But just how exciting, really, is my little Nissan Micra S?
Cody is my first car, which my parents purchased for me in August 2007. It's a '51 plate, which is late 2001, and came with just 22k on the clock. 998cc, petrol, manual, 3dr, whatever else you need to know. Parents paid £2000 for it and got a CD player thrown in for free instead of the standard cassette player.
Two previous owners, both very low mileage users...I've only cranked it up to 33.5k by now, as I use it for my six-mile round trip for work each weekday, and some other pretty local leisure driving. I declared I wouldn't do "stupid girl things" with the interior, so there's no pink fluff (eurgh!), no silly air fresheners, and no customisation whatsoever.
Inspired by the fact that my mother has had her 1996 Toyota Rav 4 since it was two years old with no problems, my parents decided I was getting a Japanese car. I have absolutely no argument! It's been a dream. Anyway, onto the pics...
Please forgive me... haven't bothered cleaning my wheels in a while because the trims are showing their age.
And as you can see, the back wheel trim on this side is broken. That part fell out shortly after we bought it.
Black paint is peeling here, something I'm planning to get fixed up by an excellent local company.
Bits of paint missing above the number plate which I'm 99% sure wasn't me...! I've never hit anything. Honest.
Who painted these trims?! Such untidy brush marks. I do like the black though, so I'll get it done properly.
Again, bit of a scuff or something here on the body paint, previous owner guilty.
Scuffs on the passenger door edge, I'm assuming my friends could be blamed. Bonus: me squatting for the photo.
Bit of rust by the back window, as when we got it... cleaned some green out of the window seal with a ridiculously soft brush this morning and more paint came away! Sad times.
I am understandably not amused by how pink this has gone. Also featured, more bad brushwork on the once-grey plastic trim.
Really gnarly scratch in the back bumper where my neighbour scuffed it with his lawn strimmer when we were on holiday. He never admitted to it, and it's something I want to get fixed. Also some black paint coming away below.
More shoddy brushwork.
The interior...standard. Free Sony CD player and some leaves in the footwells.
Just nipped out to get a sort-of back view!
Okay...that was a lot of photos.
Basically, I'd really like to get all of those cosmetic faults fixed, and I know some good people that can do them. I don't really have the personal time, or the confidence, to do them myself! I plan on keeping my car for a good few many years yet - I have no reason to change it - so I'd love to get it tidied up.
Optional extras...I'd kind of like to do something with the wheels. I either need to get some way nicer wheel trims or splash out on some classy alloys. It has 13" wheels... can I go up to 14"? Up for changing maybe when my tyres expire, I'd say. I've loved some of the white and other coloured wheels I've seen you guys have on your K11s, but I'm not sure what will look good! I want to keep it simple but...nice, you know? Of course, I have drum brakes in the back and brake pads in the front, so I imagine anything without disc brakes looks terrible with alloys.
FYI... the hideous stripes of glue on the number plates are from where the garage I use for MOTs fell out with their former neighbours, where I bought my car. Mum took my car for an MOT (she gets trade price), brought it back, and the Carwise stickers were peeled off. Wondering how to get the residue off... nail varnish remover perhaps?
I hope I don't come across as a clueless girl driver! Dad's taught me plenty of man stuff, Mum used to work in the car trade, and I take a good interest in cars. I love my Micra and I had to share him with you and ask your advice for some stuff... hope you enjoy my journey of refurbishment!
Cody is my first car, which my parents purchased for me in August 2007. It's a '51 plate, which is late 2001, and came with just 22k on the clock. 998cc, petrol, manual, 3dr, whatever else you need to know. Parents paid £2000 for it and got a CD player thrown in for free instead of the standard cassette player.
Two previous owners, both very low mileage users...I've only cranked it up to 33.5k by now, as I use it for my six-mile round trip for work each weekday, and some other pretty local leisure driving. I declared I wouldn't do "stupid girl things" with the interior, so there's no pink fluff (eurgh!), no silly air fresheners, and no customisation whatsoever.
Inspired by the fact that my mother has had her 1996 Toyota Rav 4 since it was two years old with no problems, my parents decided I was getting a Japanese car. I have absolutely no argument! It's been a dream. Anyway, onto the pics...
Please forgive me... haven't bothered cleaning my wheels in a while because the trims are showing their age.
And as you can see, the back wheel trim on this side is broken. That part fell out shortly after we bought it.
Black paint is peeling here, something I'm planning to get fixed up by an excellent local company.
Bits of paint missing above the number plate which I'm 99% sure wasn't me...! I've never hit anything. Honest.
Who painted these trims?! Such untidy brush marks. I do like the black though, so I'll get it done properly.
Again, bit of a scuff or something here on the body paint, previous owner guilty.
Scuffs on the passenger door edge, I'm assuming my friends could be blamed. Bonus: me squatting for the photo.
Bit of rust by the back window, as when we got it... cleaned some green out of the window seal with a ridiculously soft brush this morning and more paint came away! Sad times.
I am understandably not amused by how pink this has gone. Also featured, more bad brushwork on the once-grey plastic trim.
Really gnarly scratch in the back bumper where my neighbour scuffed it with his lawn strimmer when we were on holiday. He never admitted to it, and it's something I want to get fixed. Also some black paint coming away below.
More shoddy brushwork.
The interior...standard. Free Sony CD player and some leaves in the footwells.
Just nipped out to get a sort-of back view!
Okay...that was a lot of photos.
Basically, I'd really like to get all of those cosmetic faults fixed, and I know some good people that can do them. I don't really have the personal time, or the confidence, to do them myself! I plan on keeping my car for a good few many years yet - I have no reason to change it - so I'd love to get it tidied up.
Optional extras...I'd kind of like to do something with the wheels. I either need to get some way nicer wheel trims or splash out on some classy alloys. It has 13" wheels... can I go up to 14"? Up for changing maybe when my tyres expire, I'd say. I've loved some of the white and other coloured wheels I've seen you guys have on your K11s, but I'm not sure what will look good! I want to keep it simple but...nice, you know? Of course, I have drum brakes in the back and brake pads in the front, so I imagine anything without disc brakes looks terrible with alloys.
FYI... the hideous stripes of glue on the number plates are from where the garage I use for MOTs fell out with their former neighbours, where I bought my car. Mum took my car for an MOT (she gets trade price), brought it back, and the Carwise stickers were peeled off. Wondering how to get the residue off... nail varnish remover perhaps?
I hope I don't come across as a clueless girl driver! Dad's taught me plenty of man stuff, Mum used to work in the car trade, and I take a good interest in cars. I love my Micra and I had to share him with you and ask your advice for some stuff... hope you enjoy my journey of refurbishment!
