E-Tense Joys and Woes

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Jem_Shaw
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Joined: 30 Jan 2022, 07:49
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E-Tense Joys and Woes

Post by Jem_Shaw »

Hi all,
Having bought an ultra-low mileage, approved used DS7 E-Tense Ultra Prestige in early December 2021 - and two months later having had it in my possession for around ten days, I thought I'd start this thread.

As for the car itself, it's exquisite. The last time I got so much wow factor was when I owned a fully loaded Citroen C6. It's one of those cars that you get into, look around and think, “hell yeah”.

The dealer was Robin's & Day in Romford. Pickup was a shambles, but two hours later I started the 150 mile journey home.

It broke down in a live traffic lane on one of our lethal Smart motorways. DS Recovery (RAC) failed to register my perilous position. Fortunately two Traffic Officers saved me by coning off the lane. They put in an official complaint about RAC's failure to respond appropriately. Five hours later, a recovery vehicle arrived and I was on my way home.

The car was returned to me five days later. Four days after that it broke down again on the way to Huddersfield. This time in an even more perilous situation. RAC again failed to log the priority and another five hours passed before they sent a taxi to take my wife, disabled son and me home. The car was abandoned, unlit on a main country road, without street lighting, between two blind bends.

The RAC then lost it for a week. They registered picking it up some time the following morning. After that it all gets blurred. They've since sent £50 to compensate me. I won't let it change my life.

The ensuing service from Robins & Day, RAC and DS Automobiles was disastrous. RAC struggled to know what day of the week it was, DSA handed me to a different person on every call, and none of them did anything helpful. R&D blamed the RAC and shrugged.

It all changed when one of many phone calls to R&D found me talking to Jessica Downer. She's not particularly senior, but she damned well should be. She enlisted the help of the equally excellent Chloe Morris at DSA. within 24 hours I had a 71 registered Peugeot 3008 to drive and a voucher for my next three services FOC.

My DS is now back with me and I'm once again able to sit in that glorious expanse of tan leather, thinking “hell yeah”. And the fact that it goes like a stabbed rat might also be called a positive.

Sorry for the length of this post, but hopefully those names above might help others if you run into similar issues. For Robin's & Day customers (which, incidentally is owned by Stellantis), Jessica is the one to ask for. For other DS owners, Chloe really cares about customer service.

Hell Yeah.
Last edited by Jem_Shaw on 01 Feb 2022, 05:50, edited 1 time in total.
Empty, unlit country road at night, quick car, great sounds and twisty headlights that cast shadows on the moon. Now try saying “just as long as it gets me from A to B”.
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Re: E-Tense Joy's and Woes

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

If that had been me,
Jem_Shaw wrote: 30 Jan 2022, 08:38 Five hours later, a recovery vehicle arrived and I was on my way home.
I don't know about home, but I would be on a 180 ° turn back to the dealer and left it there.

You didn't actually say what the causes were of the breakdown were or what happened, but I do know I wouldn't have a DS7 if I was given one FOC. Almost all of the DS7 members here have had issues with these, but whatever you do, I strongly recommend you keep renewing your extended warranty every year - it's likely you will be needing it. Best of luck with it.
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Jem_Shaw
Posts: 2
Joined: 30 Jan 2022, 07:49
Location: Staffordshire
My Cars: DS7 Crossback E-Tense
Citroen C6
x 3

Re: E-Tense Joy's and Woes

Post by Jem_Shaw »

You may be right, Marc, but I really hope you're not. :-k

The breakdown both times was an instant loss of drive. The first time, my local dealer replaced the 12v battery, which wasn't holding charge. The second resulted in my rejecting the car and it was (eventually) returned to the original dealer. I then began to consider what to buy instead. Nothing in the same price range measured up. The service level I experienced - once the ladies mentioned above became involved - persuaded me to accept a repair. This time a full diagnosis exposed a faulty charging module.

I've previously been members of forums for my Citroen C6 and Jeep Cherokee, both fondly remembered, and a BMW 5 series that I hated. All forums were full of breakdowns, niggles, and persistent problems. My C6 and Cherokee were rock solid. The Beemer was a nightmare. I think you'll always find a higher incidence of faults on a forum of this type, as that's often what prompts people to join.

Only time will tell. The Crossback is a thing of beauty; I sincerely hope it's more than skin deep.
Empty, unlit country road at night, quick car, great sounds and twisty headlights that cast shadows on the moon. Now try saying “just as long as it gets me from A to B”.
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Re: E-Tense Joys and Woes

Post by DSBucks »

Having just purchased a new DS7 Crossback E-tence 4x4 I gave to say it has exceeded expectations.
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