Dacia, or....? £4k ish

gman88667733

Original Poster

1,192 posts

68 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

My Octavia is up for sale and hoping to get shot of it ASAP. I'd originally planned on getting something dirt cheap to keep me going for a little bit. But we now need to be able to rely on the car to start all the time and not have to be in the garage every other week. I decided to up my budget to £4k or perhaps a little more if it really gets a decent car.

I have been looking at 2nd hand Sandero's as the 0.9L or 1.2L seems to be around £3.5k for a 2014 with 50kish miles, which seems cheap to me? Are they worth that money?

I ideally wanted air con, but most of all, we just want reliability, so figured that the newer the car, the better the chance...

Any alternatives to this? Can't be a super mini as we need to fit our dog in the boot.

Slushbox

1,484 posts

106 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

gman88667733 said:

I have been looking at 2nd hand Sandero's as the 0.9L or 1.2L seems to be around £3.5k for a 2014 with 50kish miles, which seems cheap to me? Are they worth that money?

I ideally wanted air con, but most of all, we just want reliability, so figured that the newer the car, the better the chance...

Any alternatives to this? Can't be a super mini as we need to fit our dog in the boot.

Prices for 2014 models seem to be around the £4k+ mark around here.

The early 1.2 engines have a reputation for self-destruction and tepid performance, (check Google or the Dacia Forum) and a 2014 mid-spec will be an early UK model, probably without air-con.

The TCe90's are fun to drive in a sort of 1980's Fiat Uno manner, and Not Terrible, unless you need to take corners 'briskly' when they understeer in a thrilling fashion. Motorway performance is fine, as are third gear overtakes up to 5000 rpm.

I had a 2017 mid-range model as a stopgap, and while it filled the role of 'shopping car' for six months, little things like the 'keep-fit' windows and manual unheated mirrors were not fun in the winter. Laureate trim gets you the missing bits. Aircon was added to the mid-range models in 2016 (?)

Stepway is a Sandero with a 50mm lift and worse aero/VED. Very popular amongst faux-SUV lovers, and have a higher resale price.

The Logan MCV estate on the other hand was exceptionally good for the price in Laureate trim, if you can find one in your budget. The pleasant DCi diesels need a £600 belt change at six years.

Stuff that breaks: Door sealing film twixt speakers and door cards leaks, giving a swimming pool in the rear footwells. (Early models) Front scuttle drains block with leaves, (all models) adding a moist experience in the front passenger foot-well. Rubber drain flaps under doors get filthy, door fills up with water, which ends up in the cabin. Usual solution is to remove the bungs. (You can feel them if you run your hands under the doors.)

Endless complaints of clutch-judder on the turbo models, though problems with clutches are not always found at the main dealers. Eco-Mode (for town use) dulls driving experience to morgue levels. Dashboard isn't illuminated unless you put the side-lights on. Owners then complain speedo is invisible.

The cars often had the extended service plan which was cheap at the time, so there's a chance the car will have been main dealer serviced for the first three years.

They need the recommended Elf/Renault certified oil, so watch out for Fred's Garage servicing.

https://www.daciaforum.co.uk/forum/forum/1-dacia-f...

Edited by Slushbox on Tuesday 16th July 15:50

gman88667733

Original Poster

1,192 posts

68 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

At this price range, is a Dacia for a decent spec the best choice?

I'm looking for something with relatively low big bill potential. I don't mind the odd thing, but i'm paying £200 at least every few weeks it seems on stupid bits on my Octavia and it all adds up.

RazerSauber

2,287 posts

61 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

Mazda 3's come in at 3-4k for a 2013 car with mileages from 60k-120k says Autotrader. Quite a looker too.

grant8064

101 posts

74 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

If it was my 4K and the priority was late-ish plate, not mega miles, reliable i'd be looking at Skoda Rapids or Seat Toledos. In budget for a 13 plate, boring as sin but much better build/finish.

Trevor555

4,457 posts

85 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

gman88667733 said:

At this price range, is a Dacia for a decent spec the best choice?

I'm looking for something with relatively low big bill potential. I don't mind the odd thing, but i'm paying £200 at least every few weeks it seems on stupid bits on my Octavia and it all adds up.

I'd be looking at a Honda Jazz or a Yaris in that price range for "low big bill potential"

kieranblenk

865 posts

135 months

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Tuesday 16th July 2019

For £4k I'd be buying a Suzuki of some description - incredibly simple and bulletproof reliability.

CX53

2,973 posts

111 months

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Wednesday 17th July 2019

I always think Dacia’s look good value for money and a car you wouldn’t feel precious about. Personally though I’d look for a similarly priced option from Kia or Honda

gman88667733

Original Poster

1,192 posts

68 months

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Thursday 18th July 2019

Bit of an odd option, but at my local trusted garage today, I was having a look at their cars and they have just had a 2009 1.4 Citroen c3 exclusive in. 45k miles, FSH. Now normally I wouldn't consider it because it seems like a bit of a 'granny' car. But I decided to sit in it and it was actually quite nice inside and has fully working a/c (big plus) and felt fairly decent. Haven't driven it, but I think I might tomorrow. Are these cars known for being reliable/unreliable?
My knee was fairly close to the steering wheel when my foot was at the top of the brake pedal travel, so I'd need to try that too.

