As any of you who have followed my posts will know , I ordered a Citygo at the end of July. Opted for a car that was on the system and am due to take delivery on Friday afternoon. Very excited but also nervous following posts made by some people about finding the car not to be the correct spec, and or damaged when they go to collect.

Now I will be going to the delivery of a new car my father has bought earlier at Lunch time on Friday. He had been interested in a Citygo after I showed him the brochure, but he was unwilling to pay for an Elegance and would not pay more for an S due to it not being on the free finance offer, and would not wait 12 weeks for a factory order to get the SE spec. He went off and ordered a Dacia Sandero from Charles Hurst (name Lookers trades under in N. Ireland) because they had plenty of them in stock. He only bought it on Tuesday and is getting it before I get my own new car. This waiting business is hell!

A dacia, is your old man james may?

Sent from my iPhone 4s

To me if a garage has loads in stock it means they aren't selling enough, but waiting for a car means high demand so it must be good.

Or maybe they are selling like hot cakes & they have them ready to go for the type of customer that likes to flash the cash or sign the finance agreement and drive off in their car of choice.

All the colours and all the specs and not lose the sale to someplace else.

ie Stocked up and ready to sell that weekend or in the weeks before the new Reg comes out.

Then the new ones will take their place off the transporter or out of the lot, PDI done and away..

Obviously if they sit for months never moving, then they are not selling.

Some of the newer Dacia motors look good!

He is 79 and not bothered about the flash stuff.  To him the extra size of the Sandero was more important than central locking, air con etc.  I think the car looks ok, and I drove it on the test drive and it felt ok, but the interior is all hard plastic.  However I think it is brilliant value at that price.

Some of the newer Dacia motors look good!

I've not seen a nice looking Dacia yet. Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places lol

I like the Sandero Stepway

Arent dacia just a cheap renault?

Sent from my iPhone 4s

Arent dacia just a cheap renault?

Sent from my iPhone 4s

Certainly are.

Arent dacia just a cheap renault?

Sent from my iPhone 4s

Dacia are 'long time mister' car manufacturers from Romania.

Maybe now using Renault Parts and the parent company is now Renault and they are being sold in Renault Dealerships.

 

Are Skodas now not just cheap Volkswagens (Audi) , using the same parts, the older technology often

but their own Dealership network.?

 

george

I don't think Dacia will be a Top Gear joke much longer. Saw a Duster on the road recently and it looked pretty good considering the cost. The Renault connection would make me wary from personal experience but the price is very competitive if the cars are as 'Hammerite' as they seem to be.

Skoda are cheaper versions of vw's yeah we know this but at least vw are half decent. Renault well ermmm...

Sent from my iPhone 4s

In Europe where Dacia have been on sale for several years they do very well in the JD Powers survey, beating Skoda.

Half the problem with French cars is the expensive unionised labour resulting in cheap parts/ materials so that the product can be competitively priced versus other brands. Move the labour out of France and you might be on to something. Dacia seem to be selling Dusters over here pretty quick -the Sandero is a pretty rare sight in the UK but in Europe they are everywhere. I thought that a lot of Dacia production is actually in India as the modern Dacia brand is some sort of collaboration between Renault and Tata.

I had a good look at a Duster the day and recognised quite a few bits as being the same as the old deisel Nissan Micra that I used to have 10 years ago -it's even got the Renault K9K diesel engine as well (Renault sell these to Mercedes to put in the new A-Class). I was struck by things like the old school chrome push in boot lock on the Duster.

Remember the Hyundai Getz? That's where the Sandero is now and the Duster is trying to be the equivalent in it's group.

Back on topic:

I hope all went well for the collection of your new cars and that you are both pleased with them

I got my Citigo ok, but at 9.30am Charles Hurst phoned my father to tell him that the stereo he had ordered would only be arriving today. We will be collecting it in the morning.

The new Dacia factory is in Tangier Morocco.

& Duster and some others  built Chennai India.

 

http://dacia.co.uk/faq

Skoda are cheaper versions of vw's yeah we know this but at least vw are half decent. Renault well ermmm...

Sent from my iPhone 4s

 

how good is a cheap version of something that was only half decent to begin with?

 

maybe the dealer that didn't have stock doesn't do enough business to keep stock?

I saw a duster up close yesterday and must say I was really impressed by the look of it considering its price. The only thing I didnt like was the big 5 spoke alloys appeared to be covering bottle top sized brakes, just didnt look right.

Back on topic I hope you both enjoy your new cars.

Worth looking at the discs and calipers or brake drums on used Dacia.

Unlike the ones fitted to many Skodas, 

they do not have surface corrosion overnight if it rains,

and they do not rust before your eyes if parked and not moved for a few weeks.

