After getting shot of my '21 Vauxhall Insignia because it was so problematic, it was time to shop for a new car.
I've always had a soft spot for Dacia. I like their simple no-nonsense approach to life. My Wife is on her 3rd one, and although she did have a bad one (which Renault gave us a full refund for without any arguments) the other two have been absolutely perfect.
I decided I wanted a Duster with 4WD. I don't see the point in compromising on fuel economy and handling to then only have FWD. If you've got the extra ground clearance, you might as well be able to use it.
I made a few phone calls... and a few more... then phoned Renault UK... then made a few more phone calls. After phoning what felt like every single dealer in the UK, it rapidly became apparent that there wasn't any 4WD models in the country. A factory order was an estimated 6-9 months, 6-9 months I just didn't have. What made the entire situation even more annoying was numerous brand new 4WD Dusters being advertised online as "Brand New - In Stock", but when you made the phone call they would tell you that's their 'offer price' only and the advert was for factory order only.
Just by sheer luck I had one more look on Autotrader and found one more advert for a cancelled order. I made phone call and very quickly worked out by the accents that it was in Northern Ireland. But it was the only chance I was going to have to get my hands on one any time soon!
So I placed a deposit, and Friday I made the trip!
It involved being dropped off at Bristol Airport at 6:30am, getting an 8am flight from Bristol to Belfast Airport which landed at 9:20am. Then I had to get a bus into Belfast city centre, jump on a train to Portadown and getting a taxi to the dealer.
This is when my trip got very stressful indeed. I had a ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard booked for 6:15pm and I had to be checked in by 5:45pm. Google maps advised the travel time to be 3 hours and 14 minutes. I figured as long as I left the dealer by 2pm, I'd be fine.
By 1:15pm we were all wrapped up in the dealer and I was ready to go! I took a short drive 5 minutes for the road to tank-up with diesel. After filling up, I put the port into Google maps and the ETA? 5:47pm. The ferry ticket was £200, it wasn't flexible in any way and the ferries only run every 12 hours or so.
I hadn't eaten since 5am, I needed a pee, I wasn't the most alert, but it quickly came apparent that I needed move quickly, very quickly.
After the most stressful 4 hours and 13 minutes driving that I have ever completed, fighting a full bladder and getting shouted at by the Garda for driving a bit too quickly, I made it to the port for 5:43pm.
The ferry crossing was rough, but I found somewhere low in the boat to lie down and managed to get a couple of hours sleep. After we landed, I was home and back in bed for Midnight.
The car is great. The 1.5 diesel engine in this is far superior to the 1.5 3 cylinder that was in my Vauxhall Insignia. It's well spec'd, it has keyless entry & start, climate control, android auto, blind sport monitoring etc etc. Even after my stressful 200+ miles drive, I was comfortable with no aches or pains.
No sure what the long-term plan is. My Wifes Dacia Logan is getting on a little bit now (coming up to 6 years old with 110k on the clock) so I may give it to her in a year or two when (hopefully) the car market sorts itself out and I can buy something German again.
But for now, 2 Dacia household...
I've always had a soft spot for Dacia. I like their simple no-nonsense approach to life. My Wife is on her 3rd one, and although she did have a bad one (which Renault gave us a full refund for without any arguments) the other two have been absolutely perfect.
I decided I wanted a Duster with 4WD. I don't see the point in compromising on fuel economy and handling to then only have FWD. If you've got the extra ground clearance, you might as well be able to use it.
I made a few phone calls... and a few more... then phoned Renault UK... then made a few more phone calls. After phoning what felt like every single dealer in the UK, it rapidly became apparent that there wasn't any 4WD models in the country. A factory order was an estimated 6-9 months, 6-9 months I just didn't have. What made the entire situation even more annoying was numerous brand new 4WD Dusters being advertised online as "Brand New - In Stock", but when you made the phone call they would tell you that's their 'offer price' only and the advert was for factory order only.
Just by sheer luck I had one more look on Autotrader and found one more advert for a cancelled order. I made phone call and very quickly worked out by the accents that it was in Northern Ireland. But it was the only chance I was going to have to get my hands on one any time soon!
So I placed a deposit, and Friday I made the trip!
It involved being dropped off at Bristol Airport at 6:30am, getting an 8am flight from Bristol to Belfast Airport which landed at 9:20am. Then I had to get a bus into Belfast city centre, jump on a train to Portadown and getting a taxi to the dealer.
This is when my trip got very stressful indeed. I had a ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard booked for 6:15pm and I had to be checked in by 5:45pm. Google maps advised the travel time to be 3 hours and 14 minutes. I figured as long as I left the dealer by 2pm, I'd be fine.
By 1:15pm we were all wrapped up in the dealer and I was ready to go! I took a short drive 5 minutes for the road to tank-up with diesel. After filling up, I put the port into Google maps and the ETA? 5:47pm. The ferry ticket was £200, it wasn't flexible in any way and the ferries only run every 12 hours or so.
I hadn't eaten since 5am, I needed a pee, I wasn't the most alert, but it quickly came apparent that I needed move quickly, very quickly.
After the most stressful 4 hours and 13 minutes driving that I have ever completed, fighting a full bladder and getting shouted at by the Garda for driving a bit too quickly, I made it to the port for 5:43pm.
The ferry crossing was rough, but I found somewhere low in the boat to lie down and managed to get a couple of hours sleep. After we landed, I was home and back in bed for Midnight.
The car is great. The 1.5 diesel engine in this is far superior to the 1.5 3 cylinder that was in my Vauxhall Insignia. It's well spec'd, it has keyless entry & start, climate control, android auto, blind sport monitoring etc etc. Even after my stressful 200+ miles drive, I was comfortable with no aches or pains.
No sure what the long-term plan is. My Wifes Dacia Logan is getting on a little bit now (coming up to 6 years old with 110k on the clock) so I may give it to her in a year or two when (hopefully) the car market sorts itself out and I can buy something German again.
But for now, 2 Dacia household...
