1990 Dacia 1310 TX 1.3 petrol

Summary:

At first you hate it, then you get used to it and then you love it

Faults:

Too many to list; here's some:

- water pumps: four of them

- leaking gearbox

- leaking sump (still)

- rust: the jack went through the floor one time because of this even if it was correctly installed under the "reinforced" lifting point.

- lower right suspension ball joint totally wasted

- rusted exhaust

- electrical problems due to oxidized contacts/wires

- speedometer failed at 55000. Won't replace until rev meter fails too.

- clutch failed in 1995 while in Turkey. Replaced with original Renault part, still going strong.

- many other things loose/failing/rattling/etc inside and outside.

General Comments:

Despite the general opinion that it's a s**t car, it holds together pretty well considering it has been involved in about five crashes, on pretty serious.

The main enemy of this car is not wear & tear, but time as it is quite prone to rusting. Therefore it is best kept in a garage & out of rain/snow.

It is quite solid considering the numerous craters (quite common on the roads here), curbs and other road hazards it has run in/over (dogs and sheep among others).

Spare parts are cheap and easy to find.

The seats are very comfortable.

It handles like a boat on water: soft suspension, ample roll in curves. But once you get used to it it's fun and the tricks you can pull with it are limited only by imagination and how much money you want to spend on repairs afterward.

Since gas is quite expensive (for a Romanian student anyway), it isn't very cheap to run. It does about 10 l/100 km in the city and about 7 @ 90 kph on the road.

With heightened suspension it is amazing what this front wheel traction car can do off-road.

With only one person on board (me) it can be quite fast (90 mph, downhill of course).

It is light enough (900 kilos) to prevent serious injury when it falls on you while you're underside fixing it.

Finally it's like a girlfriend or a wife: it may have a big mouth, it may require constant attention, it isn't very good looking or good in bed, but it's mine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th October, 2002

1980 Dacia 1310 1.300 gasoline

Summary:

A good car after all

Faults:

Well...of course as you can see, I'm from Romania and maybe I can't be objective, but everything what gone wrong whit the car was easy and cheap to fix even for a Romanian, about 90% from repairs I made, I didn't use a service workshop!The max amount summa for repairs in all these years is under 2000$...20 years!!!

This is not a sport car... but if you are interested you change your carburetor whit a double one and you might have some performance... of course you will use around 20l/100Km fuel.

General Comments:

Very cheap and reliable!

Not so comfortable.

You might have problems whit the heat in winter.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th April, 2002

1987 Dacia 1310 TX 1289cmc gasoline

Summary:

A medium performance for money less people

Faults:

No real problems experienced with this car.

General Comments:

Very cheap car, but you will get a performance car if you buy one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2002

2001 Dacia 1310 Confort 1.4

Summary:

A good car for the price

Faults:

Engine coolant started leaking, but I've found out it's a common problem of this model.

Trunk fails to lock, needing some effort.

The bodywork has some annoying vibrations at certain speeds.

General Comments:

It is a good car, fast, comfortable, but a little too light for the engine.

The engine and gearbox are excellent, probably the best parts of the car.

The suspensions need to be stiffer, because at high speeds the car is unstable, and if you drive a little spoty, you could have some unexpected surprises.

The interior is comfortable, well finished, but a little too "dark" for my taste.

In conclusion, it is good for a small, quiet family, but if you want some real performance a little tuning is needed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th March, 2002