Team-BHP - Renault Duster : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by himadrimondal (Post 3204746)

Took my Duster for a long long drive yesterday.
Where from: Kolkata.
Where to: Delhi. Yes, you read it right, Delhi.
With my 5 yr old son safely saddled in the entire rear seat, my wife as navigator, I started off at 4am in the morning.

Must appreciate your physical endurance.clap: After the trip, any health issues to you and your family members? You almost did 2/3rd of 24Hr endurance race. It proves the capabilities of the driver and the car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdman (Post 3205421)

What kind of fuel economy are you guys getting? I am surprised to have calculated 18.2km/lt (most of it highway miles) using full tank to full tank method. MY trip computer shows between 13-15km/lt. 110ps Diesel.

It shows worst 11.6 in city and up to 20.8 on highway. Recently mix average came aground 17.5kmpl on a 700km trip with 60%highway. All these are dashboard readings on my RxL 85. It may improve after first service. Currently struggling to keeping rpm below 2k with AC On.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HillMan (Post 3205609)

It shows worst 11.6 in city and up to 20.8 on highway. Recently mix average came aground 17.5kmpl on a 700km trip with 60%highway. All these are dashboard readings on my RxL 85. It may improve after first service. Currently struggling to keeping rpm below 2k with AC On.

Mileage in Bangalore/Major Cities varies from the place you live, where your office is located and whether you are on-peak or non-peak timings. Do not bother too much on the in-city mileage other than the fact that you go to bed as a happy man:). Traffic conditions are not in your control and has direct impact on your mileage. If you do one or two trips to the airport you will see your in-city mileage improve dramatically.

Cheers

KPS

Came across this interesting piece on the ASS of Renault on FB. The entire post can be found on :
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Renau...46077958738057

The owner has this to say about his experience with Divine Auto Tech (Renault Delhi West) :

Renault Disaster - Not Duster ( SAY NO TO RENAULT )
Dear Friends, I would like to share my recent and disastrous experience with Renault India, My newly bought Duster met with an accident on 21st March' 2013 and had gone for repair to authorized service centre - Divine Auto Tech (Renault Delhi West), on the very day. Since then its been close to 4 and half months and I have been following it up endlessly but always getting the same reply "YOUR VEHICLE IS UNDER REPAIR AND DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF PARTS WE ARE UNABLE TO DELIVER ATLEAST THIS WEEK". I have mailed my complaint to many senior authorities including MD India and other reputed official via mail as well as telecons, but there is no revert.

I am still paying my EMIs (for the vehicle I don't even have with me). This whole incident has caused me financial and mental harassment, hence I suggest each one of you to NOT trust any of the Renault after sale service and learn from my mistake. Think twice before you buy a Renault car.
Please share and like this page to spread the word.
Adeel Khan

Looks like Adeel Khan got the Duster converted into a disaster. (on the lighter side). Nevertheless, four and a half months is unacceptable for a vehicle that can be repaired. What is shows is that Renault does not have the capacity for major repair at dealer workshops. Since there is only one workshop in Delhi (yes, only one), i'm sure they have their hands full with the regular service of other Dusters and the occasional Scala / Pulse.

This is where the initial shine on sales rubs off - poor After Sales Service. If this is the state in the capital city, what about smaller towns ?

To book maximum profits let us make a killing on the front end, we can worry about the back end when we get some time.

The above is the state of all these foreign manufacturers in India. It had to happen sooner or later for Renault as well, they are so hell bent on selling their cars that they have forgotten that the sale is only the first step, it is long term support which makes for brand loyalty.

You don't become Maruti or Honda or Toyota by just selling cars, people have to swear by your Support.

I have seen a number of msgs on this board about the 'less than acceptable' service by Renault dealers. My experience thus far has been good. We drive to Tamilnadu interiors almost once a month say about 700, 800 kms. Usually after 2, 3 trips I call on a week day to Whitefield Renault,speak to Thyagu, take the Duster over there and gives a quick look over. In one trip a fuse blew and the ICE unit would not perform and I was in Coimbatore after this happened on road. I called the Coimbatore dealer though I had no prior appointment; they still asked me to take the car over there and got it tested, replaced the fuse and did not charge me anything :) Yes it is still in warranty but for them to fix the issue with no early notice etc, I thought it was nice. Same way what Thyagu does at Whitefield Renault is also a good gesture; he only asked me to avoid weekends.

