Dacia: an anomaly
Discussion
Am perplexed by the brand's success in the current market.
It's not that I don't like them, quite the contrary but I can't see circumstances where I'll ever have one.
Firstly, if my gaffer was to come along and say "There u go mate. There's a nice Dacia Duster for you" or "Am replacing the Citroen Cactus pool car with a Stepway" I'd be reasonably happy. I also see the appeal of a dirt cheap 2nd hand Duster as a kid/spaniel/mountain bike transporting hack. I mean I REALLY see the appeal (as in I secretly want one).
Problem is, firstly, no fleet manager is going to touch one as Dacia offer no bulk procurement discounts and compared with Ford's, VAGs PSAs and Vauxhalls the Dacia is the expensive option.
As for the private PCP/Leaser? Look hard enough for the right deal and you can find yourself in a BMW 135i or Golf R for not that much more a month than a top of the Range Duster.
And my dream of the dirt cheap Duster hack? Dacia residuals are not falling off a cliff the way Soviet Block Ladas, Skodas and FSOs did when I was a lad.
Result is at every point a Dacia could enter my life there is actually always a cheaper alternative.
Question then is if Dacia buying is price based why would anyone buy one?
It's not that I don't like them, quite the contrary but I can't see circumstances where I'll ever have one.
Firstly, if my gaffer was to come along and say "There u go mate. There's a nice Dacia Duster for you" or "Am replacing the Citroen Cactus pool car with a Stepway" I'd be reasonably happy. I also see the appeal of a dirt cheap 2nd hand Duster as a kid/spaniel/mountain bike transporting hack. I mean I REALLY see the appeal (as in I secretly want one).
Problem is, firstly, no fleet manager is going to touch one as Dacia offer no bulk procurement discounts and compared with Ford's, VAGs PSAs and Vauxhalls the Dacia is the expensive option.
As for the private PCP/Leaser? Look hard enough for the right deal and you can find yourself in a BMW 135i or Golf R for not that much more a month than a top of the Range Duster.
And my dream of the dirt cheap Duster hack? Dacia residuals are not falling off a cliff the way Soviet Block Ladas, Skodas and FSOs did when I was a lad.
Result is at every point a Dacia could enter my life there is actually always a cheaper alternative.
Question then is if Dacia buying is price based why would anyone buy one?
MorganP104 said:
They make sense for the many, many people who see cars as transport, and want something that isn't flash, that'll be reliable, with a decent warranty.
In the same way that non-AV geeks want a TV that has a nice picture, decent sound quality, and that won't break the bank.
I get that It's just if you read my OP (where I said I quite fancied one) you'll see that, in reality, for many, they don't work out as that cheap an option. In the same way that non-AV geeks want a TV that has a nice picture, decent sound quality, and that won't break the bank.
Wills2 said:
A mid sized 4 x 4 for 15k (the Lauréate model) seems great value, what needs explaining?
Great value if you are walking into a showroom with £15k in your back pocket to buy a new car outright.Any other procurement option and the Duster suddenly becomes expensive. They are also relatively expensive second-hand.
ExPat2B said:
The Dacia Logan is very good value.
If you compare the Logan Estate at 9500 total price on finance http://offers.dacia.co.uk/cars/loganmcv or 8500 bought outright, that same money buys you a 80 or 90 thousand mile Volvo V70 about 10 years old. I can see why people pick the Dacia.
I really liked the Logan MCV as the previous model. Anyone driving regularly in France would notice the Autoroutes were full of these very useful big buggersIf you compare the Logan Estate at 9500 total price on finance http://offers.dacia.co.uk/cars/loganmcv or 8500 bought outright, that same money buys you a 80 or 90 thousand mile Volvo V70 about 10 years old. I can see why people pick the Dacia.
https://youtu.be/98YA1mIUxCQ
Wills2 said:
Tannedbaldhead said:
Wills2 said:
A mid sized 4 x 4 for 15k (the Lauréate model) seems great value, what needs explaining?
Great value if you are walking into a showroom with £15k in your back pocket to buy a new car outright.Any other procurement option and the Duster suddenly becomes expensive. They are also relatively expensive second-hand.
Three years down the line I punt it for between £7k-£8k clear the £4k outstanding balance of my loan and have £3k-£4k as a deposit on my next car. I bought cars like this for years.
If I kept it 5 years and saved the £4k I was was paying back the 1st 4 years assuming the 50k 5 year old Duster was still worth £5k-£6k another £15k loan and I'm in a 25k car.
This was how it was done in the old days prior to leasing. I starting off at 17 paying up a banger worth £500 (an old maroon, brush painted Talbot Avenger) and was a running nearly new Mazda RX7 Turbo then VW Corrado by the time I hit my late 20s. Then the company cars came and I frittered away all that equity on general stuff. (Furnishing a house, wedding, holidays, motorbikes, expensive mountain bikes etc.
Cheers Wills. Your post made me think there.
Jag_NE said:
Tannedbaldhead said:
Great value if you are walking into a showroom with £15k in your back pocket to buy a new car outright.
Any other procurement option and the Duster suddenly becomes expensive. They are also relatively expensive second-hand.
in your op you said residuals were falling off a cliff?Any other procurement option and the Duster suddenly becomes expensive. They are also relatively expensive second-hand.
Tannedbaldhead said:
And my dream of the dirt cheap Duster hack? Dacia residuals are not falling off a cliff the way Soviet Block Ladas, Skodas and FSOs did when I was a lad.
Think u may have misread my post. HTP99 said:
Tannedbaldhead said:
HTP99 said:
As a Renault/Dacia dealer, we cannot get enough used Stepway Laureate TCe's, they are a licence to print money and they hold their money too.
As a Renault/Dacia dealer can you explain why it's so bloody hard to pin a salesman down to sell a Duster van?When did you enquire?
We wanted one Dacia Van. My Astra SRI Estate was being replaced with a base hatch and I was so pissed off I decided I'd rather have a van and save a bit of tax and the Dacia Van was that wee bit different.
To start with the Dacia dealership would never return the fleet sales manager's calls. Eventually he suggested I visit the dealer personally. There the Dacia car salesman told me he doesn't sell vans and to see the Renault Commercial vehicle salesman. In turn the Renault Commercial salesman told me he doesn't deal at all with Dacia and go back to the Dacia car salesman.
Never got a quote for business use contract hire. Never got a test drive I asked for (not even a quick 5 minutes to check it fitted my small garage).
Impression I got was salesman didn't give a f
k about the size of the order we were placing with the organisation or the amount of I'm going service and warranty work they received. No immediate commission. No interest.
sidaorb said:
croyde said:
Is the new one going to be a completely different car with a price rise to match?
Total revamp, hugely improved interior.
Price wise, no news yet, expect to get some ideas in early June when I get my hands on a UK spec car.
Edited by sidaorb on Tuesday 6th March 11:57
One thing I hope they've sorted was the squishy shapeless unsupported seats. About the only thing I disliked about any Dacias I've been in.
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