Renault tow car advice

[Steve L]

Just thought I'd see what info I can gather.

We have a 1998 Laguna 8 valve 2 Ltr estate which tows our van at 100% of it's tow capacity. Having now done 176'000 miles I reckon it is time for a change, but to what.

I do like the car and so would like another upto year 2000.

Would it be best to go for a 2 Ltr 16 valve petrol or a 1.9 Dti diesel? I do about 23k miles per annum of which 25% is towing and 60% long distance about 40% of my journey's are no more than 20 miles of town/country lane driving.

The petrol engine is 140Bhp and the diesel 110 Bhp.

Can anyone shed any light on their experiences and offer some advice?

Many thanks

Steve L.

 

[xtrailman]

The 16v engines tend not to have the same low end torque as the old 8v engines, max torque could be 3500/4500rpm peak.

I would say diesel, but then you have the turbo, HP pressure pump, DMF. To consider.

I did work with a chap who bought a very nice looking Laguna, disel, i warned him of the turbo problems at the time 5 years ago. He bought it anyway, it drove so good, with in six months the turbo had gone.

 

[Dustydog]

Steve

I've had two Lagunas. A 1998 Estate 2.0l petrol and then a 2002 2.2DCI. The diesel was brilliant, 6 speed box bags of power etc. Went back to the lease company at 100k. We nearly bought it but were put off by stories of failing electrics and indeed the things Ray mentions.

However both the Lagunas from new did high mileages and never let us down. Both were on the original clutches and never missed a beat.

For me I'd have liked the 1998 body with the 2002 running gear, it was bigger. Also the 1998 had self levelling suspension.

Go for the diesel.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Martin_5041016]

Hi Steve

Hi Had a 52 plate laguna which was a 2.2DCi 140BHP it towed like a dream with a caravan of about 1200 weight, hills were not even noticable, the only time I noticed anything was when it went into the garage for a service or MOT (bank manger appointments). Although the body work and engine were fine the running gear on the car just did not last. I only did about 14,000miles a year and had the car for about 4 years and replaced numerious bushes, suspensions parts and bearings etc. Although the parts were fairly inexpensive the labour costs were large due to the poor design to service the car parts. After the car failed both of its MOT's at 5 years old I decided enough was enough and replaced it for a 2.0TDI Passat. I have had this for 2 years and never had a problem.

This may have been a monday morning car or Friday afternoon but I have heard of similar stories from garages and other past laguna owners. Hope this helps

 

[Steve L]

I have found one concern quite by accident.

I found a cracking 2Ltr RXE estate T reg one owner with completly full service history for all its 110'000 miles and for only

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Steve

I had one of those RXEs, petrol and it came with self levelling suspension. The extra rear seats were never in the car until it was sold. I think the reduced weight allowance had something to do with these seats. Look closely and as far as I am concerned there is absolutely no difference in running gear to all the other models. I bet a quick note to Renault may have changed things perhaps??

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty,

Steve's concern is valid. Because the towing limit is defined by the manufacturer and is logged against the vehicles VIN. If the seven seat version is de-rated, then that is the limit for that vehicle regardless of whether the seats are fitted or not.

The only possible let out, is if the manufacture stipulates an alternative figure for when the seats are removed.

 

[Dustydog]

John

Fully agree , hence the suggestion he speaks to Renault direct.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Steve L]

Hi John & Dusty.

I have tried to get sense out of my local dealership at Hereford, but as usual Callowmarsh haven't got anyone who cares enough to go and find out for me.

Now if I was buying a new car then they would dance through hoops for me!!

However having worked in R&D at a firm who makes the chassis for Lotus and Aston Martin, I kind of know just how hard it would be to get the VIN plate re-defined.

Renault are probably one of the most obscure informist's when it comes to challenging carrying or towing capacity's.

So it looks like a bit of searching and waiting for the right model to come on the market.

I'm not totally stuck as I do have my trusty 8V model which will do the job (just), but at 176500 miles now she is getting a bit tired. Nobody believes me when I tell them the miles as the old girl could easily pass with 100'000 knocked off. Not that I'd be tempted into that, as I'm proud of how well yet another Renault has served me. I've had 14 Renaults since 1984.

Steve L.

 

[Dustydog]

Steve

You beat me!

Renault 16TX

20TS

2.0 petrol estate RXE Laguna

2.2DCI Estate Laguna

All served me well .So comfortable.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Steve L]

Hi Dusty.

This is my Renault list.

R18 GTL estate

R25 GTS Monaco (just as good as a jag)

Espace phase 2 (had 2 of these)

R11 TXE 1.7 phase 2

R21 GTS savanna (estate)

R25 2Ltr injection

R25 GTS (had 2 of these)

R5 campus 950cc

R5 campus 1108cc (had 2 of these)

R5 GTS 1200cc

Laguna 2Ltr RT sport estate

All have served me very well too and have not cost me anymore than

 

[Zafiral]

When I had a Renault Scenic (05 1.9 DCi), I spoke to Renault Customer Services re the tow weight, especially the fact that the handbook states tow weight 950kg unless driver only. At that point they qualified that Renault would be fine so long as you did not exceed the GTW weight (just over 3000kg from memory). In that case, any weight saved by removing the seats could be towed. Confirm with Renault, I found them very helpful.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Hi,

Had a Renault Megane Sport Tourer for 3 years 1.9 tdci. it was a brilliant towcar and never let me down.