I thought I should my good experience also here as otherwise it may get skewed and we may develop a collective perception that there is nothing positive about owning a Renault. Yes I agree experiences are subjective and nothing can be generalised except the cost of spares and the like.

Cheers

I second waxeloquent, though I've just got the first service done couple of months back and I've traveled only 4K odd km, my experience with Renault has been good enough. And I hope it continues to be the same.

I've some long drives in my mind and if all those go through then I should be able to get the second service done pretty soon which will clear the picture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waxeloquent (Post 3206305)

I thought I should my good experience also here as otherwise it may get skewed and we may develop a collective perception that there is nothing positive about owning a Renault. Yes I agree experiences are subjective and nothing can be generalised except the cost of spares and the like.

I have had positive experiences for Service both at Whitefield, Bangalore and Kalamassery, Kochi. Although, Whitefield seems a lot better at organization, communication and stocking parts.

I just wanted to add that unavailabilty of parts is hardly the Dealers fault. But, I reckon it a major problem. At the Kochi Dealership I say 3-4 accident case Dusters "waiting for parts" . It looked like they had been waiting a long time. One had rust all over.

On a separate note, I was told by the Bangalore Dealer that a recent fire in the Renault in Chennai had resulted in a total loss and not only had the warehouse lost all the spare parts, they had also lost all the orders from the Dealers, and they had to be re-ordered (can some one confirm?)

It looks like the smarter dealers are pre-ordering consumables and frequently replaced parts and keeping them in stock. (For example the Bangalore dealer had a spare window winder and the Kochi Dealer did not.) So, my advice is to check with a dealer if he has the part before you choose leave your car with them. Call around.. If the vehicle is drivable, it may make sense to drive it a few hours to a Dealer who has your part in stock, rather than waiting 4 months!!!

Since dealers make more money on service, it makes sense to reward those who make the extra effort. I think..

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdman (Post 3207870)

I just wanted to add that unavailabilty of parts is hardly the Dealers fault.

Well it IS the dealers fault along with the company's. You can't absolve the dealer the responsibility. It's his job to keep stock, if a part is unavailable order for it and follow it up to make sure it comes in a reasonable period of time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdman (Post 3207870)

It looks like the smarter dealers are pre-ordering consumables and frequently replaced parts and keeping them in stock. (For example the Bangalore dealer had a spare window winder and the Kochi Dealer did not.) So, my advice is to check with a dealer if he has the part before you choose leave your car with them. Call around.. If the vehicle is drivable, it may make sense to drive it a few hours to a Dealer who has your part in stock, rather than waiting 4 months!!!

All dealers will pre-order not just frequently replaced parts, but also infrequently replaced parts. They are supposed to keep adequeate stock.
And not just that, companies usually have a unified online stock tracking system, which will tell them where which part is. for eg- your Kochi dealer will be able to search and locate the particular part he's looking for with the Bangalore dealer.
Then they can place a request to transfer the part from that dealer if the company doesn't have it in stock. Ofcourse, this whole business will take some days but it's possible.

It has been about a year since Duster was launched. I am sure some of the owners have completed their 1st year with this car. Will be nice to hear their thoughts. Mine is early next month.
So far so good. No major complaints. Only irritants are the recurring window squeaks on bad roads. And the CD player is not accepting any CDs :(
I just wish Ford had launched Ecosport earlier. No, not that I would have picked Ecosport up, but Duster would have been priced better and I would have saved some money too :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thalavoy (Post 3208457)

It has been about a year since Duster was launched. I am sure some of the owners have completed their 1st year with this car. Will be nice to hear their thoughts. Mine is early next month.
So far so good. No major complaints. Only irritants are the recurring window squeaks on bad roads. And the CD player is not accepting any CDs :(
I just wish Ford had launched Ecosport earlier. No, not that I would have picked Ecosport up, but Duster would have been priced better and I would have saved some money too :)

same to same here... wonder whats so special in copy-pasting a manufacturing process that is all computer controlled anyways; resulting in Renault having such silly widespread and persistent issues in this model.