[Closed] 2019 Dacia Duster - seems like good value

I have a zafira tourer. I thought it was a bit big. so went for a test drive in a duster.
very basic and a bit uncomfy. quite bumpy if you know what I mean.

I am keeping the zafira.

My folks have the top end Step Way. Yeh a little plasticy, but the car's not missed a beat in the two years they have had it, and it cost less than £11k.

I had a 1st gen one and couldn't wait to be rid of it. Paint was thin, everything corroded, seat padding collapsed (I'm no heiffer) would never do better than 45 mpg even on a run, back seats wouldn't fold flat so load area was worse than most hatchbacks.

Buying a second hand one as a farm / utility vehicle I could understand but brand new for town driving? Not for me.

If you test drove a 2wd be aware that the boot on a 4wd will probably be smaller - might be a problem if the height is important. Oh and 1st gear on a 4WD is a much lower ratio and pulling away from junctions becomes tiresome in town - especially as the clutch is quite heavy

heard a story about some of the parts that dealers have difficulty getting. In this case a heater knob. The dealership just could not get one. Not sure about other spares but beware as they are not that popular really. It was not a Duster though.

We bought one for the Farm, the basic one.

It's blooming ace. You can wash the floors out with a  hose.. and it carries stuff well enough. We had a sheep in it a few weeks back (a dead one)

And you can seemingly drive quickly over rutted fields and it still looks like its in one piece.

Its white, well mucky brown..

Cheap as chips and so far robust... (1yr old)

My dad also has one (he’s 70) 2018 stepway.. For the mileage he does it’s an ideal car. My mum isn’t very mobile but they both find it nice and easy to get in and out of. Can’t complain about the basic inside for the cost of a new one.

I quite like mine. 2013 diesel now done over 70k with no problems.  Not exciting but very practical for me.  Never been uncomfortable on long drives and whilst basic mine does at least have the one feature I require, bluetooth for music from my phone.  I'm not exactly fussy about cars though.

We've got a 2016 Duster and are very happy with it.

Ok the build quality is not as good as other cars but the price is nowhere near other cars. In the 3 years its had one issue with a leaking turbo pipe which was fixed under warranty.

My wife loves it and it's her daily drive. I'm very impressed with it and recommend them to everyone.

Would be much better off with a 2-year-old Civic, or just about any other 2 year old car that was originally £25k new.

Would be much better off with a 2-year-old Civic, or just about any other 2 year old car that was originally £25k new.

any particular reason ?

I bought a 2 year old 13k miles Stepway, 3 years ago for £6k. SO far it has been faultless (touch wood) in the ~30k miles we've done. A car is just a tool for us - towing dinghies, dealing with wet sailing kit, muddy bikes and manky dogs.

To say I am impressed is an understatement. We have the 0.9l petrol one which sips fuel and gives a smooth, comfortable drive. I am pretty confident we will have it for a good few years yet till it dies.

I'd buy a duster in a heartbeat if I needed a new car.

My Dad (70…) is looking to change his car as he’s just finished paying off his last one – Astra Estate.

I know people sometimes just fancy a new car but jumping right back in at the steepest point of the depreciation curve seems like an odd decision if value's a consideration.

This will be his last car.
The only reason he had finance on the last one was because they were having an extension built at the same time and wanted the cash to pay for that.

Cylinder heads for the 3 pot engine are made at the Nissan plant in Sunderland (it's my job) Dacia quality standards are ridiculously high

Used to have to go to Turkey with work and used a Duster over there both on and off road. On road did some long motorway trips (10+h) and the thing was really comfy (in back and front) and totally reliable. Was great off road, even in the snow. Would absolutely buy one now!

I rented one in Iceland for a week and couldn't fault it for what they retail for. According to the rental company it's the most reliable 4x4 vehicle they buy.

Our beloved yaris was written off by a phone watching van driver so we looked around at a replacement. Anything frugal pre april 16 is zero tax so we went for something similar. New frugal cars are 140 pa tax. I reckon pre April 16 cars will hold their value better.