 

[WilliamLX]

Renault is a make I wouldn't touch, the worst of the French makes in so much as they have equally poor build quality as Peugot and Citroen but also build needlessly complicated cars which go wrong and are very expensive to fix. Better to stick to a Ford or VW.

 

[Steve L]

Oh william!

You don't mean to say you'd have a 1998 dagenham dustbin mondeano compared to the same year Laguna that came with elictric sunroof, air con and electric heated mirrors as standard.

I drove a Golf (just the once!) got out after 200 miles on my knees. My back has never been the same again.

Joking apart mate.

I've not had a Renault that has needed more than

 

[AndyR]

Renault is a make I wouldn't touch, the worst of the French makes in so much as they have equally poor build quality as Peugot and Citroen but also build needlessly complicated cars which go wrong and are very expensive to fix. Better to stick to a Ford or VW.

I couldn't agree with you more. Having bought a new 2005 Grand Scenic, I will never buy Renault again.

More than 30 trips to the dealer's to sort warranty issues - airbag faults (x3), all pads, discs and calipers replaced, wiper sensors broken, electric mirrors motor broke, complete air con/ventilation system packed in - and that's just a few of them!

I bought 2 new Toyotas last summer - not one problem!

 

[ProfJohnL]

I think the answers here just go to show that the experiences of an individual can vary so much, but they do not give the full reflection of the overall reliability of a make.

Just because one owner has a car that earns a poor reputation does not necessarily mean that all the cars of the same model has the same characteristics, and on a larger scale, one model in a makers portfolio does not necessarily mirror the makers total output.

The converse is also true, one model that becomes outstanding does not mean all the offerings are as good.

It is also human nature to shout when something goes wrong, so we tend to hear about the few instances when things go wrong, but that gives no indication of how many satisfied customers there are who go about their travelling with no drama.

This is where the likes of the JD powers surveys begin to make sense. They pool and average results form individuals, and that does begin to give a general picture of model dependability. But even then you may purchase a model that has a good reputation and it still it lets you down.

It is of no solace to be told that in general a model is reliable, when your particular car has give you trouble, What you are then looking for is a service/repair network that is responsive and cost effective.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Renault is a make I wouldn't touch, the worst of the French makes in so much as they have equally poor build quality as Peugot and Citroen but also build needlessly complicated cars which go wrong and are very expensive to fix. Better to stick to a Ford or VW.

William, Just prejudice! please give actual examples.

 

[Steve L]

I quite agree John.

My dad had a Renault 12TL estate (ok who can remember those? hands up.). It must of been the most unlucky car it the world. He had three doors smashed in at the pub car park. The third one was exactly the same door that was repaired two weeks before. Then a lorry backed into the front of it putting two tuna tin opening type air scoops from the chassis rails in the bonnet. In those days they hadn't heard of rear crash bumpers on lorries. It was a Bedford TK by the way. Also he had a screw fall out of the carb air butterfly and embed its self in the top of one of the pistons.

Other than that catalog of disasters it ran fine for the three years he had it. Then he swapped it for a Chrysler Alpine that had electronic ingnition failure on the same regularity that we get wind.

So yep your right in any make of vehicle you will get "the good, the bad and the ugly".

Steve L.

 

[xtrailman]

Well i hope my renault engined xtrail is as reliable, the old xtrail with the nissan engine, was prone to turbo failures.

Honest john stated that he has had more letters about xtrail turbos failing than BMW.

Funny that as you don't really associate turbo failure with BMW?

But anyway, i blame the turbo failures on Renault of course!

Its a strange engine in the xtrail i have the 171bhp version.

When its warmed up its actually noiser on tickover than the old 2.2 dci, yet it revs like a petrol engine, keeping the revs off the red line is tricky at times, the engine noise is so muted you dont know what revs you are actually doing, only the rev counter display giving it away.

And then on tickover it makes its self known.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I quite agree John.

My dad had a Renault 12TL estate (ok who can remember those? hands up.). It must of been the most unlucky car it the world. He had three doors smashed in at the pub car park. The third one was exactly the same door that was repaired two weeks before. Then a lorry backed into the front of it putting two tuna tin opening type air scoops from the chassis rails in the bonnet. In those days they hadn't heard of rear crash bumpers on lorries. It was a Bedford TK by the way. Also he had a screw fall out of the carb air butterfly and embed its self in the top of one of the pistons.

Other than that catalog of disasters it ran fine for the three years he had it. Then he swapped it for a Chrysler Alpine that had electronic ingnition failure on the same regularity that we get wind.

So yep your right in any make of vehicle you will get "the good, the bad and the ugly".

Steve L.

I have had (or the use of*) the following Renaults through the years

10*

12TS

Feugo*

21*

25*

Espace 2.0 RX ~2

Grande Espace 2.2DT ~3