# nissan primera is it a good car



## coleen (21 Jul 2007)

Hi I am looking at a nissan primera 2005 1.6 petrol and I am wondering if they are generally a good car. It has quite high milage 70k on clock but is a clean car. A sales man in another garage who was trying to sell me another car told me that the primera is a car that gives lots of trouble so I would like to hear from anyone who might have independant views. Thanks in advance


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## Gabriel (21 Jul 2007)

The Primera is poor compared to its predecessor in that they took all fun out of the car.

The 1.6 petrol engine is VERY underpowered for the size of car. Seriously...it's very underpowered. I've driven one...

Nissan and Renault got into bed a few years back and this is one of their love-childs. It's ok...no more than that. Don't be fooled by the Japanese badge. It's got a french engine and is built in Europe. If you care nothing for performance and just want a family lugger then it may do the job. For a high mileage one though you'd want to be getting a real bargain.

Oh and forget about resale. It won't be worth spit in another two to three years.


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## tosullivan (21 Jul 2007)

all Nissans are crap...


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## Caveat (22 Jul 2007)

tosullivan said:


> *all* Nissans are crap...


 
C'Mon!! a bit sweeping no?

Crap in what way?


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## thelagg2000 (23 Jul 2007)

we,ve had 2 nissans and both were excellent no trouble apart from the usual,(brakes,exhaust etc.)they are handy to work on and parts are plentiful and cheap unlike bmw,s,volvo,s and volkswagen,s


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## thelagg2000 (23 Jul 2007)

try and get the tekna model ,absolutely loaded with extras,reversing camera,climate control ,eletric mirrors etc.good luck


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## RS2K (23 Jul 2007)

Not too bad a car. You can buy much better though.


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## Firefly (23 Jul 2007)

Had a 2002 model. Average is how I would describe it. Plenty big but felt light on the motorway. The central consol for the heating/radio used to drive me insane. You should be able to bargain hard for a high mileage one of these.


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## kk0312 (23 Jul 2007)

tosullivan said:


> all Nissans are crap...


 
Im not a fan of Nissans at all really but my mother has proved me wrong.. She bought a 97 micra in when it was 14 months old, it was a 2nd hand jap import. She still has it over 8 years later and it has over 360,000 kilometers on it!!! 
It is still as light on petrol as when she got it.. In fairness at this stage it looks a bit wrecked cos of all the drivin its gotten but in fairness it has proved to be a damn good car


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## oldtimer (23 Jul 2007)

Would agree with Firefly. I have a 2002 model, 1.6 Acenta, with all the extras, reversing camera, air condition, electric windows etc. The gadget on the dash says I am getting 34 miles per gallon.  Road performance I would describe as fair i.e. good on main roads but rough on secondary roads. Has never given me any trouble but will not get another one.


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## hinds87 (23 Jul 2007)

probably not the worst car out there but would'nt be anyway near as reliable as say a toyota


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## Caveat (23 Jul 2007)

coleen said:


> Hi I am looking at a nissan primera 2005 1.6 petrol and I am wondering if they are generally a good car. It has quite high milage 70k on clock but is a clean car. A sales man in another garage who was trying to sell me another car told me that the primera is a car that gives lots of trouble so I would like to hear from anyone who might have independant views. Thanks in advance


 
Be interested to hear what the other sales man was trying to sell you to see how it compares reliability-wise.  In general, Japanese cars are reliable - some manufacturers more so than others.  Nissan have a couple of very reliable cars (Almera, Micra) and the Primera would still be above average.  IMO, Nissans offer good value for money, have *OK* resale value and are *OK *to drive.

On the negative side, they are often accused of having a 'cheap' feel - plasticky interiors, not particularly smooth to drive, a bit 'tinny' etc.

If image/badge is not a problem and you are not that particular about 'driveability' you could do a lot worse.  In the unlikely event that something goes seriously wrong, Nissan spares are plentiful and cheap.

Another option in a similar vein would be the Skoda Octavia?

Depends what's important to you...


