I quite fancy the Laureate Prime model. I like the utilitarian looks and modest equipment level on this SUV.
I’m currently driving an 06 Passat estate which I’ll try to trade in.

Any thoughts on the Duster as a day to day vehicle? I’m looking to buy a pre-registered with the standard 10 to 100 miles on the clock.

£14k? That is a lot for a simple, rebadged old Renault is it not?

The depreciation must be the same as falling off a cliff…

By the time you spec em up to the descent engine there are better options new for not much more cash imo.

I was serious about buying one untill i could only get the 1.6hdi in the laurete spec with alloys and electric shit.

In the end i bought a used berlingo for 1400 quid

As a comitted basic french car fan only mad men buy renaults /pugs/citroens /dacias new off the forecourt with their own money.

I’m a mad man then.

I narrowed my choice down to Renault’s TCE engine in a Lodgy or Volkswagen’s TSi Touran. I wanted a small very efficient petrol engine and liked the way the Renault engine drives (I know you disagree on this Trail Rat).

I keep cars a long time and cars depreciate slower in France, a five year maintenance contract at 24e a month also seemed reasonable. I like the simplicity, it’s comfortable, exceptionally quiet (in the Lodgy at least).

13 000e for a big box on wheels that is pleasant to drive didn’t seem mad standing on the forecourt. A couple of years on there’s nothing to report other than I’m a satisfied customer.

I should also add that it was Madame’s choice. She saw one, walked around it and announced she’d like one, who was I to argue? I chose the engine and colour.

Yo chose the colour? Madame clearly isn’t fussy…. 😆

I have one in Vienna. A Romanian built 4×4 one and have had no problems. It’s a sea of plastic and rattles a bit when you drive the motorways but for the price, it’s great. It’s had no problems in the snow with winter tyres (mandatory in Austria). Mrs iolo has a 2012 Discovery and actually prefers the Duster in the city as it’s easier to drive and park.
I bought mine a couple of years so the depreciation was done. I’ll keep it for a while now as it’s a great little car.

I’m not either, the choice was easy Various shades of hideous or white. I’m colour blind and don’t like burning my hands on black paintwork so white it was.

I suffered one as a hire car at the end of last year, really didn’t enjoy it. I found it flimsy and tinny, it found me impatient and intolerant – we really didn’t get on.

I had it for a week in December, drove to and from work in the dark. Saw one recently in daylight and just felt ashamed. It also looked like a car that was further away than it actually was.

Sorry about all of this, I know it’s not helping.

felt ashamed

In France Dacias are sold on inverted snobbery.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLTfcDMO0M[/video]

And the 4X4 versions work as intended:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuxAlH0MIBQ[/video]

Laureate Prime

He was the shittest Transformer

£14k? That is a lot for a simple, rebadged old Renault is it not?

Have you not seen how much new cars cost?

Cheapest Focus is £17k.

Fair point.
That’s why I won’t buy new.

Go on Autotrader and type in min/max £14k and see almost every single car in the world come up that is more desireable than a Dacia

You could get a nice 5 year old 4×4 or cross over and a new bike for that. And in 5 years time it will be worth more.

My wife has one, we both like it and would buy another (but we intend to keep this one for it’s full lifetime).

The inverted snobbery angle appealed to us, we find cars as status symbols quite an amusing concept.

Had one as a hire vehicle in Iceland earlier this year. It was a rattled a bit and was slightly drafty but was very frugal and got us round in some very difficult conditions without too much bother. They seem a very popular vehicle with the hire companies in Iceland but how long they keep them I don’t know.

Go on Autotrader and type in min/max £14k and see almost every single car in the world come up that is more desireable than a Dacia

I’d hazard a guess that, if already considering a Dacia that desirability is quite low down on the reasons to buy.

Desirability ….. Whats that then …

Ill probably still have a duster …. Itll just be used and away from dealers.

No matter how cheap the dacia dealer near me still has big windows to pay for….

I guess it depends if you have a thing about buying a new car. That might be because you value the warranty or because you don’t like sitting where other people have already sat. If so, they might be the car for you. Otherwise, there has to be better value out there in the second-hand market.

As an asside have the dacia dealers stopped buying back all the used stock and keeping the resale artificially high ?

Dont believe that the used car price on autotrader are anything like the true residuals,

Who remembers the proton-gate scandal and the colapse once the dealers stopped this.

No matter how cheap the dacia dealer near me still has big windows to pay for….

Not around here; they squat in the corner of Renault dealers. Had to laugh at a comment in the Top Gear mag, that made the point that the cheapest Dacia can be bought for less than some Sky tv packages. What does that say about value?

If you like it, give it a go. Careful with the warranty, though. They only offer warranty for 1 year or as long as you are paying on finance.

If you buy a used Duster make sure it isn’t one of the first run made in India. Mine has had 2 new rear doors and a new tailgate, repainted engine bay and bonnet and a full waxoyl treatment. This was due to rust appearing in the first 6 months. And if anything goes wrong Dacia’s customer service will do their best to avoid doing anything. The four wheel drive version isn’t as frugal as the 2-wheel drive as it is lower geared. I manage about 45mpg on mixed runs.

