1991 Dacia 1310 TLE from Romania - Comments

Almost everything.

I had to fix (read re-build!) most of the parts, from engine to paint, from electric circuits to chairs.

If you rely on the original spares, you can replace the same part twice in two months.

With some Renault 12 replacements (more expensive) you might have a chance.

Is one of the cheapest cars in the world, but the quality is alike.

You have one year/10 000 km warranty, but you have to pay tips to the workers in the service to get it fixed "for free". And you might expect problems any time, even in the warranty period.

You cannot leave the city without a complete toolkit, and some mechanical knowledge. Otherwise you might get stuck in the middle of the road.

You are right. The painting, the steel, all the materials are of very poor quality, but it is fun: you buy one and in about 2-3 km you can begin to repair something. It will be never OK, something will be out of order any time, but you will be able to travel where you want ignoring the situation, the engine will work for about 40000-70000 km without repairing.

Personally I agree that the car is of very poor quality, but, for the price, what do you expect? Used Dacias are even cheaper, and you get good mechanical knowledge out of owning one, because they always break down! Curiously, the very first Dacias were the most reliable- I see many of them about even though they are 25+ years old. But the design needs replacing. It may be quite spacious inside, but you can't get away from the fact that this is an outdated Sixties design. I would not buy a Dacia!

Hey, what do you expect for $3000 dollars. But, any moron can fix it. I can't find a car like it in Canada, I mean that gives you such simplicity and dependability for the money.

The main reason that the earlier Dacias were so much more dependable was the Renault sourced powertrain. My uncle's Dacia is older than me, a 1978 Dacia 1310, and the thing has not had anything done to it except for basic maintenance.

The Dacia 1310 is an incredibly cheap car when you think about it in western standards, but it's not bad in Romania. You can complain about rust, bad paint and other little problems, but mine is an '86, it's had three engines dropped into it (125 USD a piece!) and it still shifts! It may not be strong, pretty or fun, but it is useful, moderately dependable and it has an excellent manual transmission.

I've read all your comments, but I still feel that I would prefer not to be forever worrying about when my car would break down. I would prefer my car to be dependable, and such a thing is not even out of the means of the ordinary Romanian- how about an used foreign car (they're everywhere!)

Well, just a small comment for the last...comment.

Having a second hand western car is a pretty good idea, but if you buy it on Romanian market is likely to be an expensive junk!

And because you are not allowed (any more) to import a western car which doesn't have Euro 3 norms, I think you can forget about. The cheapest western car with this pollution feature is at least 5000

I live in America, but when I travel to romania I always drive around a 1998 Dacia Double Cab. This car is fun. Its already broke, so it cannot break down any more. If I have my window down and I go to about 75 km/h and then I try to close it the current pulls the window outside and it doesn't close. I have to slow down, close the window and accelerate again. FUN TIMES... Then I actually learned some mechanics. I started the car, and if I didn't have my foot on the acceleration it would stall. Took it to a mechanic and some pliers and some taping of a wire that keeps the engine idle at 500 rpm fixed the problem. About a week later the same problem reocurred, but I was prepared. I had my tape and pliers with me! However I still have to slow down to close the window.

Here's my personal opinion about Dacia cars...

Speaking generally about Dacias, they're awfull! Every Dacia I've been with has the smell of a gasoline tank inside that makes me seek, and to be sincere even the Trabant is a more reliable car with it's 2 stroke engine.

Before the revolution, the cars in Romania were 95% Dacias. Now, the streets are full with German power and lots of other much better makes. Why do you think is that?

Well, I'll tell you. The Romanians are making progress with they're lifestyle (finally waking up) and they have better taste now that they've seen how the outside world looks like (welcome to the modern era).

I am about to buy my first car, and it definitely won't be a Dacia or Aro. These cars eat oil from the first ride out of the factory and that's not quality! And the new Renault powered Dacias have the same rusty and badly mounted body; we cannot deny that the doors are mounted unequally when new.

Of course other second hand cars in Romania are in bad shape because most Romanians are treating them like Dacias (no maintenance) and always disrespecting the car with the cheapest parts they can find. But if you search well enough you can find a nice, maintained car in someone's garage like I did!

