Renaultsport Megane 250, s*it Salesman.

[boombang 2]

Weirdly I've been tempted with the Renaultsport Megane for the last couple of weeks, the missus has found the Clio is one of only a couple of cars that ticks all her boxes.

 

Figured best place to have a look was the local Renault dealer, in retrospect I might as well have stayed at home, tugged myself stupid for an hour, then looked on their website.

 

First car inside the door is a Renaultsport Megane in the dark metallic grey, looks cracking in my opinion.

 

Mention I want more info and am taken to the Renaultsport "specialist" salesman.

 

First up he takes me round the car, I mention that I've just come out of a VX220 and want something more practical, at least 75% of the performance, and above all comfortable.

Blank look on salesman's face. Turns out he's got no idea what a VX220 is, so explain it's like an Elise but different engine, styling and Vauxhall badge. Was assuming the specialist would be a car nut, perhaps incorrectly!

 

Inside he had no info on the Recaro option, was unsure where the iPod / aux input was, and tried to get the boot open for 30 seconds only to realise the battery had been disconnected.

 

Ok so I thought maybe he'd do better on the sport orientated bits...

 

Next up go through the finer details of the "cup chassis". Well I was trying, he just knew it was stiffer and lower. Ok so perhaps it's only people like me who'd even care how much thicker the ARBs are, what poundage springs it may run, or at the very least how much "stiffer".

 

Instead decided would ask about the LSD, at this point the lad was completely lost. He could confirm it has one, and that it was mechanical (think it helped him that the brochure was open in front of him and clearly states that). He had no idea if it was a torsen/torque biasing type and indeed no idea that there were different types of LSD. To be fair I'm not even sure he knew what an LSD was.

 

Bottom line time, I was getting fed up with this guy just reading the brochure to me, he had no info on the product he was supposed to be selling, nor on performance cars in general - even so I wanted his opinion on how it drove.

 

I looked at a Clio 197 few years back but it was massively disappointing. How did it compare? Well turned out the guy hadn't driven the 197, not the current Clio 200, nor the Megane Renaultsport, nor in fact the Megane in any incarnation.

 

The only person there who had was the general manager, who had the Renaultsport Megane demo car as his current company car.

 

Figured that perhaps was best talking to the manager, but one more fail to come from the dealership - he works managing a few dealers, so is only there one day a week. Chance of a test drive? None unless I can get there during office hours on a weekday.

 

Excellent work!

 

So more on topic - anyone got any proper info on these?

[blue_haddock 2]

Just do yourself a favour and buy another 309!

[boombang 2]

If I could have my old one back exactly as I sold it, I'd pay double, whack a Gti-6 lump in it along with some Gaz coilovers and go have a laugh for another couple of years.

 

Unfortunately it's in bits spread all over the country and no idea if the shell was scrapped in the end.

 

At the moment so fed up with modded things though, just want something to do the lot out of the box.

[blue_haddock 2]

monaro FTW then!

[Wes 86 1 Cars]

my friend is selling his r26r if your interested. its as new with only 2k miles on it.

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1587537.htm

[large 33]

I would jazz up your post a bit and send it to Renault UK you never know you may get something out of them. Mmmmmm key chain.

[welshpug 1,657]

oh dear, salesman didn't do his homework then, every question you asked IIRC is answered on the spec sheets for all to see on the Renaultsport website!

 

I don't know anyone who has had the current 250 version, only the previous 225.

[Henry 1.9GTi 36]

chris harris for the win

 

and theres a part 2 as well.

Havn't actually watched it, will do now, so hope its relevant

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Cut back's on training is the main reason and the Salesman don;t stick around for long as normal.

I know having trained some they really have no idea

 

But if it's like my mates CC it's a pain in the **** and even to change the headlight fuse you need to take out the battery + Tray & ECU

[hengti 2]

it might be worth finding a RS Megane forum (don't know of any, but there must be a few) and asking locals to recommend a half decent dealership. i limit myself to the parts counter of mine, but have heard a fair bit of moaning about the indifference/incompetence of the network when it comes to either selling or servicing/fixing the RS models (not that there's necessarily anything particularly complicated about them..)

