; we are still on christian name terms; but I just don't go away!!!

Chatting with the workshop manager afterwards revealed the job took longer than Renault's quoted figure so; with hindsight; perhaps I got off relatively lightly.

My suggestion would be to e-mail all official Renault repair garages & Renaultsport "specialists" (I assume the Renaultsport Twingo has similar problems) within a 100 mile radius for a fixed quote. You can then; travel practicalities allowing; go to the cheapest or alternatively you could use the lowest quote to press for a reduced price closer to home.

Hope you get it sorted.

Playing Peter off against Paul allowed me to buy a new MGTF; back in 2003; for £14800 instead of the quoted price of £18100!!!!!!!!! Give it a try!!

Bunyip wrote:... cannot understand why Renault would make a job so difficult with a 5.5 - 6hr labour charge attached to it.
As he said to me why would anyone want to have so much removed from their car and then put back so it would never be the same as it was before the job was carried out..

Unfortunately, manufacturers don't care, especially for parts that take a few years to wear out. They've already got your money, and most cars are bought on 3 and 4 year leases where it will become the 2nd owners problem which in turn limits any gouging of sales from dissatisfied owners. Plus, "difficult" maintenance makes it more likely that dealer maintenance garages will get increased business, increasing their revenues. Disappointing, but its only going to get worse with 'self-driving' and electric vehicles. You can already see from Tesla that beyond real basic maintenance such as tyres, faults need to go back to a dealer so they can plug in their special computers to identify and resolve the problem.

Funnily enough the problem does not exsist with the 1.2 more room under the bonnet

To be fair, we do only have little sowing machines under the bonnet
Mine was done last year, and I think it was only about £100 for that bit of the work. Will need to dig out the invoice, but I could still eat at the end of the month.

The solution I have come up with is .... I have found a Wind 1.2 Gordini - only 8000 on the clock. Number 047 I am going to see it tomorrow and hopefully come home with it pxing mine. Well thats the plan obviously will keep you all posted. and as a bonus its Black

The best colour
Good luck.

Thanks Elnumbre lol

Critical question. Did you go ahead with the cambelt job on the 1.6 or have you bought the 1.2?

If so what do you hope to get for your 1.6 when you sell it?

Hi Pitstop - no I did not go ahead with the cam belt change. Thought I’d put the £1000 Picador wanted into the mix my wind has done just short of 37K
When I spoke to the guy who’s selling the Gordini he asked me what I wanted for my Wind - I said £3000 he didn’t seem to think that was an unreasonable request - we’ll see what tomorrow brings lol.
I have a plan of attack lol

Just one thought. Has the Gordini had it's cambelt done?

It may be very low mileage but there is still the 6yr deadline to be considered.

A question that is on my lips too - may well make that part of the deal have seen the service book last stamp is for oil and filter change last year, we’ll see

I am now the proud owner of a 1.2 Gordini - only done 9000 miles feels tight as you like.
I am very, very happy - except it hasn’t stopped raining here all day lovely car, nice drive - very happy bunny

Congratulations on the upgrade

Should have said, leave a link to the forum in the paperwork for the old one.

Congratulations on the new wind and welcome to the forum as a new 1.2 owner!!

Barbs wrote:Sorry to hear your news.  1.2 is an awful lot cheaper. Ask a garage to exchange for you. The 1.2 is a good car.

It wasn't a bad idea of mine but you should of got blue.

Hope you will be very happy with the 1.2.Road tax is cheader too.

Hi Barbs sorry but he only had one and it happened to be
I decided to hang on to my old wheels as I thought they looked better than the ones on the newer car - felt sorry for the salesmans mate having to change them over in the pouring rain.
The Gordini came from a main dealership in Portsmouth and has only had one owner and been used as a demonstrater previously.
It is MOT’d until July and when it runs out the owner has agreed to give me another one for free.
I had not seen a Gordini before and am delighted with it the 1.2 engine seems very responsive to me.
I can’t wait for the spring and the opportunity to drive it with the roof off.
Sorry didn’t think about leaving a link inside to this site - I was expecting them to be quiet today but lots of people were out buying cars it was very busy.
Now all I’ve got to do is sort out personalisation another 2 years work and perhaps a private plate WND or GOR tho ? lol.
Thank you all for your nice messages - its always good to know there is support out there.

Let's be honest in everyday driving the 1.2 is probably just as, if not more, user friendly thans the 1.6 as it delivers power lower down the rev range. The 1.6 comes into it's own if you give it some revs which affects fuel consumption as my long term average figure of 34mpg shows.

Found a couple of plates I like but hubby has said no. W77NND W777NND W17NND DVLA. Still trying.

They’d look good on your car Barb

ElNumbre wrote:Congratulations on the upgrade

Should have said, leave a link to the forum in the paperwork for the old one.

I’ve done a little note for the new owner - if they’re interested am going to take it down on Saturday and ask the dealer to put it in with the paperwork

Link to this site delivered this morning to dealer - who thought it a nice touch also bought a private WND plate - happy bunyip

Looking forward to seeing it

Just thought i would say renault cardiff charged 399 for my 1.6 Cambelt change.