Is my car dying (P reg Nissan Primera) and is this Skoda Octavia a good buy?

jon86

jon86

jon86

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Hi,

I have a P reg Nissan Primera that has done about 138,000 miles. It has been fine until the last few months. When I turn the steering sharply to the left or the right and apply the accelerator, I get a fairly loud and noticeable noise of one or more of the following: clinking / cyclical banging / disc spinning/rubbing sound. Also, the suspension is very squeaky now. I presume this means that the car's PAS/steering/suspension is on its way out and it might be time to buy a replacement car. Would you agree?

I have just accepted a new job in Cambridge and for several reasons, I have decided to commute for a few months (from Norwich) before I move down in the summer. The roundtrip is about 130 miles and I would like a car that I know is going to be 100% reliable during that period. I don't have so much confidence in my Nissan anymore and had a look at some replacement cars online. The car that captured my interest is a £11,000 2011 Skoda Octavia S 1.6 auto diesel that has done around 13,000 miles. If I get it, I will ask for cruise control to be added. The specs say that it can do around 67 mpg extra urban. Can anyone who has a Skoda Octavia confirm or deny this? What do you think of the car? Do you think it is a good car to get? I am not looking for anything particularly fancy; just something that is really reliable and won't cost the earth in fuel and maintenance and have enough space for my drum kit and some luggage.

Thanks very much,
Jon
 
Google CV joint failure/replacement. Probably a cheap wear and tear easy fix tbh.
You don't have any confidence in your Nissan because you never maintained it, or then why? Has it ever broken down on you?
 
Cv joint or worst case the rack (unlikely with your symptoms) sounds about right as above. Neither should cost the world to fix, is there anything else that makes you worry about the primers? Generally they're pretty bomb proof.

If you are going to buy a newer car anyway then it wont make much difference but I certainly wouldn't go splashing 11k to save spending 200 quid on my own car.

I get the impression it wont matter too much to you but the 1.6 diesel is a terribly underpiwered thing, its horrible to drive. What attracts you to that particular car?
 
I echo the above comments about getting your current car fixed.

However on the subject of a new car, how many miles a year will you do. Buying a diesel car won't be worth it for just a few months of high mileage. I'd also say that £11k is a lot to spend on an 'S' spec Octavia. Quick look on AT shows some 1.8T Elegance and SE Plus's with low mileage within budget. The 1.8 is a great engine and the higher spec brings some nice comforts and toys
 
Primeras are known for kingpin wear . its not huge job or expensive . The other option would be driveshafts . they are weak on the primera .

I dont see a massive need to swap yer car unless you fancy a change . And no way will a octavia 1.6 auto ever see 65 mpg :P
 
Persil said:
And no way will a octavia 1.6 auto ever see 65 mpg :P
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I will in a lab. :D

To be honest it's not the manufacturers fault, it's the test procedure. A quick look at the owners forum has the owners averaging 55mpg. You might get nearer 60 on a run of that length with a careful right foot.
 
Madness. Use your deposit to fix your car if that's all that's wrong with it and put the loan payments into a savings account.

If you really are desperate to change car then use the deposit money, you can get a lot of good cars for £2500.
 
On my primera when the CV joint de went it started clicking when I turned a corner but it was obvious that it was related to Axel turning because it sped up or slowed down with speed.

Top links are quite common to wear on the front.
 
The Running Man said:
On my primera when the CV joint de went it started clicking when I turned a corner but it was obvious that it was related to Axel turning because it sped up or slowed down with speed.

Top links are quite common to wear on the front.
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Sounds exactly like my car's problem. Can you give an indication as to how much it cost to fix? I don't have the tools / area / knowledge to fix it myself so I'd probably take it to a Nissan garage to get it fixed.I think that both CV joints have gone as I get the same sound when I turn left and right.

Thanks.

EDIT: Seems cheap: £30 each. http://www.onlineautomotive.co.uk/Nissan_Primera_CV Joint Kits.aspx

Maybe I'll take my car in to get the CV joints replaced. Will probably a few hundred pounds in labour but most likely worth it. Thanks everyone.
 
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Don't waste your time.with Nissan, anyone will do cv joints for you (if that's the problem) and anyone will do basic suspension inspection to check it for you.

New joints aren't going to be more than an hours labour, say 80 to 100 labour for both
 
Cool, thanks. Do you think that I should just take it to somewhere like Kwik Fit? The local one in Norwich seems pretty good from experience.
 
No. Find an actual mechanic. The staff at kwik-fit are fitters. A local independent garage would be a good one. Ideally you want a recommendation from someone local.
 
Take it to a good local garage. I was getting a clunk at full lock on my car and it turned out to be the CV joints. Thankfully they were fixed as new ones weren't made for the Almera gti at that point.

Now I'm nearing 120k I can feel the car get looser upfront and I will need new suspension parts and bushes so get them checked out.
 
jon86 said:
Cool, thanks. Do you think that I should just take it to somewhere like Kwik Fit? The local one in Norwich seems pretty good from experience.
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No. Find a local independent, get recommendations off Friends/Family.

I wouldn't even touch Kwik Fit for tyres any longer. Their YTS monkeys are utterly inept. I could do a better job and I've had no training or experience.
 
This is a little unfair (though I agree the op should get the work done elsewhere). Local kwik fit matched the online fitted price of the CSC5 I had to get recently (that I needed that day, Sunday) and other than bugging me about tyre insurance and asking questions obviously designed to enable them to contact me to beg for mot etc they did a perfectly good job. I didn't even get the usual "can't we sell you a lingalongaditcho instead?". Were prompt and polite too.

It does vary massively by area and I still wouldn't let them do a thing other than tyres but if they're the cheapest for rubber then I'd use them again
 
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