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## Gabriel (23 Jul 2007)

Caveat said:


> Be interested to hear what the other sales man was trying to sell you to see how it compares reliability-wise.  In general, Japanese cars are reliable - some manufacturers more so than others.  Nissan have a couple of very reliable cars (Almera, Micra) and the Primera would still be above average.  IMO, Nissans offer good value for money, have *OK* resale value and are *OK *to drive.
> 
> On the negative side, they are often accused of having a 'cheap' feel - plasticky interiors, not particularly smooth to drive, a bit 'tinny' etc.
> 
> ...



Sorry but I need to interject again 

What I didn't say previously was that I owned a Primera (2003 model) for a while. I didn't enjoy it. I don't mean to sound condescending but anyone who says it's a great car simply doesn't know that much about cars. It's just not. It's average. No more no less.

The new Primera is not a Japanese car...in the sense we know Japanese cars of recent past. So all of that old Micra which goes for 330k is not all that relevant unfortunately. Don't confuse the previous model Micra/Primera with the new one(s).

As a matter of fact both the new Primera and Micra are no more than mid table in terms of reliability. Older Nissans were boring as hell but ultra reliable. The new Primera is ok. Nothing more than that. It has terrible ride quality...which is odd for a family saloon. It can't handle Irish roads (which are terrible). I found the ride back breaking.
It's an average family saloon. In 1.6 guise it's a very slow average family saloon. Don't let the gadgets fool you.

In that bracket there are far better cars - Mondeo, Mazda 6 to name two I'd go for over the Nissan. 

Nissan used to make some great cars - the Skyline for instance. And even their boring family cars were fun to drive and ultra reliable. Since getting into bed with Renault and building in Europe all of that has gone out the window. Another case of a brand trading on their past.


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## coleen (23 Jul 2007)

ok thanks I will have another look around and see how I go


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## Caveat (23 Jul 2007)

Gabriel said:


> Sorry but I need to interject again
> 
> What I didn't say previously was that I owned a Primera (2003 model) for a while. I didn't enjoy it. I don't mean to sound condescending but anyone who says it's a great car simply doesn't know that much about cars. It's just not. It's average. No more no less.
> 
> ...


 
Fair enough Gabriel - but i don't think anyone is saying that the Primera is 'great'.  You mention the Mondeo & the Mazda 6 - don't think anyone would disagree there but do they not cost a fair bit more? Money well spent maybe but OP hasn't mentioned budget though.

Fair point in it not being really 'Japanese'.

Not being picky but what about the French engine - is that really a problem? Overall French cars have reliability issues but are these not generally related to build/electrics etc - are their actual engines bad? I didn't think that was the case.

As regards 'built in Europe' it hasn't done the Swindon built Honda Civic much harm.


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## RS2K (23 Jul 2007)

Caveat said:


> Fair enough Gabriel - but i don't think anyone is saying that the Primera is 'great'.  You mention the Mondeo & the Mazda 6 - don't think anyone would disagree there but do they not cost a fair bit more? Money well spent maybe but OP hasn't mentioned budget though.
> 
> Fair point in it not being really 'Japanese'.
> 
> ...



Mondeo is not too pricey used. 1.8 petrol is a good buy for smaller mileages.

French cars are, in general,  poorly made of substandard bits. The engines may be good, but if it won't run due to an electronic issue, what good is that?


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## Gabriel (23 Jul 2007)

Caveat said:


> Fair enough Gabriel - but i don't think anyone is saying that the Primera is 'great'.  You mention the Mondeo & the Mazda 6 - don't think anyone would disagree there but do they not cost a fair bit more? Money well spent maybe but OP hasn't mentioned budget though.
> 
> Fair point in it not being really 'Japanese'.
> 
> ...



As far as I know there's no issues with the engine and you're right in that most French car problems relate to electrics and shabby build quality.
It's not the fact that new Nissans have french relatives...it's just the fact that they're no longer really Japanese and they just don't have the same reliability that they've traded on for so long.
The Brits do build good cars sometimes...but a lot of modern "Jap" cars coming out of Britain don't have the same build quality that the old marcs did.

It's not a terrible car by any means. It really isn't. What would really put me off owning one again or recommending one is the ride. It really is shabby for a family saloon. 

On the plus side becuase they depreciate like stones their a good buy second hand. And I think they're quite good looking for what they are...that's the French style I guess.

Ok...can we get back to talking about Beamers again...


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