I would rather throw my money at an awesome '88 BMW 325 at about 2000 Euro, for another 300 Euro give it a "Standox" paint job, at the best painter in town, and absolutely new and original replacement parts from Germany, 15' alloy wheels and voilla! I've got a fast, comfortable and reliable beauty at about 4500 Euro which needs only proper maintenance for the next 8 years or so which eats Dacias for breakfast and no rust!

It's a cheaper, and better solution than buying a new Dacia, it drinks +1% gas, no oil leaks and the chicks won't laugh in your face any more for throwing 5000 Euro on a new junk (Dacia).

Just wake up and respect your car if you want it to respect you back (no more cheap oil and gas!)

Da Viruz - P.S. Prove me wrong!

Personally I owned a Dacia 1310 for 6 months. In this period it broke down 7 times although it was only 2 years old. I advice everybody to buy no Dacia, the quality is simply very poor.

I was asking myself if all of you are from Romania. I guess not... if you were you would've understand that a Dacia is the cheap car for the pours. I've bought mine for 1,500 euro, it's a 1310, it's running on G.P.L. (it's half of the gasoline's price) and I'm very satisfied. I'm a student and believe me I've worked very hard to get it, and it's pretty expensive for my budget to repair it all the time. Thank God the parts are cheap! What else could you possible buy for this price??? A second-hand foreign car brought from outside the borders has to be with euro 3 norms to be able to drive it in Romania, and these cars are a lot more expensive, so this choice is out of our discussion. Another choice is to buy a very old second-hand foreign car from Romania. This could offer you more comfort than Dacia, but if something will broke -- and it will, because it's old -- you will have a surprise how expensive the parts are.

So, in the end all I want to say is:

DACIA'S ARE FOR (POOR) ROMANIANS ONLY!!!

My parents have an old Dacia car (from 1988). It has about 140.000 km and still works well. It's true that almost everything have been replaced... but if you drive it daily and give little attention when buying parts the car it's good enough to move you from one place to another.

Another tip: don't try to fix something if it's not critical. Don't worry about all the strange noises because the car won't let you down. The car will never function normally, but will function someway if you know how to make it to function... that's what you get for about $1000 - $3000!

As an American who lived in Romania for over 5 years, I bought a 28 year old Dacia for the equivalent of $300. I spent that amount over again 4 times in replacing engine, body parts, interior pieces and electronics. The car spent an equal amount of time in the shop as on the road. I was raised the son of a mechanic so I have all the needed skills to keep a car going. However, when you own a Dacia you no longer ask yourself if it is practical to fix it - it only becomes a matter of keeping it alive and part of the family! I loved my Dacia and I always enjoyed being pulled over by the police (for any reason or no reason) and seeing their expression to find an American owning a Dacia.

Hello people, is it the car that’s the problem or the so-called roads you are trying to drive it on?

I live in London and brought a Land Rover (Range Rover) to drive in Campulung Romania. This seemed to do the job for the first few trips, but then last winter (95-96) even a car of this reputation shed a mount from the rear axle. Sorry, but if one of the strongest cars in the world can't deal with your roads, how on earth do you expect that poor little Dacia to do the job?

First of all... what do you want from a 500-2000 Euro car? (Dacia 1310). I would like a jaguar because it's elegant and performant, but I can't afford it can I? The best car is the one that you can afford and does the job you need.

There cars have been around for nearly 40 years now, snow and -15C temperatures in winter, 40C in summer, rainy spring and autumn and let's not mention the roads down there.

The Renault R12 is one of the most produced car in the world and it easily adapts to any job (no one knows that better than the Romanians.

Over 80% of the Dacia owners in Romania ARE NOT taking care of their cars. Don't judge a car for not working fine when you are taking it all ready broken on the road...that's your problem not the car's.

Any idiot can fix it himself, the parts are cheap and everywhere and most of them you can do them yourself or recondition them easily.

The fuel consumption is good for a car its size (10l/100km in the crowded city, 8l/100km on the road... for an 1T empty car).

Why do you need an expensive car on bad roads and where the speed limit is max 120km/h on the highway? The old 1310 Dacia can go with 120 without problems (if someone replies talking about messed up cars with idiot owner again I'll ignore him).

Overall...try a good working one and than talk... if you can't get a new one at least speak after driving a fully workable one. If you cheap and buy a destroy one shut up and don't go around talking about how bad is your 500 Euro car (when a completely working one is 2000 to 3000 Euros)