26th Feb 2003, 06:35
Dacia is a very cheap car an, even if it often broke, may be one of those car you can rely on. Nobody will steal it from you, nobody will say that you get a fancy car. In North-America you have very good roads, so you mustn't be very scared about reliability. Anyway, if you want to buy a new Dacia, you may have one for 5000 euro (in Romania) It is called Supernova. It got 75 hp and multi-point electronic fuel injection. Also for almost the same money you can buy a 1307 Pick-up 4x4, wich will go further off-road then 80% of any other SUV. It got a very interesting switch-on-the-fly 4x4 system. No reduction, but not permanent 4 Wheel Drive.
26th Jun 2004, 06:26
I had a Dacia myself in the early 80's. It was junk! All the people I know (Dacia owners), have the same opinion about this car. It rusts in two years, breaks down constantly, poor fit, poor paint, poor assembly, noisy, no heat, the engine overheats easily, clunks, rattles, vibrates, squeaks, grinds, wears down the front tires very fast, poor engine performance, very uncomfortable ride, just to mention a few.
Not a safe car; even in minor collisions, the body collapses like thin foil. It's a casket on wheels!
For those who love it, enjoy it. But make sure you have your will done.
27th Mar 2005, 07:14
Well, there are so many Dacia 1300 owners who comply about the car rusting after a few years. How many of these owners cared for the car? I guess the vast majority of them just put in petrol, windshield cleaner, oil and then put the pedal to the metal, never caring for the car.
My dad has a 1983 Dacia, that never broke down on the road, and only had rust on the front fender because of a poor replacement after a minor collision. In other words, if you care for the car, it will never let you down. The problems are: incompetent and careless service mechanics, poor quality of spare parts and bad roads in Romania.
Dad's car still has original 1983 parts on it. Quality was better in those times.
10th May 2005, 13:40
About Dacia 1300. We must be realistic. It is a car that met the standards of the 80's, but today a car has to meet other standards. But still. If the factory would have preserved the quality of the initial components, the car would still be interesting for many Romanians, mainly because of it's price. By comparison, in 1979 I traveled in a second or third hand Renault 12 brought from France and believe me, it ran better than a brand new Dacia 1300. I myself had a Dacia 1300 since 1986 and I gave it away in 2002 and I must say this car never let me down. I serviced it myself and I replaced any component at the first sign of malfunction. The car needs a lot of attention and frequent set-ups, but we Romanians are used to that. It was in fact a national sport to look after our beloved Dacia.
6th Dec 2005, 02:37
I will soon be the new owner of an old Dacia made with french parts, ten years older than me, that loyally served 3 of my friends. now it is my turn! it looks horribly, but goes like a dream, and it's cheaper than walking!running costs below 1 dollar per ten miles (with gas)!that's the cheapest! she will be called Josephine!
I simply love her!
Provided I will have the money, she will be restored to her former glory as soon as possible!
11th Jan 2006, 16:46
Hello all! I'm a Dacia 1300 owner... a proud one. It was producted in 1983, and 90% it has the original parts. It's a great car. A lot of the owners say that it's a junk. If you don't care for the car it can't maintain it self.
If someone needs any kind of information, of any piece, you can fin me at the steffyxcyborg yahoo! ID.
28th Feb 2006, 08:07
Wow... The Dacia. A true workhorse! Maintenance was passed (like many of the cars themselves) down from father to son in the olden days, you could see men fiddling under the bonnet during summer afternoons, behind the grey blocks of flats. It was part of the scenery, the atmosphere of the age. Owners used to love their cars, and some still swear by the Dacia, even though the younger generations usually hate it.
In short, the steering's terrible, the gearbox feels like it's made of concrete and lined with sandpaper, and driving it past 100k/h with a bad heart and no life insurance, is a bad idea because the sound is terrifying, but it can sure take a beating and it's easy to maintain, if you know your basic mechanics and engineering.
Electronic components (except for the radio) are out of the question - it can even withstand an EMP shock-wave, and the simplicity of all the parts and the engine means you can hack and jury-rig with only a basic tool set and 100mph tape.
31st Aug 2006, 20:04
I have a 1977 Dacia 1300. Runs like a dream. I have to redo the bushes on it, but other than that, the myth that it rattles at over 100 km/h is totally unfounded. If cared for the car will reach 140 km/h easily... i am willing to provide a small home movie backing this up...e-mail me at com_psyche@yahoo.com or use it as a yahoo messenger address.
A Dacia lover.
24th Dec 2008, 00:55
A drive a 1978 Dacia 1300. I bought it in October 2007 and it had 52.000 Km on board. It used to belong to a pensioner who used it very seldom.
I changed the tires, since they were old, not used up. I also checked the brake and direction and indeed, I had to get a part of the braking system changed.
I also changed the gas probe inside the tank.
The car was parked almost all its life in a garage and it has very little rust, not in the structural areas (for comparison, I used to have a 1989 Dacia with 5 gears, made for export and bought from Hungary that I sold because of rust in the chassis).
I made another 10.000 km this year and the only problem it gives me is when I have a full tank, and the gas takes with it some dusty particles to the carburetor. It is then that I take a screwdriver and blow the small "relanti" pipe inside the carburetor ;) So that the engine restarts with a perfect sound. I drive it almost every weekend from Bucharest to Buzau (110 km x 2) by a constant 110 km/h outside localities and 50 inside.
The maximum speed I reached with it was almost 140, over 135. The engine was very noisy and the road was not the best, so I slowed down.
I like it. It is red and I stuck some daisies on it so everybody turns their head when they see it. Its name is "Rosinante". Every Romanian has a name for his Dacia.
Sincerely.
George W.
12th Sep 2002, 08:21
For all the persons that want to purchase a Dacia and is concerning about pollution standards... New Dacia SuperNova has a Renault Clio engine & transmission, equipped with Bosh electrical part & injectors.