Renault Megane not starting

I've a 96 renault Magane 1.6 RXE which has stubbornly refused to start over the past few days. The battery is fine, as lights etc work ok, but when i turn the key to 'start' there is not a noise from the engine, nada. The Engine doesn't even try to turn over. I'm presuming there is a problem with the ignition system, but could anybody help me out?

And should i go to a garage with this or an auto-electrician? And since the car wont start, how do i get there!!!???

could well be the battery. Try getting another battery and hooking it up to it and see what happens.

Tough one.

You may have to bring it into a Renault dealer but How can one avoid being ripped off in this situation.

If you phone a garage and explain what's wrong with the car, the usual answer is it'll have to brought in to diagnose the problem and the cost is usually way off hte estimate they give you over the phone. It's a rip-off situation.

So, how can one get fair treatment in this situation?

(To get the car to the garage is usually about €85 with a tow truck.)

Could be a few things
1. battery (lights on dash will dim when the key is turned)
2. ignition (if lights dont dim, giggle the key in the ignition if it starts or kicks, problem found.)
3. the coil (dont know what is is or does but they are one thing that goes wrong)
3. starter motor.( any funny noises starting lately. )
4. Fuses ??
5. could be none of these.

if the lights on the dash come on when key is turned then you can bump start the car on a hill if you are not doing this already. bit expensive those tow trucks. A push and shov is a bit cheaper.

Had a similar event a few years back with my megane, turned out the coolant pipe got a pinhole leak and all the collant drained away resulting in the requirement for a head gasket job
Before you do anything research your model and see if Renault had any recalls, it may be that you could be covered.
That was the case with my issue - kinda similar recall for my model but the garage were good about it and put my issue down to be covered by recall so I did not have to pay a cent!

If the engine isn't turning over, and the battery is ok (Check red ignition light is bright) I'd suspect the immobiliser, ignition sytem or starter motor.

Any decent mechanic will identify which.

Eh . . could just be the starter motor/solenoid jammed up. Try putting the car into 5th gear, letting the handbrake off and then rocking it back and forward a bit, if the starter motor is jammed up this will probably free it up. Alternatively whacking the starter with a hammer can free it up, but I prefer the former method.