Need replacing or Skimmed after a winter because that is what your Servicing garage is advising.

At the Service worth a mention,

but with the Sales person, "Just cosmetic sir, surface corrosion, they all do that."

Well they do not all and even cheepos from Dacia do not.

 

(What is ridiculous is Skoda not even putting a protective coating against corrosion on the exterior of drums, just a coating/primer and not even a quality primer to keep them rust free long enough to get to a dealership, now that is Penny Pinching.)

 

There is a difference in building cheaply with tried and tested technology and parts & selling for 'Much Cheapness'.

Build cars to last at affordable prices.

Do not cheat on weights and performance figures and publish 'Fiction', just to get low Emissions, SALES on the back of that,

and low road tax, while there is no Spare Wheel, jack etc, they are optional extras,

& fit cheap rubbish tyres under the pretence they are ECO,

& 

just Speccing cheap parts or finishes and selling various vehicles and pricing by Brand, eg VAG.

Every car I have ever owned suffers from ferrous oxide on the shiny bits! It is not unique to VAG.  A combination of bare metal and the atmosphere will result in this.

 Looking at cheap compared to expensive, on a VAG car you see surface rust on a brake disc on a Mercedes you see rust coming through on wheel arches that have been painted!

 

 Your brakes just need use George and they will stay shiny like a new penny!

 

 With regard to Dacia, made in India and shipped around the world, very cheap too, I am not sure this would be a car for me but I suppose you pay your money and you take your chance.

What about the exterior of Rear Drums as Skoda put them out of the Factory, is there any excuse or Technical reason for that,

or Buyers needing to Paint them before taking the car on the road?

 

Things are not equal with all manufacturers or Discs and material.

Actually you need to look at more different car manufacturers models that have sit used and unmoved for weeks or months on forecourts,

or even Demonstrators that are being sold at 3 months old with 3,000 miles on them.

Many will show no surface corrosion, some like the examples in my previous post are just starting their quick demise.

 

My 7 year old Kia with 700 miles done between MOT's has no rust on the Discs, which it has front and rear on a 1.1 litres 68bhp car. Starts and drives, no grinding on need to apply the hand brake to clean corrosion off the rear discs.

 

I had a Hyundai i30 that had corroded discs & alloy wheels, which were relaced in May, from being new in an October.

 

Subaru Brakes and Calipers are really quite poor on some of their later models.

 

george

 

PS. Morrocco is not in India.

VAG Build in India, and China, 

Build in CZ or other Central European countries and transport to Australia.

Suzuki build in Hungary, manufacturers build any place these days.

 

PPS, Brakes used will possibly have a clean braking surface after the first few hundred yars,

Not quite the answer to rears or fronts that just rot away around the edges.

Years ago we just used a peen hammer and chapped around the edges after every winter.

You did this even after a car was over 10 years old.

It amazing how we progress little as the decades go on.

 

Eight months old, obviously must have have been very used for braking in 6,000 miles. 

Morrocco or india both developing countries being exploited for cheap labour.

 

 

 Going back to Discs and rust, if I was to buy four different makes of disc from a motor factor, you are suggesting they will all rust at different rates? One would imagine that all discs have to be made of a certain grade of steel to perform, no protective coating can be applied as they need a clean surface to work correctly and as these are a wearing part does it really matter? A few dabs of the brakes and they are shiny again.

 

 Most issues with callipers seizing is due to the car washing types washing the car, flooding it with the hose pipe and leaving the car to stand for a day or two, a simple drive down the road will dry them out and prevent any issues.

 

 Back on thread now, happy new Dacia to CitigoAli's Dad and Happy new citigo to Ali.  

What i was saying was look at Dacia Discs, sitting for any length of time.

Look at the Exterior surface of the Drums where fitted.

 

Not arguing over anything just pointing out.

 

They are made of different grades of materials, even OME.

& that is how that someone can go and buy After Market Discs, not just drilled or Grooved, but different and better quality.

 

Is Slovakia, Ukraine, Bulgaria not also being exploited or just happy to have employment

 

India and Morroco are developing and prospering,

which can not really be said for Euro Zone countries if they are the ones exploiting them.

 

VAG seems to be doing OK for profits right enough.

'Penny Pinching on important things to buyers might need to stop though if they are going to continue expanding.)

 

george

 

EDIT, Cheap is OK if cheap to replace, just buy new ones when needed like Discs and Pads.

Dealerships that do not over charge for something simple is good.

But as to Drums not getting coated to stay tidy, then that is Penny Pinching.

* Replacement discs fiitted 7 months ago & sat un-driven/moved for 3 months,

they cost £21 each, not a pick of corrosion.*