Also, secondhand car market is on its knees....just put in some low ball offers. Toyotas have 5year warrantys so theres 3 years to run.

As said above buy a 2 year old car that was 15 to 20k, zero tax.

Cheaply made product aimed at people with low expectations, using older generation Renault technology. What could go wrong?

Not really, sepultura, the Renault-Nissan-Dacia group doesn't work like VAG who put the previous generation drive trains in Seats for example. I bought a Lodgy 5 1/2 years ago with exactly the same TCE engine as was being used in the then current Megane range. The rear end was then current Kangoo.

In that time it's required a rear wiper motor (which still worked but required many attenpts to turn off). I could drive it to the breakers today and it would have cost me less than the depreciation on anything with equivalent space and performance. As it is second-hand prices are really strong for the TCE model as it gets the highest Critair rating. Having bought a Zoé I rarely use now but will keep it for use as a mini-camper.

So what went wrong? Next to nothing.

Two lads in work have Dusters. One's a surfer type, the other lives in the country and both swear by them.

Given the new models gave android auto and a few other upgrades, I'd get one tomorrow if only the Mrs would step foot in it.

There is a lot less unnecessary technology in them to go wrong. Spend 3x the amount on an Evoque, and then sit in the garage often, waiting for repairs.

doesn’t work like VAG who put the previous generation drive trains in Seats for example

Given that my Ibiza was the first of the small VAG cars to get that particular chassis platform, I'd say that this is one of those internet facts that doesn't always actually have any grounding in fact...
Might be true in some cases, but it's not a rule...

I was talking about drive trains and you're talking about chassis platforms, Stumpy. Anyhow the three-cylinder VAG TSI was first used in the Polo then an Audi then the Fabia and no doubt sometime later a Seat.

Cheack my facts before you say it's an Internet fact that has no grounding in fact.

Dacia are doing a pickup version of the Duster, looks pretty nifty, a cool looking replacement for the little pickup that Subaru used to do.

The cheesy ads are enough to put me off😁..
My mates wife had a 2015 version ( replaced ) ..at a well known corner for accidents on the A68 she came "around" upside down in a ditch ..no other vehicle was involved ..and the Duster was a write off ..
To this day she has no idea what happened ..they replaced the vehicle like for like..
That would have put me off for life

My mates wife had a 2015 version ( replaced ) ..at a well known corner for accidents on the A68 she came “around” upside down in a ditch ..no other vehicle was involved ..and the Duster was a write off ..
To this day she has no idea what happened ..they replaced the vehicle like for like..
That would have put me off for life

Indeed no one ever wants to admit they were traveling too fast for conditions.

Not sure why that would put you off a particular brand of car.

That pick up is quirky I want to like it but it has an air of hairdresser about it. Just lacks sort of a usefulness with that size of bed and the UK weather.

My mates wife had a 2015 version ( replaced ) ..at a well known corner for accidents on the A68

If she'd crashed in a straight line you might have a point, but a stretch of road notorious for accidents? Sounds like it's no worse than anything else!

The pick-up looks interesting - should be able to throw a bike in the back.

Thanks for all the comments - good to hear people's experiences and thoughts.

Dad seems really pleased with his choice.

Not sure why that would put you off a particular brand of car.

Do look up the moose test videos on YouTube, there is a set of many different vehicles.
The way some of the cheaper and faux by faux cars react, at lower speeds, is enough to put me off buying.

To this day she has no idea what happened ..they replaced the vehicle like for like..
That would have put me off for life

Cognitive impairment?

That Pick Up looks cool certainly a lean back to the old Scooby one. Of which i had one was great fun to drive and totaly versatile as a working vehicle for small farm work and leisure use .
So why the Dacia Version be any less versatile.

If you want a big" Ford Ranger "one at it's price then your in a different ball park.

