don't buy...

[Boruni]

Dear Friends,
You want to buy an Ineos Grenadier... read my story. I picked up my Grenadier in November 2023. It's a beautiful car, exactly what I was looking for. Very sparsely equipped, but supposedly tough and unbeatable. It was, but only for a moment. I sold my Volvo XC90 Twin Engine to get it. In the Volvo, I had everything in good quality, but here, I was expecting reliability. The air conditioning works on its own, not quite how you expect or how you're used to. You’ll end up opening the windows rather than using the air conditioning... it’s doable for a while.


I bought the car in Poland, but I live half the time in Italy. After 20,000 km, I wanted to do a check-up, so I made an appointment at a service center in Genoa. I drove 100 km, left the car there, and they did nothing because they didn’t have the oil filter. Absolutely nothing. And this isn’t just an Ineos service center, it’s also BMW, Mini, etc. I know, a high-tech engine, but no filters. So I drove 1600 km to Poland. The service was done, and the air conditioning was supposedly improved. But with the air conditioning, no change. In Poland, they found that the differential was damp, so they told me to keep driving because they didn’t have the parts.


A month ago, I drove another 1600 km because they had the parts and were supposed to fix the air conditioning. They fixed both the air conditioning and the differential. The air conditioning works, but only in one setting: manual, maxed out, giving 3.0°C. If you adjust it even slightly, it jumps to 23-27°C, and if you move it further, it reaches 54°C. Nice, but I didn’t grow up in Africa. And the differential? It was damp before, but now the whole car is covered in oil.


30 phone calls, 8 days have passed in a foreign country. I have no replacement car, and after my car was towed, no one touched it for a week. I have a GPS tracker. No one knows anything. It's too late, call tomorrow.


Do you still want to buy a Grenadier??? Don’t do it.


PS: I know the Volvo XC90 doesn’t appeal to you, but I also have a Pajero Evolution, Pajero I Classic 3.0, Pajero 4, a few Mitsubishi Evolutions, a BMW, an Alfa, etc. I know how cars work. I had a service for rally cars with a 1000m2 facility, I raced in WRC, etc. I know a bit, but I still got ripped off.


Best regards,
Tomek

 

[rur42]

That's terrible, having problems with a new car is always discouraging. I count myself lucky that I only have to drive 200km to my dealer! Air conditioning issues are pretty common, but on the differential, was it the pinion seals? I take it your insurance doesn't cover a rental car?

 

[DaveB]

either something is lost in translation or this is just a bit of an April fools joke.
Why wait until 20,000 kms to do a service??

I find it strange that an air conditioner can reach 54 degrees Celsius, that is 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit and you would be very dead.
Surely you would turn it off before that.

If it can reach 3 degrees with the fan flat out, turn the fan down.

You left the car without checking if they had the parts and the filter is actually a BMW part so.............the BMW service centre didn't have a BMW filter?
Then you drove 1600 kms to Poland to get it serviced , or because you live in Poland 50:50?

If the differential is damp the only part they need is a spanner and a crush washer. unless it is one of the seals, in which case you definitely shouldn't have driven it away.

You are now stuck in a foreign country. Which one?
Clearly not Italy or Poland.
So I assume Austria or Czechia?

 

[Tazzieman]

Best regards

 

[Max]

don't buy... ​

 

[CRH]

I have thought that there should be an option that includes a banner to be a 'verified Grenadier owner'
Copy of your owner documents plus other to Stu. Some comments and complaints i do wonder about.
I'm not saying this person is a fantasist or not. But as pointed out above, claims to know cars well but exceeds the service intervals and drives something with leaking oil but seems to be surprised that it's spread all under the vehicle, who would have thought.
If you are a genuine owner and have had these issues you will have read that the heating/cooling can be fixed and as a knowledgeable car user that new manufacturer is likely to have teething issues let alone all the recalls and problems people have with traditional manufacturers.
I'm sorry you had these problems but it's not as major as you make out and nothing i wouldn't get fixed and then enjoy.

 

[Boruni]

I have thought that there should be an option that includes a banner to be a 'verified Grenadier owner'
Copy of your owner documents plus other to Stu. Some comments and complaints i do wonder about.
I'm not saying this person is a fantasist or not. But as pointed out above, claims to know cars well but exceeds the service intervals and drives something with leaking oil but seems to be surprised that it's spread all under the vehicle, who would have thought.
If you are a genuine owner and have had these issues you will have read that the heating/cooling can be fixed and as a knowledgeable car user that new manufacturer is likely to have teething issues let alone all the recalls and problems people have with traditional manufacturers.
I'm sorry you had these problems but it's not as major as you make out and nothing i wouldn't get fixed and then enjoy.

