Dacia Disappointment. What did I really expect?
Discussion
I have always liked the Dacia Duster for it's no-nonsense no-frills and low price philosophy, and so was pleased, even a bit excited when my father in law decided he wanted one and asked me to go car shopping with him.
I am too young to have owned one from new, but I liked them in the way I used to like Lada Rivas. Back to basics, no bulls
t, and not expensive. Apparently they were really OK according to Hull taxi drivers who seemed to love them when I lived there in the early 1990s. Others think they were rubbish.
I wasn't expecting luxury, but the Duster seemed to fit the bill for a recently retired family man who does low miles but who needs to cart grand kids around, do family chores, shopping, tip runs etc. I had often considered getting a nearly new used one as a general duties car to put alongside something less practical like a Jaguar F-Type.
My father in law doesn't have high standards or expectations when it comes to cars. He's not a car person and is very much of the view that they are white goods. I once saw him get vaguely excited at a new Nissan Note which was parked next to a new AMG 63 which he just ignored. His reaction on opening the door of a new Duster surprised me. It was a high spec model, but I could barely get him to sit in it. Thin carpets, seats that didn't look or feel great. drum brakes at the back - his list of dislikes went on and on.
I would have put money on him loving it, but no he hated every aspect of the car, bar the looks.
I suggested we look at a white base model, telling him this was no frills at all motoring and that it would cost him very little with a long warranty. No, he hated it.
I have to agree that I was expecting something more from the Duster. Not premium clearly, but something that didn't feel so shoddy. I've been in a new MG which was fine and probably good value for the price. I wrongly assumed Dacia would be similar.
He went for a nearly new Renault Kadjar in the end which seems a decent enough car for his needs.
I really had high hopes for the Dacia, but what did I expect?
I am too young to have owned one from new, but I liked them in the way I used to like Lada Rivas. Back to basics, no bulls
t, and not expensive. Apparently they were really OK according to Hull taxi drivers who seemed to love them when I lived there in the early 1990s. Others think they were rubbish.I wasn't expecting luxury, but the Duster seemed to fit the bill for a recently retired family man who does low miles but who needs to cart grand kids around, do family chores, shopping, tip runs etc. I had often considered getting a nearly new used one as a general duties car to put alongside something less practical like a Jaguar F-Type.
My father in law doesn't have high standards or expectations when it comes to cars. He's not a car person and is very much of the view that they are white goods. I once saw him get vaguely excited at a new Nissan Note which was parked next to a new AMG 63 which he just ignored. His reaction on opening the door of a new Duster surprised me. It was a high spec model, but I could barely get him to sit in it. Thin carpets, seats that didn't look or feel great. drum brakes at the back - his list of dislikes went on and on.
I would have put money on him loving it, but no he hated every aspect of the car, bar the looks.
I suggested we look at a white base model, telling him this was no frills at all motoring and that it would cost him very little with a long warranty. No, he hated it.
I have to agree that I was expecting something more from the Duster. Not premium clearly, but something that didn't feel so shoddy. I've been in a new MG which was fine and probably good value for the price. I wrongly assumed Dacia would be similar.
He went for a nearly new Renault Kadjar in the end which seems a decent enough car for his needs.
I really had high hopes for the Dacia, but what did I expect?
InitialDave said:
Best thing to do is let him get on with it.
The drum brakes one is scraping the barrel hard.
How is he on the grumpy old man scale generally?
One of the most cheerful blokes you could want to meet. Annoyingly easy going at times. The drum brakes one is scraping the barrel hard.
How is he on the grumpy old man scale generally?
And not a car guy so I wasn't expecting that level of criticism.
I never expected to spark such an interesting debate.
I suppose thinking about it, my disappointment comes from the fact that I was expecting a cheap but robust car.
Rubber flooring, lack of toys but a durable feel. It didn’t feel durable. It felt quite lightly built. My FIL is a Geordie and he used a Geordie word to describe it, “Femmer” which means fragile feeling, not robust not durable.
As to why he was thinking about buying new, he wanted a warranty, hassle free routine servicing etc.
It’ll be interesting to see if the nearly new Kadjar lives up to his expectations. I hope it does because car shopping with him is a challenge.
As an aside, my MIL - who doesn’t drive an who has zero interest in cars - demonstrated a surprising car knowledge. She knew what an Audi TT was and even asked me if I fancied a full-size Discovery rather than my Discovery Sport. I think I’ll take her to the local Bentley dealer and drop some hints! :-)
I suppose thinking about it, my disappointment comes from the fact that I was expecting a cheap but robust car.
Rubber flooring, lack of toys but a durable feel. It didn’t feel durable. It felt quite lightly built. My FIL is a Geordie and he used a Geordie word to describe it, “Femmer” which means fragile feeling, not robust not durable.
As to why he was thinking about buying new, he wanted a warranty, hassle free routine servicing etc.
It’ll be interesting to see if the nearly new Kadjar lives up to his expectations. I hope it does because car shopping with him is a challenge.
As an aside, my MIL - who doesn’t drive an who has zero interest in cars - demonstrated a surprising car knowledge. She knew what an Audi TT was and even asked me if I fancied a full-size Discovery rather than my Discovery Sport. I think I’ll take her to the local Bentley dealer and drop some hints! :-)
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