I had a Duster for 4 years. It wasn't the nicest place to sit in with a a lot of cheap plastic but apart from tyre changes and service costs, it cost me nothing in maintenance.
The Indian made ones being sold in the UK were rust buckets as they were transported over the oceans without protection. I don't think this is the case any more. Mine was made in Romania so that wasn't a problem.
I'm in Austria and it was a great car for getting about during the winter months especially on roads with no winter service.
I'd buy one again if looking for a 4x4.

Not sure there are many moose on the a68

I find even my landy copes well in the slow down for deer test as I travel at a speed that expects deer in the country.

@trail_rat subtle sarcasm! They are simply cheap cars for people who either don't care about cars or cant/won't spend a lot on them. Nothing wrong with that, they are what they are.

When I was in France last year touring for 3 months I saw a heck of a lot of Dacia's on the road.
When I returned home I looked them all up for an NCAP rating, not one of them gets more than 3 stars. That's pretty bad by todays standards.

Yea that's shocking. Cheap for a reason.

That mostly means no active cruise/auto braking.

3 stars today is not equal to 3 stars in 2001 for example.

Not sure there are many moose on the a68

No, but the difference in handling *could* make the difference of making the corner or ending on your roof.

NCAP 3. Same as the latest: Mustang, Giulieta, C-Max, Doblo, Susuki Jimmy... And somewhat better than the huge Jeep Wrangler which is NCAP 1.

Where a lot of cars fall down on NCAP is the lack of ESP and traction control. I find it crazy that a 270kmh Porche with several hundred horse power gets a safety bonus because its power can be automatically limited whilst a gutless Piat Panda gets 0 stars mainly because of 07% "aides à la sécurite".

Then there's the driver factor. The Belgians (l'IBSR if you wish to Google) have looked at stats for road accidents with injuries and found it has little to do with NCAP ratings and a lot to do with other things such as car colour and the make of car. If you own a grey Seat or VW you are most likely to be in an accident that will put you in hospital. And Dacia drivers it would appear are really careful.

Edit to add:
Seat 10.35 accidents with personal injury for 1000 cars.
VW 8.42 accidents with personal injury for 1000 cars.
Then Ford, Renault, Smart, Opel, Citroen... .

Does having to slow down /drive at speeds suitable for conditions make the vehicle any less good value ?

I've not gone to Volvo's website but I suspect the car tested as new will be 4 X as much as the duster ..... Id hope it was better

Arguably it being better at cornering at higher speeds just means you end up o the roof at a higher speed..

It's got nothing to do with driving for the conditions. It's about having to do an emergency avoiding maneuver and the affect that can have on the vehicle. The value is obvious, where the cost cutting is is partly shown in that link.

It's like the big volvo's claiming non of the occupant's ever died, yeh, but we'd like to see how many folk the cars killed when they hit other vehicles.... pedestrian friendly - nope.

Remember the Uber Volvo and the cyclist pushing a bike across the road.

https://www.challenges.fr/automobile/actu-auto/la-video-de-la-cycliste-renversee-par-une-volvo-autonome-uber-accuse-l-homme_575581

Edit: do Volvo really claim no occupant ever died? One of the gilets jaunes dead was a Volvo driver who crashed into the back of a stationary truck held up by the gilets jaunes.

Yeah it falls down the encap rating because of not having emergency brake assist, 25 air bags (think it only has 6) and something else - but that doesn't make it unsafe.

Just caught up on the thread ( been working ) ..
Just to put to bed a comment made by trail rat ..yes the corner in question has a certain notoriety for accidents ..however the driver in question takes caution to the extreme and certainly wouldn't have been hoofing it ..the blame was apportioned to the vehicle..which is why I couldn't understand why they got another

..the blame was apportioned to the vehicle..

By whom?

The pick up version looks smart, they seem quite popular here is Chile, but are badged as Renault.
[IMG] [/IMG]

There doesn't seem to a the demand for small pick ups in the UK, but over here there are ones based on Fiat Puntos, VW Polos and even Vauxhall Corsas