Twingo Sport..To Cup or not to Cup

[bremb0]

Simple really, girlfriend has put a deposit down on a twingo rs 133, it does not have the cup pack.

She has seen ones for sale elsewhere with the cup pack and she prefers the look of the wheels and less arch gap.

She doesn't want the cup model as she wants aircon etc, but would love a full fat one with cup pack.

Called dealer they aren't keen on locating another vehicle, afterall why would they be when they have one in stock now.

Dealer has said "You don't want the cup pack as it's too hard" (which to me reads as I want to sell the one I have in stock)

What are peoples opinions? Is the twingo rs still good handling without cup pack, are the cup pack wheels too boy racer etc etc

Any opinions from those that have driven both?

One thing I have noticed is a twingo rs without cup pack is a rare sight, seems most taken with cup pack.

Thanks

Edited by bremb0 on Monday 28th November 10:00

Edited by bremb0 on Monday 28th November 10:09

[Defcon5]

With the Clios it was a must have option, I can only imagine the same applies with the Twingo - the fact the vast majority of them do have it says it all

[bremb0]

I thought that, but dealer says "We don't have one with cup pack in stock, and have no plans on getting one"

Dealer has deposit too, it's not like girlfriend doesn't want to purchase one, but on the other hand she drove and put deposit down on the non cup pack one.

Where does she stand, what can she say to dealer?

Should she just take it as lesson learnt and have to take that one, or fight and say get another one or ask for deposit back.

p.s worth noting that this is a renault dealer.

My view is that if you take a "second choice" you'll always resent the car, but then from dealers point of view customer test drives car and puts deposit but then wants another car.

But then customer is still looking to buy car so what's the big deal, shouldn't there be customer service?!

Edited by bremb0 on Monday 28th November 10:10

[Defcon5]

I think the dealer is just being an arse

[matc]

It depends where they are in terms of prepping the car they've got for her, ie has it been pdi'd and taxed in her name? The only reason I ask is because if the dealership has incurred any costs related to your partners sale then they may look to get them back from her deposit.

If nothing has happened to it then I would say she's entitled to either get a refund of her deposit or change her order to what she wants.

I'd be surprised in the current climate if they wouldn't just change the order to what she wanted, any deal at the moment is better than none. How much deposit has she paid?

[Ved]

There is a cooling off period where you can walk away. Th dealer is being an arse because they don't want to work for your money so tell them to stick it unless they get one with a cup pack.

Great choice of car, btw

[eybic]

I've never understood people trying to get deposits back. Surely a deposit is you saying to them "yes I want that car, please go ahead and order it, if I change my mind you can keep my deposit"

Dictionary definition = "To give as partial payment or security" I take "security" to mean what I said above.

[dunmow70]

My girlfriend has the Gordini Twingo without the cup pack. Having test driven the cup chassis version, it was the right choice.

If you're not going to rag it round a track, or drive dangerously fast on normal roads, the standard chassis provides a little more comfort and more than enough performance to drive just stupidly fast instead.

[chrisp84]

eybic said:

I've never understood people trying to get deposits back. Surely a deposit is you saying to them "yes I want that car, please go ahead and order it, if I change my mind you can keep my deposit"

Dictionary definition = "To give as partial payment or security" I take "security" to mean what I said above.

I've always thought the same, although I guess with a car it's more to show you are serious. Anyway, in this case I think the dealer should move the deposit to a car with the Cup Pack without question - they still want to buy a car from them!

[172ff]

The dealer is right. The cup version is very stiff.

[bremb0]

Girlfriend doesn't want deposit back, she wants a car with the cup pack.

The dealer doesn't want to play ball, so it's likely she'll just walk away from the deposit and have it as lesson learnt.

Dealer will lose a sale but make the deposit, girlfriend will be happier with car with options she wants.

Spoke to renault customer service, it turns out dealer is franchise so doesn't have stock to access apart from renault to go stock and there are no twingo 133 available.

So to be fair to dealer they can't do much as they don't have another in stock.

So now it's either stick with non cup pack so 16" wheels with bigger arch gap and worse handling, or lose deposit and go elsewhere.

Opinions?

Not on deposit or rights and wrongs, but opinions on cup vs non cup?

Edited by bremb0 on Monday 28th November 11:11

[bremb0]

matc said:

It depends where they are in terms of prepping the car they've got for her, ie has it been pdi'd and taxed in her name? The only reason I ask is because if the dealership has incurred any costs related to your partners sale then they may look to get them back from her deposit.

If nothing has happened to it then I would say she's entitled to either get a refund of her deposit or change her order to what she wants.

I'd be surprised in the current climate if they wouldn't just change the order to what she wanted, any deal at the moment is better than none. How much deposit has she paid?

There has been zero prep, deposit was paid subject to her finance going through.

Finance has gone through now.

The dealer is a franchise so doesn't have access to other renault twingo sports, no salesman is going to want to give money back so someone can buy a car elsewhere.

She should have looked around before, but she got excited.

[Chrisw666]

bremb0 said:

There has been zero prep, deposit was paid subject to her finance going through.

Finance has gone through now.

The dealer is a franchise so doesn't have access to other renault twingo sports, no salesman is going to want to give money back so someone can buy a car elsewhere.

She should have looked around before, but she got excited.

If it is a Renault main dealer they will have access to more cars.

Unless she has bought one from stock at a huge discount and they can't make any money on a factory order I don't see the problem.

[matc]

Chrisw666 said:

If it is a Renault main dealer they will have access to more cars.

Unless she has bought one from stock at a huge discount and they can't make any money on a factory order I don't see the problem.

Yep, this. Unless it's a used car Renault to Go shouldn't have anything to do with it.

I worked for a Renault franchised dealership for a number of years and we always had access to stock, if not a factory order was only a matter of weeks.

If they're not willing to play ball and they've done zero prep on the car I would ask for the deposit back, they don't have any rights to keep it.

I know it's a bit stty, but I run a franchised dealership now (not renault) and if a deposit was taken on a car we had in stock then we would have no real rights to keep the deposit in the circumstances you've mentioned above. It's not ideal for both parties but they shouldn't be forcing you spend your money on a car you don't want.

Why don't you pop along with her to the dealership and have a sit down with the sales manager/dealer principal, apologise for any inconvenience you've caused them and explain that you'd happily wait for a factory order for your specification, if not you'd want a refund of your deposit. You could always go to consumer direct for any advice if things become difficult.

[JDMDrifter]

I know the cup chassis is mint in the Clio, and with Renault making brilliant little cars I'd say get a cup chassis. Yes there stuff but they offer huge grip and awesome chuck ability. Tell the dealer you will go somewhere else and he'll probably sort out what you want

[rallycross]

Not had a Twingo Sport but smaller wheel are usually always better on little hot hatches, less grip, better ride, much cheaper to replaced, more fun to chuck it around, more rubber = less fun.

[dunmow70]

bremb0 said:

So now it's either stick with non cup pack so 16" wheels with bigger arch gap and worse handling, or lose deposit and go elsewhere.

Opinions?

Not on deposit or rights and wrongs, but opinions on cup vs non cup?

"worse handling" is the wrong way to look at it. If you're not going to race it on a track, the quality of most of Britain's roads simply won't allow you to drive it quick enough to get the benefit of the lower ride height and firmer suspension. Ask her if she wants to rag it at 80mph round the country lanes. If she says yes, tell her that's illegal, if she says no, tell her the non-cup chassis will do just fine. Seriously, unless your girlfriend's name is Sabine, she won't be able to tell the difference in handling, but she will appreciate the extra comfort.