Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion?

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Fri 25 Oct 2013 14:53
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - leef

Afternoon Back-roomers,

After the arrival of my second nipper this last month, and the double buggy struggling to fit in the trusty Focus's boot, I've decided to get a bigger motor (on the cheap). I've seen a NissanAlmera Tino locally at an indi car showroom for £1500, 60k on the clock, Full service history, 2 owners etc. Seems a good price, any opinions on the car?, has any body driven one? HJ reviews seem pretty solid for it. Any opinion or advice, as always would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Lee

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Fri 25 Oct 2013 15:45
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - Sam49

I had the hatchback 1.8 Almera - it was great. Took it to 120,000 miles and then it was written off - it was still going strong at the time with only very minor niggles.

It won't be as clean, efficient or as modern as other cars but mine was tough as nails, with a good hardy engine - respect to Nissan.

P.S. Some timing chain issues reported but mine was fine during 6 years

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Fri 25 Oct 2013 21:44
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - kerbed enthusiasm

I hear that they're a good reliable car. I test drove one quite a few years ago and it was great... until I reached a roundabout. In the end I opted for a Mazda Premacy. It was a diesel (direct injection not common rail and therefore none of the modern complications). It drove impeccably for the seven years we owned it, gave 45 -50 mpg, was utterly reliable, spacious, comfortable and, although noisy, was much faster than it felt. It handled much, much better than the Tino. If you can find one in decent condition (rear wheel arches are prone to rust) I can't recommend it highly enough. I'd have mine back in a heartbeat.

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Fri 25 Oct 2013 22:21
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - daveyK_UK

Try and get £400 off the price and get the timing chain changed including a full oil change.

Change the oil every 6 months no matter how low your mileage is and the car will run for a long time.

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Sat 26 Oct 2013 17:19
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - Oli rag

I've had one for the past 5 years and they're bulletproof. Not sure I'd go as far as changing the timing chain if the engine has had regular oil changes.

Mine has done 85K and still sounds sweet. They're spacious, very reliable, economical (38mpg average) and have brilliant visibility as well as good ride comfort.

Agree with davey about the oil changes, other than servicing it I doubt you would have any problems with it.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 11:29
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - tony g
(Try and get £400 off the price and get the timing chain changed including a full oil change.)

Not a realistic suggestion ,the op doesn't say how old the car is ,or whether it's diesel or petrol .

I have a 2005 69k miles petrol se for sale at £2k ,I would discount it by £100 at the most .

At 1500 it's going to be a 2003 / 2004 .With 400 off and 200 ,to change the the timing chain ,the dealer would loose money .
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Sun 27 Oct 2013 14:06
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - Happy Blue!

Some friends of ours owned one until they emigrated in 2006. They sold the car to family and it is still one road.

The underpinnings are good honest Japanese mechanicals so likely to be reliable even at ten years old. I would buy one.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 15:09
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - bathtub tom

>>The underpinnings are good honest Japanese mechanicals

Apart from the Renault bits.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 17:20
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - Phil F.

Hi,

I had a test drive of the auto version a few years ago,nice drive but excessive road noise put me off it.

Phil.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 18:34
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - daveyK_UK

The Renault bits (not many on a Tino) are mainly bits of plastic trim.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 19:50
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - bathtub tom

The Renault bits (not many on a Tino) are mainly bits of plastic trim.

I thought the 1.5 and 1.8 petrol engines were Renault?

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 19:06
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - LondonBus

Hi Lee I have an 02 SE Tino, 1.8 petrol. 70k.

Bought it from a car supermarket in Jan 2006 - ex motability vehicle with 36k on the clock.

In the last seven years I've had it the only issues have been:

a) Front springs - both went in late 2010. Road humps. I am now a lot more careful.

b) Aircon - this packed up 18 months ago and on a vehicle of this age I'm not looking to spend big money getting it fixed.

The Tino has a chain driven cam and providing the car is serviced regularly its reliable.

No sign of rust at 11 years.

The Tino is not stylish and it depreciated from new like stink. This means its a good secondhand car. Lots of space inside.

Quite nippy when you're on your own too...

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 06:25
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - leef

Thanks for the replies everyone. Well I bought it on Saturday, got £100 off with a bit of haggling. 64k on the clock, 1.8 petrol, 54 plate. Starts first time and is very quiet when running, got full service history and seems to have lots of room. Only had her a day or so, but done over 150 miles so far and its quiet nice to drive.

Didn't come with the manual, so been playing around with things. Cant figure out if the drivers seat lowers or raises, or is just stuck at one height!?. Maybe LondonBus can help me :)

Thanks as always

Lee

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 09:09
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - bathtub tom

www.gobookee.org/nissan-almera-tino-owners-manual/

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 09:35
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - leef

Thanks for the link, but it wants me sign up with a credit card for "verification" purposes.....

I'll give it a miss.

cheers

Lee

Edited by leef on 28/10/2013 at 09:35

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 10:35
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - bathtub tom

Whoops, sorry, I didn't look into it too deeply.

I know the likes of Vauxhall publish their handbooks online. ebay?

I've an Almera and the four adjustments on the seat are obvious from trial and error. The wheel's also adjustable for height and reach.

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 13:57
Nissan Almera TINO 1.8 SE - Family Car - opinion? - Falkirk Bairn

Neighbour has an '03 Auto - slow, slow slow,.............that said, it goes and has done for the last 7 years. Issues have been modest - radio / AC which you would expect with age.

Rear Spring broke last summer if you exclude battery, tyres, exhausts, servicing etc he has spent under £500 in the 7 years.

Looks tired now but if he were to give it a valet I am sure it would perk it up a lot....he washes it roughly 4 x per year and hoovers it, well, he doesn't.

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