Duster experiences: 120 000 km
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:51 pm
I’ve just hit the 120 000 mark in my Duster so I thought I’d give some feedback, seeing as nobody asked for it [emoji16].
I few years back when the Duster was launched, I initially laughed it off, but it did get me curious due to all the claims being made about what a good package it seemed to be, so I had to take a closer look.
The annual Atlantis Funday was coming up & I thought it would be interesting to enter one to see how it faired. So I went to see the Paarden Eiland Dealer Sales Manager with my idea. She didn’t hesitate & gave me a Duster to enter, which was pretty brave of them. Not many dealers would do that.
The only 2 setbacks at the event was that it still had road tyres on & the ride height got challenging at later obstacles where bigger MT & AT shod vehicles had dug the tracks too deep. The initial obstacles were absolutely fine, but as the day progressed, the tracks got very deep, especially after 90 or so other vehicles had been through the obstacle first. Long story short, it did very well, made an impression, turned many heads & left many people impressed, especially me. One memorable obstacle at a later event was towing a tractor tyre around a course faster than my mates Rubicon.
At the time I was driving an A4 that had started to cost a lot, especially in terms of frequent maintenance. I do a lot of kilos per month, around 3 to 4kkm. So I wanted something that was more practical & had a decent warranty because I was gatvol of getting ‘those calls’ whenever the Audi went for a service. I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on a vehicle that’s warranty would be up before the thing was paid off. Nothing worse than a spent asset that’s still owned by the bank. Ask any Tdv6 owner. I essentially have to pay them off quickly because of the mileage I do.
I liked the Duster as a practical & versatile package at a very reasonable price so I got a new one. The long 150kkm/5 year warranty was also a big plus.
Everyone & their dog had an opinion & the usual rhetoric about how bad Renault’s were, like unreliability, poor quality, expensive parts, lack of parts availability, bad dealer service, etc, etc, etc.
To this, all I can say is that I’ve experienced the complete opposite in all of those aspects. We had a Renault before & I said I’d never get anther one, but that was a long time ago & things obviously have changed.
I was often told it would fall apart because it’s actually a Dacia. This was obviously stated by people who don’t understand Dacia & how they get used in Eastern Europe, where it’s the vehicle of choice for remote peasant farmers whose tractors have betrayed them. This Duster is as tough as nails & can be very cheeky off-road, as many have observed.
Those of you that know me also will have seen the places I’ve taken this vehicle. It’s not a proper 4x4 as such, but it’s a case of horses for courses. There’s things that the Duster can be used for where my Jeep was completely impractical, for starters, like being a daily driver. It’s also easy to drive long distances with with plenty of boot space.
Sales
I’ve never had such fantastic service from any other dealer in SA. Period. I can give plenty of examples of great customer service that I’ve experienced with this dealer, especially Rene the Sales Manager who is extremely hands on with her staff & customers. She also rides a big Harley, so she’s not to be messed with.
Parts cost & availability
I can’t think of a vehicle I’ve owned where the parts are cheaper. Service parts are certainly cheaper than the Honda’s, VW’s, Audi’s, BMWs & a Nissan I owned. I like not paying R800 for a wiper blade anymore.
In the annual Kinsey Report, it’s always been in the top 3 or 5 for the least expensive parts basket, which is consistently what I’ve experienced.
Aldo, whenever it’s gone for a service, they quote me an estimated price. So far, it’s never exceeded the amount quoted. In fact, it’s often much less. Can anyone think of a vehicle where a cambelt change is only R3500?
So far there has been one part that I had to wait for, namely a turbo hose. But warranty claims can take a bit longer I suppose.
Servicing
Pretty reasonable service, but their have been some minor hiccups, but nothing worth worrying about. They’ve addressed each issue I wasn’t happy with. But small stuff.
There’s a mechanic there that’s very helpful & extremely helpful. He knows Renault’s back to front. He’s obviously a proper qualified old school mechanic, rather than just a parts fitter that’s become so common these days. I suspect he’s more senior to the other mechanics.
In fact, at the last service, I asked them to changer the front pads. The service advisor said she quote first but I told her not to bother & to just go ahead. She later called be to tell me that the pads were still fine & just cleaned some dirt out. They could have gone ahead & I’d be none the wiser. So I appreciate their honesty.
They are always very friendly & its apparent that they take service very seriously.
Stuff that broke so far
Not much.
- On delivery, the microphone for the hands free system had a glitch. They replaced the entire Media/Nav obviously under warranty. No fuss.
- The shock absorber issue I’ve already covered in another thread.
- At about 105kkm, a rubber turbo hose developed a crack in it. They replaced it under warranty but I did have to wait a bit. Cost for the hose was only about a grand.
- There was apparently a design issue with the door rubbers trapping water. They replaced all of them. Even the one in the boot. No cost to me.
- The brake pedal developed a squeak, but they just oil the pedal when they service it.
Nothing else has broken, failed or fallen off, in spite of my efforts [emoji51]
It recently developed a rattle that I couldn’t isolate. That mechanic I mentioned must have found it. It turned out to be the folding radio antenna making contact with my roof rack. So I felt like a real knob [emoji15].
So I’ve been really chuffed to bits so far. The face-lifted one that came out just after mine was a hugely improved package, where all the little shortcomings were resolved in terms of design. But the current model that’s just launched is in another league.
I’ll maybe cover those in a separate post.
