I bought a Renault Modus in October 2005. All was fine for the first year until my latest service, the 30 000km service. For starters, the service cost me R1400 for labour… which is well above industry standard for 2007. Then I was told that my front brake pads needed replacing, that was another R900. Then I was informed that my tires needed to be replaced urgently. That’s were the major issues started.

You cannot get tires for the Renault Modus in South Africa. Even Renault themselves admitted that they can’t get tires! A three week search ensued resulting in 1 tire found in Uppington and another 2 in Johannesburg. Those were joined by my current spare tire and finally fitted today at a cost of R2000. But how can every Renault owner undergo this process each time they need to replace the tires. A friend of mine’s mother has been waiting since April 2006 for a new spare tire for her Renault Senic. Come on Renault.

Next issue… At my service I was informed that my car’s alternator was flawed and had been since it left the showroom, but that they would get parts for it as soon as they good. That would explain the really odd sound I’d heard since day 1 but always thought to be part of the “Modus sound”.

After two weeks I got the new alternator and tension pulley installed free of charge (amazing) and I was phoned at 3pm to collect my car. After work (4:30pm) I had a friend take me down to collect – only to be told “Sorry, your car is out on the road test. Just wait a minute.”

I wasn’t offered a seat or a cup of coffee so I stood on the service department floor waiting for my car to get back. When it did I was just given my keys and shown some control certificate thing. That’s it, no apology.

I drove off and about 10 minutes later realised that not only was the sound still there – but it was far worse than ever before.

I contacted them today to tell them how unhappy I was and was told “okay, we’ll have someone call you on Monday about it”.

Sigh. Come on Renault.

Update – Jan 2011: This continues to be a popular post here on my blog. Thanks for reading it! In Jan 2008 I finally got rid of my Renault Modus by trading it in to Barons VW. I had to pay in several thousand Rand to settle the outstanding amount owing on the loan. Oh, and almost fours years later, I’m still waiting for Renault to phone me back. Please, don’t buy a Renault.