Available car do give you the deposit back. I think its just to stop 'flippant' requests for cars to be shipped down from FoW.
In your part of the world you should make enquiries of the Sunwin dealers in Nottingham and Derby - they are usually competitive and will likely knock at bit off the listed price (which the supermarkets won't).
Bear in mind that we are moving into the 'buying season' so prices will likely firm up at bit now.
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Available car do give you the deposit back. I think its just to stop 'flippant' requests for cars to be shipped down from FoW. In your part of the world you should make enquiries of the Sunwin dealers in Nottingham and Derby - they are usually competitive and will likely knock at bit off the listed price (which the supermarkets won't).
I got mine from Sunwin Nottingham -- I thought that their competitive asking price was a one-off, but maybe not.
Very decent folks to do business with.
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I have checked the Sunwin site on and off, but the only one they have listed, at present, is an 05 at Keighley, for which they are asking £8995, so that is a non starter on price alone.
We might go and take a look at the one in Leicester tomorrow, as it is by far the best price that I have seen for a 5 door model of that age. The chap I spoke to on the phone said it had been there for over 30 days, so he was keen to sell it quickly.
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I have checked the Sunwin site on and off, but the only one they have listed, at present, is an 05 at Keighley, for which they are asking £8995, so that is a non starter on price alone.
It might be worth paying them a visit, or at lesat making a phone call: that car has been on their books for a while, and they must be loking at a drop in price. Also worth phoning Sunwin Nottingham - there may be something else they could get hold of.
We might go and take a look at the one in Leicester tomorrow, as it is by far the best price that I have seen for a 5 door model of that age. The chap I spoke to on the phone said it had been there for over 30 days, so he was keen to sell it quickly.
It's certainly a very good price for the age, and it looks like you could benefit from the unpopularity of the Almera. Just check it out carefully, in case there's some good reason for it having been sitting around so long.
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Do take time to test-drive an Almera properly before taking the plunge. The ride is much sharper than on a French car, and as a long-term Citroen owner you may want to check out that aspect of things. I can live with the ride, but I'd happliy have traded some of the very sharp handling for a softer ride.
It is something that might put us off, as my wife has chronic back pain. Good seats are just as important though. How do you rate the seats NW? I have seen some criticism of them for being too flat.
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All Nissan seats tend to be fairly firm, although I do like them like that. There are lots of adjustments though, so you can angle the base etc.
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All Nissan seats tend to be fairly firm, although I do like them like that. There are lots of adjustments though, so you can angle the base etc.
We had a look at the Nissan Note whilst we were there and the seats in that were much better than the ones in the Almera.
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It is something that might put us off, as my wife has chronic back pain.
The Almera is not the worst I've encountered, by a very long way, but it's definitely not French! :( I can easily live with it, but then I don't have chronic back pain. Would suggest you try it carefully, including driving the Almera on a bumpy road where you have already driven the Citroen.
Good seats are just as important though. How do you rate the seats NW? I have seen some criticism of them for being too flat.
I rate the seats as about 8/10.
I used to like very soft seats (Renault 16!) and these are rather firm, but I find that they support me in the right places. The driver's seat lumbar adjustment on the Almera is good, and I find my back well-supported. It's perhaps a little short on lateral support, but nothing that causes me any problems with my relaxed style of driving.
I guess it comes down to length of journey. On short trips, I'd prefer softer seats, but on longer trips, these are better.
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We went to see the 5 door SE in Leicester and it was OK but we didn't get a decent test drive, as we were not allowed to drive it far from the dealer's location and, as a result, never got much above 30 mph. How they expect anyone to make a decision on that experience, I don't know.
My wife drove the car and found all of the controls fine, the autobox was smooth, and we have no complaints with the level of equipment on the SE version, which is excellent. However, we do have questions over the seats and the ride. We found the seats rather firm, as we did the ride too. I was in the back and I can't say that I would like to travel far in it. I also found the trim on the front passenger seat had become detached at the front of the seat too, just like the one we saw on Saturday. There must be a questionable fastening there. I also noticed that the plastic interior trim is prone to marking too.
I have a further comment on the tyres too (Bridgestone). I noticed that there was much more wear on the rear tyres than I would have expected and it was obvious, after looking at the front tyres, that they had been switched around. Now the car has done around 13K miles and it was a lot of wear on a pair of tyres for that mileage, for a car the size of an Almera, even allowing for the fact they had been on the front.
So it looks as though we are back to square one with the search for a replacement for our Xantia.
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I have a further comment on the tyres too (Bridgestone). I noticed that there was much more wear on the rear tyres than I would have expected and it was obvious, after looking at the front tyres, that they had been switched around. Now the car has done around 13K miles and it was a lot of wear on a pair of tyres for that mileage, for a car the size of an Almera, even allowing for the fact they had been on the front.
