Bucharest Expat » car

Dacia Duster

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:54:50 +0000

If you live here in Bucharest then you are very familiar with Dacia. If you don’t live here yet, then it is high time you get used to the “Dacia” in the automotive sense of the term. Often looked at as a rolling traffic blockade, the old. slow, lumbering Dacia sedans are almost as iconic for Romanian streets as the occasional East German Trabant. Often repaired by tilting the car on its side to gain access to the undercarriage, the Dacia is a definite “project car” throughout its contradictory long lived life. It’s cheap to buy and cheap to fix for a reason. So from communist transportation to “every other taxi cab” let’s take a brief look into the development of Dacia before we take a look at the new “World’s Cheapest SUV, the Dacia Duster”…

The Dacia car company was founded in 1966, near Pitesti in Romania. Dacia was your typically “re-tooling” and re badging of another car company. You may recognize the similarities (almost exact) to older Renault model line cars. In other countries (they were everywhere in Buenos Aires Argentina) you’ll see the 1100 and 1300 series on every side street labeled as their Renault counterpart. Sparing the boring details of model lineage, we’ll simply say that this was a successful attempt at introducing a “Romanian” line into the mainstream consumer market. Picking up in the 70′s and 80′s as a car obtainable for the average Romanian family, various renditions of the 1100 series sedan filled gaps throughout a wide range of demographics by featuring many “upgrades” and additional options.

After the revolution of 1989 Dacia went full force with introducing new and in some ways improved designs for the marketplace. This included the Dacia Nova, and SuperNova models that was toted as being built without the assistance of Renault… a purely Dacia design. Let’s forget about the oddly similar resemblance to a Chevrolet model carrying the same model name across the pond.

It wasn’t until September of 1999 that Dacia began turning out the majority of what you see on the Romanian roads today. This was due to Dacia’s buy out by the Renault group. From the Solenza to the Logan to the Sandero, Dacia is now a “force to be reckoned with” on Eastern European streets. Don’t miss the occasional quips about Dacia on famed automotive program “Top Gear”.

Introducing the new and “improved” Dacia, the Dacia Duster:

Quoted as being the “World’s Cheapest SUV” the Dacia Duster may indeed fit the bill. Starting at 10,500 Euros for the 4×2 version and 12,500 Euros for the 4×4, you won’t have to look far to see that this definitely is one of the more affordable sport utilities out there.

Scheduled for release this Spring, the Duster SUV (more of a cross-over) will feature a wide range of engine sizes, from an 85HP petrol engine all the way up to a 110HP diesel power plant. At 1280 kilos for the fully loaded 4×4 version, the 110 diesel ought to be more than adequate to get this vehicle up to speeds on Romanian streets. Surely performance mods will follow in the “tuner” marketplace.

Dacia Duster is easy to drive and not only aimed at all-terrain aficionados. The combination of its low unladen weight (1.180kg in 4X2 – 1,280kg in 4X4) and compact proportions ensure particularly agile handling. In the 4X4 version, thanks to the unique and intuitive control (sourced from Nissan) located in the cabin at the foot of the central column, Dacia Duster drivers can easily adapt the vehicle’s transmission configuration to meet their needs of the moment.

This control allows one of three modes to be selected:

When the AUTO mode is selected, the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip. This system is aimed at providing optimal traction, however much grip is available, and gives Dacia Duster genuine 4×4 ability. In normal conditions, the torque is transmitted through the front wheels only. If traction is lost, or when grip is at a premium, some of the torque is transferred to the rear axle. In extreme conditions, the torque is split equally front and rear. This split is performed by an electromagnetic torque converter supplied by Nissan.

In LOCK mode, the driver electronically locks it into 4×4 mode, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle. This mode is recommended in low grip conditions (snow, mud, dirt, sand) at low speeds.

In 4×2 mode, the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive. This mode is suited to driving on good roads and reduces fuel consumption.

Sourced from Renault’s website at www.Renault.com

So how will this well equipped, “spacious” and affordable SUV fit in to the local marketplace? According to the Vice President of Dacia, Canstantin Stroe, this new model “will be very successful on the Romanian market, especially among the women”. We’ll see if Dacia Duster can deliver.

Duster 1.6 16V 105HP 4×2	10.500 EUR
Duster 1.6 16V 105HP 4×4	12.300 EUR
Ambiance 1.6 16V 105HP 4×2	11.000 EUR
Ambiance 1.5 dCi 85HP 4×2	12.150 EUR
Ambiance 1.6 16V 105HP 4X4	12.800 EUR
Ambiance 1.5 dCi 110HP 4X2	12.900 EUR
Ambiance 1.5 dCi 110HP 4X4	14.700 EUR
Laureate 1.6 16V 105HP 4X2	11.900 EUR
Laureate 1.5 dCi 85HP 4X2	13.050 EUR
Laureate 1.6 16V 105HP 4X4	13.700 EUR
Laureate 1.5 dCi 110HP 4X2	13.800 EUR
Laureate 1.5 dCi 110HP 4X4	15.600 EUR

Black door strips	75 EUR
Alloy wheels 16″	300 EUR
Metallic paint	255 EUR
ASR – ESP (available only for the 1.5 dCi 110 HP engine)	250 EUR
Fog lights	100 EUR
Electric rear windows	100 EUR
Air Conditioning	750 EUR
Radio CD MP3 4×15W with steering wheel controls	50 EUR
Modularity Pack: folding rear seat, adjustable driver seat, adjustable front belts on height, adjustable wheel on height	150 EUR
Leather Pack: leather upholstery, leather steering wheel and leather gear knob	400 EUR
Look Pack: door mirrors cover satin-chrome, side door strips satin-chrome, dark tinted windows, 16″ alloy wheels	140 EUR
12 months extended warranty but not more than 100.000 km	210 EUR
24 months extended warranty but not more than 100.000 km	600 EUR
Leather steering wheel	100 EUR

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Icy Roads & Crowded Metros

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:30:20 +0000

Well, it’s still snowing out there, and if you’ll take a look at the webcams on our site (click here) you can “judge” which driving routes look as though they’ll be less likely to have ice on them. Yesterday being the first day of snowfall in Bucharest, there was a time for “adjustment”. The roads were very slick… I actually followed one of the plow trucks with a “gritter” attachment, sprinkling the salt around on the roads, but the mechanism was clogged, so he was only salting the back of the truck. Wonder who’s paying for that.

