A good friend who knows absolutely nothing about cars approached me for an opinion yesterday. His grandfather is about to retire from driving due to loss of vision and has offered to sell him his H-reg Nissan Bluebird, a 1.8 petrol for next to nothing. I can't remember the last time I saw one on the road!
Grandad has owned the car from new and it has only covered 40k miles. It's just passed its MOT for another year and has service history.
Friend has asked me to give it the once over for him, and I should be able to cover most bases, however I was wondering if any BR contributors have any specific experience of this model as I've never dealt with one before. Is there anything particular to look out for on these cars? I'm sure most have been driven in to the ground by taxi drivers - this one has never been in such hands, but still it would be good to know if there are any known weak points before I go to check it out. The car has not been garaged, but street parked all of its life.
I'm not doubting Gradad's integrity, just aware that he's not clued up on motors and might not be aware of potential problems with the car. I'm not looking for problems with which to negotiate on price either, just things to bear in mind to make sure the car is safe, particularly as my friend has children.
Thanks for any advice.
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You say it's just passed the MoT - which is as good a safety check as you'll get, and better than most can do by eye, as MoT testers are specifically looking for safety issues. Check for any advisories, and if they relate to brakes, then act on the, is my suggestion.
A car of that age with a new MoT is worth £295 at most (plus tax disc value), despite SH and low mileage.
As far as children are concerned - does it have suitable fixings for child seats? Bear in mind that it was designed a long time ago, so won't be as safe in a crash as more recent designs. Great banger motoring, and could last another ten years.
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Thanks, ONB. Children will hopefully be only occasionally transported - they have a 55-reg Hyundai Matrix also. He's mostly just going to go to and from his shift work job on his own in the Bluebird, freeing up the "proper" family car for the wife and children.
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One of the main things to check out with the Bluebird is the bodywork i.e. RUST.
The drivetrain is basically sound and should out live the bodywork.
Some earlier Bluebirds did suffer from camshaft failure, but you'd soon hear that.
Dog.
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Gearbox bearings are a weak point on these, my dad had an F plate from new, he had the bearings replaced twice under warranty when he then promptly got rid of the car at 3 and a half years old and 23K miles.
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From owning a few Nissan cars of the period, I would say that the gearbox issues are usually more irritant than anything else.
The bearings whine -- and can do so quite badly. However we had a Sunny in the family which was whining when we got it at 20K and was still whining happily away when we retired it at 125K.
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I've had two Bluebirds - a C reg and an H reg (which I just sold last year).
Both had over 150K on the clock when sold.
They are extremely reliable, comfortable cars. Not terribly economical by modern standards (25mpg round town, about 32 on longer runs on the 1.8). The SE spec has electric everything.
If my H-reg example is anything to go by, there will be minor rust spots, but nothing major wrong. The sunroof may leak a bit, but than can be fixed with some sealant.
The mechanics on these things are bomb-proof, and if anything does go wrong, they are easy to work on. Parts are not cheap, but you seldom need them.
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