Dacia

consumers_revenge

Hi,

Does anyone actually own one of these? ( being MSE )


As a practical A to B car.


And please only post if its a serious comment. You can save your 'comic' routine for the parties later.


Cheers

facade

I was seriously considering a poverty spec. duster 4wd, but it seems that you cant see them. The way it was explained to me sounded like the old Lada setup, where a batch of cars is sent over, and you can have one of those, but to choose one you have to wait until they send a batch over in that spec.

I really wanted to at least sit in a poverty spec one, if not have a go in it.

There are 3 of the 2wd dusters at work, but not poverty spec. As far as I can find out, they are fine.
Internet talk is that spares are hard to get, which I find odd as they are old renaults, and the corrosion protection is poor.

Nebulous2

I have a Logan. Almost top spec, except for the built in sat-nav and rear electric windows. It has been surprisingly good so far.

We went to buy a new Vauxhall Zafira, trading in a 3 year old one, and were treated pretty badly by Peter Vardy with a very poor offer.

My wife suggested going to see a Dacia and I was doing the whole "Do you get windows with them, or are they extra?" routine. We went to see a Duster but decided the Logan was a better bet, with room for a moderately large dog. The other big issue was that we tow a caravan and the one we were looking at only had a 0.9 litre petrol engine.

We bought it early September and then at the end of the month did 3000 miles around France / north of Spain towing a relatively light 900kg caravan and it coped fine.

It is surprisingly well-specced with bluetooth, aircon, alloy wheels, cruise control and stop/start.

There are some niggles. The main one is that the instrument binnacle isn't lit unless you have your lights on. Some people have modded it so they are on all the time, but others claim that could impact the warranty. It annoys some people so much that they drive everywhere on side lights. The other main niggle is that the tailgate doesn't operate with the central locking. You either open it with a lever at the drivers seat or with the key.

It was certainly value for money, an estate car big enough for dog for not much more than city car money. We have a 3 year service plan, so it should have limited running costs over the next 3 years.

consumers_revenge

Thanks didn't realise the central locking for boot didn't happen. But not a deal breaker.


I have heard that about the spares but then it comes with a 5 year warranty.


The deal I'm looking at is the 4 year PCP at about £90 with a 700 deposit ( may buy at the end if I like it or maybe another, don't know the long term goals yet ).


3 years of servicing is about 450 fixed then of course the 4th year one is extra.


With the new 2017 spec the engine is 1ltr. Mid trim now has air con.


My thinking is ok its £90 a month but the road tax on my focus is £20 a month now ( if I buy before april the sander is £0 apparently ) then take off the MOT for the year which is approx. £250-300 and the insurance is £100 cheaper too. No MOT except year 4 so aggro of that gone too. 3 years roadside assist inc. If I did want to buy you don't pay the dealers deposit back just 3 months worth of interest.


I've driven the 1.2 and whilst it wont win lemans it was perfectly fine for travel and looked solid enough. I see 1 or 2 every time I go out so there must be some call for them.


Cant find anything that should stop me but its 4 years of payments and I am MSE :-)

facade

consumers_revenge wrote: »

I have heard that about the spares but then it comes with a 5 year warranty.

Problem is if you break something that puts it off the road you could be stuck, warranty won't magic up the parts.

I'd go for it if suits your needs, I was only considering poverty spec. as I can remember 1970s cars with metal surfaces, cheap plastic, rubber floors and vinyl seats, having to open a door with a lever wouldn't bother me, and I'm more than happy to fit my own choice of radio.
The worries for me were the lack of air-con (I'd pay an extra £500 to not have the windows mist up all the time, but not several £1000s for fancy wheels, trim and paint that I can't see when I'm driving it)
and in the case of the duster, the £2000 jump to have the renault-nissan electric clutch driven rear axle.
The duster still appeals to me as a poor man's qashquai though

consumers_revenge

realise about the parts but we have another car and I have a motorcycle.


looked through eurocarparts at what stock they carry and nothing very big so did make me worry a bit. The one I drove felt like late 90's interior wise.

Richard53

Nebulous2 wrote: »

There are some niggles. The main one is that the instrument binnacle isn't lit unless you have your lights on.

I would regard that as a big selling point.

Rolandtheroadie

A workmates wife has a Duster, spoke to her about it a few weeks ago and she thinks it's great (had it a while by this point).

OP, to encourage my lazyness, have you a link to the pcp you're looking at?

consumers_revenge

http://www.daciaretail.co.uk/new-dacia-cars/


They used to give the exact figures but the new engine/mark 2 is out 2017 so they have taken part of the website down.

Grouchy

Don't own one so not first-hand experience, but I have two friends (both in Spain) who each have a diesel Sandero and both very happy with them after a fair period of ownership (both from new), not sure of trim version. I've been in one of them many times, very spacious I thought and comfortable ride.

Be interested to hear your experience should you happen to buy one.

Cheers

ilikewatch

I don't own one, but had a fairly low spec 2WD Duster as a hire car for a week or so - after my initial dissapointment I was really surprised to enjoy it so much, nice driving position, seemed powerful enough, no mysterious knocks, rattles or squeeks. Yes, the interior finish had a budget feel, but then it's a budget car so can't complain.