Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for

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Mon 2 Apr 2012 23:48
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - japdriver

I have been looking for a 7/8 seater with some boot space and have located a 1999 Serena 2.0 auto 8 seater for £4999. Looks to be in lovely condition, 55,000 miles and perfect for our needs (on the face of it). I haven't driven it yet, but will do before considering purchasing.

I believe the 2.0 petrol engine is a twin cam unit out of the primera, so no belts only a chain cam.

Can anyone tell me anything to look out for, common problems, reliability issues etc?

Even better, someone who has owned one, who could pass on their thoughts!

PS this is very different to the horrid Serena that you could buy in the UK!

All advice gratefully received!

Thank you.

Edited by japdriver on 02/04/2012 at 23:57

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Mon 2 Apr 2012 23:59
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - Avant

That sounds like a lot of money for a 13-year-old Nissan, however rare it may be (and if it's rare, will you be able to get parts for it?). Or is it some sort of motor-caravan? Those do hold their value.

If your budget is £5,000, the Hyundai i800 is too new, but there should be plenty of Toyots Previas around.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 00:19
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - japdriver

Yes, I agree £5000 sounds a lot, but it looks like a 2 year old UK car! It is of the Lucida (Jap previa) type of people carrier....

Unfortunately Previas with their 7 seats in place have no boot space (or very little for the size of the thing), the Serena has sliding seats that you can move to make leg room less and boot pretty big.

I have been searching for ages for a 6/7 seater with luggage space - I have 4 kiddies under 6, so older ones use booster seats, little ones need car seats, we need to carry a double buggy, and all the other gear that parenting needs.....

Multipla/FRV has 6 seats and tiny boot. Galaxy etc all have the seats, but also no boot when you have the seats. Aaaargh so frustrating. Investigated buying a van with seats like the VW caravelle, but upto £6-7k budget buys old high mileage rusty and/or played around with tat. As for commercial vans - just too big for tesco's!

Hence I'm in grey import land....maybe!

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 10:00
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - TeeCee

I believe the 2.0 petrol engine is a twin cam unit out of the primera, so no belts only a chain cam.

Can anyone tell me anything to look out for, common problems, reliability issues etc?

A mate had a series of 2.0 Primeras of varying ages. The reason he stuck with them is that they never go wrong.

He did once have a 1.8 Primera that suffered a crank sensor failure on the A1(M) when new. The breakdown service were rather puzzled. They'd never seen a broken down Primera in their 20 years of handling that stretch of motorway. Rather amusingly, he got a recall notice for 1.8 crank sensors two weeks after it had been fixed under warranty :-)

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 20:08
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - mark999

We had the diesel van version of this. Not particularly nice to drive but gave us years of good service. Look out for problems with steering idlers and front brake calipers. The replacement cost was more than the van was worth.

Mark

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 20:44
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - a900ss
Unless you REALLY want a Serena, I'd suggest ANY other 7/8 sweater as Serenas are rubbish.

Good luck

Ps - £5 grand for one of these at that age is legalised mugging.

Just my views....
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Wed 4 Apr 2012 00:52
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - japdriver
Unless you REALLY want a Serena, I'd suggest ANY other 7/8 sweater as Serenas are rubbish. Good luck Ps - £5 grand for one of these at that age is legalised mugging. Just my views....

What are your views based on - past experience? What is so rubbish about them?

A very rare sight in the UK, as I mentioned they are nothing like the UK Serena that we all know and hate!

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Wed 4 Apr 2012 08:38
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - a900ss
Unless you REALLY want a Serena, I'd suggest ANY other 7/8 sweater as Serenas are rubbish. Good luck Ps - £5 grand for one of these at that age is legalised mugging. Just my views....

What are your views based on - past experience? What is so rubbish about them?

A very rare sight in the UK, as I mentioned they are nothing like the UK Serena that we all know and hate!

Apologies. I failed to see the import part and was referring to the UK version.
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Wed 4 Apr 2012 21:45
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - Happy Blue!

The Serena diesel was a total slug. Dreadful thing to drive. Petrols may be a little better, but with auto probably not. I cannot believe that the OP is prepared to spend £5,000 on a massively outdated car that is 13 years old. That is crazy.

They are not so big that other cars are not suitable. How about an older Volvo V70 or Merc E-class estate. Some of these had seven seats.

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Wed 4 Apr 2012 22:27
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - Avant

Does anyone know anything about this different Serena which isn't the same as the disappointing people-carrier which was sold in the UK? How different is it?

Obviously we can't judge it by the standards of the UK Serena, but I still struggle to imagine that at 13 years old it would be worth £5,000.

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Wed 4 Apr 2012 23:49
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - a900ss

Does anyone know anything about this different Serena which isn't the same as the disappointing people-carrier which was sold in the UK? How different is it?

Obviously we can't judge it by the standards of the UK Serena, but I still struggle to imagine that at 13 years old it would be worth £5,000.

Looking at Google Images it doesn't look too dissimilar to the Serena we got in the uk with the exception of the headlights.
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Thu 5 Apr 2012 21:24
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - RicardoB

I would have thought that rather a lot of money, but each to his own. As with any purchase, caveat emptor.

Being a Japanese/grey import, I guess it will be like a lot of cars such as the Mazda MX5/Eunos where they are only intended to be on the road/sold in Japan for a handful of years - it seems to be the culture over there - and therefore may not have the rust proofing that genuine exports would have had.

Also, if automatic, i would think - note think - it might be a CVT, which I personally like and understand the concept of, but seemingly a lot of garages/mechanics struggle with and others don't understand.

Heyho.

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Fri 6 Apr 2012 13:46
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - madf

Try an insurance quote first BEFORE you buy.

It may make you go grey or bald or balder...

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Fri 6 Apr 2012 23:17
Nissan Serena 2.0 auto grey import (1999) - Any advice on reliability/what to look out for - japdriver

Try an insurance quote first BEFORE you buy.

It may make you go grey or bald or balder...

I will check that out, good advice. My heart is going away from said Serena now, I have that gut feeling of 'if it goes wrong, where can i get the parts'......

Tried a Chrysler Grand Voyager 2.8 CRD diesel, now that is promising as a potential family wagon, got to find one with the 'stow and go' seats now.....and at a sensible price!

You know, not too old, not too leggy, and not too expensive.... :-)

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