Hello, my English may be too weak for this forum, but I want to explain:
1- the service in Italy that did not have an oil filter and therefore did not inspect my car, but it is an authorized Ineos service
2- according to my service booklet I have to do it every 20 thousand km
3- I did the first change oil in Poland, although there was no such obligation
4- I love Grenadier, but the facts are that the air conditioning is totally botched. It is easy to question how many degrees and how long the hot air blows, but in order not to be unfounded and to have arguments to talk to the Ineos Dealer, I bought a digital thermometer and recorded everything.
5- I arrived in Italy with dripping oil, after service work in Poland. You do not stop every now and then to check if something is leaking in a new car
6- Ineos service in Italy does not exist, the number of phone calls you have to make is in the dozens
7- today an Ineos representative from England called to say that I have to wait another 2 weeks for the repair. Today is the 7th week that the car has been in the service for a front axle leak.
So maybe you don't have to question everything I write because I wish the best for the rest of the Grenadier users even if you think it's nonsense.
Just to be clear, I wrote down every call, every text message, every email. You can love the Grenadier but something in the service in Europe should change.
Best regards, Tom

 

[CRH]

Hello, my English may be too weak for this forum, but I want to explain:
1- the service in Italy that did not have an oil filter and therefore did not inspect my car, but it is an authorized Ineos service
2- according to my service booklet I have to do it every 20 thousand km
3- I did the first change oil in Poland, although there was no such obligation
4- I love Grenadier, but the facts are that the air conditioning is totally botched. It is easy to question how many degrees and how long the hot air blows, but in order not to be unfounded and to have arguments to talk to the Ineos Dealer, I bought a digital thermometer and recorded everything.
5- I arrived in Italy with dripping oil, after service work in Poland. You do not stop every now and then to check if something is leaking in a new car
6- Ineos service in Italy does not exist, the number of phone calls you have to make is in the dozens
7- today an Ineos representative from England called to say that I have to wait another 2 weeks for the repair. Today is the 7th week that the car has been in the service for a front axle leak.
So maybe you don't have to question everything I write because I wish the best for the rest of the Grenadier users even if you think it's nonsense.
Just to be clear, I wrote down every call, every text message, every email. You can love the Grenadier but something in the service in Europe should change.
Best regards, Tom

I'm sorry if I offended as is never my intention. A lot of this is down to unacceptable service that a lot of us are suffering from, and some of us not.
If everything had been sorted first time, as it should be, you would probably be a happy owner.
What i will say about the heating system is mine had to go through the bleeding procedure a number of times for it to work properly. When I say properly, you have to change temperatures gradually but ultimately it will work if the garage has done their job properly.

Again, sorry to have offended and I hope you get sorted sooner.
As mentioned in another thread, sometimes emails work better than phone calls, they also provide a full record of all conversations and attempts to have things rectified.

Finally, nothing wrong with your English & 100% better then my Italian. Being English, we expect everyone else to speak it too

 

[Texas Grenadier]

Adios! Sorry for your inconvenience with yours. We will miss ya!

 

[LabRat]

Would love to the build dates of many of the "horror stories". Just a SWAG, but seems like most of them are early builds.

 

[Boruni]

I'm sorry if I offended as is never my intention. A lot of this is down to unacceptable service that a lot of us are suffering from, and some of us not.
If everything had been sorted first time, as it should be, you would probably be a happy owner.
What i will say about the heating system is mine had to go through the bleeding procedure a number of times for it to work properly. When I say properly, you have to change temperatures gradually but ultimately it will work if the garage has done their job properly.

Again, sorry to have offended and I hope you get sorted sooner.
As mentioned in another thread, sometimes emails work better than phone calls, they also provide a full record of all conversations and attempts to have things rectified.

Finally, nothing wrong with your English & 100% better then my Italian. Being English, we expect everyone else to speak it too

Hey, no problem. I don't feel offended. I'm no expert so I listen to all comments. Both of us, as I see, have Grenadier in our hearts and no verbal fights will change that. Stay warm.