Opinions on Primeras?

Sagalout

Sagalout

Sagalout

Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2003
Posts
5,670
Location
Harrogate
I'm looking for a 2nd car as a runabout. We currently own an 05 Focus which the Mrs uses 90% of the time and I have my bike for fun, but there are times when a second car would be practical, especially when the weather is like it is at the moment.

Theres a Primera Sport 2.0ltr, 2000 plate (S plate), 60K miles, FSH etc etc locally to me. It looks like a tidy car from the pictures (dont they all!) and the previous owner is an elderly fella who is giving up driving so its not likely to have been thrashed.

Looking on Parkers it seems to get decent reviews with the only negatives being the image which I'm not really bothered about (I have the bike to pose on haha)

He wants £1400 for it which is bang on the Parkers valuation for good condition, but I'm never convinced Parkers is all that accurate.

In all honesty I was originally looking for something under £1k as it will only be doing a couple of thousand miles a year, but it seems small cars in that price range are mostly dogs

Any advice much appreciated :)

heres a pic:

39e8_4.JPG
 
That is a V-reg. And id be looking to take it down by about £200-£300 depending on condition and spec. :) Other than that.. i love them myself lol. Im looking for one at the moment may possibly be the p10 not the p11
 
Solid cars, and yeah, i'd be trying to haggle the price down by about £200.

Other than that, don't expect to pull in it, but don't expect to break down either. Service them regularly and they'll easily go past 120k without much going wrong.
 
Gaygle said:
don't expect to pull in it
Click to expand...

I hear this ridiculous phrase a lot lately, do people in BMWs and Mercedes' cruise around with the intention of attracting ladies or something? I thought that was reserved for gangsta rap music videos. If a woman is put off by your car then she's not worth knowing ;)

(I know it was probably said in jest but it still irritates me!!)
 
howardcanning said:
I hear this ridiculous phrase a lot lately, do people in BMWs and Mercedes' cruise around with the intention of attracting ladies or something? I thought that was reserved for gangsta rap music videos. If a woman is put off by your car then she's not worth knowing ;)

(I know it was probably said in jest but it still irritates me!!)
Click to expand...

LOL yes....yes it was meant in pure jest as another way of saying it has very boring styling.
 
Had one. Very reliable, well specced and equipped, excellent handling and cheap to buy, however, very loud inside at motorway speeds, road and tyre noise of epic proportions, turning circle of H.M.S. Titanic and Sport model has hardened suspension, which really is jarring at low speed. It's also very heavy car, which means neither of the engines in rage is particularly pokey, although 2.0 is definitely the one to go for. P11-144 in your picture is European design, Sunderland build and parts, which unlike P10 and P11, which were only assembled in Britain, means you get a lot niggles and quality issues caused by sloppy QC, especially in parts department - squeaking and loose door trims, large and uneven panel gaps on dashboard, whistling window sills above 70mph, "sporty" plastic skirts warp in heat etc etc.
Nissan garages since take over by Renault, are a local joke, high prices, thinning out dealer network (two out of 4 local dealerships in Kent were closed in last 4 years), base service used to cost £89, it's around £190 mark now, even courtesy cars are charged for and parts availablity is surprisingly thin and scarce, and outrageously pricey - when my six CD changer packed up Nissan wanted £449 for replacement and it was 7 week wait.

The best P11-144 to find is SE+ model, which has softer suspension, Xenons, heated leathers and still maintains all the climate controlled goodness of Sport model.
 
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Lots of useful bargaining info there, cheers :)

Think I'll go and look at it and if I can get if for £1200 or less I'll probably go for it. Motorway isnt really an issue as this is just a runabout - most long trips will be done in the Focus. Its really just something to get me to work and back - 5 or 6 miles a day plus the odd meeting. I just want something thats going to be reliable as I havent got the time to spend with something that might let me down (however interesting the Alfa GTV for similar money in a garage a few miles away is tempting me!)
 
meh, looks like I'll have to pass. Just phoned insurance company and didnt realise (naively) that for a 2nd vehicle you have to start a new NCB strand - ie I'm having to get quotes with 0ncb whereas I have 16 years on my Focus. Initial quotes on confused.com are about £400 a year TPFT which I'm not paying for a cheap runabout.

Looks like a fiesta or something similar is in order (just did a quote on a 1.3 fez and thats £100 a year which is more like it!)
 
What about Admiral Multicar?

But having to start from zero NCB? That sounds ridiculous to me!
 
Thread Res!

Managed to get hold of one of these myself. Slightly older though (98). It's tatty, but i dont mind. Gives me something to do at the weekend. Hasn't cost me any money so i'm not too worried about any small costs to begin with.

Question is, what are they like? It's an auto, it's done around 85k miles. Old lady owner (my Nan. recently stopped for doing 98 on the bypass. let off with caution. criminal) so it has a couple of scrapes. I was going to use it as a stop-gap car until i've sold the jeep and saved a bit.. but looking at reviews apparently they're actually pretty solid cars!

What costs am i likely to come up against? How are the Auto boxes? Once i've had my use from this standard Primera, is the GT/SRi worth looking at as a commuter/town car? I sometimes do long distances but not enough to worry about comfort.

thanks :)
 
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