I have only had it for just shy of a year, but I can't say a bad thing about my Renault Laguna. It had a couple of things need fixing early on, some little electrical thing and another thing in the bonnet, but those were done in minutes really while I waited. It was all covered in the warranty no problem, and they gave me some nice tea and biscuits whilst I waited, fab!
I think there were two big reasons I wanted the Renault Laguna in the first place. I drove it for the first time and I loved it because it was really nice and comfy, much more than my old Honda, and it was also really easy to see all around the car, nice big windows. There are parking helpers as well which makes parking really simple.
The Renault Laguna isn't the smallest of cars, but all that stuff makes it really easy to park. Anyway I wanted a nice big boot for getting my mum's wheelchair in (and both our shopping), plus taking my nieces out. It's great for space inside for all those sorts of trips.
I'm not too bothered about how fast it goes or anything like that, but it does what it's told. I was quite surprised when they told me it was a diesel as well, seems nice and quiet. The running costs are great too, I do mostly motorway driving and it seems to just sip diesel.
A very clever thing in the Renault Laguna is the drivers seat. My brother and I both drive this car from time to time, and the seat has a setting where it can remember different positions, for different people. I think it has three presets, but we just use the two. It's really great, saves you from fiddling about with it each time.
There were some niggling problems, which at first made me think I might have landed a real lemon, and I was really worried when I saw some reviews of older Renault Lagunas which read like real horror stories. It worked out ok though. One of the problems was sorted with an update to the software (this was news to me, who knew cars had software??). There were some other little bits like catches not catching and a rattling noise, but these were all sorted out by the dealer.
Again I've heard horror stories of bad dealers, but our one is friendly and honest, from what I can tell. They did all the work nice and swiftly. Maybe that's the exception. Hope not.
I chose not to get the Renault Laguna with the integrated satnav, because I though it would probably go out of date within the lifetime of the car, and maybe just look old hat and pointless by the time I come to sell it. I'm not really sure if I made the right decision. It is pretty annoying having to remember the old standalone unit every time I go out in the car. I don't really want to leave it in the car, although it does seem well equipped with safety features. It's a bit too safety conscious actually, the alarm has gone off in the night a couple of times, and we're quite rural so it was probably just a fox jumping on it or something.
It's a good car to drive, and I'm chuffed to be returning mid 40s MPG in a 2 litre. You don't really notice that it's a diesel, not from the inside at least. It obviously gives a slightly different sound outside, but really you do need to concentrate to tell the difference most of the time. It's powerful enough for overtaking on the A roads at pretty much any speed, and that's all I ask of it.
I also didn't go for the air conditioning option, which I do regret now. It seemed quite pricey at the time, and although the dealers were friendly, they were also getting a bit pushy about up selling more extras. During the summer, and especially the last week which has been really sweltering, I really kicked myself for not having the AC. I wouldn't use it much but I would really appreciate it when I did want it on.
It's a clever car for storage as well, that was a main thing we were after because we both have merchandise to move around with work. The back seats flip down dead easy, and there are handles to strap things on to in the back as well. It's well thought out.
I suppose we've only had it about two years so it's hard to say how it'll fare longer term. Maybe some of these horror stories will eventually come true for us too. At least our dealer will be good about it all.
I ditched my Renault Laguna in the end after five frustrating years of trying to get Renault to do anything at all apart from ignore me and tell me the warranty didn't cover things. Maybe things have improved since but it's definitely worth hearing from existing customers first before buying a car from any manufacturer's dealer.
It's sad because the car itself was ok really. I mean it wasn't amazing and it had a few too many repairs needing for my liking, but it was alright. The main things were electrical, like safety monitors going off when nothing was actually wrong, that sort of thing. The engine needed some work over the years I had it but all in warranty (fixed after much huffing and fussing and delaying by Renault, and with no chance of a courtesy car).
The Renault Laguna that I had was apparently a 16 valve but it wasn't all that powerful really, seemed sluggish when you asked it to overtake. On the plus side it got through petrol pretty slowly.
The 'build quality' I scored low. I knackered my rims a couple of times on bumps which weren't too bad, not the sort of thing where you'd think ah no that'll knacker my rims. The paint chipped pretty easily as well I was always buffing things out, and it got rusty towards the end of when I had it, which was five years old so probably not ageing well after that.
Shame about the build because the inside of the car was pretty fancy, I mean coming at it from an early 90s car that I had, it looked quite futuristic, with the neat angles on the dash panel and fancy display at the top.
It was a pretty practical car too, decent boot and seats, that sort of thing. Maybe if you get one of the later Renault Lagunas from this lot it would still be ok. I got mine in 2001 when they first replace the earlier Renault Laguna model (I was watching at the time), so maybe they sorted out some of the problems over the years.
Not a complicated car. Renault are a bit of a mixed bag sometimes, and I have actually heard some people say bad things about the Laguna, but mine has been pretty solid for nearly 15 years now. It's not as economical as more modern cars, and I suppose the safety bits and bobs aren't up to modern standards.
The RN trim Laguna is the cheapest one, with not really many things included as standard. I wanted it cos it was cheap, and it worked out in a way cos I spose it just had less stuff to go wrong over the years. I can't really remember every little thing I've had done to it, but it hasn't had anything all that major apart from a new clutch and gearbox getting done last year. That's after about 110k miles, which is fair enough really. Apart from that it's still tight as a drum.
There have been other little things like tyres and exhaust, and windscreen squirters, but all just normal stuff, and nothing has failed more quickly than you'd expect.
I would have liked power steering, maybe that's one thing that would have persuaded me to go up to one of the pricier trimmed Renault Lagunas, and I'm sure when I get a new car it'll feel a lot different.
I've found that parts for the Renault Laguna are quite dear. I tend to use car part broker websites (we've got three cars, don't ask why), then different breakers contact you and you pick the lowest quote. That brings it down a fair bit, then you just get a garage to fit them. I never even touched Renault dealers to do any work, never heard a good word about dealers of any manufacturer.
Bit of a classic British family car, the Renault Laguna, handsome and built to last. Of course they don't always last and I've had engine problems with this one. But I'm desperate to keep it running because it's a real beauty if you ask me.
Great value for money if you're looking for a second-hand car. But whatever you do check the electrics as I've heard that the sunroof and windows etc can go. I personally haven't experienced this and aside from the engine troubles (erratic revving, wasn't cheap to sort out) I've been very happy with it.
It's economical and it's full of gadgets so you feel like you're driving a Bond car sometimes in the Laguna. Tire pressure gauges, keycard and all the safety bits you could wish for. I recommend the estate over the hatchback because it's very roomy and practical.