Any opinions?

aka_kerrly

12,419 posts

211 months

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Thursday 18th July 2019

Out of interest how old is your skoda and what kind of major faults has it had that keep costing hundreds every few weeks?

Maybe the answer is learning a bit more about cars and fixing things yourself.

Tbh any car built in the last 20years CAN be reliable when maintained, there are no really bad cars and the Internet makes people believe that because 2people on the same forum have had a problem that all the other thousands of owners must do to......

ninjag

1,827 posts

120 months

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[news]

Thursday 18th July 2019

8th Gen Honda Accord petrol EX. Fully loaded, built in Japan and very reliable engine and generally the rest of the car. A lot for your money.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

kieranblenk

865 posts

135 months

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[news]

Thursday 18th July 2019

gman88667733 said:

Bit of an odd option, but at my local trusted garage today, I was having a look at their cars and they have just had a 2009 1.4 Citroen c3 exclusive in. 45k miles, FSH. Now normally I wouldn't consider it because it seems like a bit of a 'granny' car. But I decided to sit in it and it was actually quite nice inside and has fully working a/c (big plus) and felt fairly decent. Haven't driven it, but I think I might tomorrow. Are these cars known for being reliable/unreliable?
My knee was fairly close to the steering wheel when my foot was at the top of the brake pedal travel, so I'd need to try that too.

Any opinions?

Depends how much they want for it, it would probably be fine but personally I'd be sticking to Japanese stuff though.

gman88667733

Original Poster

1,192 posts

68 months

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Thursday 18th July 2019

£2300 is what they are asking, but I'd want to pay £2000 I suppose?

I was over exaggerating with the extent of bills I am getting from the Skoda, but there are constant niggles that need sorting everytime something else gets fixed and with labour, it is always at least £150-£200 + VAT. It all adds up really. Looking at what else needs doing to make it worth the cost to me, it won't be worth it to me

gman88667733

Original Poster

1,192 posts

68 months

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Tuesday 23rd July 2019

So my Octavia is gone.

A car that I've been curious about for a while is a gen 2 Prius... I know it isn't a very PH car, but they seem reliable, smooth and economical, which is what we want really.

I've found this one https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Full main dealer service history, which is a must for me.

Does anyone have any experience with these? Mileage is nice and reasonable at 73k. Hoping to go and see it this weekend.

I know the price seems a lot for a 2007 car, but they seem to hold their value, especially at under 100k miles.

A500leroy

5,136 posts

119 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 23rd July 2019

gman88667733 said:

So my Octavia is gone.

A car that I've been curious about for a while is a gen 2 Prius... I know it isn't a very PH car, but they seem reliable, smooth and economical, which is what we want really.

I've found this one https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Full main dealer service history, which is a must for me.

Does anyone have any experience with these? Mileage is nice and reasonable at 73k. Hoping to go and see it this weekend.

I know the price seems a lot for a 2007 car, but they seem to hold their value, especially at under 100k miles.

All those taxi drivers cant be wrong...

Cap2018

36 posts

69 months

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Tuesday 23rd July 2019

I would vouch for the Suzuki reliability record mentioned earlier. That was the reasoning behind getting my girlfriend a 65 plate Swift last year (16000 mile automatic for £7k). I also replaced my car last year with a 63 plate Hyundai i30 (55000 mile manual for £6k). We had a lot of trouble with previous cars (two minis and a clio) so did our homework on reliability and 'big bill potential'. Touch wood. Reliablity records tended to favour the Japanese/ Korean manufacturers when I last looked.

DrFeelAverage

82 posts

88 months

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[news]

Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Speaking purely from personal research looking for a cheap runaround, the 07-12 Kia Ceed/Hyundai i30 in 1.6 petrol form look pretty good, starting from around 2k. I've not driven one yet though, I hear they are fine to drive but nothing exciting, although the Kia apparently handles better. They seem pretty reliable, and I've heard do around 40mpg.

ZX10R NIN

27,640 posts

126 months

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Wednesday 24th July 2019

CX53

2,973 posts

111 months

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Wednesday 24th July 2019

ZX10R NIN said:

All these cars look spot on, I’m on the lookout for something soon and didn’t realise what a bargain the Mazda 3’s were.

Does anyone happen to know For the higher annual mileage driver would the diesel version of these be any good?

Sorry for thread-jack

ZX10R NIN

27,640 posts

126 months

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[news]

Wednesday 24th July 2019

CX53 said:

All these cars look spot on, I’m on the lookout for something soon and didn’t realise what a bargain the Mazda 3’s were.

Does anyone happen to know For the higher annual mileage driver would the diesel version of these be any good?

Sorry for thread-jack

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