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Indeed - our Almera (54 plate, 17 months old) has done about 12000 miles now (bought with 6000 miles on it last July).
Tyre wear front and back is much the same, and there is plenty of tread left; sounds like someone was driving this one with a very heavy right foot.
The ride is quite firm in the Almera (more so than the Megane which it replaced, and much more so than my old Bluebird, which for all its faults is great for speed humps). The seats are perfectly comfortable for long rides.
We've had no problem with trim getting detached.
The lack of a light in the glove box irritates me, but that's about it.
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The ride is quite firm in the Almera (more so than the Megane which it replaced, and much more so than my old Bluebird, which for all its faults is great for speed humps). The seats are perfectly comfortable for long rides.
My wife has a particular requirement for a very good seat and she will soon notice any imperfections in seats that wouldn't bother a person with a healthy spine.
We called in at Available Car on the way home to compare a few cars with the Almera and the best seats by far we to be found in a Saab 95 and a Skoda Fabia VRS. Unfortunately, they don't fit the bill in other aspects!
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TEh standard fit tyres on the Almera - or indeed any Nissan - are utter cack. Mine too lasted around 14k before needing replaced. Put on Michelin Energys which were still in good health when I sold the car at 48K miles
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TEh standard fit tyres on the Almera - or indeed any Nissan - are utter cack.
Nissan fit many different brands, depending on what is supplied at the time to the particular factory. I've never seen Michelins fitted, but have seen Continentals, Goodyears, Bridgestones, Vredestein.
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>> TEh standard fit tyres on the Almera - or indeed any >> Nissan - are utter cack. Nissan fit many different brands, depending on what is supplied at the time to the particular factory. I've never seen Michelins fitted, but have seen Continentals, Goodyears, Bridgestones, Vredestein.
Mine has Bridgestones. Fronts about half-worn, I reckon.
When it comes to replacing them, I like Scot1s's report of how long-lasting the Michelin Energy tyres are, but how do they compare for ride comfort and noise?
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When it comes to replacing them, I like Scot1s's report of how long-lasting the Michelin Energy tyres are, but how do they compare for ride comfort and noise?
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From my experience, Michelin Energy tyres are fine for ride comfort and noise. We had them on our Xantia at one time.
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What about another Citroën?
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What about another Citroën?
The C4 has good seats, but used auto versions are thin on the ground and usually not much less than a new one can be had for.
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Hi Machika,
Following on from the C4, have you considered the Toyota Corolla. Decent engine and auto box combination with proven reliability.
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My father-in-law has the Almera 1.5. Underpowered and lots of wind noise, ride/seats a bit firm and squab very short. Not sure how Nissan went wrong with this car as the previous model was brilliant, i had one for a while. But they are relaible and should be cheap to buy. Make sure you get a good long test drive.
I tried a NOTE, good seats, well built, 1.6 needs plenty of revs. ride on 16" alloys firm and jittery. £14k for sve auto mucho plenty!
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My father-in-law has the Almera 1.5. Underpowered and lots of wind noise, ride/seats a bit firm and squab very short. Not sure how Nissan went wrong with this car as the previous model was brilliant, i had one for a while. But they are relaible and should be cheap to buy. Make sure you get a good long test drive.
I accept that the prices are good but if the car's seats are not up the requirements, the price is irrelevant really
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Quite right Machika. we have struggled to find decent seats and have walked away from many we have tried. The Nissan Primera's are awful but as i say the new Note are much better. Mondeo's are good. The problem is with the Focus segment of the market. The manufacturers seem to have gone through a period of terrible interior design where they have cut the seat length to make the cars front and back legroom "seem" better.
Newer cars like the NOTE,C4 and Civic are all much better. Not much use though for those whose budgets do not stretch to new prices.
FWIW the latest model Corolla has got acceptable seats to our minds and are worth looking at. HJ also said, if i remember right, that the 1.6 auto is better than manual as it is more quite on the motorway. Good luck in the search let us know how you get on. It is a difficult compromise at this market sector.
Price, size, comfort and auto do not go together very well.
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Hi Machika, Following on from the C4, have you considered the Toyota Corolla. Decent engine and auto box combination with proven reliability.
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Yes, I have thought of one of them. The cheapest on Autotrader today is £7295, for an 02/02. Seems a lot of money for a car that is not far off 4 years old.
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Should have said QUIET not "quite" on the motorway. Quite on/off the motorway could be scary. Lower revs apparently, the engine that is!
Guess not many Corolla autos are sold and if they are best at the job then the price will be high in comparison. Is a Mondeo too big 2.0lx one year old 7 to 8k at supermarkets? I have a thread querying the auto box but no absolute yes or no yet.
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We are looking to scale down from the current second car, which is a Xantia.
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