Dacia cars - any good?

Goudy

Dacia's are what they are.
I had a Sandero Stepway for a while, it ran well without any issue but I found the 900cc turbo engine a little too low on torque, you had to work it quite hard and swap a lot of gears, which were a bit too tall for the engine and the box had a nasty action to it.
From cold it banged and hammered it's engine mounts like it was trying to escape the engine bay.
I'm lead to believe the diesel is much better.

The ride comfort and handling was pretty poor, maybe the standard Sandero is better but I never felt the chassis was connected to the body in the Stepway. To say it wallowed about a bit is being fairly kind.
It gripped ok, just what the grip did to the body and you inside was fairly interesting, I've not felt like that since the 80's in a 2CV with a eager girlfriend!

Interior, lots of room in the front and back and the boot is very large for a car of it's size but the finish is really cheap and not acceptable these days really.
No support in the seats, nowhere for your left foot and everything you touch has a horrid feel about it.
As you're being thrown around in it due to the ride and handling, it's all very tiring after a short while.

There were some rougher than expected build quality issues, one thing I noticed was a problem with the banding joint on the wheel rims pinched the tyres, they left a big lump in the rim where they rolled and joined the wheel and welded it.

To be fair, there's some nice touches, the propless bonnet, the remote air filter that just slides out, they've even moved the cabin filter access for RHD cars, so the pedals aren't in the way of swapping it out, you don't get that in many cars.

Mine was a bit of a stop gap, someone stole my car and I needed something cheap, quickly.
I ran it a year and apart from a service it never wanted anything or gave any mechanical jip.
There's a big market for them used, I bought mine used a few months old and sold it after a year and it only lost a few hundred quid. I was happy about that.

If you're interested in one, try, try and try again.
Check them out very carefully and keep an eye out for what the used ones at the dealers look like, as your's will soon look like that.
There's a couple of forums that offer good advice once you're a owner.

facade

If you are buying used, get a Suzuki.

Used Dacia aren't much of a saving money wise, the warranty is partly used up, and tbh they aren't very nice to drive around in.

And for undoing those bolts, keep an eye on Lidl, they sell a 240V rattle gun with sockets for about £40 which is brilliant for getting those rusty suspension bolts out. Don't waste the money on a battery one if you are only likely to do the odd job on your own drive.

Mickey666

facade said:

When I looked at the Duster, the next model from poverty was a lot more money, basically for alloy wheels, carpets, radio and I think a different colour.

That's pretty much the car industry in a nutshell.  Make the basic models unappealing and then charge an outrageous uplift on things that basically cost them next to nothing.

It's a fashion game and their marketing has successfully brainwashed people into believing alloy wheels are worth a small fortune more than steel wheels, even though steel is perfectly adequate and just as functional.  Same with colours - more fashion, nothing to do with the vehicle quality itself.

lordmountararat

If you're buying used, a two year old Kia will still have five years of manufacturer warranty left. A Hyundai and (I think) Honda will have three years left. Most European cars will only have one year left.

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Mickey666 said:

That's pretty much the car industry in a nutshell.  Make the basic models unappealing and then charge an outrageous uplift on things that basically cost them next to nothing.

The same is true in other industries as well, especially electronics. They churn units out in bulk at the cost of the cheapest variant, and try to sell them at the price of the dearest one, the difference is a couple of software switches that are enabled or not, and really do cost nothing.

I stand by my opinion though, if I'm putting up with a cheap car I'm having the cheapest that will do the job, no point in trying to polish you know what or sprinkling it with glitter, it is still the same underneath.

JustAnotherSaver

facade said:

As DUTR says, Suzukis are excellent cars, many pensioners (including me now) drive them

Maybe it's a regional thing? I don't see a pensioner in anything other than a Honda Jazz here .

Obviously a sweeping statement and there are exceptions... There is a guy who looks about 200 here who drives a Porsche Cayman

I was always, rightly or wrongly, lead to believe Honda's and Toyota's were fairly reliable. This could be an outdated view though on par with Volkswagen's being super reliable moreso than the rest.

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JustAnotherSaver said:

Maybe it's a regional thing? I don't see a pensioner in anything other than a Honda Jazz here .

I was always, rightly or wrongly, lead to believe Honda's and Toyota's were fairly reliable. This could be an outdated view though on par with Volkswagen's being super reliable moreso than the rest.

I think it depends on the ease of access to a suzuki dealer, there aren't that many about. Suzuki are rather a hidden gem of the car world, well built, smallish, frugal and as reliable as the best Hondas & Toyotas.

cajef

lordmountararat said:

 Honda will have three years left. Most European cars will only have one year left.

You have stated that before and as I pointed out then as someone that has bought three brand new Honda cars they only come with a three year warranty from new.

YOUR HONDA WARRANTY

Your Honda is covered for a period of three years (and for some parts longer) from the start date on your Warranty Certificate. 

Ganga

facade said:

JustAnotherSaver said:

Maybe it's a regional thing? I don't see a pensioner in anything other than a Honda Jazz here .

I was always, rightly or wrongly, lead to believe Honda's and Toyota's were fairly reliable. This could be an outdated view though on par with Volkswagen's being super reliable moreso than the rest.

I think it depends on the ease of access to a suzuki dealer, there aren't that many about. Suzuki are rather a hidden gem of the car world, well built, smallish, frugal and as reliable as the best Hondas & Toyotas.

Had a quick look at Susuki cars ,look ok but not cheap 

MinuteNoodles

Mickey666 said:

Look under the bonnet of cheap Eastern European Or Korean cars and you’ll often find more ‘up-market’ branded running gear. 

The Protons were basically rebadged Mitsubishis. The engine was a Mitsi engine, half the parts had Mitsi logos on them.