I liked the idea of them. Used to think they were charming and ‘austerity chic’. Currently have a 10yr old skoda and happy to run a banger and thought that if I was interested in something newer Ai would consider one. I’m really not one to be bothered by the image of a car.

I had one as a hire car for a long weekend, and have changed my mind and am slightly embarrassed to have thought about buying one.

It was terribly underpowered, rattly, unbelievably noisy with wind and road noise at anything over 40mph, crappie stereo and everything felt very flimsy both inside and out. It would probably be bearable for short periods of time, but if it there for a daily commute on anything other than a trip to the end of your road I think that 14k could be much better spent. I understand it is a cheap car and would not expect anythingon the car to be the best available, but it really was amazingly shite and reminded me of a knackered clio that I used to drive.

But maybe I had a dodgy one. If you test drive, like it, and it is in your budget then go for it.

As I said, my concern is future value / depreciation. If you are to keep it to scrapyard in 15 years time, it is a great deal. If you will change it at some point, I suspect many other cars with less depreciation will be cheaper in the long run.

I agree with the comment about looking like its further away than it actually is, they are surprising small when you get close up..

£14k? That is a lot for a simple, rebadged old Renault is it not?

Have you not seen how much new cars cost?

Cheapest Focus is £17k.
Pre-reg ones, which is what he’s looking at, are 13-14k (1.6tdci).

crappie stereo

. I haven’t had much luck with stereos over the years, they always pack up after a year or two. So I didn’t ask for one, nor the sat nav, nor the wind up rear windows, nor the reversing radar, nor the… . We took the model with the least options possible that had the split rear seats and TCE engine. Why buy a good value car and load it with stuff you don’t need?

We hired one two years ago in Corsica and are still laughing about it; the unnecessarily wide wheel arches made it a liability on narrow Corsican roads.

“Why buy a good value car and load it with stuff you don’t need?”

Because it was the only way to get the 1.5DCI engine i wanted after test driving the TCE.

I drove the two back to back – two more different cars they could not have felt.

as i said – because of the above i walked away.

A new Lada Niva probably shares many similar qualities to the Duster

Also cheaper.

http://www.markkey.co.uk/nivacar.html

We hired one two years ago in Corsica and are still laughing about it

Then I’d say you need to get out more!

WAnd people who say such nonsense hae never had the misfortune to drive a niva

Do you need the 4×4, if not then look at the Citroen Cactus or Nissan Juke?

Lets be honest though for 14k you can get a 2nd hand Golf with a 2015 plate at the lower spec end or slightly older with better spec.

having driven a niva a fair distance and owned a golf….. ill take the niva.

I do like the look of the cactus – infact i like the look of most citroens. one of the few car companys that dont just do cut copy paste scale up scale down bland mobiles – see ENTIRE VAG range / vauxhalls and fords.

Have been a passenger in the in-laws duster. They are elderly and wanted something newer that was easy to get in and out of. On that note, they won.

The sat-nav would only navigate to the first 4 digits of any postcode – so you were left ‘in the right ball park’ but not where you need to be. I had to purchase a flash drive and update the head-units software which solved this problem.

It does feel incredibly flimsy, but if you simply require A-B economics, it may work for some. I think it look fairly smart in silver too, in the austere-chic way mentioned above.

Well being a Golf owner I like them, they do what a car is supposed to do i.e. get you and your luggage to a location in comfort and efficiently.

infact i like the look of most citroens

+1 it’s what the French do well. Renault used to be really innovative as well but lost the plot and started making bland boxes. They are getting better again though.

That Niva in the link up there looks great! Sign me up for one of those!

Ah yeah I now want a dual fuel Niva!

I don’t get the ‘stuff I won’t use’ stance of the luddites. I use every gadget (of which there are many) in my motor. Heated seats, electric stuff, climate control, audio gubbins, sat nav, hands free phone etc. I like cars to be comfortable environments, not bleak, hostile acres of functionless plastic. But then I do a lot of miles

Heated seats: on days it would be cold enough to use those I get into the car wearing warm clothes with enough insulation not to feel how cold the seats are. Some people leave home in shirt, drive to the office and walk 20m from the car park, not me.

Electric stuff: which will fail sooner or later.

Climate control: a heater and windows.

Audio gubbins: if I drove more I’d fit something simple and aftermarket with a USB socket and hi-fi quality speakers. On the integrated things there is just too much to go wrong.

Sat nav: I like maps and knowing where I’m going. For long trips I print out the Via-Michelin route.

Hands free. I’m a believer in stopping when convenient and phoning back when stationary.

I like comfortable seats, they can use as much naff plastic as they like for the rest, except: the steering wheel, I’d have happily paid more for leather rim.

It’ not so much Luddite as liking simplicity, a bit like riding a bike with hub gears and puncture resistant heavy tyres on a Winter commute.