Dacia

[woody2]

good news.......

[Bobbie Bobster]

@Rhumsaa I presume you won't be unduly influenced by the MF car snobs. For mainstream vehicles Autocar.co.uk provides in-depth and relatively unbiased reviews. For the Duster:

The truth is that compared to the class leading Yeti, the Duster is way off the pace in every important area save interior space. Moreover in certain regards, refinement, handling and NCAP crash test result in particular, the Duster performs poorly by almost any standard.

But you cannot ignore the pachyderm sitting patiently in the corner. The Duster is an attractive, spacious and, with diesel power, a relatively frugal SUV available for much less than you’d expect.

Its proposition to the marketplace is truly remarkable and so long as you go into the dealer knowing the car you’re looking at is far from the state of the art, certain allowances can be made.

Besides for cash strapped families living in difficult times, the Duster is a proposition unlike any other on the market. It may be based on some old technologies and it certainly has its flaws, but it is relevant, effective and cheap.

[pongo]

3 hours ago, vee_dub said:

Loser's car, keep saving until you can afford something decent

Fair enough if you can actually pay - but far too many people are buying on sub prime style finance or leasing deals. A lot of clever people believe that car loans and finance in general is too easy - and that it has got the makings of another financial crisis. And there is no slack left this time.

 

[Bobbie Bobster]

@pongo Contrasting with sticking the new BMW into the top bit of your 110% mortgage, as was the fashion in Ireland in the mid 2000's.  What could possibly go wrong?

[woody2]

personal debt is down but leasing a car, the full amount of buying it is now added to your personal debt, hence the rise....

[notwell]

5 hours ago, vee_dub said:

Loser's car, keep saving until you can afford something decent

I was told they are the largest selling new car make on the island. 

If you waltz in to euro cars with a budget of between 7 and 11k you can either buy a brand new well specced dacia or a four year old car with about a huge margin  across it and all that goes with a second hand motor.

Seems that plenty of people find then decent enough at a given price level.

[Annoymouse]

Are you thinking of buying new or second hand?

Personally I'd rather have a Kia or Hyundai if I was looking at the cheaper end of the market, Dacia while fine for A to B are rather bland.

[paswt]

5 hours ago, vee_dub said:

Loser's car, keep saving until you can afford something decent

I know folk who could buy exotic machinery but choose not to .

I'll own up to running a 17 year old Skoda (from new) , I could afford a "more decent" car but frankly can't be bothered .

That said when it come to vintage  motorcycles I do go a bit "up market".

S'pose it's a case of "different folks...............  "

[Bobbie Bobster]

11 minutes ago, paswt said:

"different folks...............  "

wear different cloaks?

don't believe the piltdown hoax?

[Bombay Bad Boy]

12 hours ago, Tarne said:

It's like buying a tesco value cola rather than coke is the best way to put it. 

Except since the VAG group bought Skoda (and SEAT) , many of the Skodas are mechanically identical to their VW equivalents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_A_platform

So you're getting real coke, in a tesco value bottle.

[paswt]

3 minutes ago, Bobbie Bobster said:

wear different cloaks?

don't believe the piltdown hoax?

'different strokes' ... apparently...... as my mate Mick used to say "I like skinny sorts if you like lumpy birds then good luck to you, ..... I also like green Vincents".

You don't have to buy a 'supercar' just because you can afford one 

[finlo]

If looking second hand beware 2014 and earlier Indian built model's can suffer serious rust problems.

[Annoymouse]

1 hour ago, paswt said:

I'll own up to running a 17 year old Skoda (from new)

I'd rather have a 17 year old Skoda than a new Dacia but then I'd rather have a classy old bird than a young slapper, horses for courses.

[hboy]

23 minutes ago, Annoymouse said:

I'd rather have a 17 year old Skoda than a new Dacia but then I'd rather have a classy old bird than a young slapper, horses for courses.

Agree. I'd only have one if I was totally skint and it was that or the bus. The range of Renaults they are based on were pretty shit 10 years ago and a French car manufactured in Romania is almost the worst possible combination. I suppose if you don't care about image, depreciation, re sale potential or reliability then they're ok.

 

[mojomonkey]

Lots of badge snobbery on here. Rhumsaa strikes me as the sort who couldn't care less what others thought of him so I doubt that would put him off. 

Dacia currently make the cheapest brand new car available in the UK so it is pretty obvious that it ain't going to be the most refined or technologically advanced car available. They are perfectly acceptable and are reliable (I see loads of them driving around these parts), I think you'd struggle to buy a non reliable new car these days as the days of regular breakdowns and regular required maintenance are long gone. We are looking to replace our current car in August and we did look at the Duster, but ruled it out after finding a much better deal for a bigger and more equipped Hyundai Tucson. At my current stage of life a car is a functional tool so image is not the prime deciding factor, I've had the BMW with stupidly big engine when I was younger and can borrow my father in law's convertible whenever I want.