Sorry! Another long post but this has been an important day for me so pour yourself a drink first.
Six weeks after leaving my details at a used car dealer in the Hungarian area of the country, I was still looking for a Dacia Logan MCV Laureate, then, just like London buses, along come three at once! I had a specific requirement for an MCV with aircon and that meant Laureate or Prestige spec. My search was further complicated because I wanted the 7 seat version and preferably diesel. Seven seats because I want to be able to offer an airport pick-up/drop-off service for Casa Cristina Roandola guests; diesel because here the fuel is actually slightly cheaper than petrol - plus there is the obvious advantage of better fuel consumption. I knew diesel MCVs are more expensive than petrol versions but the extra euros I'll be paying for the above 1.5Dci model will be recouped in one year or less.
The sales manager, Attila Barazs, and yes, that really is his name which I suppose makes him Attila the Hun(garian), emailed me yesterday morning with photos of two diesel and one petrol 7 seat MCV Laureates. Rang him for prices and he said he would either call me back or email within an hour. Three hours later (I forgot that Romanian hours have 180 minutes) he emailed prices of around €7500 for diesel models and €7000 for the petrol model. By then it was too late in the day to get to the dealership in Odorheiu Secuiesc which is about 75kms away. A long way I know but used car dealers do not exist in Mures or Sibiu counties other than the Sunday "car markets" which do not, as far as I know, offer test drive facilities or servicing before you pick up your purchase. Bit of a lottery then!
This morning I made the journey to view the cars. Attila was out on an errand when I arrived so I was able to nose around without any pressure. First one I looked at was a metallic dark grey diesel version. However I noticed it had five or six very small but nevertheless noticeable dents in doors and bonnet and front tyres would need replacing fairly soon. Crossed that one off the list. Next was the above car in metallic "bleu extreme". First registered May 2008, no marks or dents, five good tyres and the underside was very clean. And it's a diesel. Finally had a look at the petrol engined version which was metallic mineral blue (sort of blue/grey) but the poorer economy made it very much a non-starter for me. Meanwhile Attila had returned so he reversed the "bleu extreme" car out of the compound for me to have a test drive. Despite being a diesel, the Renault 1.5Dci engine is remarkably quiet, even with the bonnet open. Car drove nicely, light clutch, precise gearchange and good acceleration from the turbo diesel. The aircon cooled us nicely on what was a very hot morning - 31C according to the car's computer read-out. Front brake pads were worn out so had to allow for that when braking but the car will be serviced and front brakes replaced. I didn't bother with test drive of either of the other cars for the reasons already mentioned. Price for the car of my choice was €7400 and I've paid €300 deposit.
Car buying in Romania is complicated by the fact that when a car moves from one county to another, it gets a new registration number. Currently it carries "B" plates from Bucharest but will eventually have "SB" plates as I live in Sibiu county. There is also the small problem of the fact that cars can only be sold to Romanian citizens or companies. As yet I have neither a Romanian ID card nor is Casa Cristina Roandola SRL fully registered due to the slow workings of the company registration system. But, as always in Romania, there are perfectly legal ways round these problems! I can either get a Romanian citizen to register the car on my behalf - which, just as in the UK, makes him the car's "keeper" but not necessarily its legal owner, and later, for a small fee, he would transfer the car to my name when I have Romanian ID. The other alternative is for the dealer to register the car in his company name and the car will then get "HR" plates for Harghita county in which the dealership is located. They already have quite a few cars on their books for others who, like me, are waiting for their company to be registered. Once I have a company number and the official certificate, they raise an invoice for the price of the car (already paid of course) and transfer it to me at which point I will then have to go to Sibiu for "SB" plates! What a performance! If I go for option two, by the end of next week I will have a left hand drive car which consumes less than half the amount of fuel my Audi guzzles into its 2.6 litre V6 petrol engine! And in time to avoid having to renew the tax on the Audi at the end of July. What to do with the old girl is a bit of a problem. It would cost as much, if not more than the car is worth to drive it back to the UK, put it on a ferry, sell it and then fly back to Romania! I shall probably be able to sell it here, either to someone looking for a cheap 7 seater (5 adults + 2 children in rear facing seat) in need of a bit of bodywork repair or just for spares. Apart from the damage sustained in a minor accident in Turda on my way to Cluj airport to pick up Louise and family (broken headlight/bent front wing/cracked plastic front bumper) the rest of the bodywork is in good condition for a 17 year old car, the 150bhp engine is still smooth and sweet, gearbox faultless and it has two brand new tyres on front wheels. It is worth €900 under the Romanian car scrappage scheme and people pay up to €500 for cars like mine as the system allows an individual to "cash-in" up to three cars against a new car! This was pointed out to me when the local Dacia dealer was trying to persuade me to buy a new Logan MCV Laureate diesel, list price €12,550 but only €9,750 with a dealer discount plus three scrappage vouchers - one for my Audi plus two more "bought" from others who have scrapped old cars but are unable to afford a new vehicle! Probably not in the spirit of the scrappage scheme but not illegal.
By the way, DACIA is pronounced dah-tchia, not day-see-uh as James May seems to think, and will probably verbalise on next Sunday's Top Gear when he will no doubt say "Good news! I've driven the Dacia Duster which will be coming to the UK". Ho hum, will someone PLEASE tell him!
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