Dacia Duster.

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Refugee. I've been reading owners reviews on forums and other websites because usually if something looks too good to be true it usually is but apart from the odd niggle regarding bits of rust appearing these Duster's appear worth buying for people like Bron and me. We only keep our cars three years until the MOT is due and the manufacturers warranty expires so apart from consumables like tyres we won't be getting our hand in our pocket to be buying spares.

You sure hit a sore spot regarding me and Citroen BX's Gary. We owned a BX many years ago and it was truly dreadful and should have been driven straight into the nearest scrapyard. We bought it second-hand but certainly it wasn't by any means an old car; we hated and detested the thing and it still winds me up just thinking about it. An old Wartburg would have been better than the Citroen. Previous to the BX we owned two 2CV's and these served us well. What a disaster the BX was.

Lancia is another car I've not seen for many years; in those days I believe the majority of Italian cars were true rust buckets such as The Alfa Romeo "Alfasud"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu4FGsJAJ-c

When I was younger I'd have liked to own what is termed a "super-car" such as the Aston Martin; I actually fancied a red Ferrari Dino but having splashed out a small fortune I would have quickly realized loading lots of old machinery wouldn't be the thing to do so I ended up with lots of old bangers I wasn't scared to abuse or scratch. I'm pretty sure anyone owning a car like an Aston Martin could also afford to own a second car to cart stuff around in.

You are of course right Gary in that a three year old Toyota will have a much better trade in value than a Duster but considering what the Duster costs new compared to say a RAV 4 then possibly the Duster will win; anyone on a low budget though could stretch to a Duster and perhaps the Duster will last ten years and if so then it will prove very cheap motoring indeed. My own feelings are that I would prefer to buy a brand new less desirable car than a second hand car for similar money but again it comes down to personal choice. I'm not yet fully sold on a Duster and not yet seen one on the road but Bron and I will visit our local Dacia dealership to have a look. I'd prefer a Skoda Yeti but these are a lot more expensive to have sitting on the drive most of the time. The Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo is a very well regarded car by its owners and it's still one of our top choices because although only 2WD I could buy winter tyres and snow chains as I have done with the Aygo; it's interesting though looking at what's on offer these days and car prices in this sector are very competitive; it's even possible the Monte Carlo will be heavily discounted as it starts being phased out which appeals to me not just in monetary terms but the car having had a good long production it will be very reliable with no hidden expensive problems?

A Fabia would just squeeze into our garage but I doubt a Duster would.

http://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/rav4-specs-prices

For comparison Gary please see Toyota Rav 4 prices which start at around £22K; double the price of a Duster which allows for a huge depreciation on the Duster should this happen in three years at Duster trade in?

I think heavy rain and wind is forecast for this afternoon so I'm not playing in the garage having just done the supermarket shopping and put the car away. For once I'm not complaining about the weather because we are not flooded out of our home and so far the electric is still connected.

I'll spend a bit of time on the computer looking at car options and reviews. For what it's worth I'm not interested in Ford; Vauxhall; Definitely not Citroen or even Renault although the Duster is Renault based. The Duster appeals because it is big so so should ride better than our tiny Aygo; it is cheap and above all it is 4WD which suits our terrain.

Thanks John for the information regarding the Dacia name.

Kind regards, Col.