2019 Dacia Sandero Essential 1.0 petrol

Summary:

Awful - but you only get what you pay for

Faults:

Nothing much to be fair - servicing and a bulb was replaced. Lots of squeaks and rattles, but nothing has broken yet. Oil leak most likely from rocker gasket, no big deal, but poor at such low mileage.

General Comments:

After my 2010 Ford Focus was written off in an accident (not my fault) I was on the hunt for a new car. Saw this two year old Dacia for a great price and thought to myself how bad can it be? I'm not into cars as much as I used to be and just needed a modern runabout.

Having owned this car for a couple of years now, its reliability has been OK, but that is expected, it is a 2019 car with low mileage. The biggest disappointment for me is overall quality - now on only 26,000 miles and there are squeaks and rattles here and there. Interior has terrible fade already. The car looks and drives like a Renault from the 1990's and you'd be mistaken for thinking it was one.

Very poor equipment levels for a 2019 car, I don't care that it is lower range, this is terrible and I should have waited for a better trimmed car, but needed to purchase in a hurry.

Engine is just awful, slow and only just about economical (45 mpg or a little more at best).

Good points? It actually drives OK, is reasonably quiet, and is very cheap to buy and run. But honestly do yourself a favor and get the cheapest Ford or Vauxhall, they will be better, do not bother with this.

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

Review Date: 24th January, 2023

24th Jan 2023, 18:33

Actually you would be forgiven (not mistaken) for thinking it is a 1990s Renault - a quick look at the Dacia Wiki page reveals this car is just a cheap Renault.

Clearly dated, they have used an old design and very cheap parts. Apparently it is a very safe car at least, and meets all post year 2000 safety standards, and is ultimately the cheapest way to drive a new/nearly new car for less than 10K, so it has some redeeming qualities.

2017 Dacia Sandero SCe 75 1.0

Summary:

Cheaply made, engine not powerful enough for the size of the car

Faults:

Rocker box gasket failed at 3800 miles.

General Comments:

7 week wait for replacement gasket; had to purchase 5 litres of engine oil from the Dacia dealership in order to prevent oil starvation and failure.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st January, 2020

2017 Dacia Sandero Stepway Ambiance 0.9 TCE

Summary:

Build quality is woefull, spare parts, who knows

Faults:

Bought this car 30 March 2017. Build quality is poor, shut lines on my car bonnet to wings varied from 3mm windscreen to 7 mm grill both sides. This could NOT be fixed.

Then... I noticed the air flow to the cabin wasn't working correctly. It went to the dealers on 09/06/2017 who said the fan box "the air direction flaps are not connected in the fan box, it needed a new one". A new part needs to come from Dacia Renault's supplier and would be available by 04/08/2017. This came and went; now I've been told it will not be available till DECEMBER 2017 possibly. My new car has been sat outside in a damp compound since June till who knows when getting damp, flat tyres and seizing rusty brake discs. GET ONE OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE, the dealer and I have both told Dacia Renault. But NO, they are paying £22 a day for a hire car. GREAT management strategy. When will this ridiculous farce end?

General Comments:

Previous car was better, then Dacia changed production from Romania to Morocco and build quality has suffered. I do not know how my car got past quality control.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th September, 2017

26th Oct 2017, 20:06

Oh dear :( I'm so sorry to hear of this. We have 5 Dacias in our family; 1 Duster, 3 Sanderos and a Stepway.

The most recent one is my wife's, and we had a similar issue with the build quality with hers. The bonnet didn't line up, the passenger door didn't line up, and it was handed over with an obviously covered up dent on the top of the passenger door frame. I spotted the issues straight away, and in all fairness the dealer have done very well in getting it all sorted for us. Mind you, it did take 3 weeks at the body shop to get it right, so we had an awful Twingo as a courtesy car.

The other 4 Dacias, mine included, have all been faultless. The Sandero is still built in Romania, but the dealer did say that demand was so high that some were being rushed on the production line and it shows.

I really hope you get yours sorted :-)

In reply to 26th Oct 2017, 20:06

24th Jan 2023, 16:53

Reliability of these cars depends where they are made. But it is still a very cheap and nasty car, there are better options for just a little more money, so I have no idea why anyone bothers with them here in the UK.