I’ll probably get it early to mid 2019, but I’m keeping my current one in the family.
Highly recommended vehicles.
I few years back when the Duster was launched, I initially laughed it off, but it did get me curious due to all the claims being made about what a good package it seemed to be, so I had to take a closer look.
The annual Atlantis Funday was coming up & I thought it would be interesting to enter one to see how it faired. So I went to see the Paarden Eiland Dealer Sales Manager with my idea. She didn’t hesitate & gave me a Duster to enter, which was pretty brave of them. Not many dealers would do that.
The only 2 setbacks at the event was that it still had road tyres on & the ride height got challenging at later obstacles where bigger MT & AT shod vehicles had dug the tracks too deep. The initial obstacles were absolutely fine, but as the day progressed, the tracks got very deep, especially after 90 or so other vehicles had been through the obstacle first. Long story short, it did very well, made an impression, turned many heads & left many people impressed, especially me. One memorable obstacle at a later event was towing a tractor tyre around a course faster than my mates Rubicon.
At the time I was driving an A4 that had started to cost a lot, especially in terms of frequent maintenance. I do a lot of kilos per month, around 3 to 4kkm. So I wanted something that was more practical & had a decent warranty because I was gatvol of getting ‘those calls’ whenever the Audi went for a service. I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on a vehicle that’s warranty would be up before the thing was paid off. Nothing worse than a spent asset that’s still owned by the bank. Ask any Tdv6 owner. I essentially have to pay them off quickly because of the mileage I do.
I liked the Duster as a practical & versatile package at a very reasonable price so I got a new one. The long 150kkm/5 year warranty was also a big plus.
Everyone & their dog had an opinion & the usual rhetoric about how bad Renault’s were, like unreliability, poor quality, expensive parts, lack of parts availability, bad dealer service, etc, etc, etc.
To this, all I can say is that I’ve experienced the complete opposite in all of those aspects. We had a Renault before & I said I’d never get anther one, but that was a long time ago & things obviously have changed.
I was often told it would fall apart because it’s actually a Dacia. This was obviously stated by people who don’t understand Dacia & how they get used in Eastern Europe, where it’s the vehicle of choice for remote peasant farmers whose tractors have betrayed them. This Duster is as tough as nails & can be very cheeky off-road, as many have observed.
Those of you that know me also will have seen the places I’ve taken this vehicle. It’s not a proper 4x4 as such, but it’s a case of horses for courses. There’s things that the Duster can be used for where my Jeep was completely impractical, for starters, like being a daily driver. It’s also easy to drive long distances with with plenty of boot space.
Sales
I’ve never had such fantastic service from any other dealer in SA. Period. I can give plenty of examples of great customer service that I’ve experienced with this dealer, especially Rene the Sales Manager who is extremely hands on with her staff & customers. She also rides a big Harley, so she’s not to be messed with.
Parts cost & availability
I can’t think of a vehicle I’ve owned where the parts are cheaper. Service parts are certainly cheaper than the Honda’s, VW’s, Audi’s, BMWs & a Nissan I owned. I like not paying R800 for a wiper blade anymore.
In the annual Kinsey Report, it’s always been in the top 3 or 5 for the least expensive parts basket, which is consistently what I’ve experienced.
Aldo, whenever it’s gone for a service, they quote me an estimated price. So far, it’s never exceeded the amount quoted. In fact, it’s often much less. Can anyone think of a vehicle where a cambelt change is only R3500?
So far there has been one part that I had to wait for, namely a turbo hose. But warranty claims can take a bit longer I suppose.
Servicing
Pretty reasonable service, but their have been some minor hiccups, but nothing worth worrying about. They’ve addressed each issue I wasn’t happy with. But small stuff.
There’s a mechanic there that’s very helpful & extremely helpful. He knows Renault’s back to front. He’s obviously a proper qualified old school mechanic, rather than just a parts fitter that’s become so common these days. I suspect he’s more senior to the other mechanics.
In fact, at the last service, I asked them to changer the front pads. The service advisor said she quote first but I told her not to bother & to just go ahead. She later called be to tell me that the pads were still fine & just cleaned some dirt out. They could have gone ahead & I’d be none the wiser. So I appreciate their honesty.
They are always very friendly & its apparent that they take service very seriously.
Stuff that broke so far
Not much.
- On delivery, the microphone for the hands free system had a glitch. They replaced the entire Media/Nav obviously under warranty. No fuss.
- The shock absorber issue I’ve already covered in another thread.
- At about 105kkm, a rubber turbo hose developed a crack in it. They replaced it under warranty but I did have to wait a bit. Cost for the hose was only about a grand.
- There was apparently a design issue with the door rubbers trapping water. They replaced all of them. Even the one in the boot. No cost to me.
- The brake pedal developed a squeak, but they just oil the pedal when they service it.
Nothing else has broken, failed or fallen off, in spite of my efforts [emoji51]
It recently developed a rattle that I couldn’t isolate. That mechanic I mentioned must have found it. It turned out to be the folding radio antenna making contact with my roof rack. So I felt like a real knob [emoji15].
So I’ve been really chuffed to bits so far. The face-lifted one that came out just after mine was a hugely improved package, where all the little shortcomings were resolved in terms of design. But the current model that’s just launched is in another league.
I’ll maybe cover those in a separate post.
I’ll probably get it early to mid 2019, but I’m keeping my current one in the family.
Highly recommended vehicles.