Sitting in traffic was ofcourse a nightmare. an hour from Mihai Bravi to Unirii…lol. That evening I thought I would be “smart” and park the car and take the metro. Turns out everyone else in Bucharest wished to be “smart” as well, so the metro was like herding cattle and took a long time, and the roads had freed up. My solution? Stay at home. If you have to go somewhere, take your car, but search wisely for alternate routes and back roads. Don’t plan on taking the tram or the bus until you confirm they are running at proper schedule. If you are close to a metro station, pop your head down there first to gauge the crowds. Remember: riding in the Metro in close proximity to everyone puts you at risk of being pick pocketed during the holidays.

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Don’t Worry About Driving Style

Bucharest Expat — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:48:21 +0000

When driving you’ll be sure to notice the horn-honking and headlight-flashing that goes on almost on a regular basis. This is not something to really be overly concerned with, because like motorists in other countries, Romanians feel a great sense of security and almost invincibility behind the wheel (especially if it’s a fancy wheel). No matter what they do, they probably won’t run in to you, as when you have an accident (illegal) all parties involved must take the drive to the local police station, where they will be greeted with hours of paperwork and waiting around. Nobody really wants to do that. When your going straight at an intersection and the person in the left lane is trying to drive through you to turn right, just be aware, but don’t freak out… they probably won’t hit you, just intimidate you. The horn honking? They are either having a bad day, or the traffic light you can’t see just turned green 1/1,000 of a second ago….so you should be well under way by now. If you think you’re doing something wrong while driving, forget about it…. just laugh. Ignore all the other B.S. and just get where you need to go. As long as you don’t drink and drive, crash in to something, speed through the villages, and wear your seat belt, then you’ll be just fine.

The Best Place To Buy A Used Car

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:26:58 +0000

With the “Search Meter” that I’ve got setup on this site, I’m able to log what searches are attempted in the search field within this site. One of the more common questions I have is to go into more detail about actually buying a used car. I can tell you that from the side of the road and from a car showroom are the two worst places. The best place that I’ve found, and that I have used personally to buy vehicles, is the Used car market/swap meet-up over in the Vitan area that occurs every Saturday and Sunday. I will edit this post later to get an exact address, but any taxi driver or person over near t he Vitan area is fairly familiar with this, as it is cause for most of the weekend traffic over in that area.

This car market is best in the mornings, as by the afternoon the owners of cars tend to give up and head home. What you have here is a few hundred cars brought together by their individual owners and grouped somewhat loosely by price and type. You can walk through at your own pace, open up the cars, start them up, look them over, and take them for a quick drive around the park. The owners are all very much on top of their game here, whether they are in the business of buying and selling, or this is their personal car, or they are reps from a company, they all try to make the best presentation they can. You will need a mechanic unless you are very mechanically inclined. Romanians are the best as far as I am aware at the “rip off” and making cars appear functional even when they are ready to drop. Even though there will be a LOT of lemons, because there are so many owners competing here, there will also be a lot of great vehicles, and hopefully those are the vehicles that will sell, and sell first. That’s another reason to get there early, as you won’t typically see the same cars there more than 2 weekends in a row.

Now here are some pointers when actually searching for a vehicle here. Stay away from the high end cars unless you are very familiar with what you are doing. More often than not these are black market vehicles, with “doctored” paperwork. The sellers will almost always “know” someone that will gladly “help you through the paperwork process”. I would recommend going the other direction on these (keep in mind your exponentially larger tax bill based on engine capacity as well). ((if you see an exotic black market car at a really great price, just shoot me an email first…lol)). Another potential scam is the American car mark-up. No a Jeep Cherokee or Chrysler 300 does not cost 30,000.00 Euros. Not to bring over here, not to pay in taxes (if you notice they’ll all be the smaller engine size) so don’t get sucked in… unless you want an American car specifically. This is their business, they’re making money at this. We are talking about people who just have a car they wish to sell…that’s it.

Here’s a great piece of advice… take a look at the license tags on the front and back of the car. You’ll want it to say B as the first letter, for Bucharest. Imagine that. If it is from outside of Bucharest, but inside Romania, you’ll have to pay a hundred or so ron to switch it over to a new “B” plate. Now if it is from outside Romania, you’re looking at possibly paying more money to straighten out the documents leaving its country of origin, even though its already left, and then you will be paying a premium in importation taxes here as well. Don’t let the sellers tell you this is already taken care of, because common sense will tell you if it’s paid, then they’d have proper plates. Again, these may also be black market cars. So keep sharp.

As far as registering the car and making it “yours”, we’ll get the actual addresses of all the locations you;ll need to go to in order to pay the taxes, registration, insurance, title, tag, yadayadayada. If you have a family member or someone you trust that is Romanian, put it in their name. It’s cheaper and ten million times less of a paperwork nightmare. My car is in my Romanian wife’s name… and it still took 4 days to run around.

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