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Hi Gabriel,

Dacias are fine, to be honest, you just have to make sure you know what you're getting into. They're not sophisticated, nor are they especially modern, but they're cheap and genuinely quite cheerful. Best of the bunch is the Sandero supermini, which combines decent build quality with surprising refinement and a  emptingly low price.

The Duster SUV is also pretty good, albeit it's quite an old design now and lacks things like electronic stability control as standard. Still, it's rugged, tough and refreshingly simple. The newer Logan estate and Stepway crossover are just variations on the Sandero theme and are there for those who need either an enormous boot (Logan) or a bit of 4x4-esque style (Stepway).

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Hi Katy,

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Hi Andrew,

Whether it's a case of giving us the poor mouth or not I'm not sure but Irish dealers by and large operate on a margin of between 8 and 12 per cent. That can vary wildly between brands, of course. Dacia dealers for instance will probably tell you they work on a margin closer to five per cent, so don't go asking for discounts. Premium brand dealers will obviously have broader margins so there is a little more scope for discounting there. 

The UK market has a number of advantages over us when it comes to seeking out bargains. For a start, there's no VRT to pay, whereas anything from 30 to 50 per cent of every Irish dealer's sale goes straight into the tax man's pocket. Competition in the UK is also much more cut-throat and the big dealers have to compete with the likes of car supermarkets, so they're keener to offer discounts.

If you're looking for bargains at the moment in Ireland, the best thing to do is watch for pre-registrations. To meet their market share targets, many importers are pressuring their dealers to register cars that will then be sold as 'nearly new' or 'demo model' at a significant price cut. The best thing to do is shop at the start of the month, as most pre-registering will be done on the last working day of the previous month and dealers will be keen to off-load pre-registered stock.

Hope all that helps

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Hi Chris,

Well, the simplest answer to your rain problem is that it sounds as if the door or window seals are gone, or it could possibly be a leak from the air conditioning system. A quick trip to the garage should sort that out. As for the Duster, it’s a fine car for the money — they’re reasonably nice to drive, certainly rugged and reliable and very practical too, but you’re going to have to put up with seats that are less than stellar on longer journeys, and a dashboard made of the lowest-grade plastics around.

2016 Dacia Duster review (post-facelift)

2012 Dacia Duster review

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Hi Michael,

Dacia Ireland has just today confirmed that it will be in Irish showrooms by the end of November. Are you considering buying one?

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Hi Sylvester,

First up, I assume you know that the petrol version of the Duster is not offered on the Irish market. It's sold in the UK though, so it could be imported.

In fact, the Duster is offered for sale as an LPG car in some parts of Europe with the 1.6-litre engine so it should be relatively easy to do the conversion - assuming nothing in the right-hand drive configuration gets in the way.

Hope that helps

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Hi John,

The front-wheel drive Dacia Duster powered by the 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine returns 56.5mpg (5.0 litres/100km) on the combined cycle. The four-wheel drive version is a little more thirsty at 53.3mpg (5.3 litres/100km). Naturally most people don't achieve these official figures, but it's a good benchmark figure.

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Hi Peadar,

Dacia Ireland told us it has no plans to introduce a seven-seat model to the Irish market at this stage.

Hope that helps

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Hi David,

Lots. If you’re buying new, you can easily get into such models as a Volkswagen up!, Skoda Citigo, SEAT Mii, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Fiat Panda, Fiat 500, Ford Ka+, Suzuki Celerio and many more . If you’re buying used, it all depends on what you want and how old a car you feel like buying. Could be anything from a Dacia to a Mercedes.

Come back to us if you want us to go into detail in one area.

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Hi Pat,

It does. The 1.5-litre dCi diesel model will do an easy 50mpg on average, as long as you don’t drive it like you stole it. The 4x4 version is a little thirstier, maybe more like 40-45mpg.