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I wrote a letter of complaint to the Director whose name appears on the letters sent out with the brochures. This morning I received a reply from Customer Support inviting me to phone to discuss the matter further.
The letter stated that Renault were "sorry" that what should be an exciting time (buying a new car) has proved to be "disappointing" (a bit of an understatement, to put it mildly!). It also goes on to say that demand for manual transmission far exceeds that for auto and therefore they are unable to supply the car as quickly as they would wish. (Why? If demand for auto is so low, why can't they be made in the same timeframe as manuals?). They go on to say that they value my custom, despite me having to endure an "unwelcome wait".
As I had the day off work today, I took the opportunity to telephone. Initial response from Renault was along the lines of "tough, you have to wait 20 weeks". Reluctantly I got them to concede that it's unintended discrimination against those with a leg disability who require an auto as they are taking about 8 weeks longer to satisfy orders than for manual transmission cars.I don't know if they are correctwhen they say that they make cars in batches of manuals then autos (I used to work in the automotive industry and I havevisited several factories, albeit none were Renaults, where manual and auto, and engines of different size, are all mixed in the production process).
The fact that this is my second bad experience out of 2 when attempting to buy a new Renault did not sway the outcome, which is basically that it is unfortunate that you have to wait 20 weeks for an auto, but there is nothing that Renault UK will do about it. They won't intervene to speed things up. They could also not offer any assurances that delivery would not slip any further.
I also pointed out all the marketing stuff on the internet and press etc from Februaryregarding the offers for finance deals if cars were bought and registered before the end of March, yet nothing in the small print stated that no automatics would be available on these offers. The inference from the response I got was that "Marketing" are a separate entity and Renault UK Customer Support were unable to change the ad wording but would pass on my comments. Itherefore contacted the Advertising Standards Authority after my conversation with Renault UK.
So, in a nutshell Renault have hopelessly underestimated demand for the Captur and even after a year you face a long wait for one, and if you want an automatic you face an even longer wait.
What I can't understand is that if the cars are only supposed to be built to customer order, how come there is this "pool" of unallocated/unsold cars with manual transmission from which you can choose if you want to take advantage of the finance deals.
Meantime I've been to look at the new Kia Soul which comes as a 6-speed diesel auto according to my local dealer. Because of the 20 week wait for the Captur I have been told I can cancel at any time and get my deposit back, something I told Renault UK this morning, and I'm now very tempted to book a test drive of the Soul. Delivery is put at 2 weeks maximum, as it's a brand new model and there are plenty of new unsold cars about at the moment. (However being a new model, that means that discounts will be difficult)
The letter stated that Renault were "sorry" that what should be an exciting time (buying a new car) has proved to be "disappointing" (a bit of an understatement, to put it mildly!). It also goes on to say that demand for manual transmission far exceeds that for auto and therefore they are unable to supply the car as quickly as they would wish. (Why? If demand for auto is so low, why can't they be made in the same timeframe as manuals?). They go on to say that they value my custom, despite me having to endure an "unwelcome wait".
As I had the day off work today, I took the opportunity to telephone. Initial response from Renault was along the lines of "tough, you have to wait 20 weeks". Reluctantly I got them to concede that it's unintended discrimination against those with a leg disability who require an auto as they are taking about 8 weeks longer to satisfy orders than for manual transmission cars.I don't know if they are correctwhen they say that they make cars in batches of manuals then autos (I used to work in the automotive industry and I havevisited several factories, albeit none were Renaults, where manual and auto, and engines of different size, are all mixed in the production process).
The fact that this is my second bad experience out of 2 when attempting to buy a new Renault did not sway the outcome, which is basically that it is unfortunate that you have to wait 20 weeks for an auto, but there is nothing that Renault UK will do about it. They won't intervene to speed things up. They could also not offer any assurances that delivery would not slip any further.
I also pointed out all the marketing stuff on the internet and press etc from Februaryregarding the offers for finance deals if cars were bought and registered before the end of March, yet nothing in the small print stated that no automatics would be available on these offers. The inference from the response I got was that "Marketing" are a separate entity and Renault UK Customer Support were unable to change the ad wording but would pass on my comments. Itherefore contacted the Advertising Standards Authority after my conversation with Renault UK.
So, in a nutshell Renault have hopelessly underestimated demand for the Captur and even after a year you face a long wait for one, and if you want an automatic you face an even longer wait.
What I can't understand is that if the cars are only supposed to be built to customer order, how come there is this "pool" of unallocated/unsold cars with manual transmission from which you can choose if you want to take advantage of the finance deals.
Meantime I've been to look at the new Kia Soul which comes as a 6-speed diesel auto according to my local dealer. Because of the 20 week wait for the Captur I have been told I can cancel at any time and get my deposit back, something I told Renault UK this morning, and I'm now very tempted to book a test drive of the Soul. Delivery is put at 2 weeks maximum, as it's a brand new model and there are plenty of new unsold cars about at the moment. (However being a new model, that means that discounts will be difficult)