[boombang 2]

my friend is selling his r26r if your interested. its as new with only 2k miles on it.

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1587537.htm

 

Currently most dealers are doing a new 250 Cup for £21k, that R26R might be a special model but obviously not particularily good VFM.

[White Pugs 6]

Mr Bang,

 

I can see the point you are making in your original thread but to be fair the vast majority of franchised dealerships are staffed by "shop" boys and girls. They are probably on about £8 an hour basic and are appointed on the premise that they are presentable, will push the finance at every given opportunity and don't say innit every other word.

 

They know that 90% of the population know f'all about cars (and care less), most punters just want the "red one that Clarkson liked on last weeks top gear", and if our "shop" boy/girl coo's a bit and says that said punter looks really good in the driving seat, then they have a sale.

 

Shop boys and girls in franchised dealerships hate customers like you (and I, and probably most of the 205 drivers, for that matter) because you (and we) are enthusiasts, we read about cars, we join forums, we use the internet, we are genuinely interested, to most of them it's just another unit to meet this months target.

 

J

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I have had a go in one, we had one on the pitch for sale for a week and then traded it. If I am honest and with no bias of any kind I hated it. Yes it went like stink, and never ran out of power. But, it is still a fookin Renault, and you can tell. It has a poor quality dash, waiting to rattle its tits off and fall to bits. It gives a very planted feeling on the road, fills you with confidence untill you REALLY give it some hell through the corners. No, not for me.

 

And it WILL spit out coil packs, it WILL lose its power steering, it WILL have ignition problems.

 

There are better cars out there, I like the Focus RS, I took our Green one home for a few days before we sold it, and I grew to understand it very quickly.

 

Personally though, if I was going to be buying a 200 plus bhp car, I would go RWD or 4WD. These new Super Hatches are just not suited to fwd.

 

Go get an ex demo Impreza STi or a used Audi S3

 

Oh and...

 

I can see the point you are making in your original thread but to be fair the vast majority of franchised dealerships are staffed by "shop" boys and girls. They are probably on about £8 an hour basic and are appointed on the premise that they are presentable, will push the finance at every given opportunity and don't say innit every other word.

 

 

Our Alfa Romeo specialist is 23, he would not know what an LSD was if you put one on his desk. I was talking a few months ago about buying an Alfa Sud. He did not know that such a thing existed. But, we dont care, he has sold 27 cars this month and he will probably take home about 4 grand after tax, so he dont care either!

 

One day he will be as good as me!

Edited March 27, 2010 by ORB

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

What an excellent thread.

 

I was going to suggest the Focus RS. Not quite sure if you can get one for £21k though and can't be arsed to search haha yer lol innit.

 

Orb's post says it all: it's all about quantitative results, i.e. how many cars 'presentable Bazza and Shazza' can sell rather than qualitative results i.e. how well informed they are and what kind of buying experience the customer enjoys. Like most shopping experiences these days, one feels like they've just been processed.

 

Go get an Alfa 147 GTA and be done with it.

 

(Worth clicking the link. Good article related to this topic.)

 

Clarkson says it's good: "It’s fast, really fast, and £22,500 won’t buy you a better white-knuckle ride. It also makes a tremendous noise. It’s lovely to behold and inside it’s genuinely beautiful. But trust me on this — I’m not a salesman. You don’t want one."

 

The last bit is the clincher for me.

[feb 47]

I test drove the RS but wasn't impressed. OK the handling was good but what is all the fuss about the revo knuckle?! Put your foot down (lots of delay until the turbo starts spooling) and once it kicks in the car torque steers like hell. You have to hold the steering very tight and keep making adjustments to stay on a straight line. Not very pleasant to drive. I have never driven a Renault Sport (Clio or Megane) but both the Trophy and the 230 F1 are supposed to be great cars.

Have you thought about a Forester Sti? Practical, powerful, 4WD and not many know what it is.

The handling is good but can be improved with a set of Sti pink springs or a set of coilovers.

Edited March 28, 2010 by feb