1973 Renault 12 TL 1.3
Summary:
The (one and only?) Renault built to last
Faults:
The 2 front fenders had to be replaced due to corrosion along the A-column.
The radiator lost water, so it was changed, too.
The brakes received a major overhaul. this was rather a precautionary measure, and not really necessary yet.
General Comments:
In general very well built, seems to be able to take on very bad roads for a very long time (was initially designed for sale in the former French North African colonies).
Performance not exiting, a five-speed gear box would certainly help.
Very comfortable seats and ride. Too soft for my personal taste.
98% identical to the Dacia 1300 (produced under Renault license in Romania). Thus great spare parts availability, and extremely cheap as well. Don't expect first rate quality here, though!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd May, 2001
8th Dec 2008, 23:18
My dad owns a 1976 DACIA 1300. He bought it brand new in 1976. Our family learned how to drive with this car (my dad, me, my brother, my uncle, my cousin). My dad had to rebuild the engine 2-3 times (he knows how to fix this cars). When we first took the engine apart (for rebuilding), we found a lot of engine components marked with RENAULT logo on them.
Surprisingly my dad still driving this car in Bucharest (ROMANIA). I have to admit the body is a little rusted, but the engine runs like a champ. 54 horses and 4-speed manual transmission are not sufficient for these days (but were very good for 1976).
Best regards.
Nicu LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA.
27th Jan 2023, 14:30
The Communist Romanian Government (under the Ceausescu dictatorship) started selling this Dacia / Renault from 1969. It was indeed a fully licensed Renault 12 rebranded as Dacia. Romania sold this car on the local market and also did export it to many other countries including the USA. The cars sold in Romania had much poorer component quality compared to the cars for export. The cars were made completely at a Romanian factory. It is possible the cars for export would use some imported components for better quality, but the cars sold to the Romanian market had all components made locally which was not good news in terms of quality. Still, for the first years of production even the cars sold in Romania had better parts to them - then the quality started dropping. Romania also did produce a Renault 10 called Dacia 1100 and also a Citroen vehicle named Oltcit. Dacia still makes modern cars today in collaboration with Renault.
24th Sep 2004, 12:47
I have to say that I'm very sorry, because the romanian car manufacturer Dacia stopped the Dacia 1300 / Renault 12 production in July, this Year. I own such a car since 1996, but it was built in 1977. Because it was rusty almost totally, I decided to replace the entire bodywork, with a new one. I had the possibility to buy one of the different equipped variants, and I decided to buy a "brand new car without motor, gearbox, suspension and wheels", and to transfer those parts from the old car.
The operation was a great success, I had a new car, because the engine and the gearbox were just updated, and I saved more than 50% from the price of a new Dacia.
With this car, I covered 120,000 km since 1999. In 1999 it had already 89,000 km, so in August I made the complete engine and transmission repairing.
Now, I have brand new engine, gearbox, brakes and suspension, and I believe that my little "Poderosa" will be able to run another 200,000 km.
In the end, I have to say that there was no situation in which I wasn't able to use this Dacia 1300, and there were long periods of time when I had only to wash, refuel and to change the oil of my car.
With sympathy, Alex
Constantza, Romania.