I am feeling very strange, I quite fancy buying a Nissan Almera!!!

Super Tigers

Super Tigers

Super Tigers

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At the moment I love my Xedos 6 and it is a great car, I love the leather, faux wood dash, lots of toys and a lovely V6 24v engine but I often pick up my parents and take them shops, bank etc. My dad has mobility problems and has great difficulty bending down to get into the Xedos as it is so low down to ground and he finds it hard to get out of the seats as well. I have been looking at something a bit more practical.
I have got £4000 + Xedos 6 in part/ex and have been looking at Almera 1.5se and se+ models as they have decent access and the seat is higher up and the front passenger door opens wide and there is more room for my dad to swing his feet in. They look very reliable and decent prices for a 04/54 models.
What else should be considering?

Rob H
 
If you want something super reliable, practical and economical (seeing cars as white goods really), then Jap hatchbacks are the way to go. Almera, Civic and Corolla are the 3 cars in the mid sized class from the big Jap manufacturers.
 
You are feeling strange!

You're going to notice such a difference between the two cars - maybe not immediately but within a few weeks - particularly in the way they drive, the seating positions, and the refinement (Xedos wins on all counts except that it will roll more than the Almera through bends).

The Almera doesn't exactly "sit high" so I'm not sure why you think you its easier to get in and out of (unless you're thinking of the Xedos rear doors which don't open anything close to 80 degrees).

Buy a Renault Scenic, Vauxhall Zafira, Honda Stream, Corolla Verso type car if you want something thats easy to get in and out of, with a leaning towards Japanese if you want reliability. Whatever you do, you'll miss that V6 though!
 
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buying a nissan almera says in a very quiet voice "i am quite boring and don't know or care much about cars"
 
Ben M said:
buying a nissan almera says in a very quiet voice "i am quite boring and don't know or care much about cars"
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Hang on, I swear I heard on here that if you drop £15k's worth of mods on one there faster than a 911 TT, a true drivers car that ;)
 
Its reliable bland boring economical car. I've got one, it does the job, you can literally run it into the ground and it won't complain much. But it really is as boring as it gets, and i'm quick to admit that. But for the time being its suiting my circumstances :)
 
My brother has the last gen Almera (N15?) and it's actually really nice to drive. I think it's a great car.

Would I recommend one after reading through your opening post. Nope. Don't see how it would benefit your Dad that much. Something like a Ford Galaxy or the Seat version perhaps?
 
a Citroen Picasso, cheap as chips second hand and disabled people love them so i bet it would be great for your folks
 
For those rubbishing the idea of a "boring" car, do you drive? It's all very well having an "interesting" car, but they cost money. My last "interesting" car was my 106 GTi, which was awesome to drive, but horrendous to own. It cost me an average of almost £300 per month whilst I had it - not including petrol. Things going wrong, things being fixed, or buying suspension or other upgrades to it.

There is a lot to be said for boring cars. Take my current car - a 1.4 SOHC non-VTEC Honda Civic. Sure it isn't fast, but other than a cambelt change when I had it, and the price of 2 home oil changes, it hasn't cost me anything in over 22,000 miles. At some points in one's life, you need a bit of financial stability. It doesn't stop me loving cars, or lusting over what I'm going to get once my situation has stabilised again.
 
Sone said:
a Citroen Picasso, cheap as chips second hand and disabled people love them so i bet it would be great for your folks
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agreed, very good car tbh which people put down just because of the badge. very good design like the A class for the disabled.

timbob said:
For those rubbishing the idea of a "boring" car, do you drive? It's all very well having an "interesting" car, but they cost money. My last "interesting" car was my 106 GTi, which was awesome to drive, but horrendous to own. It cost me an average of almost £300 per month whilst I had it - not including petrol. Things going wrong, things being fixed, or buying suspension or other upgrades to it.

There is a lot to be said for boring cars. Take my current car - a 1.4 SOHC non-VTEC Honda Civic. Sure it isn't fast, but other than a cambelt change when I had it, and the price of 2 home oil changes, it hasn't cost me anything in over 22,000 miles. At some points in one's life, you need a bit of financial stability. It doesn't stop me loving cars, or lusting over what I'm going to get once my situation has stabilised again.
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you still got the beast?
 
fonzee said:
you still got the beast?
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The 106? No, I sold it just after one of the main gears in the differential disintegrated, and cost me £700. That was the last straw, after the clutch went, PAS pump broke, radiator leaked everywhere, dampers were shot so I had the suspension rebuilt properly, door hinge coming away from the shell(!), rear wheel bearing breaking, 3 sets of droplinks going and rear beam being on the way out....

The odd mechanical failure on a car is fine, but it seemed that every time I went for a good drive, something would break. I ended up driving it slowly, as it felt fragile to drive, and that's not what it was for.

The Honda is great. Not as fun to drive, but it's comfortable, reliable, economical and just a better car for everyday use.
 
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