Brand Snobbery !

G

gov

Senior member
First thing to say is my wife is not car minded - she's an A to B woman - as the poor old dear is getting older ( she's not listening is she ? :roll: ) and finding it hard with a hip problem I've been looking for a replacement for her old Fiesta that is higher up and easier to get in and out of - we were passing a Renault garage who also deals with Dacia - have in the past considered a Dacia Stepway as a replacement for the Fiesta . Had a decko of a white basic Stepway - have to say it looked good in white and for £9k you get electric windows , bluetooth , MP3 , remote locking , Stop/Go ,full size spare wheel , DAB radio etc - owners reviews 90% positive - albeit cheap well built 54mpg overall in petrol version and nippier than the Fiesta - if you're looking for a no thrills roomy small car at that price it's a no brainer - my wife test drove it and loved it so I ordered one there and then - delivery mid Feb - pick it up 1st March with 18 plate :D only negative even paying cash and no part ex Dacia's policy is no discount - if you believe it they only make £150 or so profit !

Response from some people though ! - I wouldn't buy a Dacia / cheap import / wouldn't be seen dead in one of those ! :x :x :x

Of course you get what you pay for and imho you're getting a lot of decent car for your money .
 
My brother in law has a Dacia Logan, cheap as chips and does everything he needs with the mrs and two kids. Brand new car, few year ago, at less than £7k with warranty, can't go wrong really. Gives him more money to keep the skyline ticking over :driving:
 
How many miles does your wife do a year? If she likes it then great, but the Dacia would be a the bottom of my shopping list.

I'm in the process of looking for another car right now, and £9k in cash can get you a lot of second-hand car (with warranty) and would be a much nicer place to sit in after that 18 plate new car smell has gone....
 
A couple of our customers have bought stepways..

Only a couple of years old,but never had any problems with them.


At that money,why not ? Not a lot else can touch it,and it will be great for a good few years.



Snobbery is rife,i dont know why as there are truly no rubbish cars now.

I recently drove a BMW 2 series active tourer,and i think i prefer the stepway. The 2 series active tourer is a truly hideous car,bulit badly and does absolutley nothing well.. Starts around £25k iirc,and the one i drove was £30k ish..... I wouldnt have give £10k for the bag of sh1t..
 
Dav the wheel nut said:
Angelus666 said:
the Dacia would be a the bottom of my shopping list
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What's that based on out of interest? Have you driven many?
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TBH I've never driven any of them, and they might genuinely be a decent drive...but...a good second hand VW Tiguan or BMW X3 would have probably been a better buy if you factor total cost of ownership.
 
Me I'll take value for money over a badge all day long. :D :thumbsup:

That's the only way I will ever save enough for that Aston. :wink:
 
Angelus666 said:
Dav the wheel nut said:
Angelus666 said:
the Dacia would be a the bottom of my shopping list
Click to expand...
What's that based on out of interest? Have you driven many?
Click to expand...

TBH I've never driven any of them, and they might genuinely be a decent drive...but...a good second hand VW Tiguan or BMW X3 would have probably been a better buy if you factor total cost of ownership.
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I do understand where you're coming from - wanted a newish car but not too big - your two examples are fine cars - but you would have to go back a few years to get either of these for the same money - was considering a Ford Ecosport or Mokka but both a lot more money at 2yrs old.
 
buzyg said:
Me I'll take value for money over a badge all day long. :D :thumbsup:

That's the only way I will ever save enough for that Aston. :wink:
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Spot on mate - still looking for a red 28i or 3.0 SE manual E89 so will need all the money I can save !
 
I can lease you a brand new Citroen C3 1.2 Feel for £150 plus vat down, & £150 plus Vat a month, 10k a year 2 years. Brilliant car and really funky.
 
I have had three Skodas in recent years. Two new Fabia vRs’s and an old Octavia 4x4 Estate which I bought for £500 and sold for a small profit eighteen months later. All three were great cars, fun to drive and cheap to run. I dread to to think about what I’ll lose when I come to trade my current 330d Touring. My trouble is I buy with my heart rather than my head. I guess like a lot of guys on here. If I had any common sense then Dacia would be at the top of my list.
 
to be honest , we don't have any of those cars over her, I had to Google Dacia to see one. They look OK
My neighbourhood has a lot of Hyundais and Kias, the old people love them. My wife is more of a car snob than me, she's quite happy driving the M roadster. I could happily zip around in Scooby or a Toyota. Good quality and reasonable price. I'd have to get counseling to rid myself of the idea that a car has to drive like a 911 or it's no good but that time will come I'm sure.
 
If youre looking for an a-to-b car then nothing wrong with any budget badges. My only stipulation would be a decent safety rating - afterall it is your other half in the car
 
Dacia is just a rebranded Renault. Out in Saudi I see them and they all have Renault badges. It's obviously built to a price though but for an A to B car you can't go wrong.
Skoda's ain't cheap now, but we all know they're basically VW.

As for brand snobbery, I think it may become a thing of the past , what with PCP deals making new cars affordable to more people, plus the fact that most cars look very similar now.
 
if your not interested in cars, just getting from A-B with the comfort and security of a 3 year warranty then things like this are ideal.

all Renault running gear underneath aren't they
 
I've always run my A to B cars for years.
I bought a Yaris a number of years ago with hardly any miles on and now it's approaching the hundred thousand.
Last MOT had no advisories and the tester said it would go on another hundred thousand.
It's not worth much now but who cares. I've had my monies worth out of it.
If you are going to keep a car long term I think something like a Dacia makes good sense :)
 
I reccommended a Dacia to one of the guys I work with, he is not that interested in cars and just wants a fresh runabout for the family. Buy it, drive it into the ground, get another one. Wouldn't interest me personally, but I can see the appeal
 
I think brand snobbery might have been more justified say 10 years ago when alot of cheap cars were just that cheap and pretty awful and you paid the premium for that quality and drive. These days though even cheap cars are loaded with kit and well finished and good to drive. I've had Suzuki Swifts in the past running alongside Audis and BMWs and really you just can't fault them. Having had a Hyundai i10 for getting on for 12 months now I absolutely love it and feel quite smug at how good the car is for what it cost for 10k less a little deposit. You can't fault the car to be honest, fit and finish is spot on, yes theres no soft touch plastics inside but standard equipment such as heated seats, heated steering wheel, electric sunroof, Apple Carplay and Android Auto with sat nav and free updates for 7 years and 5 years mechanical warranty make it a steal. I paid thousands for the same equipment on my BMW, crazy really. I thnk whats put me off new BMWs of late is unless you go for for a 5 Series or above the cheaper ranges just don't cut it anymore. I first noticed it with the E89, poor quality in many places and just didn't seem as good as my Z3 for build. The rear diffuser on my M140i is a joke how it flexes when washing the car and the exhaust trims corrode to nothing. The Hyundai everything is just solid with no squeaks or rattles. Will definitely look at another Hyundai when the time comes.

Tim.
 
Dav the wheel nut said:
Angelus666 said:
the Dacia would be a the bottom of my shopping list
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What's that based on out of interest? Have you driven many?
Click to expand...

Dacia is built on Renault platforms but often previous generation designs. Renault is now Nissan and share a lot of tech and re-badged models, hence Renaults improved reliability! I can't see anything wrong with the Dacia if you want basic motoring, the format, warranty and spec can't be beaten for the new price. Some of them also hold their value amazingly well.

A shonky X3 for the same money will be an odds-on money pit by comparison.
 
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