15/10/2026
Update time of this story and thanks to Ali
Hello everyone!
Since I still owed you the conclusion to my story from this summer (link at the end of the post), when the engine of my Dacia Bigster 1.8 Hybrid broke down in Croatia on our way home from holiday, I wanted to share how everything turned out.
First of all, thank you all for your advice, encouragement, and support β including those who believed the story wasn't real! I'm sorry I didn't have enough time to reply to everyone individually, especially given the considerable interest this incident generated.
Here's how the story ended, in short:
- A few days after I returned home, I was contacted by Dacia PiteΘti's Customer Care department, who wanted to check on the situation with my car. Since the A24 insurance provider had not yet completed the vehicle repatriation process, Dacia told me they would speed things up. As a result, within the next two days, the car arrived at the dealership's service centre in Romania.
- The vehicle inspection and handover took place in my presence. During this process, it was officially recorded that the windscreen had already been cracked earlier in the year, after being hit by a stone while driving in the spring. After completing the necessary formalities, including an on-site inspection by specialists from the Dacia factory, a replacement part was ordered: an entire new engine.
To clarify, the connecting rod did not actually fall onto the road. The photo I previously posted had been sent to me by the Croatian repair shop. What fell onto the road may have been a piece of the broken engine block.
Over the following two weeks, the new engine was installed, and the old one was prepared for shipment to France for technical analysis. I did not have access to the technical conclusions, but according to unofficial opinions from third parties not connected to the service centre, it is possible that a manufacturing defect in the crankshaft caused it to fail.
- I collected my "new" car and drove approximately 500 km during September to make sure everything was working properly. One thing I noticed was that the day after collecting the car, it automatically updated to software version 1.5.0. Although this may be subjective, the replacement engine seems quieter than the original one, even though I have no other point of comparison.
- Throughout this period, Dacia's Customer Care department contacted me several more times on their own initiative to check whether everything was going well.
Following some discussions at the end of the vehicle handover, Dacia Customer Care offered to replace my cracked windscreen free of charge as a goodwill gesture to compensate for the inconvenience I had experienced. This was completed at the beginning of October.
A few final thoughts:
Please read all the terms and conditions of your roadside assistance insurance carefully and in full, so you know exactly what you are entitled to if something goes wrong. In my case, the provider was A24.
My only out-of-pocket expense was β¬80 for the initial inspection at the Croatian repair shop.
While the car was parked at the Croatian service centre for approximately 11 days, a parking fee of β¬12.50 per day was charged. This was fully covered by the insurer.
My experience with the local Dacia service centre: 10/10.
Exactly what I expected, as I have been a customer there for quite some time. Every previous interaction, which until now had only involved routine servicing, had been equally positive.
My experience with Dacia Customer Care: Impeccable. Absolutely nothing to complain about.
I had never dealt with them before, so I had no particular expectations. Their support throughout the entire process was excellent.
And now, I can only hope that my Bigster will do what I bought it for: take me and my bikes to the mountains in summer, and my skis in winter!
And before the flood of messages starts, let me answer the inevitable question:
NO! THE CAR IS NOT FOR SALE! π
ππ
Safe travels and all the best to everyone!
Original story:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GsXDp5K8z/
