Dera Backroomers
Nissan is rarely mentioned here. I am dithering about buying a 2.0 Primera up to 6000 pounds
HJ's breakdown gives me the idea of an anonymous reliable car.
Does anyone have some views on these as a good buy
I have an idea that Primeras do not sell quickly.
What models from Golf, 306, and Focus ranges would be popular sellers. I
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Hi John
Not a bad idea, they do seem to be reliable, albiet not as common as Vectras/mondeos etc.
Most car supermarkets tend to have a few new unreg floating around and when I was last down at Fords of Winford a few weeks ago there were some used ones as well. I have only driven the 99 model 2.0l briefly as we have a couple on the fleet and I borrowed one for a short trip round Birmingham. The performance was good and comfort was good as well, but overall it was just not my cup of tea.
You should be able to get a test drive in one from a dealer and if you like it £6k should get you a really nice one from a supermarket.
as ever
Mark
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Thanks for the replies.
All positive.
Much appreciated
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I had a 2.0 "K" reg for 5 years and loved every minute with it. It had a very sweet engine and fitted me very well.(I am 6'3"). Of no use to you, but at that time the local Nissan dealer was also the Jaguar dealer, and treated all customers very well.
Mike Holland
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I ran an auction bought K reg catalysed 2.0 litre Primera about five years ago and it was fine. As in car by car, the multi-link suspension squeaks, the manual gearboxes feel a bit weak, it's difficult to change the coolant, and the chain cam engine much prefers clean oil. But I've been in mini cab Primeras with over 200k on the clock and the drivers loved them. The later facelift Primera, but not the current one, had fantastic roadholding and handling. The 1.6 has two timing chains - primary and secondary. And these are Simplex, not Duplex chains on all petrol Primeras. The diesel makes do with a timing belt.
HJ
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We have some of these cars on the fleet at work 20.GLX i think. - They seem very well made and are extremely pleasant to drive they have supple suspension but hold the road very well, better than a Mondeo or Vectra. The engines are very smooth but powerful and they have a lot of gadgets. the only thing I can think of not in their favour is the space in the rear seat isn't huge. You could probably get an S or T registered one for 6 grand. Also the cabbies love them, which is a good sign.
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the later london taxis have nissan engines, and some of these have 1 million miles. if you are interested in the primera, its best to buy and sell these cars in the north east, here are some examples...
1999 (T) reg, 2.0SI, 31700 miles, full nissan history, bright red, £5995.
1996 (P) reg, 2.0SRI, 55000 miles, full nissan history, 'met' silver, £4350.
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No, Nissan do not seem to get mentioned very often and I wonder why. Is it because of their reliability and that their owners do not have any perplexing faults to report ? Ref, Chris's mention of coming to the north east for a Nissan. I have a theory that all that great expertise, on the Tyne, in shipbuilding, which, sadly, went down the pan, ressurrected itself in a small way in the Nissan works at Sunderland. My Nissan Prairie, Sunderland built, went for 160,000 miles and it never had a serious fault. Other Nissan owners tell a similar story and it would seem that what the Nissan range sometimes lacks in design "flair", it more than makes up for in build quality.
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From what I can gather from colleagues at work the Primera is a very good car. Perhaps the reason Nissan don't get much of a mention is that they are preceived to have no "soul".
Most of the makes regularly posted evoke some sort of emotion. Some makes have terrible a reliability record, but people love them and will forgive them. After all, I've had several Citroens but a lot of people wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
The German brigade get good press (generally), largely due to their technical excellence, but to me they have no soul - apart from Porsche. It's a personal thing, of course.
Maybe Nissan are like John Major and peas - a lot of people like them but don't go on about it.
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i've owned a 1.6 primera hatchback since new in aug '95. Best car I've ever owned in terms of utter reliability. The handling is excellent, as is accomodation space. Styling lets it down but little else.
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I drove both Primera & Ford before, & I personally like Primera. It may not be a beautiful & sexy car but I think Nissan is generally very reliable (I am driving a Nissan at the moment) & better built - at least the seat belt cover won't go within 1,000 miles, unlike Ford. If you intend to own it for some years, pick the good example with full service history, etc.
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I noticed no photo of the '96 - '99 Primera in the Car by Car Breakdown, so looked for one at the auctions today where I had my Canon Ixus digital. No '96 - '99 Primeras at all. Please can someone email me a JPEG of one, saved to 150 pixels across and 72dpi so it doesn't hog the lines coming through.
HJ
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I had a 2.0 slx on an L plate and loved it so much that after changing to a tigra, i quickly got rid and bought an almera.
Nissans are just so reliable, not the most powerfull cars in the world but never a moments bother (i had a bluebird before and that was excellent as well).
Do it, im sure you wont have any regrets!
nick
ps no comments about flat packed cars please!!
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